Then we have an account of Samson, from his birth to his death. He was dedicated to God to be a Nazarite even before he was born. His birth was foretold by an angel, as was his being set aside as a Nazarite. We as Christians today may not be visited by ab angel before the birth of a child, but we need to acknowledge that they are a gift of God and dedicate them to His service. Samson never seemed to consult God in much that he did, but seemed to assume that his great strength would always bring him victory. We should never go through even a day as followers of Christ without consulting God about our day, and we should always put our faith in Him and not our personal abilities. Samson killed many Philistines before he married Delilah, but after he married her, he seemed to be more interested in pleasing her than in seeking God's will. This should never happen in our life, and if it does, like Samson it may lead to our downfall. After he was blinded and abused for a period of time, Samson asked God to give him the strength to defeat the Philistines one last time, and God did so. If we have turned away from doing God's will in our life, we simply need to ask His forgiveness and He will forgive us. There were other examples of the people of Israel following false gods and false priests, and we can never afford to do that. The book of Judges closes with an account of the great sin committed by some of the tribe of Benjamin, their defense by the rest of the tribe, and their ultimate near annihilation in a war against the rest of Israel. Hopefully, we as followers of Christ will never find ourselves at war with other followers of Christ. We once again saw the effects of an ill thought out vow almost dooming the people of Benjamin, but their ultimate continuation by the people of Israel finding a way around the vow. I believe if we make a vow to God, it should be inspired by our faith, and if it is, we will never have to look for a way around it. We will next look at the book of 1 Samuel.
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