Keith Battle - Samson's Closing Prayer

My subject today is «Samson’s Closing Prayer.» Samson is an intriguing character in the Bible, primarily because he exemplifies someone who had incredible potential, strengths, abilities, and gifts, but his character got him into trouble. Samson came on the scene miraculously because he had two parents who couldn’t have children for years. Manoah and his wife could not have children, and one day the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, «You’re going to give birth to a son, and I want you to conduct yourself in a certain way. There are certain things you’re not supposed to eat, certain things you’re not supposed to drink, because this son needs to be pure; he’s going to start the deliverance of the nation of Israel from Philistine bondage.» The Israelites had been in Philistine bondage for some time, and God was sending the deliverer whose name was Samson. She was so moved that she went to her husband, who wasn’t there during the theophany. The theophany is an appearance of God, and she went to her husband and told him, and he started praying to God. He said, «God, please come back, tell us more about this child, how we’re supposed to raise him, and what we’re supposed to do so that we will know how we should raise this child.» Sure enough, God appeared again to her, giving more details about what they were to do with this child. He was not supposed to touch any dead thing; he was supposed to be a Nazarite. He was not supposed to cut his hair or drink wine or anything unclean, and this was the directive over his life. He was born, amazingly, with two theophanies preceding his birth and godly parents. The Bible says in Judges chapter 13, verses 24 and 25, that God started moving in his life, and he began growing, with the Spirit of God coming upon him at various times, enabling him to do amazing things. This is how he started—what an amazing start for a child of godly parents destined for greatness, with an assignment on his life. He was born with purpose to deliver Israel from Philistine bondage, to destroy the enemy on behalf of the people of God; that was his assignment. However, when we get to chapter 14, verse 1, everything turns. The Bible says that he went down to a place called Timna, and when you read Judges chapters 14, 15, and 16, you will see that he is moving southward in his life; he keeps going down. The Bible says he is going down to Timna, down to Gaza, down into the cave, down in the Sks Kalam, and the direction of his life geographically symbolizes where his life is spiritually. He is going down; he’s not ascending; he’s not growing. There’s something about going down that you can’t always feel or sense; it’s not always sudden and volatile; sometimes your life is going down, and you’re not even aware of it. I want you to take a moment to reflect on your life right now. Spiritually speaking, what direction is your life going? What direction are you headed? So when he goes to Timna, he goes down and sees a woman who is so attractive that he makes a decision just by looking at her. He says, «That’s my wife.» He decides, «She’s so beautiful; I want to marry her.» He doesn’t know what she believes, where her values lie, or what she stands for. He doesn’t know her religious position or where she’s headed in life; he just wants her because she’s attractive. I wonder, because she’s cute. Look at someone and say, «You have to look past cute.» Many people marry someone for their looks and end up with someone crazy. Yes, you’re cute, but do you have any sense? You’re cute, but do you have any values? You’re cute, but can you manage money properly? You’re cute, but where are you headed? You’re cute, but you’re lazy. You’re cute, but you’re selfish. You’re cute, but you focus on your own world and your own things. You’re cute, but we’re not even aligned together. Some of you look only at the surface of someone, but you need to look beyond that. He goes home and tells his parents, «I found someone I want to marry,» and his parents say, «Why don’t you marry someone from our country? Why don’t you marry someone from your culture?» He insists, «I want her because she pleases me.» Be cautious about marrying someone without your parents' blessing or the endorsement of those in authority over your life; people looking at the situation may think, «I don’t believe that’s wise for you.» Nevertheless, he insists, «I have to have her.» Subsequently, the Bible says that his mother and father, along with Samson, are on their way to Timna to meet the woman he wants to marry. On their way down to Timna, the Bible describes their trip this way: Samson ends up outside of a vineyard. Now, it doesn’t mention that his parents are there; they traveled from wherever they lived to Timna without going near this vineyard, but Samson must have separated himself from them because he is headed toward the vineyard. Just as he approaches the vineyard, he’s attacked by a lion. His parents weren’t attacked.