(Lessons from Samson)
Judges 16:28 Then Samson prayed to THE LORD and said “O LORD JEHOVAH, remember me again—please strengthen me one more time….
Judges 13:1-5 Once again Israel sinned by worshipping other gods, so THE LORD let them be conquered by the Philistines, who kept them in subjection for forty years. Then one day The Angel of THE LORD appeared to the wife of Manoah, of the tribe of Dan, who lived in the city of Zorah. She had no children, but the Angel said to her, “Even though you have been barren so long, you will soon conceive and have a son! Don’t drink any wine or beer, and don’t eat any food that isn’t kosher. Your son’s hair must never be cut, for he shall be a Nazirite, a special servant of GOD from the time of his birth; and he will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”
SAMSON
GOD IS ABOUT TO MOVE –
I am Samson. My name means “man of the sun.” I know that usually people start from the beginning, but I believe this is where I should start. Right now, I think I am at the end of my last trial, in fact I am in the sunset of my life. I have been imprisoned by the Philistines for a while. They have gouged out my eyes. I have bronze shackles on my legs. I have been treated like an animal---a beast. Like an ox, I grind grain in a Philistine prison. Now that I am weak, the Philistines laugh at me. They make fun of me and mock me because I look so helpless.
Today is a special holiday for the Philistines. They are celebrating one of their gods, Dagon. They worship this god of grain and fish because they think this god is a source of life. And, they are confident that their god beat my GOD and delivered me into their hands. They are drunk and full of themselves today. They have demanded that I be brought to the center of their Dagon temple so they can make fun of me and deride me. Judges 16:23-24 I can hear their drunken laughter. A boy is sent to guide me from the prison to the temple. I asked him to stand me between two pillars in the center of the building. I tell him I want to rest on the pillars. Judges 16:26 In the center, I can hear the noise and laughter of the people in the temple balcony. I can tell the temple is packed---a full house. There must be about three thousand people around me---all making fun of me—my people (the Israelites, who the Philistines rule) and my GOD.
My lips are moving. Those around me don’t know I am praying to my GOD---THE ONE TRUE GOD, JEHOVAH. I am asking GOD to remember me and give me strength. Judges 16.28 I am asking to become Israel’s judge, Israel’s warrior and GOD’s servant, one more time. I grab the pillars on each side and pull. As I stand, I can feel the SPIRIT of JEHOVAH, my GOD! GOD is about to act!
MY BEGINNINGS
I was born to be a judge, a warrior for my people. I was appointed by GOD to defend my people, from birth. My mother raised me as a Nazirite, which means that “I am dedicated to GOD.” The law for a Nazarite was given to Moses by GOD. When a man or a woman makes the vow of a Nazirite, separating themselves unto the LORD, then:
- He or she shall drink no wine or strong drink;
- He or she shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink;
- He or she shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried;
- He or she shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins;
- No razor shall come upon his/her head;
- He or she may not go near any dead body; and
- All the days of his or her life he/she shall be holy to THE LORD.
If he or she is defiled by having someone fall dead beside him, then he/she shall shave his head, he/she will then be cleansed from the contamination of being in the presence of death, on the eighth day there must be an animal dedication (the kind of animal is specified under the law) and he/she must begin all over again with a new vow, let his/her hair begin to grow again. The law provides for other fulfillments if a person defiles themselves. See, Numbers 6:1-21.
My parents listened to THE LORD and raised me as a Nazirite.
My TRIALS
My first trial came when I went to Timnah and saw a Philistine girl who I immediately wanted to marry. I went to my parents, but they objected, but I insisted. As we were going to Timnah a young lion attacked me. The Spirit of THE LORD came mightily upon me and I was able to rip the lion’s jaws apart with my bare hands! No one saw this feat, not even my parents. My parents arrived at Timnah, they made arrangements with the girl’s father for my marriage and we left. When I returned to Timnah for the wedding I found a swarm of bees in the carcass of the lion and ate some. I then threw my wedding party and invited about 30 young men and made a wager with them that if they could solve my riddle, I would give them 60 robes! On the other hand, if they couldn’t solve the riddle, they would give me 60 robes. The riddle was: “Food came out of the eater, and sweetness from the strong!” (I was remembering the honey in the carcass of the lion.)
Well, the 30 Philistines cheated. They threatened my betrothed and convinced her to beguile me and get the answer to the riddle, which she did. At that point, the SPIRIT OF THE LORD came upon me and I went into another city, slew thirty men took their clothes, and gave the clothes to the young men who solved my riddle. I went home and then returned to the woman who I intended to marry, but found out that her father had given her to the guy who was supposed to be the best man at my wedding! I was furious. I went out, caught 300 foxes, tied that tails together in pairs, and torched each pair. The foxes ran through the fields of the Philistines and the running foxes destroyed standing corn, vineyards, and olive trees. Then the Philistines found out what I did, they burned the woman who I loved and her father alive and then used the men of Judah to capture me. When I was brought before the Philistines, I snapped the ropes that were binding me as if they were thread, picked up a donkey’s jawbone that was on the ground, and slew a thousand Philistines with it! Judges 15:15 I was Israel’s judge (their leader and warrior against the Philistines) for the next 20 years. Judges 15:20
I fell in love again. This time to a woman named Delilah. You would have thought I would have learned my lesson from the first Philistine woman. This time the lords of the Philistine came to Delilah and offered her money to find out the secret of my strength. They gave her eleven hundred pieces of silver. Like the other woman, Delilah nagged at me, whined that I didn’t love her until I finally told her my secret---that I was a Nazirite, dedicated to GOD since birth and that my hair had never been cut. Well, that very same night, Delilah lulled me to sleep in her lap and the Philistine lords brought in a man while I was asleep and my hair was cut. When I awakened, I thought I could still do what I had done before, but I didn’t realize that the LORD had left me and my strength was gone. Judges 16:20-21 (I guess I really didn’t realize where my strength came from. But, if I didn’t know before, I knew now.) The Philistines quickly bound me, gouged out my eyes, and tossed me in their prison. They wanted revenge for all the things GOD had allowed me to do when I was strong.
