A Judge in the Old Testament was a person put into place to be Israel’s leader. The difference between a Judge and a king is that a king could have political negotiations and treaties with other kings. Judges, on the other hand, only led the response when it was necessary to defend Israel against an attacker. Samson was Israel’s last Judge. To be victorious in his position, God endowed Samson with incredible physical strength. But, as we see in the Old Testament book of Judges, Samson did not always maintain strength of character.
He was a Nazirite. The title means that he made a voluntary vow to God that he would wholly, fully, 24/7, serve the Lord. Basically, a Nazirite was called to adhere to and defend the Ten Commandments. But, God took Samson one step further when he was chosen as a Judge in Israel. An interesting aspect of a Nazirite is that they did not cut their hair. According to God’s law, cutting their hair was a sign the vow had ended. Attaching a time length to a Nazirite vow was normal. It seems the apostle Paul was a Nazirite because Acts 18:18 tells us that Paul cut his hair when his vow ended.
Samson, however, had a different story. He was still committed to his Nazirite vow when we meet him in Judges, chapter 16. We know that he married a Philistine woman because her home village is recorded. The Bible tells us that the goal of the Philistine leaders was to subdue Samson..….a goal that he constantly and arrogantly side-stepped. ……that is, until Samson told his wife, Delilah, the secret of his strength. Delilah sold the information to Philistine leaders. Samson’s strength was with him as long as he didn’t cut his hair. Hearing this, the Philistines shaved-off Samson’s hair while he slept.
The result was one of the saddest sentences written in the Bible: He did not know that the Lord had departed from him. When Samson woke to discover he had been bound in ropes (I agree, he must have been a pretty heavy sleeper), he arrogantly told his wife not to worry, he’d just shake it off. He knew he could just break the ropes; but this time they didn’t break….the Lord had departed from him. His self-indulgent, arrogant attitude had occupied him more than his relationship with the Lord. Samson had begun to trust in himself – in his abilities. He knew he could get through any situation. His self-confidence, put Samson in the position of ending his vow and his connection with the Lord. With that broken connection, the Lord accepted Samson’s decision and left him to work things out on his own. Praise God, our Lord comes back if we confess our sin and ask Him to return to be the Lord of our lives. After Samson humbly called out to God, the Lord returned to Samson and renewed his strength.
Just like Samson, we can unknowingly break the connection with our Lord by self confidence and the busyness of our lives. No time to read the Bible. No time to talk with our Lord for awhile…no time to read stories that are God’s messages to us…….…….no time……….……
Seven days without God makes one weak…so read the Bible and pray every day.