Then Samson prayed to the Lord, "Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes." Judges 16:28
In the month of January, every gym is packed. This is because, at the beginning of the year, many people make commitments to better their health. These are great commitments, but time always tells what people are truly committed. You see, in a few months, the gyms become less packed because many people have given up on their commitments. When this happens, the truly committed people are revealed. They are revealed by their consistency. Their consistency reveals their level of commitment. In the same way, as followers of Christ, we are called to take our commitment to Him seriously. We are going to learn this truth by learning about the tragic ending of Samson's life, a man who learned too late the importance of taking his commitment to God seriously.
One thing that is very clear from the study of the life of Samson that for most of his life, he did not take his commitment to God seriously. In chapter 16, we find just how flippantly he viewed his commitment to God. He ultimately told his new wife, Delilah, the secret to his strength. This ultimately resulted in Delilah cutting his hair so that the Philistines could destroy him. The Philistines took Samson and brutally tortured him until he was weak and blind. It was at that point that Samson turned to God and asked Him for strength just one last time to defeat the Philistines. "Sovereign Lord," he prayed, "Remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time" (verse 28). God granted his request. He destroyed the Philistines by standing between two pillars that held the building he was standing in. He pushed against the pillars, and the entire building crashed down, killing many, many Philistines. With his dying breath, Samson recommitted to the Lord.
It is tragic that Samson had to reach the point where he was dying before he took his commitment to God seriously. Let's learn from Samson's mistake and take our commitment to God seriously right now. After all, He deserves our complete and total commitment each and every day.
You have been challenged this week to live out your purpose, which Scripture reveals to us is to know Christ and to make Christ known. Your challenge today is to stay committed to that purpose. How will you live out that purpose this week? Better yet, how will you live out this purpose today? Do one thing today to carry out your purpose and make Him known today.
The Philistine rulers held a great festival, offering sacrifices and praising their god, Dagon. They said, “Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!”
When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy to us! The one who killed so many of us is now in our power!”
Half drunk by now, the people demanded, “Bring out Samson so he can amuse us!” So he was brought from the prison to amuse them, and they had him stand between the pillars supporting the roof.
Samson said to the young servant who was leading him by the hand, “Place my hands against the pillars that hold up the temple. I want to rest against them.” Now the temple was completely filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there, and there were about 3,000 men and women on the roof who were watching as Samson amused them.
Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.” Then Samson put his hands on the two center pillars that held up the temple. Pushing against them with both hands, he prayed, “Let me die with the Philistines.” And the temple crashed down on the Philistine rulers and all the people. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime.
Later his brothers and other relatives went down to get his body. They took him back home and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, where his father, Manoah, was buried. Samson had judged Israel for twenty years.
