Rebellion: A Study in JudgesSample

What does it say?

Samson found a wife from among the Philistines. Although he trusted her, she betrayed him; in his anger he slaughtered thirty Philistines and lost his wife.

What does it mean?

Samson’s parents were told by God to raise Samson in the strictest type of Judaism—according to the rules of the Nazirite vow. Samson was to remain pure and be used by God to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines. Instead, in this chapter we see Samson marrying a Philistine, eating honey out of a dead lion’s carcass, and gambling with thirty Philistines over a riddle. Samson’s parents must have felt like failures, and Samson must have seemed like the most unlikely of men to lead Israel out of their captivity to the Philistines. However, God used Samson. Nothing stopped God’s plan.

How should I respond?

Have you ever looked at your life, the life of a child, or the life of a friend and thought, “I (or that person) blew it”? Samson’s story reminds us that no matter how much we stray from God’s plan for our lives, no matter how dark things might seem to be, He can always use us. The Lord loves us and wants to fit us into His plan for our lives and the lives of those around us. There is no such thing as a lost cause. Talk to God honestly about your shortcomings. Ask Him to forgive you and show you how you can be used in His plan. Then, move forward and leave the mistakes of the past there, in the past.