New Beginnings: Lesson 1

Overview

Samson and the God of New Beginnings

The era of the Judges was a season of relentless spiritual decline. As Judges 2:11-19 describes, Israel repeatedly abandoned the Lord, worshiped the Baals, suffered under their enemies, cried out, and was rescued by a judge God raised up—only to relapse, often worse than before. Into this cycle of sin and mercy, God placed Samson. By the time of his birth, Israel had been under Philistine domination for forty years, and God announced through an angel that this child would "begin to deliver Israel" Judges 13:2-5. Samson was set apart from the womb under the Nazirite vow Numbers 6:1-5—wholly consecrated to the Lord's service.

A Chosen Man Who Lived for Himself

Despite a miraculous birth, devoted parents, and the Spirit of the Lord empowering him, Samson lived by what his eyes craved. He demanded a Philistine wife in defiance of Deuteronomy 7:3-4. He scraped honey from a lion's carcass and shared it with his parents, defiling himself and them under the laws of clean and unclean Leviticus 11. He visited a prostitute in Gaza (Judges 16:1; cf. Leviticus 19:29). He fell for Delilah and, worn down by her persistence, surrendered the secret of his consecration. The most sobering verse in the story is Judges 16:20: "He did not know that the Lord had left him." Samson trusted his own strength so long that he failed to notice when the Source of it withdrew. Yet even in his rebellion, Judges 14:4 reminds us that God was sovereignly working through Samson's poor choices to confront the Philistines.

Strength Restored Through Brokenness

Blinded, shackled, and mocked at a Philistine festival, Samson finally turned to the Lord with empty hands. He could no longer trust his eyes—the very organ that had led him into sin so often. In that brokenness he prayed, and God answered, granting in his death a greater deliverance than any victory in his life Judges 16:28-30. Samson's story is a shadow of a greater Deliverer. Jesus, too, came through a miraculous birth, was seized, mocked, and maimed by his enemies, and appeared utterly defeated. But through his death he destroyed the one who holds the power of death Hebrews 2:14-15 and "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" 2 Timothy 1:10.

Pastoral Application

We are not meant to admire Samson for his muscles; his strength was never his own. The lesson is humbler and more hopeful: when we trust in our own power, chase after what our eyes desire, and treat God's calling as something we can manage on our own terms, we end up bound and blind. But it is never too late to turn back. The same God who answered a broken Samson answers us through Christ, who has already won the decisive victory. Whenever we find ourselves drifting—idolizing what we see, leaning on what we can do—we can come again with a contrite heart and ask the Lord for his strength. New beginnings are not earned by the strong; they are given by grace to those who finally know they cannot save themselves.

