Judges 13:2-5; 16:4-6; 15-23, 27-30
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
(2 Corinthians 12:9)
God promises His guidance on our journey with Him. Still, sometimes we feel we've lost our Divine Compass. We walk off the trail - often even purposely.
Samson was dedicated to the Lord from birth and was empowered by Him. Unfortunately, he didn't always use good judgment. One such decision led to his demise. Delilah, an enemy temptress, whined until he revealed the secret of his strength. She shaved his head as he slept and called the Philistine soldiers who bound, blinded, and imprisoned him.
With his hair cut and his vow to God broken, Samson lost his power. The Philistines held a celebration to their pagan god, ordering Samson from prison to entertain them. Samson prayed God would strengthen him one more time. While the revelers partied, he pushed down the temple pillars, killing everyone.
God will never let go of you. His will is accomplished in our failures. Even wayward Samson is noted in the book of Hebrews as one for whom God had something better in store (Hebrews 11:31-40).
INSIGHT
"GOD GAVE US THE ABILITY...TO... SACRIFICE....[DOING] THIS...WE DRAW [CLOSER] TO THE ONE WHO SACRIFICED HIS ALL FOR US."
(ELIZABETH PEALE ALLEN)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Job 1-2
Psalm 43
Luke 6
Judges 13:2-5
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. 4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, 5 because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
Judges 16:4-6
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels[a] of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
Footnotes:
a. Judges 16:5 That is, about 28 pounds (about 13 kilograms)
Judges 16:15-23
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength. ” 16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.
17 So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines , “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19 Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.[a] And his strength left him.
20 Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”
He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
The Death of Samson
23 Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”
Footnotes:
a. Judges 16:19 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and he began to weaken
KNOWING THE NAMES OF GOD [PART 1]
with Ann Spangler
What is in a name? Parents get to choose their children's names, but what about God? His names point to his character. They give us a deeper dimension of who he is and how he acts.
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