Title: Samson's Victory (Judges 16:28-31)
Contents
Samson's victory (Judges 16:28-31)
Among the many judges appearing in the Book of Judges, the story of Samson is the most common. From Judges 13: to 16: there are four chapters or a long story about Samson. And another characteristic is that it is usually recorded as “O.O. ruled Israel as a judge for O years” when the judges’ actions were finished. .
The meaning is that if the front part shows the greatness of Samson, the back part exposes the scene where Samson under the heavens, who had been riding on an upward curve, fell horribly at 'Delilah's Knee' as it is.
From the time Samson was conceived in his mother's womb, there was special intervention from God. And even the child to be born had to be raised separately by the parents. He was a Nazarite dedicated to God from an early age. He was called by God to live a life separate from the rest of the world. And it was only through the power of the divine power of the Lord that he cried out and prayed to the Lord God, the secret of his victory and his only weapon.
Samson became the strongest man in the world by God's blessing, but as he entered his youth, he could not live as a Nazarite as God had instructed him to do. He continued to make mistakes and even forsaken God’s will, living according to his feelings and emotions. In particular, he was too weak for women. Samson fell deeply into the lust of the eyes and lost his discernment and judgment.
However, in Judges 14: Samson unexpectedly met a lion in a vineyard on the way down to Timnah to marry a Philistine woman (common sense is that the lion is on the mountain and is active at night). Nevertheless, the lion was roaring loudly in the vineyard in broad daylight.
Why did God send a messenger to Samson? Why? It was because God had sent an angel to block his way now. Samson should have understood that very deeply. But Samson was always a man who took action more than he thought. Samson's failure resulted from his thoughtless behavior.
Samson went down to Timnah again and found honey in the body of the lion he had killed, and ran to the body of the dead lion, took the honey and ate it. He breaks the rules of the Nazarite by eating the honey that is sweet in his mouth. From then on, Samson continued to pursue earthly and fleshly sweets rather than seeking spiritual sweets in God as a Nazarite. He continues to struggle to satisfy his physical needs. We are moving further and further away from God, and we continue to pursue the sweets of sensual lust. Then, later, he falls into a trap set by Satan.
Judge Samson stopped being vigilant, but later the holy power departed from him, and the power of lust took hold of him, and his end was so miserable. Samson fell deeply into the lust of the eyes. Eventually, he continued to sin with his eyes, and later his eyes were plucked out by the Philistines. God had judged him through the Philistines. Only then did he repent and shed tears of contrition, but it was already too late.
Of course, Samson's heart was troubled to the point of death (verse 16). Why was he in agony and on the verge of death? What do you struggle with and worry about? Why can't you sleep and wrestle?
God had placed a remorse in his heart. But in the end, he did not listen to the voice of his conscience, the voice of God. Samson eventually lost his head, and God left, and Samson's strength disappeared. And his eyes were pulled out, and he became like an ox at a millstone in prison. It met a tragic end.
But fortunately, Samson's shaved hair began to grow again (verse 22). Samson, with his head shaved and his eyes pulled out, while in prison, while grinding a millstone, cried out to God, repented and restored his prayers again.
In the New Testament, God's evaluation of Samson the Judge puts him in the ranks of the heroes of the faith through the writer of Hebrews (Hebrews 11:32).
God had mercy on the man who was milling the mill, shedding tears of blood and beating his heart, and repenting before God, and He healed and restored him again, leaving him a great work as a judge and ending his life.
Is there anyone among us who has never sinned? Has anyone ever fallen? We are all former criminals, and the probability of repeating the offense is too high. People who live with the possibility of going wrong all the time. And there may be some of us who are deeply in sin right now.
Then, repent thoroughly before God. Let us repent while weeping in front of the cross. Then God will regrow the shaved head, restore our holiness, and heal our wounds. He will return all of our lives to normal.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9) - This is God's promise.
While we are living in this harsh world now, we must become holy disciples so that we can take the lead in changing this world into the kingdom of God with a strong spiritual power like Samson. In order to do that, you have to be resolute in temptation. If you fall into temptation, you lose everything and become truly miserable.
However, if we accidentally fall into temptation, we must not be discouraged on the spot where we fell, but repent thoroughly like Samson, be healed again, and be used before God by restoring our strength.
And in order not to fall into the same temptation again, if we pray before the Lord every day, meditate on the word of the Lord day and night, put our minds more on God’s work, and try to devote ourselves to exalting God’s name and glory, we are near the devil. Even if you come, you won't be able to break us.