Transcript

Okay, so we're gonna go ahead and begin with a word of prayer. 3s

Please join me. 7s

Lord, we thank you so much. 9s

We thank you for this glorious day. 10s

We thank you that we have been gathered here 13s

to worship your holy name, to praise you, 16s

and to have fellowship with one another in and through you. 19s

Lord, we ask that you would bless this time of study, 24s

that we would grow together towards you in faith, 27s

and that we would know you better and deeper 31s

through every lesson and every encounter we have with your word. 34s

Lord, we lift this to you in the name of Jesus, amen. 40s

Okay, so this next, I guess adult ed, 44s

the next four weeks, so today and then three more weeks, 49s

we're going to be studying new beginnings. 52s

And today, and we're gonna do just various people in the Bible, 55s

if there is someone that you would really like for me to touch on, 61s

because I'm not telling you who we're doing each week, 66s

if there's someone, and I don't already have it in my list, 68s

let me know because I may add it into my list, 71s

and I may not because that's just gonna be how I am. 74s

So we're gonna start in numbers, or I mean in judges, sorry, 78s

in judges, we're gonna go to judges, chapter two. 84s

So this is right after the Pentateuch, 90s

and then we have Joshua, and then we have the book of judges. 93s

So something that we need to understand 100s

is that time period that takes place in judges, 102s

it's just depraved, it's gross, it's sinful, 105s

and there's a long time where just consistently, 114s

sin, sin, sin abounds, I know that today, 121s

we don't know anything about sin abounding, 126s

but sin was abounding during this time. 128s

And if we go to verse 11 in judges, the second chapter, 132s

we read, then the Israelites did what was evil in the sight 138s

of the Lord and worshipped the Bales. 142s

So this is after they had been brought through, 145s

after they had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, 147s

after then Joshua led them into the promised land, 150s

and they had success with the Lord going before them, 155s

leading them, and of course the Israelites 160s

did what the Israelites do, did what we do, 164s

and they worshipped the Bales. 168s

They turned from the Lord, and we continue in verse 12, 170s

and they abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, 175s

who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. 178s

They followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples 181s

who were all around them, and they bowed down to them, 184s

and they provoked the Lord to anger. 187s

They abandoned the Lord, and they worshipped Bale 190s

and the Astartis. 193s

So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, 194s

and he gave them over to plunderers who plundered them, 197s

and he sold them into the power of their enemies all around 200s

so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 203s

Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord 206s

was against them to bring misfortune, 208s

as the Lord had warned them and sworn to them, 210s

and they were in great distress. 213s

Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them 216s

out of the power of those who plundered them, 218s

yet they did not listen even to their judges 221s

for they lusted after other gods and bowed down to them. 223s

They soon turned aside from the way 227s

in which their ancestors had walked, 229s

who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord. 231s

They did not follow their example. 233s

Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, 235s

the Lord was with the judge, 237s

and he delivered them from the hand of their enemies, 238s

all the days of the judge, 241s

for the Lord would be moved to pity 242s

by their groaning because of those who persecuted 244s

and oppressed them. 248s

But whenever the judge died, they would relapse 250s

and behave worse than their ancestors, 253s

following other gods, 256s

worshipping them and bowing down to them. 257s

So, God raises these judges to lead Israel, 261s

and Israel, they will moan and they will groan 267s

because they are reaping the consequence 270s

of turning from the Lord and worshipping false gods, 273s

and so God allowed for the consequences to happen 277s

just as he said they would, 282s

and they cried out to him, 284s

and he would provide a judge, 287s

provide someone to rescue Israel, 290s

to save Israel out of the hand of their enemies, 292s

and the Israelites would turn, 295s

and then as soon as that judge would die, 298s

they would go into a period again of abandoning the Lord. 300s

So, every single judge, 305s

God would use a man or a woman to save Israel, 307s

to defend Israel. 312s

And we're gonna study one of those judges today. 314s

Samson, and I was thinking, 321s

oh, I have this nice thing, I don't know, 322s

I don't, last time I had something to draw this time, 324s

I all I'm thinking is like a stick figure 327s

of like strong man, Samson, 328s

but I don't think I'm gonna do that to you all. 330s

So, we're all familiar with Samson. 333s

We know Samson as the strong man of the Bible, 336s

