Judges 16:15-31

Summary요약 When a Nazirite broke his vow, he shaved his head completely. The days he had already kept no longer counted, and he began his vow again. So the shaving of Samson’s hair ended his Nazirite vow. It was also the moment the Spirit of the Lord, who had been with him, departed. What is striking is this. Samson had been breaking many of the Nazirite rules, yet his hair was the one thing he would not let be shaved. It seems he thought that by this he was still keeping his vow. But under Delilah’s pressing, Samson finally tells her about his hair. With his strength gone, he is seized by the Philistines. His eyes are gouged out, and he is set to grinding at the mill in prison. Yet, ironically, having his head shaved by Delilah becomes the very thing that opens the way for Samson to live a new life as a Nazirite. His hair grows again. Samson prays to God and pulls down the pillars, and he meets his end together with the Philistines who were there. Meditation Points묵상 포인트 The most important part of this passage is the phrase, “But he did not know that the Lord had left him.” In other words, the most fearful thing for a Christian is not losing some ability or influence. It is failing to notice that God has left. How can we know that God is walking with us in our lives? And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. Judges 16:20 Through what the Philistines did to him, Samson lost the eyes that had looked only at what he wanted. The man who had gone in to women as he pleased became a prisoner locked away. Samson took God’s calling lightly. In this he is a clear picture of Israel, a people who did what was right in their own eyes. How are we answering God’s calling today? It is true that Samson’s last prayer is still centered on himself. Even so, God answered that prayer. As a result, Samson killed more Philistines at his death than he had killed during his life. His life came to an end by bringing judgment on the very day the Philistines offered sacrifice to Dagon, their god. Clearly, if we live carelessly like Samson, in ways that hide the glory of God, we cannot be used for the kingdom of God. But we do not have to be perfect for God to use us. We are weak. Yet we can live for the kingdom of God today, because the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth, the true Nazirite wholly set apart to God, have been imputed to us. May all of us choose, today as every day, the life of following Jesus Christ. Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” Judges 16:28 Support the show (https://www.buzzsprout.com/2601934/su...)