We’ve all heard the story of Samson and Delilah, of his strength because of his uncut hair, of her betrayal, and his ruination of the Philistine’s. I was thinking about it as my son and I received haircuts this week.
What follows is a perfect reminder to me that there is always more to the story than we remember and why we should continue to engage in Bible study.
I had read the story of Samson and Delilah some time ago, probably for a Sunday School lesson. Probably under the pressure of time, I only read the appointed verses which were likely Judges 15:14-16:30. One more verse would have detailed that Samson was one of the judges of Israel. Wow do I feel stupid. I feel like I should have known that. (Maybe I did but forgot it because it wasn’t pertinent to the lesson of the story for that Sunday School day?) It puts a different spin on the story for me now.
More importantly, I set about reading the chapter or so BEFORE the Samson and Delilah story. (Start at Judges 13) Here is where details of Samson’s life purpose are revealed to us. He was born of a promise by the Lord to a barren woman and her husband, to be used for God’s purpose.
Samson was to be a Nazirite to God, a person who took a vow to be set apart for God’s service. You could take a temporary vow to be a Nazarite, but Samson’s parents had made the vow for him for a lifetime of service as commanded by the angel who brought the promise of his birth.
Samson’s life and his trials mirrored the experience of the Israelites; when he was faithful he thrived, when he ignored God trouble seemed to find him.
During his life, Samson was betrayed by his wife and her people, then by her father and his friend, then later by his lover Delilah. He ultimately would be humiliated by being paraded around by the Philistines as a trophy and prize.
Samson was incredibly strong; his strength a gift from God. Throughout his life he often played tricks on those who sought to learn the secret of his strength (not cutting his hair). He sinned by marrying a pagan (and an enemy), by his sexual liaisons with women, by his revenge, by his boastfulness regarding his strength, by allowing his lust to overrule his calling, and by giving in to the persuasion of others instead of doing what was right and safeguarding the gift given to him by God. It seems amazing that he was appointed a judge of Israel, but apparently his strength and the times he was faithful to God were enough for the people of Israel.
For all his trials, I can imagine Samson would have asked, “Why me, God?”
But God had a plan for Samson. Even though Samson continued to choose unwisely and stray from God, God was able to move Samson through his trials to bring him to the place where he remembered God and fulfilled God’s calling for him. By his destruction of the temple to the god Dagon, Samson began the fulfillment of the promise that God would deliver His people from the Philistines.
While we may suffer through trials and ask, “Why me, God?” we can look to our own lives for the ways we have chosen to stray from the path He has set for us and that make our life difficult. We can learn from this that though we make mistakes and choose to walk away from God, he does not abandon us. He will be with us to the end.
We may not understand his purpose for us, but the story of Samson helps us to see that God is with us helping us to fulfill the calling He has given us, if we let him.
Have you ever been through rough times in your life where you’ve said, “Why me, God?” In retrospect can you see that God may have had a plan for you? Or maybe that plan is not yet clear to you and you still struggle with that question? Do you believe that God has a plan for you?
No comments:
Post a Comment