Heb 11:32c And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of… Samson,…
The life of Samson is related to us in Judges 13:24-16:31.
Samson was blessed by the Lord with extraordinary strength to deliver the Israelites from the captivity of the Philistines. But with this strength came an attitude of pride and self-sufficiency which led Samson to ignore the desires of God for his life. Samson married a Philistine woman going against the counsel of his father and mother who had discerned that this marriage was against the will of God for His life.
As his life continued, Samson continued to ignore the will of God and slowly allow the temptress Delilah to complete his spiritual downfall. Samson lost his miraculous strength after confessing to his Delilah the source of his strength. As an act of national allegiance, Delilah used this information to take his strength and allow Samson to be enslaved by the Philistines.
In the final, sad scene of his life, the blinded, weakened, enslaved Samson looks to his Lord and asked for one final blessing. The ability to avenge his blindness and enslavement by pulling down the pillars of the prison house resulted in his death as well as the deaths of a host of the Philistines.
We might ask how the life of Samson illustrates a Godly type of faith, after living much of his life in disobedience to the desires of God for his life. The key to understanding the great faith of Samson is found in his final act. Even after living a life of disobedience, he believed in the mercy, forgiveness and faithfulness of his Lord.
He approached the Lord asking for one final blessing to enable him to fulfill the call of God for his life. The Lord graciously forgave him of his prior sin, and mercifully blessed him with a final apportioning of the strength he required to defeat the Philistines. What a display of God’s forgiveness and a display of Samson great faith believing God would forgive and restore his great strength.
Have we failed the Lord in the past? Do we feel that our sin is so great we cannot be forgiven and enter into a blessed state? In these instances, the Lord’s added measure of faith is needed to allow us to believe in, and accept, His forgiveness and to begin again to seek to serve Him with all of our hearts. He will not turn His back on us… He will forgive and He will use those who come to Him humbly, repenting of their sin and seeking to serve Him once again.
May the Lord bless each one of us as we “Think On These Things”.
SIH Homepage: http://www.settledinheaven.org
SIH Text Blog: http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com/all-about-salvation/
SIH Video Blog: http://youtube.com/settledinheaven/
SIH Email: settledinheaven@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment