In Judges, we encounter a story of a woman who was barren. She is approached by an angel and is told she would have a baby that must live as a Nazarite1. She takes it to her husband who is slow to accept it. Once the angel appears again, they realize that this is from God and obey.
When Samson grows to a man, he marries a Philistine woman, despite his parent’s will, as God wished to use him to begin bringing them down. He raises a riddle during their marriage and she ultimately nags the answer out of him. It’s not lost on him that this was a betrayal. He is furious and gives her to a comrade, then attacks some men for their clothes so that he can make good on his wager.
A while later, he returns to his wife but finds that she has really been with his companion since the wedding events. Angrily, he burns down their fields (creatively, I might add) and, when confronted, kills 1000 men with a nearby jaw bone of a donkey carcass. He then prays and God opens a spring that he may refresh himself after this crazy feat.
Some time after this - roughly 20 years - he falls in love with a Philistine woman, Delilah. She is offered 1100 pieces of silver from each man with whom she conspired: the price for Samson’s weakness. Again, after being nagged tirelessly, he gives her the answer she wanted and confides that he is a Nazarite and that cutting his hair would rob him of his strength. She immediately plans to do just that. He is overpowered by Philistines and his eyes gouged out. From then on, he served them. He was brought out at a feast to mock him and he prayed to God for one last fear of strength. It was granted and he tore down the building they stood in, killing “more than he killed while he was alive.”
The lesson here? God has set us apart for his purpose. We must honor that and treasure it for the gift it is. Samson, while he was destined to be a hard man, did not value his gift. After persistent nagging, he gave it up and this God left him. So, too, will God leave us if we abandon Him, though never too far and always there when we return to him humbled.
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