Life Around "The Fire"
This podcast is dedicated to those wanting to experience a living and real relationship with God as well as growing together in love for one another. We consider that to be a true sign of spiritual growth as we journey along The Way. If this is you then come along with us as we co-operate with God in what He is doing around the corner and around the world!
Life Around "The Fire"
Your Choices And Words Shape Your Battle And Your Restoration
*** Editors note: David refered to Nahash as being a Philistine King. He was an Ammonite Ruler, not a Philistine King. *** Pressure makes bad deals look reasonable. We slow down to a pace of peace and turn two vivid stories—Jabesh-Gilead under siege in 1 Samuel 11 and Samson’s collapse in Judges 16—like a diamond, catching fresh angles on compromise, courage, and restoration. Nahash’s demand to gouge the right eye wasn’t only cruelty; it was strategy to erase vision and disable resistance. The elders’ unexpected move—asking for seven days—shows how time, community, and clear heads can keep us from signing away what we can’t afford to lose. Across the valley, Samson’s strength doesn’t vanish in a moment; it leaks through repeated choices until one sentence gives everything away. Then comes the chilling line: he did not know the Lord had left him. And yet, even in captivity, hair begins to grow.
We talk plainly about how choices and words set momentum. Your speech either builds a future or mortgages it. Your pace either makes room for wisdom or hands the pen to panic. Reading scripture with a hermeneutic eye—what it meant then and how it lands now—we surface practical tactics for spiritual warfare that don’t rely on bluster: buy time before binding decisions, get your people around you, refuse relief that demands permanent harm, and practice truth-telling even when it costs. We also name hope where it’s hardest to see. Restoration rarely explodes; it accumulates. Disciplines return. Discernment sharpens. The hand of God steadies those who turn back, and sometimes the final chapters accomplish more than the early victories ever did.
If you’re feeling besieged or ashamed, this conversation offers a map: delay the treaty, call for help, guard your words, and trust that what feels lost can grow again. Listen, share it with someone who needs courage today, and if it helped you, follow the show, leave a review, and tell us where you’re choosing peace over pressure.
Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.
You know, when I first started sharing things publicly, which was about check this out, 45 years ago, right? So 45 years ago, I began sharing things publicly. And initially, I felt like I needed to get everything out that was on my heart and mind. And so I would really push things, and sometimes it would feel uncomfortable both to me and to the people listening. And over the course of time, I've realized that you know what? I don't really need to hurry and get things out, nor do I need to get everything out that's in my notes the first time around. It might take two or three times. And so I've really decided to both travel and speak at the pace of peace, right? To do things in a more peaceful fashion. Partly so that I can enjoy the journey, but also so that you can relax and just kind of enjoy what's going on and hear the information that's coming and not feel as though you're being given something that you have to hurry up and get. Because I don't think that really any of us function all that well under those circumstances. So I say that to say this: that we're looking right now into the book of 1 Samuel. We've been doing that for a while, and we're going to continue to look into this wonderful writing because it has so many stories in it. And stories are one of the best ways of communicating. Because they carry with them something that's entertaining but also informational. And in it, there are nuggets that we can get that are applicable to our own daily lives. And so we've been looking at the book of 1 Samuel and really finding some really choice nuggets that are in it. And the scriptures, well, I should say, and we're going to continue to look into this Greek book, because the scriptures, they're kind of like a diamond. And we can look at them from different angles, like a diamond. You look at a diamond from different angles, and you can see different things. Same diamond, but you just see it from a different angle. And the same thing goes with the scriptures. Yes, it's true you can read them in the fashion of going from A to B to C to D in a linear way. And that's okay. But also, look at things in a more multifaceted way is also very valid. And so we're looking at things in a little more multifaceted fashion, and thus we're going to take a little extra time in looking at this diamond that we have concerning these issues in this particular portion of the scriptures that we're at right now, and that is 1 Samuel chapter 11. And there's a correlating story and passage in scripture that's found in the book of Judges. That's one book previous or prior to the book of Samuel, as they're ordered in the Bible. And the book of Judges is the story of all the judges that were in Israel prior to them having a king. And so we're right now at a place in 1 Samuel where King Saul is being introduced. He's the first king of Israel. And we're going to be looking at Judges chapter 16, because one of the last judges in Israel was a gentleman by the name of Samson. And most of us have heard the stories of Samson, strong man who then later in life was captured, and the last thing that he did was he pushed the pillars down in this huge temple that was devoted to Dagon, this false god, and the temple collapsed and killed a bunch of people from the Philistine camp along with Samson, and he in the end killed more people in his death than he had killed during his reign or his place of being a judge when he was alive. So there's a correlating part that's found in each of these chapters in the scriptures, and we're going to kind of dig that out and spend some time looking at certain things surrounding the events that went into the whole story. But we're going to be looking at, for reference point, we're going to be looking at the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 