Theme of the Week: The Holy Spirit
Bible Verse: 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. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. Judges 14:6
Scripture Reading: Judges 14:1-20
“Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry,”—Bruce Banner.
One of the original forays into the comic universe, The Incredible Hulk, was the story of an ordinary man who, through a terrible research accident, gained superhuman strength when his emotions, particularly anger, got the better of him. Although he also transformed when he was hurt or in danger.
There’s something about strength that is almost universally desirable. Not many would say they don’t want to be strong. The aesthetic may not appeal to everyone, but the converse, weakness (physically speaking), doesn’t have many selling points.
Samson is a unique hero (and we’ll use that term a bit loosely) among the characters of Scripture. The last of the judges of Israel, his leadership was of a singular kind. God seemed to deliver Israel through him, not simply despite his flaws, but through them. And it was the gifting of physical strength that enabled Samson to be an effective deliverer.
Samson was a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb, a sign of which was that a razor was never to touch his hair (Judges 13:5). But lest we mistake the power of God, it had nothing to do with his hair. His strength came when “the Spirit of the Lord came upon him powerfully.”
From killing a lion with his bare hands to killing hundreds of Philistines with a donkey’s jawbone to tearing out the city gate, to collapsing the pillars of the Philistine temple, his legendary feats of strength came from the power of the Spirit.
But the significance of Samson’s story, despite my personal fascination with his muscles, is that the Spirit works in and through the foibles, shortcomings, and outright failures of people. That’s the story of the judges. The growing and deepening personal and moral failures of even the leaders of Israel. Yet God, in His faithfulness, continues to send the Spirit to empower these broken, scared, selfish, arrogant, and immoral to deliver His people.
God can, and often does, use people who are broken. But that doesn’t mean we stay that way. We’ll look at that work of the Spirit later. For now, let’s praise God that our failures do not limit God’s power.
Prayer: Lord, you have done incredible things to save your people. Thank you that you are a merciful and powerful God who works Your purposes despite the failings of your people. Help me to see where you may be working and to surrender to your plan and power. Amen.
Reflection: Is there an area of your life that you have not given over to the power of the Spirit? How might you be able to take steps to see and feel the power of the Lord in your life?
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