A further look at Samson:

Part II… A love letter

Wait… I sense that you’re unsure about what you’ve heard. It seems that the thing that gives me joy… is.. causing you some uncertainty. Listen, I know that there are not many voices out here that are saying what I’m saying. But, listen with your heart, not with your head. No! no! I’m not asking you to act on feelings, but rather to receive the Good News. Beloved, God’s heart is always full of love for you. His intentions toward you are always good. Let’s take a look back at some of the significant events surrounding the life of Samson. Let’s do something else as well. Let’s filter these events through the revelation of the New Covenant or Agreement that we have in Christ. In essence, let’s look at this story through ‘Christ filtered glasses’. Look at Judges 13:3-5… 

"The angel of the LORD appeared to Manoah's wife and said, "Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son.

4 You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink or eat any forbidden food.

5 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will rescue Israel from the Philistines."

This is the covenant God offered concerning Samson. And just as Samson was not yet born when the agreement was made, We were not yet born when Jesus went to the cross. In essence, Jesus took the responsibility for bringing us into relationship with God upon himself. Samson’s mother had the responsibility of not drinking any strong drink or eating any unclean thing. In the same way Jesus became accursed for us so that we might be redeemed. Galatians 3:13-14 says…

13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

14 Through the work of Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, and we Christians receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

Now, look at Judges 14: 8-9

8 Later, when he returned to Timnah for the wedding, he turned off the path to look at the carcass of the lion. And he found that a swarm of bees had made some honey in the carcass.

9 He scooped some of the honey into his hands and ate it along the way. He also gave some to his father and mother, and they ate it. But he didn't tell them he had taken the honey from the carcass of the lion.

Samson has just broken one of the terms of the Covenant. He has eaten honey taken from the dead unclean carcass of a lion. Then, as if that weren’t bad enough, He gave some to his parents. But, The covenant remains in tact. Does Samson take any action to get back in God’s good graces? No, he continues on, as though it were no big deal. Beloved, I’m not condoning sin, not by any means, but I am saying that sin, whether willful or not, does not nullify or cancel our new agreement with God, in Christ. That’s Good news. There are many other examples of Samson’s disobedience concerning his covenant with God. He used the jawbone of a dead animal to slay an army of his enemies. He cavorted with strange women from a pagan culture yet; none of these things separated him from his great strength. Beloved, Listen to Paul’s words of encouragement to the Church at Rome…

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death?

36 (Even the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.")

37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away.

39 Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Beloved, this is the assurance we have in Christ. Oh Bless His Name.

Ok, so what about this haircut thing, why did God put this ‘escape clause’ in? Beloved, this is the hard part. Listen, this Covenant was made before Christ. Subsequently, it was flawed in the same way that the Law was flawed. It typified the ‘Old Covenant’. And the problem with the Old Covenant was that it was weak through the flesh. Look at Romans 8:3-4…

3 The law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

4 He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

Listen Beloved; righteousness was never intended to come by the law. The law was given to show us our need for a Savior. In the same way, this provision of Samson’s agreement with God doomed Samson. Sovereign God, in his foreknowledge of all that will ever be, uses Samson’s haircut to show us the insufficiency of the Old Covenant or the ‘Law’ and the superiority of the New Covenant and the sufficiency of Christ’s shed blood. Hallelujah!! 

I must close now, let me close with this thought. God is faithful. He demonstrated is faithfulness to Samson right to the very end. In the same way, he will demonstrate his faithfulness to us till the very end…2Timothy 1:12 says..

…I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return…

Also Beloved, God is love. His love for us cannot be separated from his faithfulness to us. In love, He would cause his Spirit to come upon Samson. For a moment reflect upon how secure Samson must have felt during those times, how loved, how favoured he must have felt. And now, God, who is love, indwells us with love (His Spirit). Paul prays in Ephesians 3:18-19 that …

18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.

19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Look at how that love will carry you over to Ephesians 6:13 where you will be able to ‘Stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand, Stand!…

Peace and Love in Christ,

Bro. Wayne O. Bigham