11, verses 1 through 3, and Judges chapter 16, verses 17 through 22. And let me set the table a little bit for this particular episode. So there is a process in studying the scriptures that's called hermeneutics. And to just put it in kind of layman's terms, hermeneutics is the process of going back and seeing things as close as possible to the way that they were when these stories were first lived out. What was the culture like then? And compare it to the culture that we live in now and draw from it the things that are applicable to the here and now, and we find that there are many things that are still alive and applicable, found in the scriptures, because it's not a dead document, it's a living word. The scriptures are the very word of God. This collection of books has been overseen by the Holy Spirit in its collection, in its putting together, in its preservation. And we have in our possession the very written word of God, which is powerful. It's amazing that we have this document at our disposal, at our fingertips. And so it behooves us to get to know this book inside and out. And we at Life Run the Fire are deeply committed to the study of the scriptures and the fact that the scriptures are complete, inerrant, they are the Word of God, and there is no mistake found in them in its original writing. So all that being said, we're going to look at first Samuel chapter eleven verses one through three. And we read Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabeth Gilead, and all the men of Jab said to him, Make a treaty or a covenant with us, and we will be subject to you. But Nahash the Ammonite replied, I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you, and so bring disgrace on all Israel. So straight out of the gate we have this very ruthless person by the name of Nahash. And his name literally means serpent. Funny thing. And he was a notorious man, a very ruthless ruler, a king of the Philistines. These were the people that Israel wanted to emulate. And so Nahash said to the people that I'll make a treaty with you, but only if I get to gouge out the right eye of all the men in the city, and it will bring disgrace, but also it will cause these men to be ill-equipped for any military service. Because a soldier would hold up their shield in their left hand, which would cover their left eye, and they'd use their right eye and their right hand to go in with their sword, their dagger, their spear. And so if they were blind in their right eye, they were blinded for battle, thus making them inept to fight. And also it was a sign of disgrace. Isn't that just like the enemy to do that? Isn't that just like Satan to do that in our lives? He tries to blind us. He tries to somehow trick us into making a treaty with him. Because it looks like that's the only thing that we can do is to compromise. The only way that we can get any kind of relief is to compromise our values, our practices, or our priorities. Which is not true. It's a lie. But this tactic is as old as dirt. In verse three it says, The elders of Jabeth said to him, Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel. If no one comes to rescue us, we will surrender to you. So they were in a very difficult spot. But they had convinced Nahash that they needed seven days to be able to talk to their countrymen. And interestingly enough, Nahash agreed to that. Now, there may be things in your own life that you find that you're in a very difficult position and you're tempted to compromise. But if you are wise, you can take some time before you enter into some form of agreement that's going to bring about disgrace and cause you to be ill-equipped and bring that matter to the Lord. Even though these people had begun to compromise, they at least had the sense to bring this issue to their countrymen. And in our case, we would bring our issues to God in prayer. So we have that story, right? We have that story. And we also have, as I said, in Judges chapter sixteen, verses seventeen through twenty two, a very familiar story about Samson. And we read. So he, Samson, told her, Delilah, everything. He said, No razor has ever been used on my head, because I have been a Nazarite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man. When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines Come back once more he has told me everything. So the rulers of the Philistines returned with silver in their hands. Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called the man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him, and his strength left him. Then she called, Samson, the Philistines are upon you. He awoke from his sleep and thought I'll go out as before and shake myself free. But he did not know that the Lord had left him. Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and took him to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison, but the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved. Again, interesting story. These Philistines who were on the west side of Israel were always attacking Israel. And the Ammonites on the east side of Israel were always attacking Israel. Israel was being attacked on the east and on the west. Funny thing, not too different than it is today. And there are in both settings, in both stories, things that we can learn. Number one, it's important to note what type of choices you and I make. What we choose and what comes out of our mouth. Our choices and the words that come out of our mouth are very, very important. Our words contain power. They either have the power of life in them or they have the power of death in them. And what we choose matters. What Samson chose mattered. He had made some poor choices throughout his life, unfortunately. He had a great gift. He had great gifting, but he had character flaws that came to the surface. When there was times of great temptation. Same thing went with Israel. They had great promises given to them. God had given them great, great favor. And yet they had character flaws that came to the surface when there was great pressure. Sometimes the temptation comes in the form of, for example, Samson, Delilah, came in the form of a really unhealthy relationship. In Jebeth Giliad, they had for years been compromising their relationship with God by serving the idols of the other