May 12 – Judges 14, Judges 15 John 7:14-44 Proverbs 11:29-31, Proverbs 12:1-7

Judges 14:5-6

Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. Then the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

Samson and Delilah – a story so well known by so many. Yet Delilah was not really Samson’s downfall – just the climax to a life of rebellion.

He was chosen by God, set apart to deliver his people. Brought up as a Nazarite.

He lived his life by 3 vows. Not to touch anything that came from the grape – and not to touch any death thing. The third we will get to tomorrow.

He breaks these two in this opening section of his story. The vineyard may have been a shortcut, but he was not meant to be there – tat’s why he didn’t tell his parents. The honey from the lion – he should not have touched. He plays fast and loose with his vows.

Also – the source of Samson’s strength was not his hair. It’s a common misconception, that we will return to tomorrow but the real source of his strength is mentioned here – “the Spirit of the Lord came upon him”. That’s why Samson was mighty. Because He was chosen by God – anointed as a warrior. Physically he was given such  gift… yet he’d throw it all away.

But not immediately. When we get to judges 15 it ends with this phrase: “And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.”

20 years of getting it right. 20 years of leadership. But the flaws in his life that he’d not dealt with would soon bring him down.

We would do well to learn from that. Deal with your flaws – they may not be a problem today, a lot of time may even pass – but they need to be dealt with or they can bring you down.

Prov 12:1

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but he who hates reproof is stupid.

Can you take it when someone tells you you’ve got it wrong? Or does the flesh rise within you and you either get angry or upset?

If we want to improve – we need to learn how to take correction. To be the sort of person that gets upset with any correction is… well… don’t get upset by this, I’m just quoting scripture…. it’s stupid.

Don’t be stupid. Be wise.