Judges 12-16
I remember learning of the story Samson as a child and his fantastic strength and especially about the time when he killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey (It was even cooler because you could call the donkey an ass and get away with saying a cuss word). But rereading it now, it just comes across as such a sad story... a waste.
Samson's mother had prayed for a child and God answered her prayer. God asked her to dedicate her child to him, and she did. Things were going well in young Samson's life until... he met a girl, but not just any girl... a Philistine. Almost immediately, he broke three of his four Nazirite vows on the way to see his betrothed. Then the girl deceives him and he gets angry and kills 30 men. After another little incident with 300 foxes burning the Philistine wheat fields and killing a bunch more of the Philistines, Samson finally settles down and rules over Israel for 20 years until... a new woman comes into his life.
But Samson learned his lesson from last time and stays away from Delilah... NOT! Delilah asks him the secret to his strength and he lies to her, but she ties him up only to find out that he lied. Then the oddest thing happens, instead of getting mad at Delilah for being a traitor, he tells a new lie about the source of his strength, and she is disloyal again, and then again. By this time you think Samson will say "Three strikes, you're out", but instead he tells her the truth to his strength and when she is disloyal a fourth time and shaves his head (thus breaking the fourth and final Nazerite vow) God has left him and he is captured.
How many times must God forgive us our trespasses before the spirit of the Lord leaves us? How many times will we run away from God? How many chances will we give Satan to deceive us? It's just sad.
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