“Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses” (1 Kings 8:56).
Holy God, Heavenly Father, Keeper of Your people, we enter Your Presence with joy and rejoicing, because You have not dealt with us as we deserve, but You have shown us great mercy, for which we give You thanks; for the precious blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Today we are going to continue with the story of Samson. You may have noticed that there was no promise mentioned in the first part of Samson’s story. Well here it is:
“He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. . . .For He]knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:10, 14).
I would also like to mention briefly, some of the Messianic symbols I noticed in the first part of his story. I am not sure that this was intended, or if I just saw these symbols as such.
“Why do you ask my name seeing it is wonderful. Wonderful is one of the names given to Jesus at the announcement of His birth (Isaiah 9:6).
“if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord.” Jesus became our sin offering (Matthew 27:50, 51).
“it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar!” After He became the Offering for our sins He ascended to the Father on high (Mark 16:19; Luke 24: 50, 51).
As I said earlier, none of this symbolism may have been intended. This is my perception of the scene. However, what is extremely noteworthy to me, is the fact that, God the Son, would descend to announce the birth of this child! God the Son also descended and announced the birth and the name of another child, Ishmael, the first child, to be named, before his birth (Genesis 16:11).
Samson, chosen by God, from the womb, to be a Nazirite, when he comes of age, departs from the path:
“Now Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. So he went up and told his father and mother, saying,’ “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.” ‘ Then his father and mother said to him,’ “Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” ‘ And Samson said to his father,’ “Get her for me, for she pleases me well” ‘ ” (Judges 14:1-3)!
This was the road that would lead him farther and farther down the path of destruction! Not having learned any lessons in self control, while still on his honeymoon, in a fit of anger, Samson murders thirty men and returns in haste to his parents home. When his anger was abated, he went back to claim his wife, only to find that she had been given in marriage to his best man.
This led to another fit of anger, and the burning of the Philistines’ grain, vineyard, and orchard! The Philistines retaliated against the young woman and her family by burning down their home, causing her death, and the death of her parents. Although she is no longer his wife, Samson revenges her death with a great slaughter, then goes up to Etam, a city of defense in Jerusalem, and dwells in the cleft of a rock. The Philistines go up to arrest him, and his countrymen, instead of trying to help him, binds him, with his permission (15:12, 13), and turns him over to their enemy! On this occasion he killed one thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey.
It is necessary that we take notice of a very important fact. On more than one occasion, when he became infuriated, Scripture records that, “the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him” (14:19, 15:14). He had been born to free Israel from their enemies, the Philistines, and although, this was not the way that God had intended, God was working out His will in this sad, out of control, creature of dust! And God dealt with him in mercy!
We will have one more devotional on Samson!