Part one
I have spoken in the past about the life of Samson, a Judge of the Chosen People of Israel. I may have done a blog and spoken of him on radio, or both, I am not sure. But I must confess that I missed something about his life. I misjudged him. I have to write of him now as I believe is the correct way to remember him.
We read about him in the book of judges during the period of 1154BC to 1124BC according to the information I got.
He was born in Zorah to a family of the Danites to a barren woman in the land of the Philistines. Yehovah visited her and announced to her that she would give birth to a son (See Shophetim/Judges 13:2)
And the Angel of Yehovah appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have born 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 Elohim from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”
Shophetim/Judges 13:3-5
In the above verse we learn that Samson was called to be a Nazir or a Nazirite from before he was conceived in the womb, but the commandment did not include to not come near the dead, because of the type of ministry he had been called.
Let us read now about the Nazirite vow as it is described in the book of Numbers.
“When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to Yehovah, he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to Yehovah, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separates himself to Yehovah he shall not go near a dead body. He shall not make himself unclean even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separation to Elohim is on his head. All the days of his separation he shall be holy to Yehovah.
Bemidbar/Numbers 6:2-8
Samson’s birth was announced as with Yochanan/John the Baptizer and Yehoshua. But in this case was Yehovah Himself who visited the woman.
We know that nothing that happens to us is by accident. Yehovah knew that man is finite, but He in Infinite. He can restore any situation. Samson did not have the Ten Commandments, but the oral law that came down from Adam.
He was called to be holy. To live a life unto Yehovah and avoid sin. He has a very special call indeed. He did well. He grew up and became one of the Judges of Israel for twenty years. Yehovah created him to be the strongest man who ever lived. He fell in his calling as we also do. He gave in to the pressure of his first wife. But that gave him the excuse to begin his ministry. He was a man called to begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines, their enemies. He was called alone, for Yehovah did not give him an army to help him. This is important to remember. One man against a nation.
You can read about all this in the chapters 13 through 16 of Shophetim/Judges.
The part I want to talk about is the last part of his life when he gave in to Delilah nagging. He loved her, but she did not. She had been paid from the Philistines to find out the reason Samson was so strong.
She was bought from the enemy, her own people. She did it for the money, and I suppose to save her own life. This happens all the time in government. The enemy pays big money to big leaders and threatens them if they do not produce what they request. For sure, if they do not produce the information they request, they will be killed. We know this for it is happening before our own eyes.
I will continue on part 2 of this message.
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