By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. 32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,”
we conclude the series on Samson our focus isn’t on him, but on God who keeps His promise. There is a price that God pays for our redemption. It cost our sovereign, wonderful, Lord God suffering and death in the God-man Jesus Christ. Samson began to reach out to the Lord and the Lord, unreservedly, accepted him and answered his prayer.
not forget the parable of the prodigal son. The one who like Samson went to sow his wild oats with the inheritance from his father. That is the cost of love, to receive his son who did not deserve it. Forgiveness never comes cheap. It is not easy. God desires to use you and me again when we fail and fall. We don’t earn our way back; we receive His grace as a gift. We can look back with New Testament eyes on the price of the cross, whereas the Old Testament believers looked forward to the promise yet unfulfilled. They didn’t know exactly how God was going to carry out His plan, but the people of faith believed.
The reason Samson is such a controversial character is because, even though he was clearly called by God, his life of service was marked with embarrassing failures of character. He was called to a life of separation and devotion unto God, and was set apart by God to be the deliverer of his people and yet, he clearly did not remain separated from the sinful things of this world.
Nevertheless, he is included in this list by the writer of Hebrews, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as a great example to us of faith. We should never imitate Samson’s life-style, but his story should give the rest of us—who often fall short of faithfulness—the encouragement that God can still use us if we will trust Him and believe His promises.
God refused to give up on Samson as the father refused to stop loving the prodigal. So when we fail, by faith we can trust God’s promise. God gave a promise to Samson even before birth. Now he called on God to fulfill that promise even in his death to become the death of so many.
Some of my greatest memories is leading some people to reach out to God for salvation is on their death beds. Don’t gamble with eternity like that. Even in our last hour God knows our hearts. Does He see faith? Apparently, He saw it in Samson’s request who believed in God as the deliverer.
Application: As a believer, you are set apart by God.
Prayer: Lord, may I learn from Your Word and avoid those pitfalls that pull me off the path You have designed for me.
