A cautionary tale
Samson is a perplexing character. Born to be a deliverer for the nation of Israel and lives with a life-long Nazarite vow (Judges 13:3-5 – And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”). Yet instead of wanting to marry a fellow Israelite and worshipper of Yahweh, he desires a Philistine woman. And there is more in his life, like the episode from this morning’s sermon resulting in, “But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.”
I worked at the same camp location for five summers (North Greenville College, now University). So many churches return to the same sites year after year. One summer I worked with a fellow staffer, let’s call him George, who I had serious reservations about and honestly wondered how he got hired. The following summer as I worked registration, a group of teens from a returning church came bounding up all excited to see those of us who were back once again on staff. One of the young men asked if George was also back on staff. I told the young man that George wasn’t working that summer. He was dejected and I asked him if and how I could help him. “I just wanted to tell George that I did it; I made the commitment to read my Bible every day for the past year, and it has changed me. I just wanted him to know how that challenge has influenced my life.”
After this group left the area, I looked at an older and wiser staffer and mused that I never would have thought George would have any positive impact like that. That older and wiser staffer simply said something that still rings in my ears today: “God can hit a good lick with a broken stick.”
All of us are flawed and sinful, needing redemption and sanctification. Yet God chooses us as His representatives and ambassadors to the world. Samson, while perplexing to us, is like many Christians today, dabbling and flirting with sin and rebellion. That doesn’t make either Samson or us godly, but in fact poor examples of those God has chosen and redeemed. I learned a long time ago to read Samson as a cautionary tale of what happens when you play with the tiger of sin — eventually grabbing it by the tail only to find that the other end has teeth and wants to devour you. (I Peter 5:6-11) In John 10:10, we are reminded that “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy; but I (Jesus) have come that you might have life, life abundantly.” If we truly trust Jesus, why would we want anything to do with that which seeks our destruction rather than the One who gives life, life that gushes forth for our good?
Pressing on…
Ron Tipton, Senior Pastor
