while people are congratulating themselves, I have to sit at the foot of the cross and marvel that I am savedat all;
while the Phillistines were celebrating, Samson prayed to God who renewed his strength and caused him to kill many than he had done before, including their lords.
OUR GOD IS OF ANOTHER CHANCE. glory be to Him
I would not consider a harlot trustworthy,it does not say that she was.We are not told who told the Gazites that he was there, after he left that city the lords of the Philistines chose Delilah to betray him
A parable is a fictitious story. Judges 16 a true story. The parables that Jesus told to the public were fictitious with the intent that they would not understand the morality of the story.
It's entertaining that the prostitute first mentioned seems to be the only trustworthy woman in this story. At least he got what he paid for and she didn't betray him to the enemy.
It is also a fine parable to teach one to keep his advantages secret. Only he and God knew what would make him weak. Funny that it was nagging that made him reveal it, and they weren't even married.
My family too has past on. I only find strength in the Lord..For the sorrow was so deep, nothing but the comfort of His Spirit could heal my broken heart. In Our weakness, He is strong..Yes, my friend, through every storm, the light shines, and renewal becomes a everyday occurrence. It takes time to process loss of loved ones, how magnificent, that the love they gave to us remains in our hearts.
Well my mom just passed and she often told me about the story of Samon's and as I reflect she had told me at an early age never give your strength up and today I realize why, without your strength anyone can pray upon you and take you down. Your strength is your ability to move forward when all else has failed in your life to look within for your strength will bring you out of your strom.
I think Samson was a man of God who instead of listening to God, listened to a deceitful woman always insisted on doing things his own way which lead to his destruction. He was boastful about having strength, never gave God the glory for giving him that strength. He didn 't have that strength without God 's Spirit filling him with it. Sometimes we too become proud boastful like Samson we have to suffer the consequences of our sins, but God never stops loving us, just like God never stopped loving Samson he never lost his salvation. God does not take that away. He promised eternal security we are saved by grace. Samson was chastised for his disobedience to God by losing his life with the philistines, yet he was saved through the fire. All that he accomplished accounted for nothing because of the choices he made, but in the end his life stood for something . When Samson turned to God prayed , God restored his strength one more time God still used him to deliver the Israelites at that time. God can always work in any situation, regardless of how futile it looks!
women will use their physical beauty like a weapon as much as men will use their physical strength - and both will puffeth proud once they have conquered their prey - King Solomon should have heeded the warning he was smart, right?
Judges is a great book because,it teaches us to be loyal to God,we shouldn 't be influenced by the beauty and enticements of women be her our wife or whatever.Also,it teaches us to always abide by the rules and dictates of God viz-a-viz,obeying the commands of God Almighty.
Hair is an excellent marker of the physical health of a human as shows the nutrition received as it grows. An example of this is a sample of hair can show if a person has been poisoned with arsenic. Samson was fed the bread, doctrine, of the Lord God and was extremely strong. Height in the past was a powerful gauge of economic progress as most often people that had the best nutrition grew larger. Samson represented health, economic progress and the willingness to love those who did not love him. The cutting of Samson 's hair represents the attempted destruction of the doctrine of the Lord God that Samson had as he professed love for a person that wanted him to die and wanted the doctrine of the Lord God to die. Samson however never lost his love of the Lord God. The use of the number 7 may reflect the 7 year tribulation that comes in the end of days. If so, then Samson may represent the military power of Israel that is destroyed during WW3 however it is shown that the end result is the Philistine people in power and the wealth of the Philistines is also destroyed. They will think they have won the war but the war will not be over and they will die.
Samson was born of a promise a Nazarite being the strength and sword of the Lords vengeance an honorable man. A man in that love can be blind, consider Delilah her treachery was a hatred for all men that she could not see the wealth in being a part of Samson 's strength, rather too seek so desperately for his weakness no less the Devil. Delilah s reward likely that these lords of the Philistines would see no reason to pay their pledge once Samson was bound and no dishonor in cheating a harlot that had betrayed her strength. Delilah s last breath spent as Samson took hold of the pillars to end what they started for the LORDS will be done Amen.
Samson loved Delilah. The scriptures never said that she loved him. When she got the money, the scriptures never mentioned her again. Samson was attracted to the wrong the women.
