Judges 15

QUESTION: Heat and Mahi Mahi - 1

ANSWER:

Judges 15 – Part 1

by Pastor Nathan Shepherd (Dive Chapel, Candle Key, Florida)

The band drew out the last few rocking chords of “My Glorious” and the congregation gave an appreciative clap offering. Pastor Nathan Shepherd walked to the front the big warehouse where the Dive Chapel met.

“Thanks band. That was absolutely awesome! Before we get started in Judges 15, I want to tell you about something really, really cool I got to do this past week. Many of you guys know Captain Bob Reddy. Bob’s a fishing guide right here in Candle Key. About once a year, he calls me up, early in the morning – I’m talking pre-five o’clock - and asks if I want to go dolphin fishing. It means he’s had a late cancellation for one of his charters and, with the day paid for, he can take a friend fishing. Last Tuesday, I got to be that friend.

“Now, everybody who knows me knows that I’m not a deep-sea fisherman. I like to stay in Florida Bay or at least inside the reef line in the Atlantic. But this was a blast. He hauled in four fish over twenty pounds, including a 37-pounder.

“Bob is such a cool brother in the Lord that the conversation was even better than the fishing. What fishing with Bob entails is going out into the big water and looking for dolphin signs. Not Flipper. Green dolphin, Dorado, or Mahi Mahi. The fish are fluorescent green and yellow in the water. When they’re on the line, fighting, they’ve got that coloring plus a glowing blue streak at their gills.

“Anyway, the signs you are looking for are a big area of weeds, floating debris or, best of all, frigate birds. The frigate birds make their living off spotting dolphin schools from the air. You see, the Dorado churn up small fish by forcing them to the surface and that creates a bait fish buffet for the frigates.

“The fluorescent coloring of the green dolphins make it easy for the frigates to spot them in the clear water we have off the Keys. It’s a cool symbiotic relationship. Now, I’m a creationist. I find it very, very hard to believe that someone could spend time in the waters of the Florida Keys and not come to the conclusion that some really hip, super-intelligent, benevolent, all-powerful being created this environment. So let’s think about this. The Dorado are colored this amazing, bright hue that is certainly not camouflage. The frigate birds find food, mostly by being able to see the bright fish-flashes from high in the air. Does evolution mean that millions of years ago the frigates and the dolphins got together at a cosmic cocktail party and decided that the dolphins should evolve their coloration to help out the frigate birds? What was in it for the Dorado? I’ve said it before, no matter what I observe, my evolutionist buddies just simply have to be a lot smarter than yours truly. But I still believe Jesus created the Keys and everything in it. We can talk more about that at the Pizza Party tonight if you all want to. Anyway, huge thanks again to Captain Bob for taking me on an adventure.

“Okay, let’s look at Judges chapter 15. Remember last week in chapter 14, that Samson’s young wife betrayed the secret of his riddle. Do you remember why she did it? Because her Philistine neighbors in Judges 14:15 said, ‘Entice your husband, that he may explain the riddle to us, or else we will burn you and your father’s house with fire.’

“Several weeks ago when we talked about ‘Bramble Leaders’, we said that they were low down, self-aggrandizing, and brought the fire of destruction on the people they were supposedly leading. Now we’re about to see several fires of destruction.

Judges 15 – Read Part 2!