nations. And it had weakened them. They were no longer able to withstand the enemy or overcome the enemy. They were being overcome by the enemy because they had compromised their life to the choices that they made. And the same is true for us today. The choices that you and I make make a big difference, not just in our lives, but in the lives of those around us. The choice that the men at Jabbath Gilead made, up to the point where they asked for help, many of the choices were poor. But their choice to ask for help was a good one. And we're going to learn later what was the result of that choice. But Samson's choice to give away the secret to his strength to someone that was not trustworthy with a mistake. And what came out of his mouth, by virtue of the choices that he had made leading up to that time, brought about not only his downfall, but it brought shame to the nation of Israel and allowed them to go into further idolatry. Because Samson's ability to judge and be a leader in that nation had been compromised. He was in captivity. He was no longer able to function in the way that he had functioned previously, and being a deliverer. Now he was in bondage. Funny how that works. One person said a very wise statement years ago and it stayed with me. They said when God begins to lift his hand off of a person or a group of people, it doesn't happen quickly. It happens slowly. But there comes a time where his hand is removed, and we're allowed to experience the consequences of our actions. And those consequences can do one of two things. They can drive us into making more poor choices, or they can be used to bring about a change of our heart and a change of our mind, a change of our direction. We could change, we can repent, we could turn. Things can begin to change. Like in the case of Samson, his hair began to grow back. Sometimes the lesson that we need to learn takes some time. For me, I had to learn a 25-year lesson. God had to put me on the shelf for 25 years of my life in order to teach me how to be dependent on him the right way. Thank God he was patient with me through that time because I made many mistakes. But ultimately, he used that time, it was a difficult time. Very, very, very difficult time. But he used that time to correct me. And even though I couldn't feel it, my hair, in essence, my hair was starting to grow back like Samson's. And in the end, Samson was able to accomplish more in the end than he was throughout his entire life previous to that, or prior to that, I should say. Israel, upon the choice that they made in 1 Samuel chapter 13, excuse me, 1 Samuel Chapter eleven. The choice that they made, the choices that they made led to their deliverance because God used a man to bring about a rallying cry throughout Israel, in which a collective effort was used to bring about victory, not just one man. He was used to rally the troops and to lead. But it required a collective effort. In Samson's case, it was one man who brought about a collective good. In the other case, it was one man who brought about a collective effort that brought about the defeat of the enemy. Folks, we are in a battle. Like it or not, we are involved in a battle. Much like Israel was and still is involved in a physical battle. We who believe in Jesus, who are followers of Jesus, are engaged in a battle. There is a spiritual battle going on. We are on the offensive, but there's a resistance that we experience as the kingdom of God is advancing through the earth. And the powers of darkness are very real, and they have ways that are without help, they are capable of really inflicting significant harm. You know, these individuals gouging out eyes was no small thing. It was very symbolic, but also they had a belief that in the eyes there was a real significant power, emotional, spiritual power in the eyes. And we're going to look in the next episode at just what that entails, the power that's found in our eyes physically and spiritually. Scriptures have a lot to say about our eyes. But right now, we've seen that our choices and our words, the things that we say, matter. But if you found yourself in a situation where you've gotten in over your head, like I did, like Samson did, just realize that your hair will grow back. The hand of God can return back upon you. And in the end, it can be greater than it was before. There's restoration that's possible. But sometimes we have to go through the process of restoration in order to experience that. In fact, that's typically the truth. And that's good news. And so I don't want to leave anyone hopeless because we all struggle. And each one of us has fallen down. And it's not a matter of how many times you've fallen down, it's how many times you get back up. And God desires to deliver us from evil. It's in his heart, it's in his plan, it's in his purpose. He is our deliverer. And he can deliver us from evil, and he will restore things that have been used as evil things, and he can turn them around and actually cause them to be used for good. Hallelujah. So we're going to continue on with 1 Samuel chapter 11 and Judges chapter 16 in the next episode. But right now I'd just like to close in prayer. Father, I thank you, God, once again for who you are. I love you. I love your ways. I love everything about you. I thank you that you've shown yourself to me. Holy Spirit, you've revealed Jesus. And Jesus, you've revealed God the Father. You've revealed to me the heart of my Heavenly Father. And Father, you have welcomed me. You've welcomed us. Those of us who believe, you've welcomed us, just as if we never failed, never sinned. We're justified. We're righteous in your eyes. So Lord, I ask that you'd bring about clarity, conviction, hope there'd be a deliverance from evil. Empower your people to become the very people that radiate and host the glory of the Lord. Thank you, God. We honor you, and we pray these things standing here in the very name of Jesus. And we say amen. Amen. Amen. All right, folks, man, we love you. If you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, please feel free to drop us a line at life areoundthefire at gmail.com. That's our email address or type in Life Around the Fire and look us up on the web. We would love to hear from you. In the meantime, God bless you. Adios, amigos.