Ungodly and unholy love blindfolded Samson robbed him of his God given wits that even when Delilah was requesting for his doom he was so pleased to opened up his secret to his killer who eventually orchestrated his untimely tragic demise The scriptures warn believers about unequal yoke with the ungodly Yet because some think they are more logical and knowledgeable than their maker they still plunge themselves to their own misery woes and defeat Christians avoid unequal yoke in buisness marriage career etc
It shows where disobedience can lead us Samson was instructed by his parents not to involve himself with a philistine woman as God had directed them however he chose another way during his time of tribulation We should never forget God s word during our seasons of adversity It will keep us safe
Samson being a Nazarite made many blunders, he touched dead animal, went into strange women and he ended up with Delilah.One thing is certain if one depart from God words he will suffer the consequence because He is the source of our strength, without Him we are nothing.Samson forgot Nazarene vows.This also give us insight to erroneous teaching of ''once saved forever saved''.Our continuity with divine grace depend on our walk with Him.But glory be to God,He Has no pleasure in the death of sinner,He always providing way out for us to reconcile with Him.Samson prayed unto God and He heard him.This is a great lesson to believers in Christ Jesus to take heed lest they fall.
This chapter touches me when it comes to samson,philistines cut his hair,make him blind.they thought that samson's source of strength was the hair,it says here(his hair start to grow again after he has been shaven).you can remove a tape but thats not the source of water,the rain will continue after you have remove.now philistines thought that they won,start celebrating but samson didn't pray for them to be panished but he pray so that philistines will see that Jesus is the lord.for his last prayer ,he ask God more strength as he was the source of strength.standing between pillars ,he got his strength back.philistines put fullstop on samson bt God who is the source of strength,after fullstop he said:"I BEGIN" and samson again deafete more people when he die than while he was live.
Very good points have been made in prievious responses. But who is to say that this is not just the is part or his mission (please dont freak out yet). Jesus Christ had to die for our sins as it was spoken of in the old testament. The scripture MUST be forfilled and Judas Iscariot had to do what he did so that Chris could do just what he had to do. (DIE FOR OUR SINS)let us all remember that he killed more in death than he did in life. Maybe this was his purpose.just because it does not have a happy ending to us does not mean that his life was useless or that he waisted his life. OOH and the question about the seven locks of hair having to do with the seven locks of hair.....this is a very interesting question. Definately a brain buster. Be blessed everyone. I hope i didn't offend anyone because it was not intended.
Was Samson a Black man? The mini series of "The Bible", shows Samson as Black, very Black man with Dreadlocks! Dreadlocks were not in the Old Testament, were they?
I too was a great worker, but didn't keep my promises to my Lord. I had lost my powers because of my seeking wealth, and wemon. Now I am physically useless,but am able to spread the Work of God to my people. I am thankful for my afflictions,because I am back to serving the Lord.
Samson had totally destroyed the wonderful plans God had for him by following his lustful heart. Finally he destroyed himself and many became a useless person.A great example noted in the Bible for all of us... we must be very careful not to waste our precious life...its wonderful to always seek the will of God and to live to fulfill the purpose for our lives...may we use our talents and strength only to build God's Kingdom
I am so glad to know what Jesus and Jehovah's feelings are on the matter! Jesus taught his disciples to pray to his Father Jehovah when he taught them the Our Father Prayer. He said to them, "you must pray this way: 'Our Father, who art in... heaven, HALLOWED BE THY NAME' '--To 'hallow' is to MAKE HOLY. So he instructed his disciples to pray to his father and God by making HOLY his name! And what is his name? Jehovah! But some argue that Yahweh is more correct.
From the February 8, 1999 Awake:
Jehovah or Yahweh?
Whereas the name Jehovah appears in the King James Version and other Bible translations, some prefer to use the name Yahweh instead of Jehovah. Which name is correct?
The most ancient Bible manuscripts were written in the Hebrew language. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the divine name occurs almost 7,000 times and is spelled with four consonants�YHWH or JHVH. These four-consonant words are commonly called the Tetragrammaton, or Tetragram, derived from two Greek words meaning �four letters.� Now the question of accurate pronunciation arises because early Hebrew writing consisted of consonants with no vowels to guide the reader. So whether the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton becomes Yahweh or Jehovah depends on which vowels the reader supplies to the four consonants. Today many Hebrew scholars prefer Yahweh as the true pronunciation.
However, consistency favors Jehovah. In what way? The pronunciation Jehovah has been accepted in English for centuries. Those who object to using this pronunciation should also object to the use of the accepted pronunciation Jeremiah and even Jesus. Jeremiah would need to be changed to Yir‧meyah′ or Yir‧meya′hu, the original Hebrew pronunciations, and Jesus would become Ye‧shu′aʽ (Hebrew) or I‧e‧sous′ (Greek). Hence, many Bible students, including Jehovah�s Witnesses, feel that consistency favors the use of the already well-known English-language �Jehovah� and its equivalent in other languages.
Does It Really Matter?