and our kids hear about Samson, 340s

and they kind of picture this superhero of strength. 342s

We're gonna talk more about Samson in a second, 348s

but just to understand where they were 351s

when Samson or where Israel was when Samson came along, 353s

Israel had been in captivity or under the reign rule 357s

of the Philistines for 40 years. 363s

Let's go over to judges 13. 365s

Judges 13, and we're gonna be in, 369s

beginning in verse two. 372s

So, Israel had been under the hand of the Philistines 376s

for 40 years. 381s

There was a certain man, oh, no, we're already in judges. 382s

That's right, okay, I was gonna say, 385s

oh, let me tell you where Judd never went, 386s

I'm sorry, okay, stop thinking out loud. 388s

There was a certain man of Zora, 391s

of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoa. 393s

His wife was barren having born no children, 396s

and the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman 399s

and said to her, although you are barren, 402s

having born no children, you shall conceive and bear a son. 404s

Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink 408s

or to eat anything unclean, 411s

for you shall conceive and bear a son. 413s

No razor is to come on his head for the boy, 416s

shall be a Nazarete to God from birth. 418s

It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel 421s

from the hand of the Philistines. 423s

Okay, so from before birth, 426s

Samson was under the Nazarete vow. 430s

So what is the Nazarete vow? 434s

Let's keep your hand here, 435s

and we're gonna go back just a couple of books to numbers. 437s

So we're in the pentatook right before Deuteronomy. 441s

So if you're going from judges, 447s

then you'll go to Joshua, Deuteronomy, 449s

and then numbers. 451s

And if you go to numbers six versus one through five, 452s

that's where we're going. 458s

And we're gonna see what that Nazarete vow was. 460s

So the Lord spoke to Moses, 466s

saying, speak to the Israelites and say to them, 469s

when either men or women make a special vow, 472s

the vow of a Nazarete to separate themselves to the Lord, 475s

they shall separate themselves from wine 479s

and strong drink, they shall drink no wine vinegar 481s

or other vinegar, and shall not eat any grape, 483s

juicer, eat grapes fresh or dried, 486s

all their days as Nazaretes, 489s

they shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, 491s

not even the seeds or the skins. 494s

All the days of their Nazarete vow, 497s

no razor shall come upon the head until the time is completed, 498s

for which they separate themselves to the Lord, 502s

they shall be holy, they shall let the locks of the head grow long. 506s

So this vow of the Nazarete, 510s

this person is to be separated to the Lord, 514s

for the Lord in service to the Lord. 519s

And Samson's mother, she's barren, 522s

she wants a child, the angel of the Lord appears to her, 526s

and the angel of the Lord says, 531s

this child is going to be under this Nazarete vow. 533s

I am setting this child apart as my own to serve me. 537s

So going back to Judges 13, 24, 546s

so the woman bore a son and named him Samson, 551s

the boy grew and the Lord blessed him. 554s

So we have Samson. 557s

Samson as a grown man, 561s

we know that Samson was chosen by God, 563s

chosen before birth to be separate 567s

unto the service of the Lord. 570s

He had a miraculous birth. 573s

He had devoted parents, parents who were overjoyed 576s

to have their son. 580s

So now we get to Samson, the human. 583s

I don't like him. 586s

I don't like him. 589s

Every time I read Samson's story, 591s

I think, why would God choose him? 594s

He is not just a strong man, 601s

but we're going to get to that. 605s

First, we're going to build a case against Samson. 607s

So just go with me here. 612s

So we're going to go over to Judges 14 versus 1 through 3. 614s

So this is Samson as an adult. 618s

Once Samson went down to Timna, 622s

and at Timna he saw a Philistine woman. 624s

Then he came up and told his father and mother, 626s

I saw a Philistine woman at Timna. 629s

Now get her for me as my wife. 632s

But his father and mother said to him, 634s

is there not a woman among your kin or among all our people 637s

that you must go and take a wife 640s

from the uncircumcised Philistines? 642s

So Samson is demanding to marry a Philistine woman. 645s

Now the law given to Moses, 650s

given to the Israelite people in Deuteronomy 7, 654s

we read, you shall not intermary with them. 657s

That is outside of the Israelite people, 661s

giving your daughters to their sons 664s

or taking their daughters for your sons 666s

for they would turn away your sons from following me 668s

to serve other gods. 671s

Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you 673s

and he would destroy you quickly. 676s

So there's one, Samson demanded to marry a Philistine woman 678s

outside of what the law commanded. 685s

Going to judges 14 verses eight and nine. 689s

So let me back up just a little bit. 695s

So he had killed a lion, a lion had rushed at him, 697s

and the Lord, the spirit of the Lord gave him power 700s

and strength and he tore that lion into. 705s

So this lion is dead, going to verse eight. 708s

