Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he said to his father and mother, "I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife." Judges 14:1-2 NIV
The marriage of Samson and the Philistine woman was doomed from the beginning. First of all, Samson had married outside of his people, something God had specifically told the Israelites not to do – not because of race, but because those outside of Israel followed other gods. But even if the woman had been Hebrew… if she had been the same kind of woman she was, there was still no way for the relationship to work. The reason is simple… neither Samson nor his wife was committed to their relationship as husband and wife. In fact, neither of them seemed to have any concept of what marriage is.
Samson’s wife was the first problem. Giving in to the demands and threats of her people, she nagged and whined and cried until she coerced Samson into doing something that was against his better judgment. Once she had succeeded in her plan, she betrayed her husband by giving the information to her people, rather than keeping a confidence within the marriage. Samson, on the other hand, abdicated his responsibility as a husband when he allowed a nagging wife to cause him to betray his own good sense. Samson was responsible for his own actions, and he was also responsible for his wife’s actions. Allowing her to have her own way, even when he knew he shouldn’t, caused Samson to lose big time. Neither Samson nor his wife felt any true commitment to their marriage, allowing outside influences to cause them to do injury to the relationship. The result? Samson left her, and she was given to one of his groomsmen at the wedding.
Every relationship - whether marriage or friendship or employer/employee or parent/child - requires a total 100% commitment from the parties involved. For each kind of relationship, specific guidelines are set out in scripture. When we allow our own selfish interests or influences from outside the relationship to warp our judgment and cause us to act in a detrimental fashion to that relationship, the relationship is doomed.
Think about the varied relationships in your life. How committed are you to them? Have you had enough interest in them to study how God wants you to handle them? Are you swayed by outside influences, or do you seek council only from God on how to handle your relationships? Decide today to commit 100% of yourself to your relationships – all of them - and to seek God’s wisdom in keeping them strong.
The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him, and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Samson was a member of the tribe of Dan. While Samson was growing up, this warlike, nomadic tribe continued to wander throughout the land that God had given them. But it was still unconquered (Joshua 19:47-48 NIV). It is certain that the tribe of Dan as a whole longed for a settled and conquered land, a land where they could put away their tools of war and their tents and build homes and farms and industry. As Samson grew to manhood, he was bound to be influenced by what was going on within his tribe. And each thing that occurred contributed to the "stirring" of his heart, the preparation of Samson for the work God had planned for him as a judge of Israel .
Throughout our lives, from the day we are born, God is preparing us for the work He has for us to do for Him. No matter whether your childhood was easy or rough, it had a purpose. No matter whether you have had a wonderful marriage or a lousy one that ended in divorce or have never been married at all, there has been a purpose. No matter whether you’ve worked for one company since you graduated from college, or have changed jobs every year, your work history has a purpose. No matter whether you’ve had the finest of educations or barely got your G.E.D., your formal education has a purpose. No matter whether you’ve been a Christian since you were nine, or just came to the Lord last week, that, too, has a purpose.
Everything that happens in your life is a learning experience… a preparation experience for what you are called to do for God. Is there a "stirring in your heart?” Perhaps the Lord is trying to show you what He wants you to do. Try to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life. Let Him teach you what you need to learn in order to be of service to the Lord. Listen closely and listen well. God has a purpose for you, and He wants you to be prepared.
O Lord , you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord .
You hem me in-behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:1-16, 17-24 NIV
Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?"
He replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding."
When Manoah asked the angel what his name was, the angel refused to tell him, saying, "It is beyond understanding." Manoah had asked the angel a question, but the answer to that question was something Manoah wouldn’t understand.
You and I often do the same thing… we ask God for an answer to prayer, but God doesn’t seem to respond. He is silent… but He isn’t saying no. He’s just not telling us the answer because it’s something we can’t comprehend. Or perhaps He does answer us, but we don’t understand the answer. This is because our minds are finite. We define the world and ourselves and God with terms that we can understand. We compress the enormity of God into man-made terms. And we often refuse to believe everything that is possible with God because it’s far beyond our understanding… far outside our ability to comprehend.
It’s because of this finiteness of understanding that we limit God in our lives. We give lip service to God’s ability to heal, but refuse to believe that He can really do it. If we believe that God created everything, then why can’t we believe in His ability to re-create something that has gotten fouled up? We believe He created the world and the weather, but we don’t believe He can turn a storm or protect us from a speeding bullet.
We give lip service to God’s ability to supply our needs, but then we constantly worry about whether we’ll have a job, or a place to live, or food to eat, or clothing to wear. When His Word tells us that He even has the hairs of our heads numbered, why do we worry whether He can handle our day-to-day concerns?
Do you want to know the incomprehensible? Then let go of your finite understanding. Stop confining God’s abilities to those parameters you can see and touch and feel. Stop limiting God in your life. Allow Him to go beyond what you can understand. Then hang on for the ride… you’ll have blessings beyond anything you ever imagined.
However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV
Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. Isaiah 64:4 NIV
A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines."
Samson was to be a Nazirite, a man set apart for God. The angel told his mother to "drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean." Then when Samson was born, he was not to have his hair cut – ever. He would be set apart for God from birth. From the moment of conception, Samson was sanctified.
