Godacts out of love and jealousy.
A lotof people know the story of Samson, at least from my generation!There were two movies made about him, that showcased his strength andtold of how he was betrayed by the two wives he had, one telling thePhilistines the answer to a riddle he posed, the other who wasresponsible for cutting his hair which gave him his strength.
Butthe story, like many that are in the Bible, is more than just thetelling of it, because like other Bible stories it bears the truth inconsistency with other passages of the Bible.
Thestory of Samson starts in JUDGES 12: 3-5 which says, “And the angelof the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, 'Behold, you arebarren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear ason. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eatnothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son... andhe shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.' ”(Note the advice given about not drinking strong wine. Doctors onlyrecently started giving this advice, that people who know their Biblehave known for thousands of years!)
Thereis one passage in the bible which come to mind, regarding the abovepassage. One is DEUTERONOMY 28:7 which says ““The LORD willcause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you”if, as it says in DEUTERONOMY 28:1, you faithfully obey the voice ofthe Lord. Why did God consider the Philistines to be the enemy?Because they answered to other gods, and as God had told Moses, He isa jealous God. And Jesus, later on, who told of the Word of God thatthe people may be saved, conveyed the same attitude towardnon-believers in God when, as it says in MATTHEW 11:20, “...hebegan to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had beendone, because they did not repent.”
AsGod as destroyed our enemies through those that had His Blessings, soit fell on the shoulders of Samson to begin the task that woulddestroy the Philistines. JUDGES 13:24-25 says, “And the womanbore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, andthe LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to stirhim...”
Andso, when Samson grew up, he did a wise thing by marrying a woman ofthe Philistines instead of the Hebrews, for it always helps to knowwho your enemies are and to gain entry to them if you are to defeatthem, n'est ce pas?
Butit wasn't easy for Samson, for because of his wife Delilah betrayinghim his hair was cut off and his eyes were gouged out, and his lastact on earth before he died was to destroy the temple the Philistinesused to worship other gods. As it says in JUDGES 16:27-30, “Now thehouse was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistineswere there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, wholooked on while Samson entertained. Then Samson called to the LORDand said, 'O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen meonly this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines formy two eyes.' And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which thehouse rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right handon the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, 'Let medie with the Philistines.' Then he bowed with all his strength, andthe house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it.So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom hehad killed during his life.”
Wasthat the end of Samson? The Bible tells us that those who live by theWord of God will not die in the flesh but instead will live foreverin God's Kingdom. Jesus has told us that all our treasures are storedup in Heaven so there is no need to store up those things on earthwhich we will never use. JEREMIAH 29:11 says, “For I know the plansI have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not forevil, to give you a future and a hope.” And this applies to anyonewho loves Him, that despite the trials and tribulations andsufferings we may go through, if we remain steadfast in our faith inHim our future will look better than what we may be going throughnow.
DidJesus not ascend to Heaven? I tell you that Heaven is filled withpeople who remained steadfast in their faith in God and have alsoascended to Him when their flesh failed them. And as Samson livedwith God's Blessings, it is almost a certainty, since we do not fullyknow God, that he is up there too.
A lotof people know the story of Samson, at least from my generation!There were two movies made about him, that showcased his strength andtold of how he was betrayed by the two wives he had, one telling thePhilistines the answer to a riddle he posed, the other who wasresponsible for cutting his hair which gave him his strength.
Butthe story, like many that are in the Bible, is more than just thetelling of it, because like other Bible stories it bears the truth inconsistency with other passages of the Bible.
Thestory of Samson starts in JUDGES 12: 3-5 which says, “And the angelof the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, 'Behold, you arebarren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear ason. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eatnothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son... andhe shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.' ”(Note the advice given about not drinking strong wine. Doctors onlyrecently started giving this advice, that people who know their Biblehave known for thousands of years!)
Thereis one passage in the bible which come to mind, regarding the abovepassage. One is DEUTERONOMY 28:7 which says ““The LORD willcause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you”if, as it says in DEUTERONOMY 28:1, you faithfully obey the voice ofthe Lord. Why did God consider the Philistines to be the enemy?Because they answered to other gods, and as God had told Moses, He isa jealous God. And Jesus, later on, who told of the Word of God thatthe people may be saved, conveyed the same attitude towardnon-believers in God when, as it says in MATTHEW 11:20, “...hebegan to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had beendone, because they did not repent.”
AsGod as destroyed our enemies through those that had His Blessings, soit fell on the shoulders of Samson to begin the task that woulddestroy the Philistines. JUDGES 13:24-25 says, “And the womanbore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, andthe LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to stirhim...”
Andso, when Samson grew up, he did a wise thing by marrying a woman ofthe Philistines instead of the Hebrews, for it always helps to knowwho your enemies are and to gain entry to them if you are to defeatthem, n'est ce pas?
Butit wasn't easy for Samson, for because of his wife Delilah betrayinghim his hair was cut off and his eyes were gouged out, and his lastact on earth before he died was to destroy the temple the Philistinesused to worship other gods. As it says in JUDGES 16:27-30, “Now thehouse was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistineswere there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, wholooked on while Samson entertained. Then Samson called to the LORDand said, 'O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen meonly this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines formy two eyes.' And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which thehouse rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right handon the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, 'Let medie with the Philistines.' Then he bowed with all his strength, andthe house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it.So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom hehad killed during his life.”
Wasthat the end of Samson? The Bible tells us that those who live by theWord of God will not die in the flesh but instead will live foreverin God's Kingdom. Jesus has told us that all our treasures are storedup in Heaven so there is no need to store up those things on earthwhich we will never use. JEREMIAH 29:11 says, “For I know the plansI have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not forevil, to give you a future and a hope.” And this applies to anyonewho loves Him, that despite the trials and tribulations andsufferings we may go through, if we remain steadfast in our faith inHim our future will look better than what we may be going throughnow.
DidJesus not ascend to Heaven? I tell you that Heaven is filled withpeople who remained steadfast in their faith in God and have alsoascended to Him when their flesh failed them. And as Samson livedwith God's Blessings, it is almost a certainty, since we do not fullyknow God, that he is up there too.
