Today’s Scripture Reading (November
3, 2012): Judges 6
I am currently
reading the third book in George R. R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice series.
And at one point in the third book we are reintroduced to the character of
Samwell. Samwell is a fat boy who has been declared to be useless by his
society. Samwell should have inherited his father’s kingdom, but Dad had lost
faith in his eldest son. And so he sends him North to the guard the wall. The
wall is all that protects the kingdom from the wildlings and the others that
live in the North Country. And the men at the wall – the brothers who have
taken the black – vow to give their lives in the defense of the kingdom. In
that process they denounce everything that went before – brothers and fathers
and inheritances no longer matter to them. They vow never to marry and never to
father children. All that matters is the wall.
As Samwell
arrives at the wall, the reader recognizes that there is a problem. Among the
rough and tumble culture of the brothers, Samwell’s gentle nature sticks out.
No one expects that Samwell will survive the experience. And if it was not for
the friendship that Samwell builds with Jon Snow, he probably would not have.
But Jon becomes his protector. But in the third book, the brothers are in
disarray. They have been attacked north of the wall, and to make matters worse,
Samwell has been separated from Jon. And once again the reader wonders whether
the gentle Samwell can really survive in this unforgiving place. And it is at
this moment that the reader finds out the brothers have given their gentle
companion a nickname. He is Slayer. For a large boy who possesses no skills in
the art of war, the name is nothing but a reminder of all that Samwell is not.
And Samwell hates the name.
The Book of
Judges has its own version of Samwell. His name is Gideon. As the reader is
introduced to Gideon he is timidly hiding in a wine press threshing grain. The
wine press is the wrong place to thresh grain, but Gideon is there because he is
hoping to get the job done without being discovered by his enemies. He is
scared and he is tired. And he feels totally inadequate to the task that is at
hand. And the Angel of God greets him with the words – the Lord is with you,
Mighty Warrior. But at this moment, Gideon feel like anything but a Mighty
Warrior. And Gideon hates the nickname the angel has for him.
But ... the
story of Gideon was only beginning. He would become a Mighty Warrior because he
would allow God to work through him. At this point his story is still in
progress. And Gideon will does not have the slightest idea of all that he can
accomplish if he will only allow God to work through him. At this moment,
Gideon is nothing but a version of Samwell. But God is in the habit of taking
the Samwells of the world and making them into ... Gideons.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Judges
7
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