AP

Judges 13: 5  You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.

How gracious our God is!  Not only did he answer the desperate prayers of Manoah and his infertile wife by promising them a ‘miracle baby’, but he shielded them, during the early years of experiencing the joys of parenthood, from the heartache they would later endure as they witnessed the sovereign outworking of the LORD’s eternal Plan of Salvation in the life of this enigmatic problem child!

As we know, Samson turned out to be every parent’s nightmare … and yet his name appears in the honour roll of Heroes of Faith in Hebrews 11!

This present chapter began with the words: “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years”, reminding us yet again of two fundamental, immutable truths integral to the narrative of the whole Bible: firstly, that God, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, remains in total control of everything his Sovereign hands have made: and secondly, we, who will always be subject to his rule, continually resist his will. ‘do evil in his eyes’, and therefore the LORD will do whatever is necessary to bring us to our senses (both personally and nationally – as he did for Israel, again and again) so that we might turn to him and cry out to him in repentance-and-faith.

As we reflect on Samson’s story, and as we have opportunity to play a part in the development of young lives, let us trust God’s graciousness and sovereign power; let us not be too quick to doubt what he can do with and through both us and the young, head-strong ‘Samsons’ entrusted to our care.

“Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee.  Take my moments and my days; let them flow in endless praise. … … Take my will and make it thine; it shall be no longer mine.  Take my heart it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne.  Take my love; my Lord, I pour at thy feet its treasure store. Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for thee.” (Frances Ridley Havergal).  Lord, if you can do this with Samson, you can do it with me, and all the little ‘Samsons’ I am called on to influence for your sake, and whom you, in your amazing grace, might use to “take the lead in delivering ‘Israel’ from the hands of the ‘Philistines’”.

– Bruce Christian