Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. 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. (Judges 16:23-30)
Today's Morsel: Samson blew it big time. Here is a guy with everything in the world going for him, and he throws it away. For a thrill. For a kick. For a woman. But here is the living proof that even at the very end, even at the very bottom, people can change. And God can still hear. Every picture you see of Samson is of this massive, hulk, carving up Philistines with a jawbone of an ass, or snapping gates and doors off their hinges, tying fox tails together and burning up wheat fields, or just shaking and the enemy running. Sometimes he acts like the street kid bully, and then he acts as though he is superman. Samson had internal powers that his enemy did not have. Therefore, they resorted to trickery to find the key to his strength. They resorted to every means to find out his inner strength. What is inside that makes you tick? Samson knew that he was only as strong as God let him be. How dangerous it is when we see more within ourselves than is really there. Micah said, "Truly I am full of power by the spirit of God" (Micah 3:8). They gave credit to whom credit is due, God. Paul asked the church at Galatia, "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? (Galatians 3:1-3). The end of Samson's life is a solemn reminder to all of us that there are consequences to sin. For twenty years, Samson assumed he could ignore all the secret faults that lay beneath the surface of his life, but he was wrong. He thought he could get away with a few minor indiscretions from time to time, but he was wrong. At one time or another, we all tend to believe that we can ignore our sins, but the fact remains, our sins will not ignore us. As Moses told the children of Israel, "But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23).
Sing: Change my heart Oh God, make it ever true, change my heart O' God, may I be like you.
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