January 24, 2008

So today we focused on the story of Samson -sort of.
As we began class, we discussed some of the dumb things we do for members of the opposite sex. Do guys do dumb things for girls? It was almost a unanimous yes... but most were too embarrassed to share some classic examples. Everyone had heard the story of Samson and Delilah, but we started to examine the story in Chapter 13 of Judges. As we ready, we learned about Monoah's wife, and her barrenness. Several students knew of people who had struggled with this problem as well - we discussed how they might have felt. We also discussed several different women in the bible who had an angel (or messenger) tell them they'd have children. The students came up with Mary, Sara, Rebecca, and Rachel. We read on and found what 3 things were part of the Nazarite vows. Continuing, we found out what the Lord had told Monoah and his wife about their child which would be born. The students shared how they thought they'd feel if they were having a child, and what they thought might be the most important to them. Many of the students thought that they would worry about providing for a child, and also worry about having their child be formed properly. We looked at some verses which showed Monoah's reaction. They asked the angel what it was that they needed to teach their son (who would rise up to free Israel). What huge implications. We discussed this pattern that we saw with Monoah and his wife. They weren't sure how to raise their child, or what they should do, so they turned to the Lord.
Our discussion turned to the student's parents. We talked about how often the students thought that their parents prayed for them. Continuing the discussion we talked about what their parents might pray for them for, and wondered if their parents were like Monoah and his wife - praying to the Lord to know what to teach their kids. The discussion then turned to whether or not we really listen to our parents - do we realize that they pray for us? (most likely constantly) Do we realize that when we have differences of opinion with them that the guidance they are trying to give may be inspiration which they've received from above?
So - I had planned to finish going into Delilah, but we ended up going in this different direction... I think there are some pretty powerful lessons to be learned in some of those few verses. The students were also able to identify several gospel principles - faith, obedience, trust in the Lord, trust in our parents, praying to Heavenly Father for guidance etc. All of these are SO applicable in life!
Tomorrow we will cover the book of Ruth.