Recently I was watching the movie “Samson” and even though there were some biblical inaccuracies (I’m
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sure
to make it more dramatic) there were some things that the Lord began to show me. He wanted me to go deeper into study on Samson’s story and I wanted to share that message with you.
Story of Samson Judges 13-16
“And then the People of Israel were back at it again, doing what was evil in God’s sight. God put them under the domination of the Philistines for forty years. At that time there was a man named Manoah fr
om Zorah from the tribe of Dan. His wife was barren and childless. The angel of God appeared to her and told her, “I know that you are barren and childless, but you’re going to become pregnant and bear a son. But take much care: Drink no wine or beer; eat nothing ritually unclean. You are, in fact, pregnant right now, carrying a son. No razor will touch his head—the boy will be God’s Nazirite from the moment of his birth. He will launch the deliverance from Philistine oppression.” (Judges 13:1-5)
****Manoah means “place of rest”. God was bringing a place of rest for the people through Manoah’s seed, Samson.****
Samson was a Nazirite from the womb. He could drink no wine, touch no unclean thing or cut his hair; consecrated (set apart for God’s use) for God’s service. Manoah’s wife was told by the angel that she would prepare and bear the promise for her people’s deliverance. When she received news that she was pregnant the angel also gave her and her husband instruction on how to allow their son to be born properly. The mother had to prepare before the promise could come out of her.
Side Note:
Some of us have been given a promise and the Word of God (Bible) gives us instruction on how to live in o
rder to prepare and see the promise come to manifest. Just think if Samson’s mother had not obeyed the messenger from God (angel) the promise would have been deformed and inactive. God would have chosen someone else or chosen another route of some kind to carry out His mission.
We should use this story as an example for ourselves. We cannot allow other voices, temptations, or circumstances to rob us of our destinies. It is very important that we stay the course and finish strong. Stay sensitive to the voice of God by reading the Bible, having a healthy prayer life and applying the scripture to your everyday activities.
Back to Samson:
During the course of Samson’s adult life there were vows that he broke which put him in dangerous positions. It seemed like he enjoyed the company of women and it also seemed like he wasn’t totally committed to God’s vision for his life, he wanted to do his own thing at times.
He decided that he would marry a Philistine woman, which put him at odds with his parents but the Word of God says:
Judges 14:4 KJV
“But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord , that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.”
So God was positioning Samson to provoke the Philistines (the enemy) with every encounter with them. Instead he became destracted with the company of women at times, which lead to the cutting of his hair.
As time went on and as we fast forward through Samson’s story we see his vision and purpose becomes diluted of delivering the Israelites out from under Philistine rule. At the end Judges 16:21-30 he totally loses his eyes and is put into a position where he has to solely rely on God’s vision and power to have a great victory, the greatest he was ever able to achieve.
Judges 16:30 KJV “
And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.”
My point: When his parents first received promise that Samson would be set apart and he would help the Israelites become free of philistine rule I don’t think that they thought that their son would end up losing his eyes and dying along with many other Philistines at the end but God knows the end of his own promises and He’ll make sure that his promises stand. It is our job to hold onto our promise and our vision whole-heartedly so that way we can see it through and live victoriously.
As we live out our lives let’s carry the vision God has set before us and speak with clarity and authority knowing that God will see His own promises through. God called Samson to provoke the enemy and destroy him in his own backyard. Sometimes the journey to the promise isn’t pretty but we need to hold onto it with strong conviction and take our authority over the enemy in his backyard.
****Proverb
s 29:18 KJV “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”
You could look at it either way. Samson was punished because of his discretions and that’s why he lost his sight. Big, strong, able body but no vision to carry him to the next level. He could go no further than where he was.
God b
rought him to the point where he was forced to solely rely on God’s power to destroy the enemy. We shouldn’t get to that point. Stay committed to the vision and promise all the way through, so you can be used in the next chapter.
Explanation about the Nazarite:
“The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the Lord as a Nazirite, 3 they must abstain from wine and other ferm
ented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. 4 As long as they remain under their Nazirite vow, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
“‘During the entire period of their Nazirite vow, no razor may be used on their head. They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the Lord is over; they must let their hair grow long.
“‘Throughout the period of their dedication to the Lord, the Nazirite must not go near a dead body. 7 Even if their own father or mother or brother or sister dies, they must not make themselves ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of their dedication to God is on their head. 8 Throughout the period of their dedication, they are consecrated to the Lord.” (Numbers 6:2-7)