Walk In Obedience, For Satan Is A Relentless Foe

Commentary

During this time, God delivered Israel over to the Philistines for 40 years because of their evil. When God saw fit to judge the Philistines for their own evil, He blessed Samson’s parents with his conception. He would become a judge for Israel for twenty years.

Samson was set aside by God and was a Nazirite, which was someone in those days who was dedicated to serving the Lord. They avoided things like drinking wine or beer, consuming any part of the grape, eating unclean food, cutting one’s hair, and so on. You can learn about the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6:2-21.

Samson was a Holy Spirit-filled man, whom God used mightily to judge the Philistines, but as we’ll see, Samson lived a mostly morally compromised life, seeking to satisfy his flesh quite often. Though God would use Samson’s poor choices to still complete His judgment, Samson’s continued life of compromise would ultimately lead to his own life being taken.

Commentary

Samson, like many men, was easily snared by the beauty of a woman. He “fell in love” quickly with a wayward woman that he should not have pursued. God had commanded the people of Israel not to intermarry with the pagan Gentile nations around them because He knew that it would lead to sin and idolatry. (Deuteronomy 7:3-4)

God’s purpose was for Samson to bring His judgment upon the Philistines. So God allowed this situation, which gave Samson an opportunity to confront God’s enemies. There was surely a better way for Samson to have walked in obedience, and God would’ve still accomplished His will, though God will still use our disobedient actions to accomplish His will if needed. But that isn’t how God wants it, and the consequences of walking in your own flesh too often will eventually come back to bite you.

Samson did things that a Nazirite should not have done. In this case, he ate honey from a bee hive that was in the carcass of a lion that he had torn apart previously. He then made a riddle of it, thinking he would trap the Philistines into giving him 30 changes of fine clothing. Samson was very much focused on his own desires, but outwardly still maintained a good appearance of a Nazirite, though he had already broken his vows.

Though Samson’s intentions were not focused on God first, God still used the situation to kill more Philistines. Samson did end up losing his Philistine wife to a man in his wedding party, a wife he should not ever have taken in the first place.

When we seek to gain in the world, against God’s will for us, then there should be no expectation that we’ll keep what we acquired through disobedience. God may allow the consequences of our disobedience to play out, or He might take direct action. In this case, I think God likely allowed the consequences to play out, the result of dealing with wicked people.

Commentary

Here again, Samson followed his flesh instead of being obedient to God. As a Nazirite, he knew that he was not to be doing such things. He walked too often in the weakness of his own flesh rather than the power of God. In this bad situation, the Lord rescued Samson from his enemies, but not for Samson’s sake, instead for His own will. God still had work for Samson to do.

After God rescued Samson, he again succumbed to his desire for wayward women. He once again unequally yoked himself to an unbeliever. Surely Satan made sure that these women were around to exploit Samson’s weakness, because it seemed very easy to exploit. By his carnal living, Samson made himself an easy target for stumbling and unnecessary suffering. Though everything seemed good for Samson, the day of reckoning would come.

Don’t be deceived. If you’re living a compromised life like Samson did, it may seem as if all is good, but I can tell you it is not. God might still be using you for His will, but it would be far better to walk in His ways. In doing so, you’ll receive His blessings over your life, but in unrepentant disobedience, you will open yourself up for many unnecessary sufferings and eventually your own destruction.

Commentary

Samson must’ve been a visually unimpressive man, because nobody seemed to know where his mighty strength came from. He was probably an average-looking man, but God had given him supernatural strength in order to fulfill His will.

Samson’s latest unbeliever wife, Delilah, was very greedy and self-serving; she had no real love for Samson. A situation that any believer could find themselves in when they don’t seek to yoke themselves to a partner who also loves the Lord.

She nagged Samson daily to tell her where his strength came from, so that the Philistines could overpower him, take him captive, and she could get paid. This is a prime example of Satan’s relentless grinding. He will continue and continue and continue to chip away at you until you give in, as finally Samson did, after previously lying to Delilah about the source of his strength.

It wasn’t Samson’s hair that was truly the source of his strength, but his anointing from God. Samson had lived in compromise far too long, and God’s patience finally ran out. After years of Samson pursuing the desires of his flesh and thinking all was good, God had nearly completed His will for Samson, as the one who would destroy the Philistines, and would allow him to be turned over to his own destruction. If Samson would’ve only repented and kept on the path with God, then surely God would’ve accomplished this destruction of the Philistines in a manner that would’ve blessed Samson’s life.

Commentary

The time had come. Samson suffered greatly for his constant disobedience. Make no mistake, he was a saved man. The Book of Hebrews lists him as a hero of the faith. But he lived a carnal life that the enemy was able to use against him over and over again. It’s fitting that a man who struggled with lust had his eyes gouged out. God’s hand of protection for Samson had been removed. God allowed him to succumb to his enemies as a consequence of his compromised lifestyle.

Samson’s captivity quite possibly could’ve been avoided if he had just lived for the Lord more than for himself. Yet God still used these situations to complete His judgment on the Philistines and deliver Israel from their rule.

Samson would end up killing the leaders and more Philistines than he had killed all those years prior, but because he was disobedient to the Lord so often, this would come at the expense of his own life.

Understand that God is more patient with us than we can even comprehend. He will wait weeks, months, years even, to give us time to turn back in obedience to Him. You can be a born-again believer in Christ Jesus, but fail to live up to the witness that God would have you be. These are those who Jesus said would just barely make it into Heaven.

You don’t want to be that kind of Christian, because it’s a slippery slope for one. There is a fine line between saved, but compromised, and unsaved. Two, you will miss out on blessings that God had saved up for you. If you’re focused on your own desires and unrepentant in your pursuit of personal pleasure, then know that destruction will surely come. God loves you too much to leave you here, hurting yourself over and over, and recklessly representing Him.

I encourage you to spend time reading the full account of Samson in the Book of Judges, chapters 13-16. Take the time to also evaluate your life. If you’re living like Samson, turn to Jesus and ask His forgiveness and get back to living for Him first.