April 2, 2014

Judges 16:  ³⁰ Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.

The story of Samson is amazing from beginning to end.  An angel appears first to his mother and then to both parents to tell them of his birth and how to raise him as a Nazirite.  Once he is grown, he slays the lion and has the interactions with the Philistines which make him famous.  Then he rules the Israelites for many years before spotting Delilah, his undoing.  She is such a traitor, and he ends up imprisoned and blinded.  But that is not the end: he tricks the Philistines into enabling him to be their weapon of mass destruction.

This tale is as exciting as any in the OT.  So much is not explained.  We know nothing about the kind of ruler Samson was, but his personal behavior seems more like a spoiled little boy than a great man of God.  Why didn't he take his many blessings and settle down like a respectable Israelite?  Was all of this God's plan for him, or was he resisting God?  We know that the brouhaha surrounding his Philistine wife was part of God's plan.  Was Delilah and the destruction of their temple more of the same, or was Samson's humiliation the natural result of his sinful longings?  As so often happens, his return to God resulted in a good result for God's people if not for Samson personally. 

Prayer:  Lord, I turn to You in good times and bad.  I pray for those I know and love, and I pray for the many who suffer but are not known by me.  I remember Your good and faithful ways, and I know I can always come back to You, even when I have turned away.  I am weak, and I am easily distracted.  Strengthen my faith so that I am open to Your will for my life always.
Amen