After a while, he, that Samson, 711s

turned to marry this Philistine woman 713s

and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion 716s

and there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion 719s

and honey. 722s

He scraped it out into his hands and went on, 723s

eating as he went. 726s

When he came to his father and mother, 728s

he gave some to them and they ate it. 730s

But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey 732s

from the carcass of the lion. 735s

In the Levitical Law, Leviticus chapter 11 739s

talks about unclean and clean animals. 744s

It says, this is the law about beast and bird 747s

and every living creature that moves through the waters 749s

and every creature that swarms on the ground 752s

to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean 754s

and between the living creature that may be eaten 757s

and the living creature that may not be eaten. 760s

So according to clean and unclean law, 763s

lions were an unclean animal. 767s

Not only was a lion an unclean animal 770s

but even a clean animal if one were to touch the carcass, 774s

the dead animal, then that person is considered unclean. 779s

So here, Samson not only touches a carcass, 783s

it's a carcass of an unclean animal 789s

and then he scoops out the honey, eats of it 792s

and gives it to his parents and doesn't tell them 797s

that he has made them unclean by this action. 800s

But Samson wanted it. 807s

So Samson did it. 810s

Okay, number three, judges 16 verse one. 813s

Once, Samson went to Gaza where he saw a prostitute 822s

and went into her. 827s

Okay, Levitical Law, chapter 19 verse 29, 829s

do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute 834s

less the land fall into prostitution 838s

and the land become full of depravity. 841s

Prostitution is not commanded. 844s

No prostitution. 848s

So here, Samson sees what he wants, 850s

decides he will do what he wants 854s

and again, he breaks the law. 857s

This is a man who is set apart as a Nazarite 862s

to serve the Lord, but what he sees, he gets. 866s

What he wants, he goes after regardless, 872s

regardless of whether or not it is breaking the commandments 878s

of whether or not it is breaking his vow. 883s

We continue in chapter 16 and then we go to verse four. 888s

After this, he fell in love with a woman in the valley 893s

of Saurik whose name was Delilah. 897s

The lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her, 900s

coax him and find out what makes his strength so great 903s

and how we may overpower him so that we may bind him 906s

in order to subdue him. 910s

And we will each give you 1100 pieces of silver. 913s

He sees Delilah, another Philistine woman, 919s

another woman outside of the Israelite people 925s

whom he is commanded, all Israelites are commanded 928s

to not engage with. 931s

And he sees her and he wants her and he goes after her. 935s

And what's amazing is that she consistently asks 940s

to know his source of strength. 944s

If we read through in chapter 16, 946s

he, she keeps asking him what makes you strong 949s

and he keeps telling her lies. 953s

And every single time he goes to sleep having told her lie 957s

and she says, Samson, the Philistines are upon you 961s

and he stays with her every single time 965s

and they continue this little dance 970s

until she finally wears him down 972s

and his love for her, his idolatry for her 976s

is so great and he is weakened by her nagging 982s

that he finally tells her what the strength is, 987s

what the source of his strength is. 991s

And he says if his hair is cut, 993s

if it is shaved off then he will no longer be strong. 997s

She shaves off his head. 1005s

We're going to get to that. 1009s

Samson was awful. 1014s

He was awful. 1017s

He is not one in scripture that we look to for moral guidance 1019s

because at every turn he is breaking the commands 1024s

he, one who has been set apart from before birth, 1031s

one who had been raised by devoted loving parents 1035s

and what he sees he wants and what he wants, 1040s

he knows he will get and he knows 1044s

that he will be stronger than the Philistine. 1047s

He's had the spirit of the Lord with him and rush upon him 1049s

where he can take on a thousand men 1055s

and kill a thousand men with the jaw of a donkey. 1057s

He is really trusting in his own power, 1064s

his own strength. 1069s

He was blessed. 1074s

He was set apart, remember where we read 1077s

in chapter 13 that she bore, 1080s

that this wife of Manoa, she bore a son 1084s

and the Lord was with him and the Lord blessed him. 1087s

Samson had every single opportunity 1093s

to lean into and to live under and up to the vow of the Nazarite, 1097s

the vow that had been placed upon him before birth. 1103s

And he failed. 1111s

According to the law, 1114s

at every opportunity that came his way, 1116s

the Lord was still with him 1123s

and then he told out of idolatry for Delilah, 1127s

he told the source of his strength 1133s

and we're going to read what happened 1136s

in chapter 20 in chapter 16. 1140s

Delilah said the Philistines are upon you, Samson, 1145s

when he awoke from his sleep, he thought, 1149s

