What God Has Done:: Samson

 See What God Has Done: Samson

Judges 13:5 'For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."

The parents of Samson (Mr. and Mrs. Manoah) were without a child. The desire for a child took them to God in prayer and God gave them the word they needed to hear concerning their desire for a child.

"For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son;..."

A word from God is the final say concerning any matter. All they needed to hear to put an end to their need for a child is simply this: "... thou shalt conceive,...". If any man will take the time to spend with God in prayer concerning any issue and hear a word from God, this is the root of success. Drawing a line between what God has done and what man has done is centered on hearing from God. What did God say to you? What did God say to Samson's parents?

"...child shall be a Nazarite..."

It is not enough to hear from God. What is more important is to take the little details from God seriously. In fact, there is no 'little details' from God. Everything Good has said and will say is 'The Big Detail'. God told them that the child will be a Nazarite. A Nazarite was not a priest,  he was not a prophet, God determines what He does when he consecrates himself to God according to the rules. They were special people with special consecration, set aside for God to do special work (Numbers 6:2-21). Samson was to be a Nazarite. He was not to take wine and strong drink. His food was defined, he was not to shave his head but only on special occasions according to some rules. He must stay away from dead bodies of animals or man according to some specifications. Nothing was hidden about what God expects from Samson. His parents knew the rules and even his mother started implementing the rules to herself while she was pregnant for Samson. She stayed away from strong drinks. What we mostly concerned about was that God has spoken. Staying within the boundary of what God has said is the key to success. God will do what only Him can do if and only if all the rules are kept. Did Samson keep the rules when he grew to become a man? Yes he did but along the line, he backslided when he started breaking his consecration. As long as he kept the rules, he had success.

Judges 14:6 "And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand:.."

Samson had supernatural physical strength so long as he kept to the terms of his consecration. A lion attacked him at one time and the Spirit of God came on him and he killed the lion with bare hands. This is what God has done, God killed the lion through the hands of Samson. God gave the word and the Spirit of God was there to perfect the word of God.

"...the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him..."

The display of Samson's supernatural physical strength was by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God would not have done anything if not for the fact that God had earlier spoken and Samson kept to the terms of the word of God. It will be a mistake to assume that it was Samson that killed the lion. God did it. All that Samson did was to align himself with the word of God and the Spirit of God did the rest. If Samson were to be asked how he did it, it will be wrong for him to say that he did it all by himself. The right thing for him to say was that 'God did it'. It will not be an issue if people will publicize that Samson killed a lion because they did not know what God said and when the Spirit of God came on Samson, they did not see any spirit. All they saw was Samson. 

Has God at any time spoken to you? Have you kept to the word of God? Was the Spirit of God with you while you were doing what you claimed to be of God? When you achieved success, what did you tell people about the success? Did you tell them that it was all your effort? The people did not hear what God told you. They did not see the Spirit of God doing it. All they saw was Samson in action. They may say what they feel they want to say but you know the truth. Samson kept succeeding so long that he kept to the word of God.

Judges 14:19 "And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, ..."

The Spirit of God kept coming on Samson whenever God needed his services. This kept happening because there was an earlier word from God and the Spirit of God kept coming so long as he stood by the of the word of God. Along the way, Samson started breaking his consecration and was distracted by many things. Little by little he drifted away. This drifting away introduced the failure factor.

Judges 14:8,9 "And after a time he returned ... and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.

And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion."

The consecration of the Nazarites kept them from carcasses but Samson gave himself a good reason to touch the carcass of the lion. He saw honey and forgot his consecration. He probably told himself that it does not matter because after all, he was hungry and he killed the lion. This drifted him away a little. In spite of the drifting, God kept doing what only Him can do. There is the tendency to assume that it is divine approval of our actions when God keeps doing what only Him can do. God is merciful and slow to anger which can be misunderstood for approval. Samson drifted away to the edge until a woman completely pulled him down.

Judges 16:6 "And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee."

Samson was not to make the secret of his strength public. His love for women was what the devil used to pull him down. This woman crept into his heart and made his mind dull of understanding to remember what to say and not to say. He told her his secret and that was the end.

Judges 16:17 "That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man."

Before he knew it, he was defeated. He mistaken the power of God to be what he could conjure by human effort. When a man cannot judge himself, he will be judged. No man must think that God will do just what he (the man) feels without first remembering to do what God demands from him.

Judges 16:20 "And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him."

It was too late for him to make any corrections. The woman has finished the work. He was disconnected from the help of God. He thought God will help him as usual but it was over.

"... I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him."

Sorry Mr. Samson. You have drifted too far from help. It was game over. It is clear from what Samson said that he gradually drifted off to the point that he thought all along it was by his power and strength that all the impossible feats was done. He thought that it was by his wisdom, strength and effort.

"...I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him."

He would have said something like this:

'God have mercy on me and do again what you have been doing through me. Let your Spirit come afresh on me or give me the wisdom to handle this issue'

This might have helped but instead, he said:  "...I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself...". He did not draw the line between what God was doing and what he (Samson) was doing.

All we are trying to say here is that as long as God has given His word and the Spirit of God is at work, God has the right atmosphere to do wonders. Once any man begins to feel he can do what only God can do, 'The Ship' begins to sink.

God is at work. Be in partnership with Him and you will see the wonders of the God of miracle.

Pray:

My God, there is nothing that is impossible with You. Give me a word concerning my situation and help me to walk in partnership with You. Do in my life and through my life what only You can do. Do wonders in my life and through my life, let others be blessed. This l pray in Jesus name. Amen!