Why don't more stories end well?

The real life stories that begin with promise devolve into scandal and finish and disgrace.

The tales of failure or estrangement, addiction, or wasted potential, there are so many of these.

Are they written that way by the author? Or are these corrupted texts.

This is a story about one of the greatest enemies of a beautiful ending.

Appetite.

It's a story about hunger and thirst and power struggles, about manipulation and deception and fear. It's a story about the burdensome

blessing of extraordinary qualities, beauty, strength, access, and the heartbreaking way

Yahweh's vision for these gifts is abandoned. I'm Justin Gerhardt. Welcome to Holy Ghost Stories. It's happened again. It's happened again.

Perhaps it's the appeal of forbidden fruit.

Perhaps it's that he feels like women in Israel don't understand him,

or put too much pressure on him to be true to his Nazarite vow.

Perhaps he hates the men of Ashkelon and Gath and feels like this is the best way to get

under their skin.

Whatever the contributing factors, history has repeated itself.

Samson is in love with a Philistine woman.

His parents are going to hate it.

But if they couldn't do anything about it last time, they certainly can't now.

Samson has a few more years under his belt and quite a few more Philistine scalps. No, Samson does what he wants. And he wants to be with her. Her eyes, her hair, her skin.

She's just bewitching. Even her name is beautiful, Delilah. He can't stop making visits to the fertile

valley of Sorek to see her. The wheat, the barley, the grapes, it's like they're bursting with life,

celebrating his love. Of course, there's been no talk of marriage yet, Star-crossed lovers and all that. After his last marriage to a Philistine, well, better to just enjoy themselves. Besides, a man like Samson has no intention of being tied down.

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