Reflecting on Moses
For the remaining weeks of the year, I invite you to study aspects of the life of Moses with me. He is perhaps the most famous Old Testament character, combining the roles of prophet, lawgiver, and...
Faith & Family Business
Final family business lessons from the book of Judges
October 6, 2024
In my study of the biblical book of Judges, and in particular Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson, I was interested in the idea of repeating cycles. The book of Judges is chock full of examples of Israel’s...
A sense of place in the family business
September 29, 2024
In my last reflection, Samson wrestles with the difficult choice of whether to admit to Delilah the secret of his strength. He chooses to do so, and she in turn tells the Philistines, who torture and...
Painful trade-offs in the family business
September 22, 2024
My last reflection used Samson’s weakness — his lust — to ponder our own vulnerabilities in the life of the family business. Delilah keeps pressing Samson to divulge the secret of his strength, and...
Vulnerabilities in the family business
September 16, 2024
When I decided to write about three Judges — Gideon, Jephthah, and now Samson — my knowledge of Samson was informed primarily by my Sunday school recollections, storybook pictures of Samson’s long...
From exhaustion to revitalization in the family business.
September 9, 2024
My last post focused on the back-and-forth, revenge-focused battles between Samson and the Philistines, which continue to escalate until he kills 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey....
The rhythm of revenge in a family business.
September 1, 2024
My last post described the vicious cycle of anger and assumptions at work in the story of Samson, and recounted how these same tendencies emerge in modern-day family businesses. This week we see the...
The vicious cycle: anger and assumptions in the family business
August 25, 2024
Samson, furious that his bride-to-be shared the answer to his riddle during the wedding party, kills 30 Philistines and goes home in “hot anger.” He leaves thinking he is married, not knowing the...
"Hot anger" in the family business
August 18, 2024
My last reflection focused on the point when things go south at Samson’s wedding party. Under the guise of wedding fun and games, Samson gives a riddle whose answer is known only to him. The locals,...
The point (or party) when the family begins to unravel
August 11, 2024
Samson’s parents are terribly upset with his choice of a bride from the ruling Philistine community. But they support the marriage and prepare for the wedding.[Samson’s] father went down to the woman...