Push Back (A Look at Samson)
Samson was a miracle baby born to childless parents during a time when Israel was governed by judges. Given a Nazarite vow from birth, which forbade him from cutting his hair, his mother was instructed not to consume wine or eat unclean meats. Manoah and his wife obeyed God and presented Israel with their twelfth judge, who had an unprecedented, miracle working ministry. Unlike the miracles performed by Moses, Elisha, and Elijah, Samson was bestowed with God’s anointing, which granted him supernatural strength and enabled him to perform miraculous feats. Through these unique miracles, his parents were told, “he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5).
Early in his ministry, Samson displayed a disappointing lack of consecration. In Chapter 14, we see him strolling through a vineyard in Timnath, a Philistine city. While there is nothing wrong with a vineyard, the key here is what vineyards produce: grapes, which are the primary source of wine. Samson’s pregnant mother was prohibited from indulging in wine. If strong drink was prohibited for him as a fetus, then it would also be restricted as a servant. While there is no clear evidence that Samson was a winebibber, his behavior clearly indicated that he would walk on the outer edge of his ministry.
While in this vineyard, Samson crossed paths with a lion and miraculously slew it with his bare hands. Days later, Samson discovered that a swarm of bees had nested in the lion’s carcass and produced honey. Samson tasted the sweet honey and even brought some home for his parents to enjoy. This was a bad sign, number two. Honey is fine, but Samson extracted it from an unclean animal—another prohibition given to his mother during her pregnancy. From these actions, as well as his mixed marriage, his use of riddles and his senseless banter with the Philistines, it became evident that Samson never took his ministry seriously. He neither recognized the greatness of his calling nor the importance of his role as a judge. Scores of men and women would line up from here to eternity to receive one ounce of what Samson played with: the miracle working power of God.
By the time we reach Chapter 16, Samson is a young widower who is consorting with a harlot. The anointing did not leave him because it was not based on morality, but on consecration. The irony is that one cannot remain consecrated without possessing morals; therefore, Samson’s downfall was inevitable. The anointing is neither easily obtained, nor forfeited. However, if we fail to maintain our consecration, we will find ourselves depleting.
After a rendezvous with a harlot in Gaza, Samson took the city gates along with its bars. What a waste of the anointing designated to break the yoke of the Philistines from Israel’s neck! In the same chapter, Samson met his match, Delilah, a woman whom he encountered at Sorek. Mind you, Timnath, Gaza, and Sorek were all Philistine cities. (In our contemporary language, Samson was taking his anointing to the clubs.) The Bible says that Samson fell in love with Delilah, and through cunning seduction, she managed to extract the secret of his strength from him.
There are certain aspects of ourselves and our ministries that do not need to be disclosed to anyone. A tree consists of three main parts: roots, trunk, and branches. The trunk and branches are visible to all, but the root is the key to the tree’s life and is hidden from the naked eye. Without the root, everything else would wither and die, yet it remains unseen. Every minister must have a personal history—a secret life rooted in God that no one knows. The extent to which we expose our roots will determine the extent to which we will suffer loss. Samson made a fatal mistake by revealing the secret behind his supernatural strength. After divulging it, Delilah betrayed him, placed him in a barber’s chair, and was laughing all the way to the bank.
Blind, bald, and bewildered Samson became a buffoon for the Philistines during a festival for their god, Dagon. Although they took away his strength, they could not take away his faith. As the crowd mocked, Samson “called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes” (Judges 16:28). Having been placed between two pillars supporting a balcony, Samson, amidst the jeers of approximately three thousand Philistines, firmly grasped the pillars and pushed until the porch collapsed, resulting in multiple deaths.
There may be someone reading this who, like Samson, has squandered your spiritual calling and exchanged it for a life of drugs, sex, rebellion, or lawlessness. Have you been written off by the church? Rejected by relatives and friends? Scorned by your enemies? Been pushed down by repeated failures in your moral life? I say to you, put your hands on the pillars and push back! God forgives and washes away our sins, regardless of their depths. He is always on our side. And there is no failure that His matchless grace cannot overcome. It is a grace that is stronger than any addiction, moral failure, backsliding, abortion, suicidal thoughts, divorce, or time in the county jail. God is waiting to receive you with open arms and unfailing love. Just repent, ask for restoration, and push your way back into His purposes and plans. Again, I say—PUSH!
If this blog has blessed you, please share, subscribe, and browse our resource page. This was taken from “13 Ways to the Glory.” To order your copy today just click the link: https://www.amazon.com/13-ways-glory-toni-pugh-ebook/dp/B09P8V6XHS Available in audio, ebook, paper and hardback. (Illustration by Nia-Nicole Pugh.)
There is a 1979 song written and sung by the late Andre Crouch on his LP “I’ll Be Thinking of You.” The song is titled “Touch Me.” I can imagine Samson singng this song as he placed his hands on the pillars. Do you agree? Click the link and let me know what you think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPmA9vHZP2A
