Philistines might have gouged out Samson’s eyes, but they were unable to take away the knowledge he had acquired about God.
Samson understood deep down in his heart that God’s mercy overrules and prevails over human failures. Even if we may stumble 1,000 times as a result of our mistakes, yet God always shows mercy. Although it does not give us permission to sin, this understanding helps us get to know God better.
The enemy may have stolen Samson’s blessing (Samson’s strength), but it was unable to take away the acquired knowledge about God. In Samson’s life, the Spirit of the Lord directed and controlled him. The Spirit of the Lord left him when his hair was cut, but his acquired knowledge about God did not.
The Spirit of the Lord operates in two ways
1) Display’s God’s power to the outside world
2) Rubs the knowledge about God through revelation in the inside world.
Both of these things occur simultaneously. When God begins to use you, there is a demonstration of God’s power on one side and a revelation of God’s nature on the other.
Only when we grow in both ways, we will be protected from the fall.
God used Samson to display God’s power, but there was no growth in the knowledge about God. This led of to the fall of Samson.
The knowledge about God protects from the fall. Samson would not have revealed his secret to Delilah when she asked about it if he had the knowledge about God.
The Knowledge about God is a safe place for the functioning of God’s power. When there is an imbalance, then it’s the sign of the fall.
The Spirit of the Lord used to come mightily and take control of Samson only in time of need. If there was desire in Samson to grow in the knowledge about God, the Spirit of the Lord would have found a permanent habitation.
When the Spirit of the Lord came on Samson, it would stay with him for a few days. Immediately after the battle/war the Spirit did not leave him. The Spirit of the Lord used to depart from him after a period of days. In times of need, the Spirit of the Lord came back. Samson used to be aware of the Spirit of the Lord departure. It was never mentioned in the story of the Gaza prostitute and Delilah when the Spirit of the Lord came, but once the hair was cut, the Spirit of the Lord left.
The Spirit of the Lord came on Samson in Judges 15:15 and departed from him in Judges 16:21. The Spirit of the Lord comes to stay. The Spirit of the Lord stayed in Samson’s life in this period of around 20 years. During this time, the Spirit of the Lord stayed on Samson’s life even during the Gaza prostitute and Delilah’s experience. Even in the dark places, the Spirit of the Lord remained with Samson. The Spirit of the Lord left when Samson disobeyed God’s commandment (Judges 16:17). The Spirit of the Lord left without Samson’s knowledge. The Spirit of the Lord departs when we disobey God’s command.
In your anger, don’t do things that are against God’s command.
The Spirit of the Lord endures our wicked way of life while patiently waiting for us to turn back to God. The Spirit of the Lord, however, abruptly leaves when we disobey God’s commands.
Do examine your lives, when was the last time the Spirit of the Lord came on you and when it departed from you.
Today the Spirit of the Lord comes on a habitation basis not a visitation basis.
The days of visitation of the Spirit of the Lord are over and we are entering the days of habitation.
