The scriptures read are Judges 16-18, Psalm 78:1-39, and John 12.
Judges 16. Samson's poor taste in women finally gets him into trouble. Delilah nags the secret of his strength out of him. You would think he'd get suspicious after all the times she tries to weaken him. Cutting his hair does the trick and he gets blinded by his enemies. But the Philistines bring him out to put on a show and he brings the house down! (To see the ruins of an actual Philistine temple with 2 pillar bases, click here.)
Judges 17. A tale about how totally apostate the people of Israel had become. A son steals from his mom. She vows to God to make a small metal god. A Levite becomes the priest in this guy's private chapel filled with idols. People are doing whatever they want.
Judges 18. 600 men from Dan seize the guy's gods and his priest and conquer a city, setting up their own shrine with the guy's god. Exactly what God warned about.
Psalm 78:1-39. The second longest psalm in the Bible. A recap of the Exodus, God's mighty deeds, and the sins of the Israelites.
John 12. Mary, sister of Lazarus, thanks Jesus by anointing his feet with costly perfumes. The remark of how the smell filled the house sounds like a memory on someone's part.
The triumphal entry with the palms. 5 days before Passover and Jesus' death. John is very conscious of exact times.
Reading John so soon after the other gospels I'm getting these echoes of their accounts. John was definitely aware of them when he wrote his account. He ties the facts and sayings into what's going on more tightly.
"I am the light coming into the world." How did I miss that "I Am" statement?
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