Some may argue that it does not really matter whether you address Almighty God by a personal name or not, and they are content to speak of and address God as Father or simply as God. Both these terms, however, are titles rather than names and are neither personal nor distinctive. In Bible times the word for God (ʼElo‧him′, Hebrew) was used to describe any god�even the pagan Philistine god named Dagon. ( Judges 16:23, 24) So for a Hebrew to tell a Philistine that he, the Hebrew, worshiped �God� would not have identified the true God whom he worshiped.
Of interest is a comment in The Imperial Bible-Dictionary of 1874: �[Jehovah] is everywhere a proper name, denoting the personal God and him only; whereas Elohim partakes more of the character of a common noun, denoting usually, indeed, but not necessarily nor uniformly, the Supreme. . . . The Hebrew may say the Elohim, the true God, in opposition to all false gods; but he never says the Jehovah, for Jehovah is the name of the true God only. He says again and again my God . . . ; but never my Jehovah, for when he says my God, he means Jehovah. He speaks of the God of Israel, but never of the Jehovah of Israel, for there is no other Jehovah. He speaks of the living God, but never of the living Jehovah, for he cannot conceive of Jehovah as other than living.�
The key element in the story of Sampson is that his POWER is hidden in his SEVEN locks of hair. Hmm . . . does this have anything to do with SEVEN SEALS?
like Samson, I too have ventured away from the path and have been down to "Timnah" - the pain and heartache from this decision are sometimes overwhelming. With all the blessings stripped from me - (I have been sick and depressed since my wanderings; 15 years) Having finally understood the sin of my leaving HIS plan for my life and following my "feelings" - I pray that the Lord will restore my strength and give me opportunity to serve HIM according to HIS Will - so that the rest of my life will be pleasing to HIM - for HIS Kingdom and Glory - and not lived out useless anymore
while the Phillistines were celebrating, Samson prayed to God who renewed his strength and caused him to kill many than he had done before, including their lords.
OUR GOD IS OF ANOTHER CHANCE. glory be to Him
A parable is a fictitious story. Judges 16 a true story. The parables that Jesus told to the public were fictitious with the intent that they would not understand the morality of the story.
It is also a fine parable to teach one to keep his advantages secret. Only he and God knew what would make him weak. Funny that it was nagging that made him reveal it, and they weren't even married.
From the February 8, 1999 Awake:
Jehovah or Yahweh?
Whereas the name Jehovah appears in the King James Version and other Bible translations, some prefer to use the name Yahweh instead of Jehovah. Which name is correct?
The most ancient Bible manuscripts were written in the Hebrew language. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the divine name occurs almost 7,000 times and is spelled with four consonants�YHWH or JHVH. These four-consonant words are commonly called the Tetragrammaton, or Tetragram, derived from two Greek words meaning �four letters.� Now the question of accurate pronunciation arises because early Hebrew writing consisted of consonants with no vowels to guide the reader. So whether the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton becomes Yahweh or Jehovah depends on which vowels the reader supplies to the four consonants. Today many Hebrew scholars prefer Yahweh as the true pronunciation.
However, consistency favors Jehovah. In what way? The pronunciation Jehovah has been accepted in English for centuries. Those who object to using this pronunciation should also object to the use of the accepted pronunciation Jeremiah and even Jesus. Jeremiah would need to be changed to Yir‧meyah′ or Yir‧meya′hu, the original Hebrew pronunciations, and Jesus would become Ye‧shu′aʽ (Hebrew) or I‧e‧sous′ (Greek). Hence, many Bible students, including Jehovah�s Witnesses, feel that consistency favors the use of the already well-known English-language �Jehovah� and its equivalent in other languages.
Does It Really Matter?
Some may argue that it does not really matter whether you address Almighty God by a personal name or not, and they are content to speak of and address God as Father or simply as God. Both these terms, however, are titles rather than names and are neither personal nor distinctive. In Bible times the word for God (ʼElo‧him′, Hebrew) was used to describe any god�even the pagan Philistine god named Dagon. ( Judges 16:23, 24) So for a Hebrew to tell a Philistine that he, the Hebrew, worshiped �God� would not have identified the true God whom he worshiped.
Of interest is a comment in The Imperial Bible-Dictionary of 1874: �[Jehovah] is everywhere a proper name, denoting the personal God and him only; whereas Elohim partakes more of the character of a common noun, denoting usually, indeed, but not necessarily nor uniformly, the Supreme. . . . The Hebrew may say the Elohim, the true God, in opposition to all false gods; but he never says the Jehovah, for Jehovah is the name of the true God only. He says again and again my God . . . ; but never my Jehovah, for when he says my God, he means Jehovah. He speaks of the God of Israel, but never of the Jehovah of Israel, for there is no other Jehovah. He speaks of the living God, but never of the living Jehovah, for he cannot conceive of Jehovah as other than living.