How I Got Through It
When you’re in prison or someplace where your freedom of movement is limited, or sometimes when “bad things happen,” you can spend a lot of time thinking about the unpleasant things that have occurred over your life. You have a lot of time to think about all the mistakes you’ve made. You have time to ruminate over all of the things you should have done, and all of your life’s errors. I know I did. If you’re not careful, you will just keep replaying your life’s mistakes over and over and over again---never moving forward, forever chained to your past. Never growing. Never moving. Perhaps you might even reach the point where you start “pulling out your own hair,” or engaging in some other kind of self-destructive behavior because of your own self-negativity.
Looking back over the past may prevent someone from ever “moving on.” They are not only shackled by physical chains but are shackled by mental and spiritual chains as well. The spiritual chains of not forgiving themselves or more importantly, not going to GOD and asking for GOD’s GRACE and GOD forgiving powers.
If you are shackled by the chains of your bad behavior, by your past, by your poor decisions, by mistakes or things that have separated you from GOD, GOD’s HOLY SPIRIT can renew you too! GOD can give you a second chance! That was my prayer to GOD, for another chance!
So, don’t listen to “the Philistines” around you. Don’t worry about “the haters.” Don’t try to see yourself through the eyes of others! Don’t worry about what people have said about you. Forget about all the negative things you have ever said about yourself! GO to GOD and pray for forgiveness and pray for GOD to use you.
GIVE your life to GOD! That’s what I did!
[Postscript- The Book of Judges notes that Samson did indeed give his life. Samson grabbed the pillars, pushed with all his might and the temple came crashing down on the Philistine leaders and all the people inside. Judges 16:30 As a warrior for his people, Samson was victorious over more people at his death than over his entire lifetime. Samson was buried with his ancestors, having judged Israel for twenty years. Judges 16:31 The final victory was THE LORD’s]
MORE STRETCHING
- Chest Stretch– Lie on the floor on a mat or rug with your knees bent and your feet on the mat and your feet and toes flat on the mat. Both knees should be pointed toward the ceiling. Gently cup your head in your hands and point your elbows to the ceiling so that your elbows are pointing straight up toward the ceiling too. Don’t try to bring your elbows inward or put a strain on your neck. Just try to relax. Now try to slowly lower your elbows toward the floor gently until you feel a stretch across your chest, shoulders, and arms. Hold for a few seconds and then return to your start position. Again, try to relax. Don’t arch your back. As you gently lower your elbows try to belly breathe as opposed to chest breath.
- Seated Thigh Stretch- Sit up straight in a straight chair. Gently open your legs as far apart as possible, keeping your toes and knees pointing outward. Place a hand along each side of your thighs. Place the right hand along the right inner thigh and left hand along your left inner thigh, close to your knees (but do not touch the knees). Keeping your spine neutral, gently hinge forward from the hips until you feel a mild stretch along your inner thighs. Again, be very gentle with yourself and don’t pull. Keep your shoulders down and relaxed. Don’t hold this stretch too long. When you feel the gentle stretch, return to your (regular sitting) start position. Then repeat. [After doing this stretch you may want to do some seat rotations, turning from the waist from one side of the chair to the other side. Again, be gentle, and don’t strain your neck]
- Seated Mountain Yoga Pose. Sit up straight in a straight chair, with your hand relaxed at your side and the palms of your hands gently touching the insides of your chair. Sit up straight, extend your spine forward as you take a deep breath, and rotate your hands outward toward the back as you sit up even taller. As you exhale, push down on your sit bone (the lower part of your tailbone) into the chair as you rotate your hands inward to your start position. Again, be gentle and try to take belly breathes, not chest breathes.
As always, if you have an injury, are concerned about safety or you have a medical condition, speak to your personal physician about what stretches are appropriate for you. If you experience dizziness, discontinue the exercise and again consult your physician.
EXPECT GOD TO ACT!
Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Apparently, faith, as Samson shows, doesn’t require physical sight. In fact, Hebrews 11 states that faith is about “waiting” “and having the “certainty” (Living Bible translation) that what we are hoping for is “waiting for us,” even if we cannot see it up ahead! Hebrews 11:2 It is about believing GOD and believing in GOD. It is about expecting and trusting GOD to ACT! And then acting like you are expecting GOD to ACT!
The Psalmist David declares:
Don’t be upset. Expect GOD to act! For I know that I shall again have plenty of reason to praise HIM for all that HE will do. HE is my help! HE is my GOD! [Living Bible Translation]
Psalm 42:11
Samson, expected GOD to ACT. And, GOD did!
Pray and trust GOD.
Have faith.
Expect GOD to ACT and BE BLESSED!
