Judges 12-16

Manoah was from the tribe of Dan. He lived in Zorah, and his wife had not been able to give birth, so they had no children. Suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife and told her that she would in fact give birth to a son. But this was to be no ordinary son. He was to be a Nazirite from birth.

Now the Nazirite vow was introduced to us back in chapter six of the book of Numbers. The Nazirite vow was made by a man or woman to dedicate themselves to the Lord. It was a time of separating oneself unto the Lord. The Nazirite abstained from the fruit of the vine: not only alcohol, but also vinegar, grape juice, grapes, and raisins. The Nazirite did not cut his hair during the time of his vow, and he was not to be defiled by touching a corpse.

The vow of the Nazirite continued through the era of the early church. In Acts 18, we read of Paul the apostle, Acts 18:18 ...In Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow.
Then in chapter 21 of Acts, we read about four more men who had taken the Nazirite vow. But Samson was to be a Nazirite from conception. His mother was to abstain from alcohol, lest he break the vow before birth. God had set this person apart from the womb for a special mission. It reminds me of the words spoken to the prophet Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."
Like Jeremiah, Samson's mission was already planned before he was even born. He was going to begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines.

As Samson grows up, the Lord blesses him. But with God's blessings comes the neccessity of deeper commitment to God. Think about it: very often when God blesses us, we allow it to become a stumbling block. We allow the nice weather He brings to keep us out of church. We allow the strength and abilities He gives us to become vanity. Agur wrote in Proverbs 30 of the danger of financial blessings. Prov. 30:8-9 ...Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, Lest I be full and deny {Thee} and say, "Who is the LORD?"...
With God's blessings comes a reminder to draw close to Him, not pull away from Him. Based on what we will read, I believe that Samson turned the Lord's blessings into occassions for stumbling.

Samson's life seems to be an occasion for pondering the mystery of God's plan. Samson is in sin: lust, coveting, and desiring to be unequally yoked. Yet the Scripture says, Judg. 14:4 "...it was of the LORD, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines..." God is going to use Samson's sins - his lust and rage - to begin the deliverance of the Israelites from the Philistines. Most of his attacks against the Philistines stem from a woman being in the center of the situation, and Samson getting angry. It never ceases to amaze me that God uses everything. Everything. The most terrible tragedy, the most hateful and vindictive leader, the most sinful person. Col. 1:16 For by Him all things were created, {both} in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities ‹all things have been created by Him and for Him. The awful affliction that Joseph endured - sold into slavery by his own brothers, falsely accused of sexual attack by his owner's wife, abandoned in prison for years - these things were all working together for good - not only for Joseph's good, but for his entire country. Later in life, when Joseph confronted his brothers, he said, Gen. 50:20 "And as for you, you meant evil against me, {but} God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. God takes evil and turns it into good. "God's will is fulfilled in many ways, and by alternatives. When sin refues to be put under then it can be utilised; and the end more completely served, albeit not to the immediate happiness or advantage of the guilty agent." (A.F. Muir) That is why we can confidently say, Rom. 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to {His} purpose. Samson will spend much of his life following his sensual desire, yet God is going to use it for Israel's deliverance from the Philistines.

Samson had finally compromised too much. The final symbol of his sanctification unto God was gone - the Philistines had shaved his head. I think that verse 20 is among the most sorrowful passages of Scripture: Judg. 16:20 ...And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.
The Lord had left him. The Spirit of God was not there to supernaturally strengthen him. And worst of all, he didn't even know it. Saints, we can harden our hearts with sin so much that we can't feel anymore. We can choke out the conviction and voice of God so often that we can't hear Him anymore. Hebr. 3:12-15 Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is {still} called "Today," lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end; while it is said, TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME." May this never happen to us! May we repent even at this very moment and cry out to the Lord to forgive our sins and soften our hearts. May we plead with Him to restore us to right relationship with Him before we find ourselves in a similar situation.

Just as Samson's hair began to grow back during his days of affliction, his heart was drawn back to the Lord. Without the lust of his eyes for women, without the availability of wine and grapes, without the freedom to defile himself with the dead, Samson again sanctified himself unto the Lord.
There is a point where we can get to, that the Lord will cause grievous affliction to bring us to repentance. As Paul wrote, 1Cor. 5:5 ...deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Jesus taught how much more important our eternal soul was than our flesh. Matt. 18:8-9 "And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into the fiery hell. When Samson refused to pluck out his own eyes in regard to his lust, God allowed the Philistines to do it for him. And Samson's eyes were lost that his soul might be saved.

Once again, Samson was strengthened to destroy the Philistines - about 3,000 of them died with him that day. Samson had judged Israel not in righteousness, but in the beginning of deliverance. His life is a testimony to the fact that God's plans are established, regardless of evil, and that willful sin will destroy us. Samson was buried between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father - in the same place that so many years ago, the Spirit of God had moved in him. - Ron Daniel