What do you think of when I say the name Samson?
The strongest man in the world?
A lustful man?
A man with vengeance on his mind and blood on his hands.
Tragedy and poor choices.
So my devotional this morning led me to read Judges 15, about Samson’s actions after he found out that his wife, Delilah had been given to a friend of his.
Samson had married Delilah and right away she tricked him into revealing the answer to a riddle he had given to the Philistines. He should have known better than to marry a Philistine woman whose people hated both Samson and the Israeli people, but Samson followed his flesh right into the marriage bed. When Delilah betrayed his confidence, Samson gave into his flesh again. In anger he left his wife and returned to his father’s house.
But he couldn’t stop thinking about the beautiful wife he had left in the enemy’s camp. So he took a young goat as a peace offering for his wife’s family and traveled to his father-in-law’s house to reunite with his wife. His father-in-law wouldn’t even let him in the house.
“I thought you thoroughly hated Delilah for what she’d done to you, so I gave her as a wife to your friend.”
Samson became furious at this news.
His father-in-law saw the fire in Samson’s eyes and his clenched fists and tried to assuage his anger.
“Isn’t Delilah’s younger sister more attractive? Take her instead” he offered.
But Samson’s desire for his wife was immediately eclipsed by passion for revenge. He left his father-in-law’s house and went hunting in the nearby woods. He caught alive 300 foxes, tied torches to each of their tails and set them loose in the standing grain of his enemies’ crops. All the crops were burned to the ground, and the vineyards and olive groves destroyed along with them.
The Philistines took their revenge next by burning to death both Delilah and her father.
Enraged, Samson killed many Philistines and then fled to a cave in the rock of Elam.
The Philistines then turned to exact revenge on the men of Judah.
“Why are you attacking us? What have we done to you?” the Judeans asked.
“It’s not you we want,” they replied. Just give up Samson, and we’ll leave you alone.”
So 3000 men of Judah went up to the cave where Samson was hiding. “Do you realize what you’ve done to us? The Philistines are after us to make us their prisoners, and it’s your fault!”
“It’s not my fault,” Samson replied. “I was just getting revenge, doing to them what they did to me and mine.”
“We have no choice but to hand you over to the Philistines, Samson. Our lives depend on it.”
“All right, I will allow you to bind me and deliver me to the Philistines, only promise me this, that you won’t kill me yourselves.”
So God’s people bound Samson with brand new ropes and delivered him to the Philistine army. The Philistines took one look at their prize and came running, shouting curses against this man who had killed so many of their numbers.
But God.
Judges 15 tells us that “The Spirit of God came upon Samson in power.”
What? God, would you really empower such a violent, angry, hateful man who followed his flesh instead of following you?
The Spirit came upon Samson and he stretched his arms and broke the ropes binding him. He spied a donkey’s jawbone laying nearby, grabbed it and stuck down a 1000 Philistines. Then exhausted, he threw down the jawbone and collapsed on the ground. He suddenly became overcome with thirst, but there was no water in that desert area.
So this blood covered, violent man cried out to God. “You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
“Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it.”
Samson gulped down the cool water and was revived. The new spring was called En Hakkore, which means caller’s spring.
Who is this God who gives gifts and doesn’t take them back when the recipient goes rogue, like Samson did.
Romans 11:29 “And when God chooses someone and graciously imparts gifts to him, they are never rescinded.”
But God, people abuse the gifts you’ve given them all the time. Leaders taking advantage of their followers. Prophets speaking words they never heard from you. Yet you say you don’t remove their gifts. Instead you stand ready to forgive and to pour out Holy Spirit to empower them.
The Caller’s Spring. The only requirement to gain the life giving water was to call out to God for it. How can you use such evil men to accomplish your purposes, men like Samson who allowed hatred, lust and revenge to motivate him, who shed so much blood,? Yet Samson went on to serve as Israel’s judge for the next 20 years.
God, is there such a thing of too much grace? You give gifts with no strings attached, no guarantee that we will use the gifts unselfishly. The only requisite for the spring of water was that Samson had to ask you for it.
So you empower madmen? Sometimes. But the grace you poured out on Samson reaped a harvest at the end of his life as you once more gifted him with supernatural strength to destroy the enemies of God’s people by pulling down the pillars of the building where he was held captive.
God, you amaze me that you give me gifts and don’t tell me how I have to use them. You don’t snatch them back out of my hand, even when I mess up. “I trust you,” you tell me. “Just seek me first in everything, and you’ll know how to use the gifts I’ve placed in you.”
So I read your word and grieve over this bloody man, Samson, who experienced betrayal and pain all of his life and gave in to anger and lust, allowing them to motivate him. Yet you never gave up on him, even renewing his gifting on the day he died along with his enemies. And you reserved a place for him in the Hall of Faith, noted in Hebrews 11:12.
Here I am, Father God, in possession of your gifts of grace. Help me never to take them for granted, even though they are mine to use as I desire. Help me to be like Jesus, to only do what I see the Father doing, and live to please you.
Romans 8:32: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
