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1 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. 2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren, having borne no children. 3 And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son.4 Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat anything unclean, 5 for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines." (Judges 13:1-5 NRSV)
Happy Friday, dear Friend! To continue with Bible Stories You Should Know, we will examine the life of Samson. May his life bring you blessings and instruction. As you pray, please remember to pray for Mr. Bob Clark who is in the hospital in San Angelo, and where doctors have determined he has an ulcer and thus his episode with blood. Prayers for him and for his wife, Evelyn, who is at his side. They are thankful it was not something more serious or related to his battle against cancer. Also, please pray for Vicki Frenzel. She had a lung removed today at MD Anderson. The surgery went well but she is in need of prayers for healing. Update on Marian Hayes’ daughter-in-law Lynne Hudson: Lynne has multiple fractures in her hip but did not need to have surgery. She will be non-weightbearing for 4-6 weeks. Please pray for one another. Pray for yourselves.
Hercules got better press. Growing up I saw more movies and tv shows on this mythical Greek hero than our own biblical hero, Samson. Yes, there are numerous movies for the two, but having seen movies on my tv and at the movies as a child, Hercules left more of an impression on me than Samson. Yet, as I matured, I came to appreciate the person and role of Samson in our Bible.
Samson was among the last of Israel's judges.(Samuel was the last) Fair warning, he was not very "judge-like" in his life or behavior. His life was very much R-rated, and some of his actions were very violent and rowdy (to put it nicely). His birth story is very much along Biblical lines. He was born during the time of one of Israel's regular "evil" periods, where they did what was evil and the Lord gave them away to their enemies. In Samson's case, the enemy were the dreaded Philistines. But his brith happens to a woman believed to be barren and comes with angelic announcement and instruction; the mother was not to drink wine or strong drink or to eat anything unclean. The boy was not to have a razor come on his head, for he was to be a nazirite, which comes from the word consecrated or set-apart, meaning having a divine purpose from God. One would think that having such a birth and instructions from God that this young man would be a model and inspiration for others. Nope. He was a spoiled child who soon showed great strength that was directly related to his hair length. He showed no personal restraint in his obsession with women, nor any wisdom in following his nation's laws or his parents' counsel regarding the fair sex. What Samson wanted, he pretty much got. And in the end, that was what got Samson. But to be fair, many of his actions were directed by God to get to the Philistines.
The first was Samson's desire to marry a Philistine woman. This saddened his parents who really wanted to have a daughter-in-law from among the Israelites. Samson was driven by God to accomplish some of God's desires against the dreaded enemy of the Jews. One of Samson's first superhuman acts was to defend himself against a young lion who came to attack him. With God's Spirit rushing upon him, Samson tore the lion as one might a goat kid. He then makes his first visit to the woman of his desires, and finds she pleased him. On his way back home he goes by the carcass of the slain lion and finds a swarm of bees had produced honey inside the dead body. Samson helps himself to the honey, violating Jewish law against such unclean actions, and then shares the honey with his parents, who would have refused it had they known it came from a carcass of the lion. But Samson uses it as the first of many tricks and riddles he played against his enemies. He also places a wager on the riddle only to lose because his wife wept and nagged the seven nights of the wedding feast. Since he had bet 30 festal garments, he kills 30 men of his wife's village. He paid his debt with murder.
It was his relationship with the infamous beauty Delilah that caused his downfall. She was not of his nation and culture and cared only about herself and her family. The leaders of her village wanted to know the secret of Samson's strength and four times he lied to her and four times he was spared certain capture. She employs the same thing that worked with his first wife; crying and nagging until he tells her the secret. He falls asleep on her lap and she had arranged for men to come in and shave his head and as his hair fell, the Spirit of the Lord departed him. He was easily bound and his eyes were gouged out. He was imprisoned and used for entertainment. Samson finally asked for those holding him prisoner to allow him to rest between the pillars holding up the building in which he was being held. As his hair had grown back, he prayed and asked God to allow his strength to return once again. And he asked to be able to avenge his eyes with the Philistines. The prayer is granted and the last judge of Israel collapses the building and he dies with all who were in the place with him.
Before we keep scratching our heads, remember this; God acted on behalf of His people in ways that are mysterious and thus hard to explain. Samson in no real way acted or lived like a judge, though we don't have written record of what he did when he wasn't setting fields on fire or murdering citizens for their clothing to pay off his gambling debts. And again, we are reminded that there are no perfect people in the Bible except Jesus, yet God still used them and blessed them. Our call is to be faithful and fruitful in whatever way that God shows to us.
PRAYER: Loving God, though Your ways are mysterious, we seek to be faithful and fruitful in all ways. Help us to be obedient to Your leading. This we pray in Christ Jesus, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Someone may be awaiting a kind word from you today that blesses them!
Blessings of love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