You and I are also sanctified. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are set apart for God’s service. We are not like other people. We are different. We are strangers, aliens in an evil world. That’s why when we speak about what God has done for us, most people think we’re not operating on all cylinders, or they look at us like we have two heads. But God has chosen you and me to be adopted into His holy family. We have become His children… the sheep of His pasture. Each and every one of us is precious in His sight. His love for us is indescribable, incomprehensible, unconditional. And in response to that love, we are to demonstrate our love for Him… by acknowledging that we are set apart… by wholeheartedly participating in His service… by loving Him in return for His incredible love for us. In gratitude and in humility, we are to accept the assignment he gives us and serve Him with all our hearts and with all our minds.
Meditate today on what it means to be set apart for God’s service. Think about what you can do each day to show Him – and the world - that you love Him.
A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines."
The wife of Manoah was given an assignment. Although she was barren and childless, an angel appeared to her and told her she would conceive a son. Then she was given instructions on how to raise that son – to never allow his hair to be cut because he would be set apart for service to God would be a Nazirite. The promised result was that Samson would begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.
The key word here is "begin." Samson would not be the only deliverer from the Philistines. He would only begin the work. David would later be the one to crush the Philistines (2 Samuel 8:1). Samson’s job was only to get the ball rolling. He wouldn’t even live to see what the results of his work would be.
So many times in our lives, we are given the same type of assignment by God. We are told to start something, but we aren’t allowed to be around to see the job finished. We’re told to witness to someone who seemingly rejects the gospel of Jesus Christ. And perhaps years later, that person accepts Jesus. But we never know. Our witness began the road that would lead that person to Jesus, but we will not know it until we run into him in heaven.
Sometimes we’re called on to help start new churches… or new ministries… or any number of things. Sometimes we’re just told to help someone out for a while… or to be a friend… or to lend an ear… or to be a helping hand for a day or week or month. And then we never see that person again… or we never return to that church… or we never even know someone’s name. But what we’ve begun may have long term and very important consequences, even though our part in it seems small and insignificant.
No matter how small the job is that you’ve been given… no matter whether you’re going to see the outcome or not… your assignment is important. The next time God gives you an assignment you know you can’t finish, remember Samson. You just might be starting something wonderful.
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe - as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 NIV
The men of Ephraim called out their forces, crossed over to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We’re going to burn down your house over your head."
Jephthah answered, "I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn’t save me out of their hands. When I saw that you wouldn’t help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?"
Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, "You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh." The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead asked him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he replied, "No," they said, "All right, say ‘Shibboleth.’ " He said, "Sibboleth," because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan . Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time.
Once again in Israel , pettiness and jealousy took control. The men of Ephraim were angry because they claimed Jephthah hadn’t invited them to join in the battle. Jephthah was angry because he said he had invited the Ephraimites, but they hadn’t joined in. Armed and dangerous, they stood shouting threats at each other. The miscalculation that Ephraim made was that they banked on Jephthah’s past record. They knew he usually spoke first and acted later… much later. What they didn’t count on was his swift revenge for their bad attitude. Not long after that, 42,000 of them were dead.
Ephraim and Jephthah both were acting on the principle of returning an insult for an insult. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. Do unto others before they do unto you. Don’t get mad; get even. And look what happened. Forty-two thousand people died.
Take a look at your life. If someone does something bad to you, what do you do? Get back at them? Do everything you can to make them miserable? Take revenge? After all, that’s what the world runs on, isn’t it? That’s certainly what makes good box-office, isn’t it? And it’s what keeps the Soaps running year after year. It’s what fills our nightly news and fills our books. And it’s also what fills our divorce courts.
Jesus says, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44 NIV) He says, "Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." (Matthew 5:39 NIV) Jesus tells us to return a blessing for an insult.
If someone says something to hurt you, do something nice for him. If someone injures you, help her in some way. If someone creates a problem in your life, solve one in his. And in all of these cases, pray for the other person. Remember, vengeance belongs to God, not to you. Your job is to love others, no matter how you feel about it and whether you like them or not.
In the passion of the moment, Jephthah made a vow that he would soon regret. He said that if God let them defeat the Ammonites, he would offer the first thing that came out of his door as a burnt offering. That "first thing" turned out to be his only daughter. In making this vow, Jephthah became one more in the ranks of people who make rash vows to God – making promises they don’t want to ke
Hannah promised to give her son to God if God would grant her a son. God gave her Samuel, and she kept her promise. Saul, on the other hand, swore to kill anyone who ate before evening. That "someone" turned out to be Jonathan, his son. Saul would have killed Jonathon if the soldiers had not intervened. Then there was Herod Antipas, who made a rash promise to Herodias’ daughter and, as a result, was forced to have John the Baptist beheaded.
Scripture admonishes us to think before we speak, to consider the consequences of our words. Ecclesiastes 5:2 (NIV) says, "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few." Whatever you promise to God, He expects you to honor. So if you make a promise to Him, you’d better think about it long and hard, and consider whether you can keep the promise or not.
Jephthah, in his fervor to defeat the Ammonites, ended up condemning his own daughter to death. From reading the passage, it looks as though he kept his promise. But how very painful that was for him. And how very needless was that pain. If Jephthah had just thought before he spoke, he would not have lost his daughter.
How many rash promises have you made to God? How many have you kept? How many times, after the fact, have you realized that the promise you made was not one you could keep? How many times have you made rash promises only to forget them as soon as God answered your prayers? Remember what Matthew 12:36 (NIV) says - "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken." Make sure that any promises you make to God are ones you intend to keep, not just promises made in a moment of panic without thinking. Remember that what God wants from you is not foolish promises about tomorrow. Instead, He wants your total obedience today.