Run, Samson, Run Series

We are now in chapter 16 of the Book of Judges.

We have been studying the life of Samson.

Last week, we looked at the highlights of Samson's life - the three W's - Samson's Wedding, Samson's Wager and Samson's Wrath.

We have learned first of all that Samson insisted in marrying the woman in Timnah that he met for the first time in that Philistine town.

In spite of the disapproval of his parents, he persisted and the marriage arrangement took part.

There was a great feast attended by about thirty Philistine men who was supposed to help in reuniting the two families.

But because there was wine involved, Samson probably got drunk and decided to give a riddle.

“Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.”

The Riddle was actually about his encounter with the lion that he killed with his bare hands and after some time, a bee hive and fresh honey was found in it.

The riddle was just part of having fun, but Samson put a wager in that riddle.

Thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes was the prize for the winner.

The Philistines had no idea what Samson was talking about.

Finally, they pressured Samson's fiancée to coax her husband into explaining the riddle to them.

Otherwise, they warned to burn her father's household to death if she refused.

And so, the woman threw herself on Samson and started sobbing morning, noon and evening for several days just to get the answer to the riddle.

Then, on the seventh day, Samson finally told her the answer out of trust.

But the woman was already sold to betraying Samson and gave the answer to the Philistine men.

“What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?”

With this, Samson grew so angry, went to Ashkelon and struck down thirty of their men.

He then stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who have explained the riddle.

He left the wedding and the girl was given to one of his companions who had attended him at his feast.

It was a story of the kind of man Samson was - so strong physically but has no inward discernment.

He did not know whom to trust and it seems that every action that he made pulled him deeper into trouble and self-destruction.

God has gifted him with supernatural strength but he was not able to use such spiritual resources for the good of his people, hence, he had to loose them at the end.

In the same manner, if you will use your God-given gifts and abilities for His glory, you will succeed in whatever you do.

But in the case of Samson, he has those abilities and supernatural strength but sad to say, he lost everything and became a humiliation to his nation.

You see, God has called us to be a blessing to others and to use our God-given abilities for His glory.

But many times, we are not able to fulfill God's purposes in our lives and consequently hurt ourselves and others in the process

The apostle Peter put it this way:

1 Peter 4:14-15 (NIV) “14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.”

At the end of his life, Samson was humiliated because of the consequences of his sins.

He was not able to serve God faithfully.

He was not able to uphold the laws and the commands of God among his people.

He indulged in his own sin and lost his physical strength to his own destruction.

The Apostle Peter informed us that if people will insult us because of our faith in God, then, we are blessed and God's spirit rests on us.

But if we suffer because of our wrongdoing as a murderer or a thief or any other criminal, then we truly deserve such penalty.

Serving the Lord and fulfilling our purpose therefore is more important than anything else in this world.

And Christians who suffer because of the name of Christ will be blessed by God Himself.

Let us now continue our study in the highlights of the life of Samson.

We can learn from his failures and mistakes so that we can avoid them.

We will look at the three L's - his LUST, at his LIES, and his LOSS.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE LATTER PART OF SAMSON'S LIFE.

1. SAMSON’S LUST (Judges 16:1-5)

Verse 1 says, "One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her."