Let me die….

And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
(Jdg 16:30)

These are the last words of Samson as a prayer to God. Having lived life as a Nazarite abstaining from wine and leaving his hair grow long. He was supposed to live a separated life unto the Lord. Though he was mighty in deeds but was weak in character. He couldn’t resist temptation of loose women.

This man’s life had 19% of the book of Judges written about his ministry. Most pictures we see of Samson were of a strong man, but in order to be extraordinary he must have been looked very ordinary with extraordinary strength. God uses the ordinary to show how extraordinary He is, that is why I think that he didn’t look like any super human being. The Jews during that time were probably small in stature which is why they were continually bullied. They had to know and know deep within that God was on their side and that He was the source of their victory. God shows us strength in our weakness.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
(Psa 51:10)

David was similarly weak when it comes to women and in his confession he cried out to God to give him a new heart not a renewed heart. It has to be a creative power of the Almighty to make such a change in our lives. His cry was also for a ‘right sprit’ which is a firm or steadfast spirit. When there is steadfastness in spirit, we can resist sin. This also requires the power of the Almighty to put it there.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
(Rom 8:1)

Sadly the second half of this verse to walk not after the flesh but after the spirit is grossly left out in the NIV.
The evidence of a strong, firm or steadfast spirit in us is the obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is the key to resist the flesh and it’s temptations that destroy us and our families. Proverbs constantly warn us about women that can destroy us and the lives of our families. Instead of walking after the flesh, the right thing to do is to carry the cross daily and following Jesus (Luke 9:23).

Can one even comprehend that pain in Samson working the grinding wheel day in, day out, knowing that his true destiny was to deliver his people from oppression? Wearing the chains that cut into his skin, the agony of pondering about what he has missed out in living out God’s will for his life. The latter pain must have been much greater. Having been blinded b y his captors, it was likely loosing the ability even to shed tears. Truly such pain of failure that no one can comprehend.

Finally, coming to an end of himself prayed the most powerful prayer in his entire life. In one moment of dying, killing more than he ever slew in his lifetime. God honored Samson by having his name listed in Hebrews 11 amongst the great heroes of faith. I believe that it was this final moment of his life that earned him this honor. In all the ‘great’ deeds of Samson’s life, he lived struggling with sin and the impact was small in comparison to the final moment when he cried ‘..let me die…’.