Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | August 30, 2013
There is an emptiness that consumes. When this emptiness is God absent, we can hunger and thirst after righteousness and be filled. When an unhealthy emptiness is like a black hole, it swallows everything around it into non-existence. Sometimes the pressure is self-inflicted, at times forced on us by family; even society can be guilty […]
PHall | August 29, 2013
Did you hear the joke about the mother-in-law? Apparently, neither did Ruth. In the little book bearing her name, there are no recorded prayers; but there is a prayer-like promise invoking God’s name. The story of Ruth is not about Ruth. The focus is not a love story between the progenitors of David, Ruth and […]
PHall | August 28, 2013
Does God ever ignore prayers? Get ready to shake your head in disbelief at how quickly stupidity catches up to those living a repeating cycle of self-made idiocy by doing what is right in their own eyes (Judges 21.25). Righteousness and rage, vengeance and vows make for unpredictable results and unthought-of realities. Israel is rightfully […]
PHall | August 27, 2013
In the 70’s, the United States and the Soviet Union got MAD. They formed a treaty of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD). Armed with nuclear weapons, each nation could completely destroy the other. In war, there would be no victory, no peace, just retaliation and annihilation. Oddly, the goal was peace. Oddly, this reminds me of […]
PHall | August 26, 2013
The story begins in Ephraim where Micah steals 1,100 silver pieces from his mother, confesses, she praises him, then gives him back the silver, consecrates it to God, and together they make an idol. Then the son installs his non-Levite son as priest (Judges 17.1-5). It seemed like the right thing to do. Understand, this […]
PHall | August 21, 2013
It is fitting Samson is a man who tells riddles (Judges 14.14), because his life is a riddle. Called a man of faith (Hb 11.32), he does not lead armies, dispense wisdom, or lead by example. The one faithful act that applies to this manly conundrum is, “gained strength after being weak” (Hb 11.34). Before […]
PHall | August 19, 2013
Samson’s prayer begins by acknowledging God’s strength, but seems self-serving in the end. “You have accomplished this great victory through Your servant. Must I now die of thirst…?” (Judges 15:18). Sounds like, “God you owe me!” Samson’s life is filled with seemingly bad decisions involving women, leading to revenge on his enemies. When divinely empowered, […]
PHall | August 15, 2013
“Please Lord, let the man of God you sent come again to us and teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born” (Judges 13.8). That is the prayer of Manoah, concerning his unborn son. That must be the prayer of all parents. When the “man of God” comes again, Manoah […]
PHall | August 13, 2013
Every parent’s greatest fear is losing their children. Some lose them spiritually, which is the greatest heartache. Others lose them emotionally, when a distant grows between them. Some even lose them physically, leaving a hole forever in their lives. Whether innocent or guilty, there is a gnawing agony of remorse and the haunting question, “what […]
PHall | August 9, 2013
Love is tough, and tough love is hopeful. Israel falls into the same pattern again: sin, suffering, supplication, and salvation…except this time God says no. Sin brings suffering. “Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD” (Judges 10.6). Evil is defined by breaking the first commandment, and Israel breaks […]