I will go out as other times and shake myself free, 1151s

but he did not know that the Lord had left him. 1155s

He had trusted that as many times as he would disobey, 1159s

that he would turn from the Lord, 1167s

that he would break the promise, the vow that he was 1169s

to live under, he still trusted that he would be strong. 1173s

He still trusted that he could take care of things, 1178s

but the Lord left him and he didn't realize it. 1182s

We continue, so the Philistines seized him 1187s

and gouged out his eyes, they brought him down to Gaza 1190s

and bound him with bronze shackles 1193s

and he ground at the mill in the prison. 1195s

But the hair of his head began to grow again 1199s

after it had been shaved. 1201s

So Samson was under the hand of his enemies. 1206s

His enemies, Israel's enemies, they seized him, 1209s

they defeated him, they maimed him, they mocked him, 1215s

they ridiculed him, he was defeated by the enemy. 1219s

He was defeated by the enemy, the Lord had left him. 1227s

So let's go back to chapter 14 for a moment. 1233s

Chapter 14, right at that first case, 1237s

we were building against Samson, 1242s

when he is going to take that first Philistine woman 1245s

as his wife and his parents ask, 1248s

well, isn't there someone of our own kin 1253s

that you could have of our own people, of Israel 1256s

that you could have for a wife 1260s

and they didn't understand what was going on. 1263s

Samson said, get her for me because she pleases me. 1267s

Now, verse four, his father and mother did not know 1271s

that this was from the Lord, 1275s

for he was seeking a pretext to act against the Philistines. 1277s

At that time, the Philistines had dominion over Israel. 1282s

So indeed, Samson did see what he wanted 1286s

and he went after it, but God was going to use it 1290s

in order to save Israel from the Philistines. 1295s

And so God in each of these instances 1299s

overcomes the Philistines. 1303s

In spite of, or despite Samson's error, 1306s

Samson's straying, Samson's wandering, 1310s

God continues to use him in order to save Israel. 1313s

God was with Samson and he was working all things 1322s

according to his will and according to his glory 1327s

and his purpose. 1332s

Let's go back to Judges 16. 1334s

So we're going to go to verse 28. 1337s

So Samson had been maimed, his eyes had been gouged out, 1346s

he had been mocked, he had been working. 1350s

The Philistines had defeated him and then they bring him 1353s

to perform for them. 1358s

They're having a large gathering, a big feast 1361s

to their false God, to their God, a daggone 1366s

and they want him to perform for them. 1371s

So here he is, the strong man that God had sent 1375s

to save Israel, he had been defeated, seized, maimed, 1381s

now they get to mock him. 1385s

We go to verse 28. 1387s

Samson called to the Lord and said, 1390s

had Lord God remember me and strengthen me only this once. 1392s

Oh God, so that with this one act of revenge, 1397s

I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes. 1400s

And Samson grasped the two middle pillars 1404s

on which the house rested and he leaned his weight 1407s

against them, his right hand on the one 1410s

and his left hand on the other. 1412s

Then Samson said, let me die with the Philistines. 1414s

He strained with all his might and the house fell 1419s

on the lords and all the people who were in it. 1421s

So those he killed at his death were more than those he had killed 1425s

during his life. 1429s

Samson turned to the Lord. 1437s

Out of God's grace, he gave a new beginning to Samson 1442s

in that moment. 1450s

When Samson could no longer rely upon himself, 1452s

when Samson could no longer rely upon his strength, 1458s

Samson couldn't rely upon even what his eyes would see. 1464s

Remember constantly he was saying, I see this, I want it. 1470s

I'm gonna take it or you're going to get it for me 1476s

or get her for me. 1478s

He saw and he went after here, he could see no one. 1480s

He could see nothing. 1484s

He was a broken man. 1486s

And he turned rightfully so to the Lord. 1491s

He set his, no pun intended, kind of intended eyes 1497s

upon the Lord alone. 1502s

And he trusted in the Lord alone. 1503s

He relinquished his own desire. 1507s

He relinquished his own will. 1510s

And he sought God's will to be done in and for Israel. 1513s

He sought God's will for Israel to be saved. 1518s

This is a shadow of things to come. 1523s

Remember when we were studying the tabernacle 1526s

and so much was a shadow of the things to come. 1529s

This is a shadow of things to come. 1533s

So in the time of the judges, 1535s

in the time of the judges, depravity was everywhere. 1538s

Sin was everywhere. 1541s

And jokingly I said, you know, well, of course, 1544s

in this day and age we just don't see sin anywhere. 1546s

Well, yes, we do. 1548s

We do. 1550s

We see depravity everywhere. 1550s

That has not changed. 1553s

Sin has not ended. 1555s

Depravity has never gone away. 1558s

So there was another miraculous birth. 1563s

Even more miraculous than Samson's birth. 1567s

There was a miraculous birth little over 2000 years ago. 1570s

We celebrated it just a few weeks ago. 1575s

