“Samson – It’s Never Too Late” (Profile)*:
“Again, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years” (Judges 13:1).
It’s sad to be remembered for what might have been. An angel of the Lord appeared to a woman who was childless and sterile. She is identified in scripture only as Manoah’s wife and received a promise from the Lord she’d conceive and deliver a son. Few people have started life with credentials like Samson. Born as a result of God’s plan on the lives of Manoah and his wife, Samson was to do a great work for God – to “begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines.” To help him accomplish God’s plan, he was given enormous strength.
Because Samson wasted his strength on practical jokes and getting out of scrapes, and because he eventually gave it up altogether to satisfy the woman he loved, we tend to see him as a failure. We remember him as the judge in Israel with gauged out eyes, loss of strength who spent his last days grinding grain in an enemy prison. It’s easy to say, “What wasted potential!”
It’s true. Samson wasted his life. Destined for great things for God and Israel, Samson experienced a time the presence of the Lord left him, and he wasn’t even aware of it (Judges 16:20). He could have returned his people to the worship of God. He could have wiped out the Philistines. But even though he did none of those things, Samson still accomplished the purpose announced by the angel who visited his parents before his birth. In his final act, Samson began to rescue Israel from the Philistines even at the expense of his own life.
In the end, Samson recognized his dependence on God. When he died, God turned his failures and defeats into victory. Although the New Testament does not mention Samson’s failures or his heroic feats of strength, he is listed with others in Hebrews “who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised.” Samson’s story teaches us that it is never too late to start over. However badly we may have failed in the past, today is not to late for us to put our complete trust in God.
Pastor Carnes
- Profile of Samson – NIV Life Application Bible in Book of Judges
