SAMSON AND DELILAH

Above Image: 1st Century mosaic showing a firebrand tied between two fox's tails.

"And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails." Judges 15:4-5

The Birth of Samson

​Judges 13

1 "And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.

3 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.

4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."

What is a "Nazarite unto God"? From biblestudy.org

​Quote: "Those desiring to take the vow of a Nazarite had to be willing to sacrifice certain aspects of their life for the duration of their pledge. They had to abstain entirely from wine or drinking anything with alcohol in it (Numbers 6:3, see also Amos 2:12). In fact, those who decided to dedicate themselves to God as a Nazarite had to abstain from eating any grapes or any product made from them like juice, raisins and so on.

"Those who were under the vow could not shave any hair on their head (e.g. beard, mustache, eyebrows - Numbers 6:5, Judges 13:5, 16:17). This meant that those who promised to serve God in such a way were easily recognizable to other people, as they had long hair, bushy eyebrows, a long unkempt beard, etc.

A Nazarite was not permitted to come near a corpse, even if it was from a close family member, so that they would not be rendered unclean (Numbers 6:6 - 7)." End quote.

Samson Kills a Lion

When Samson was older, he killed a lion with his bare hands; he used no weapon.

"And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him [the lion] as he would have rent a kid [goat], and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done." Judges 14:6

It is significant that the scripture tells us he had nothing in his hand to kill the lion, so he killed it with his bare hands, meaning he touched a carcass, an unclean thing, an abomination.

It is also significant that it tells us specifically that he withheld the information from his parents, who would surely have made him perform the customary rituals for cleansing after touching a dead animal.

Later, Samson saw the same lion he had killed previously, and there was a beehive in the carcass. Samson scooped up the honey and ate it, and gave it to his mother and father to eat, and they ate it, being unaware that it came from a dead animal's body.

"Or, if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase . . . and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty."

Did Samson break his vow, and also cause his mother and father to sin as well? Clearly, they never repented of this sin, or performed the customary rituals to cleanse themselves, as is borne out by the subsequent life and death of Samson. 

BLESSINGS AND CURSES

Samson's first wife, a Philistine, was given away by his father-in-law to his friend. This enraged Samson, who burned down the Philistine corn (see image of 1st Century mosaic above). The Philistines retaliated by burning down Samson's wife and her family.

Samson then judged the Israelites for some 20 years, before marrying Delilah, who tricked him for eleven hundred shekels of silver from each of the kings, who wanted to know the secret of Samson's strength so they could defeat him. Samson finally told Delilah his secret, that a razor had never touched his head; she told the kings, and then she let them shave Samson's head, while he was asleep on her lap.

Samson became weak, and the Philistines captured him, put out both of his eyes, and put him in prison as a grinder, one who pushes the grinding or mill stones. Eventually, Samson brought down the building on the Philistine's heads. Quote: "He perished in the last terrible destruction he brought upon his enemies. So the dead which he slew at his death were more [in social and political importance-the elite of the people] than they which he slew in his life. Straining all his nerves, he bowed: As with the force of winds and waters pent, When mountains tremble, those two massy pillars, with horrible convulsion to and fro he tugged, he shook, till down they came, and drew the whole roof after them, with burst of thunder upon the heads of all who sat beneath, Lords, ladies, captains, counsellors, or priests, their choice nobility and flower." End Quote. From kingjamesbibleonline.org.

Can you see how Samson was cursed as soon as he disobeyed the angel of the LORD, who represents God's Will?

God's Word is alive and active and powerful, and it is for us, to receive His blessings! Read it, meditate on it day and night, get it down on the inside of you, into your heart, so that the wiles of the devil cannot not take away your blessings. The devil can test us all day, every day, and if he sees a weakness in us, he will, a weakness in our armor, where God's Word is not protecting us.

Psalm 119:11 says it best: "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

I mean, it cannot be any clearer than that. Hide God's Word in your heart so that you do not sin against Him. Make sure that when the devil tests you, your first response is from God, righteous, morally upright, with love, mercy and compassion for all mankind, especially your brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Remember, Jesus said Love your neighbor as yourself Matthew 22:39, and Love not the world neither the things in it at 1 John 2:

15 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

He that does the will of God, obeys God, and is blessed.

There is redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ. Do not be like Samson, Cain, and so many others in the Bible. Many received blessings, great blessings, and also received curses for their disobedience.

Samson was blessed with strength, but he did not obey God, and he was greatly cursed as well.

Repent. Jesus said, "Change your hearts, and show by the way you live that you have changed." Matthew 3:8

Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.

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