It was the birth of Jesus Christ, 1578s

the second person of the Trinity entering into humanity. 1581s

Jesus in his life, no one would have referred to him 1587s

as the strong man of the Bible. 1591s

Like we do for Samson. 1593s

Jesus didn't flex his strength or show his strength. 1596s

He maintained who he was as God's son. 1601s

He certainly didn't relent and didn't shy away 1606s

from speaking the truth, from performing miracles 1610s

and for standing up. 1613s

We know Jesus was strong. 1617s

We also know that part of the story of Christ 1622s

is that he was taken, he was seized by the enemy. 1625s

And yet he sought for God's will to be done. 1635s

At any point, at any point, 1640s

Jesus could have said, nope, we're done here. 1643s

But he didn't. 1648s

He didn't. He constantly sought the Father's will. 1650s

Jesus was seized by his enemies. 1656s

Jesus was absolutely mocked. 1660s

Jesus was maimed probably beyond recognition 1664s

Jesus, from what those around him in the moment, 1677s

could see, Jesus was defeated 1685s

as he hung on that cross and died. 1692s

But in his death, he destroyed. 1697s

Death. 1703s

In Samson's death, he had the new beginning. 1706s

In Samson's death, God gave Israel a new beginning. 1711s

In Samson's death, God destroyed Israel's enemy. 1718s

So let's go to Hebrews. 1725s

It's in the New Testament after the gospels, 1727s

after the letters of Paul, we get to Hebrews. 1730s

We're going to go to chapter two. 1738s

Hebrews chapter two verse 14. 1747s

Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, 1750s

he, that's Jesus, himself, likewise shared the same things. 1753s

So that through death, he might destroy the one who has the power of death. 1757s

That is the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery 1762s

by the fear of death. 1769s

In Christ's death, he defeated the enemy, 1771s

not just the enemy of Israel, not just this group of enemy, 1778s

but Jesus Christ in his death destroyed death. 1784s

He destroyed the enemy that is death, that is the devil. 1789s

If we go back just a couple of books to second Timothy, 1796s

second Timothy, it's just right before Hebrews. 1802s

Second Timothy chapter one verse 10, 1805s

where Paul writes, it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, 1809s

Jesus Christ, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 1815s

So not only was Christ not defeated, 1824s

but Christ defeated and was triumphant over the ultimate enemy. 1829s

And we know this because he was raised, we know he was raised, 1837s

not only because the tomb was empty, 1842s

but we know he was raised because he came and showed himself to his disciples. 1845s

He came and showed himself to hundreds of people. 1851s

They saw the living Christ again. 1855s

In Friendspeak, that's a ministry that happens on Friday mornings and it's incredible. 1859s

There is one participant in one of our congregants that have been working, 1867s

several of our congregants have non-English speaker friends that are learning conversational English through this. 1871s

And they learn it. 1881s

They've been learning it by going through the gospel of Luke. 1882s

And one congregant, I went out and talked to her and her language partner. 1886s

And they said, oh, we just got to Christ rising. 1891s

And this woman was so excited and she realized, 1897s

and we talked about how she got to the best part of the story. 1902s

The best part of the story is that Christ has defeated the enemy. 1906s

And Christ, you know, Samson saved Israel or God saved Israel through Samson's death, 1913s

but God saved all of us and gives us each a new beginning, a new life through the death and resurrection of Christ, 1919s

of himself. 1933s

So while I'm still trying to come to make peace with Samson. 1936s

And I'm getting there. 1942s

I'm getting there. 1944s

I'm grateful that we have Samson, you know, the Lord does not waste his people and the Lord does not waste our time. 1945s

And we have the story of Samson for a reason. 1955s

And we're not in awe of Samson for his strength. 1958s

Because it wasn't his strength in his hair. 1964s

His strength came from the Lord. 1968s

And when he lost his strength, it was because the Lord had left him. 1970s

And when he turned once again, wholly and completely to the Lord, that broken and contrite man, 1977s

and asked for the Lord to give him strength, he once again was given that strength and powered by God. 1985s

When we have our moments that we find ourselves being very Samson-y and going, turning from the Lord, 1994s

trusting in our own strength, trusting in what we can do, who we are, making idols of what we see and going after those, 2005s

it is never too late to turn again. 2017s

To the Lord, to repent and say, Lord, I ask for your strength. 2023s

I ask for your strength to not make an idol. 2030s

I ask for your strength to deal with whatever situation we're dealing with. 2036s

And we continually turn to the Lord with that broken and contrite heart. 2043s

And we are promised that over and over and over again, 2047s

we are forgiven through Christ who gave us our new beginning and continues to give us new beginnings. 2051s