The Supernatural in the Natural
A recently promoted sixth grader came to talk to me as I was cleaning up after teaching the children’s lesson. His shocked, wide eyes mirrored his statement, “Mrs. Shannon, the Samson story is much different in youth than in children’s church.” He did not realize there was more to Delilah than just “cutting Samson’s hair”. There had been filters in the message geared to kids and he wanted to let me know that youth is a whole new world compared to children’s church.
While his summary made me laugh, I feel the same way when I read the story of Samson. It is a shocking tale of the supernatural and the natural.
Judges 13:2-5
A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
Samson was a miracle baby. A barren woman birthed a son who had been dedicated to God in the womb. He would deliver Israel from its archenemy – the Philistines. In Samson’s life, there were other supernatural moments.
Judges 14:5-6a
As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat.
Judges 15:14
As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.
Samson encountered powerful times when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him which allowed him to conquer the enemy in miraculous ways. In the midst of his twenty years of leadership, Samson experienced the supernatural, but he also experienced the natural.
Judges 16:1
One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her.
Judges 16:4
Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.
The story of Samson leaves me wide-eyed and shocked as well, but not for the same reason as the sixth grader who came to talk to me. It shocks me because in the midst of the natural, in the midst of the sin, the Spirit of God STILL came upon Samson.
Judges 16:1-3
One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn we’ll kill him.” But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
Samson’s choices in women continued to lead him into trouble.
Judges 16:4-6
Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
In response to Delilah’s request, Samson told a series of lies, relying on the natural to help him keep Delilah while still not giving away the secret of his strength.
Judges 16:7-14
Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered. Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied. He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads. Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.” Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.” He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric and tightened it with the pin. Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.
In the midst of the natural: sexual immorality, lying, manipulating, deceiving; Samson still had the power of God in his life. That is what scares me the most in this story. This can be our story as well: looking like a God follower in front of others, yet living in compromise behind closed doors. We can experience the Lord’s power through the gifts of God while the weakness of sin still consumes us. The power of God can manifest even through people that do not exhibit the character of God. In other words, we can look like a saint even while we are sinners.
It seems lately that scandal after scandal has come forth about Christian ministers and musicians. Some of the accusations took place over years, even decades. That means week after week they stood in front of others and ministered “in the name of the Lord’ all the while heinous sins were taking place once the crowds left. I have heard preachers preach against the very sins they were committing. I have heard singers lead worship while they are desecrating the Lord by their words and actions. I once knew a marriage counselor who had been married four times. What we say is not what we live.
It is easy to look at the scandals of others and think we are off the hook, as if our sins are not “that bad”. But how often have we taught a Bible class while still in the midst of an unresolved argument with our spouse? Or maybe praying to the Lord with someone after gossiping about others? Or changing our tone of voice depending on if it is a family member or a church leader? The natural and the supernatural collide. Sometimes, God in His mercy, works powerfully even while we are in the midst of sin. But that should not become our point of justification. We should not think because the Lord is moving in our midst, that our sin should be ignored, minimized, or excused. That is the warning from Samson. There finally comes a point when the cover-up no longer works, and the truth is revealed.
Judges 16:15-24
Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it. So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.” When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison.
Samson, now physically blind, had been blind long before. He was blind to the compromises in his life. He was blind to the warnings in the Word of God given to all Israelites, being a leader in the nation did not put him above the law. He was blind to the truth that the gifts of God are not more valuable than the character of God.
The shocking message of Samson is not his dysfunctional relationship with Delilah; the shocking part is the supernatural can manifest in the midst of our sin. Take the warning of Samson. He did not cut out sin, so Delilah cut his hair. Let God cut off our sin instead of sin cutting off our ministry God has given us.
