Quick Note – Judges 16:15-22 – God, the Source of Strength

Judges 16:15-22 – 15 And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.” 16 And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 17 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. 19 She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” 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. 21 And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. 22 But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Most of us know the story of Samson, the super strong judge appointed by God to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.  Samson was born as a Nazarite, so he was supposed to keep three major rules – 1) Not to drink or eat of the vine (grapes), 2) Not to be unclean by going near the dead, and 3) Not to shave his head.  Samson though had a tendency to break the rules of God.  At one point, he killed a lion and after some time, found honey in its carcass and ate of it, breaking the rule about going near the dead.  Although it doesn’t say in the Bible, whether he drank wine or ate grapes, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.  And in our passage today, we find that his hair was eventually cut by none other than his lover Delilah.  But today, I don’t want to spend time harping on how bad Samson was or how he made so many mistakes in his life, because who am I to cast the first stone, being that I sin against God often as well?  What I want us to focus on is where Samson found his strength. 

Many people think that the strength of Samson came from his hair, and when his hair was cut his strength was cut off, but that was not the source of Samson’s strength.  Many people think that if it wasn’t his hair, it must have been from his Nazarite vow, and because he had broken it by cutting his hair and interacting with things that were unclean, then that was why he lost his strength, but that was not the source of his strength either.  Samson knew exactly where his strength came from and we find it here in vs. 17 and then in vs. 20.  Unlike the times before, when Samson mocked Delilah and told her that if he were tied with new ropes or new bowstrings or his hair was wrapped into the web of a spinning loom, he would become weak, when Samson told Delilah this final time that if his hair was cut, he would become weak, he added a phrase.  He said that his strength would leave him.  And in vs. 20, we find out what, or better yet who, left him – the Lord.  Samson’s strength ultimately came from the Lord.  God was the source of his strength.  And because of his sin, because of his breaking his vows, because of his pride, God left Samson, and he became weak and was captured by the Philistines. 

We as Christians must remember that the source of our strength is not our knowledge of the Word of God.  Our source of strength is not the skills we’ve developed in the ministry.  Our source of strength isn’t our actions, our friends, our pastors and teachers.  Our source of strength is none of these things.  Our source of strength ultimately is God.  This means that if we want to be successful spiritually, then we must make sure that our relationship with Him is right and uninterrupted all the time.  Samson allowed lust and sin to break his relationship with God, and we must be wary not to allow any type of sin to do that to us.  We must be careful to keep our hearts pure and our relationship with him clear, so that we can always be in communion and communication with Him.  Let us make sure that we are always connected to our strength – our God. 

Quick Note – Luke 24:13-35 – A Life-Changing Meeting with the Resurrected Lord

Luke 24:13-35 – “13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.  28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

It had been three days since their hopes and dreams were shattered.  It had been three days since they witnessed the beating, the crucifixion, and the death of the person that they devoted the last three years of their lives to.  It had been three days since they had hastily buried his body in a tomb without even having a moment to grieve his death.  And after a Saturday, where they heard that guards had been placed at his tomb, they woke up that Sunday to the news that his body was gone.  The body of the prophet that they had been following in hopes that he would redeem Israel was gone without a trace.  And in addition to all of these things, they heard rumors that the women who visited the tomb that morning said that angels proclaimed that he was alive.  What was going on?  What was even happening?  Cleopas and the other disciples must have thought that the group that they had joined was going crazy.  So with nothing left in their hearts but confusion, sorrow, and fear, Cleopas and one of the other disciples decided to leave and to move on with their lives before things got worse.  So they journeyed on to a village called Emmaus.  It was there on that road on that very day, that an encounter occurred that would change their lives – an encounter with our resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It was over those few hours talking with Jesus that their confusion was turned into understanding, their sorrow was turned into joy, and their fear was turned into boldness to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

While they were walking and discussing what had happened during the last three days, a man came by and asked them what they were talking about.  Although this man was Jesus Himself, they did not recognize him, so they stopped walking and recounted the events.  After hearing them speak, Jesus told them that they had some confusion and spent the rest of the way to Emmaus, explaining to them what the Scriptures taught about the Messiah and his need to suffer, to die, and then to enter into His glory.  This was when their confusion was turned into understanding.  Before meeting with Jesus, they only thought that the Messiah would come and rescue Israel from the bondage of Rome.  They didn’t grasp that His ultimate purpose was to come to this earth, to suffer, and to die for the sins of all humankind.  But after their interaction with Jesus, they began to see and know who the Messiah really was.  By spending time with the Resurrected Lord, their confusion turned into a deeper understanding of God and His purposes. 

In addition to be enlightened to the truth, Cleopas and the other disciple also received another blessing while talking with Jesus Christ – their sorrow slowly turned into joy.  According to vs. 17, when Jesus asked them what they were talking about, they stood still and looked sad.  Their hearts were broken after seeing their Lord put on the cross.  They must have felt lost and alone and as if they had wasted three years of their lives, so it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that they were depressed.  But interestingly, by the time they reached Emmaus and invited Jesus to have a meal with them, it seemed that their attitude had changed.  Their sorrow and brokenness seemed to be replaced with hope and promise.  And when they finally realized that it was Jesus in vs. 31, their hearts were filled with joy.  According to them (vs. 32), even while they were talking on the road, their hearts already burned with excitement.  Their time with Jesus turned their sorrow into joy. 

Finally, after realizing that they had just spent the day with the resurrected Lord, that same hour, they got up and went back to Jerusalem.  This wasn’t the next day, when the roads would be filled with light.  It wasn’t a short journey or a quick 5 minute drive.  Cleopas and the other disciple would be walking in the dark and late at night for seven miles, yet they were excited to share their experience with the other disciples.  Before meeting with Christ, they were likely afraid of the ramifications of following Jesus and were running away from Jerusalem to avoid the fallout that would come from the Pharisees.  But now that same fear to let the world know that they were the disciples of Christ seemed far gone and in replacement, was this desire and boldness to let others knows their story.  This experience must have carried on with them throughout their lives, for I am sure as the early church began to grow and persecution arose, they boldly shared the Gospel remembering the hours they spent with Jesus as they walked to Emmaus.  Their fear was turned into boldness. As Christians, we have had and can continue to have these same experiences.  Before we came to know Christ, our minds were filled with confusion not knowing what our purpose was or who God was.  Our hearts were filled with sorrow and desperation since there seemed to be no hope after death.  Our souls were filled with fear of pain and death and the worries of this world.  But after we met Christ, we came to a deeper understanding of who God is and His purpose for us.  We were filled with overwhelming joy, since we now had the promise of an eternal life with Him.  And we were filled with courage and boldness to proclaim our testimonies to the world.  Our lives were changed, because we met the resurrected Lord.  On this Easter Sunday, let us take the time to remember what Christ did for us on the cross and the victory we had when He resurrected.  Let us allow that knowledge to inspire our hearts and change our attitudes of confusion, sorrow, and fear into understanding, joy, and courage.