This Bible study begins with curiosity. There was an unnamed woman who could not have children. However, the angel of the Lord came to her saying that God will make it possible to remove the disgrace from her. It would seem that she was the center of attention in this scripture passage. Instead, her husband whose name was Manoah was the one who communed with the angel of God for how they should raise their coming child. His question to the angel was quite notable and the saying that every parent should ask God. It turned out that the child was named Samson, and he was to be a Nazirite from birth which means he was not to consume wine or strong drink, eat unclean things, or cut his hair.
Again, it would seem that we would likely make another assumption. As we read the story, apparently it unfolds that Sampson was physically strong but morally weak. Because of his physique he was able single-handedly to do battle with the enemies who were Philistines. His spiritual prowess was limited, though. He thought himself to be a ladies’ man and even went to his father asking his help that he might marry a Philistine woman. Later Sampson went to Gaza (yes to Gaza that we know in the news today ) and wanted to have a prostitute. Nowhere in the story of these chapters do we see Sampson being devout. Yes, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, but that was for God’s purpose and not because he walked close to the Lord.
Afterwards, Samson wanted Delilah. She became his ruin since her people bribed her for 1100 pieces of silver to find the reason that he had so much strength. Eventually he told her about his uncut hair. By losing his hair he also lost his strength. His enemies blinded him. He was kept in prison until a Philistine holiday during which time they brought him to their temple to make fun of him. It was only then that Sampson sought God. (Judges 16:28) he pulled the two main pillars that upheld the building’s roof causing it to completely collapse killing 3000 men and women which was more than he killed in his entire life.
The lessons we could learn from Samson began with the necessity to have a close walk with God. This means we must avoid evil at all costs. We cannot compromise ourselves for what we want that is usually based on lust of something or someone. It is unwise to wait until the end of our lives to seek God. Whatever grand efforts we may make for God they cannot replace a lifetime of service to him. A lengthy time(Sampson served 20 years) to be what appears to be in some type of ministry cannot overcome the antics done by a compromising someone like him. All it can be said later of his reputation is that he was laid to rest in his father’s burying place. The obvious question at the end is for us to ask ourselves, “What legacy will we leave behind after we are gone?” What will people say about us after we breathe our last breath? How do we want people to remember who we were? How much good have we done that outweighs the bad?
Christian Writer 