Before the Israelites had a king, they were led by judges, who were the leaders of the Israelites. The Book of Judges records a total of thirteen judges, and Samson was the last one. He was the most gifted and powerful of all the judges, but he was also the most unsuccessful and had the most miserable ending.
The Bible says that whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. He who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction. Samson is a perfect example of this. Samson sowed lust and reaped corruption. There was a reason for Samson's failure. He had two fatal injuries. We should learn from this:

1. Do not underestimate your Christian identity

When Samson was born, his parents dedicated him to God as a Nazarite. A Nazarite is a person who sets himself apart to serve the Lord full-time, that is, a co-worker in today's church or Christian organization. As a Nazarite, he had to swear before God to abstain from doing three things. These three prohibitions do not deprive a person of his freedom, but rather indicate that the person has been separated from the world and the flesh and has been dedicated to the Lord's use. They are a sign of a noble status! The three prohibitions are:

a. Do not touch a dead body, because the dead body represents the old self, and those who belong to God must break away from the old self.

b. Do not cut hair, because hair represents our reliance on God.

c. Do not drink alcohol

Not only did Samson break these vows, but what made him even more unsuccessful was that he had affairs with both men and women. In the end, he was defeated by Delilah. Delilah was a Gentile woman and a prostitute. How can a man of God have relations with a prostitute? How can believers and unbelievers be yoked together?
Did Samson know who he was? He knew! He knew it, but he still did it because he despised his identity as a person belonging to God. Likewise, as Christians, we are the Nazarites of the New Testament. We have the identity of God's children, and we should behave in a way that is worthy of the calling to which we have been called. In this world, no identity is more precious than being a child of God. It is only because the Lord Jesus sacrificed His life that we have the status of children of God. We were redeemed at a price. Our status is extremely noble and it is not worth doing something dirty and shameful! These things are not worthy of who we are. Please do not underestimate your identity as a Christian!

2. Do not indulge in lust

Everyone has lust, and it is impossible to completely eliminate it. It is normal to have sexual desire, but you must never indulge it. If you indulge it, it will be bad! It will gradually control you. We can see Samson's indulgence in lust in two ways.

a. He is overconfident in himself

He didn't leave Delilah because he was too confident in himself. At that time, Samson had been a judge for 20 years (see 15:20, 16:31). "I have followed the Lord for 20 years. If something had happened, God would have stopped using me. I am still a judge now, which means I am strong enough. As for women, I have played a lot! In short, I will not be defeated by women!"
Samson was too confident! He thought he could control himself. "Others may lose control, but I won't!" As a result, he became more and more depraved and finally fell into disgrace. Brothers and sisters, are you overconfident? I believe someone here is playing with fire over some sins. Please stop immediately! Don't think it's okay! If you are overconfident, by the time you realize it, it may be too late!

b. He abused God's grace

According to records, Delilah was the third Gentile woman to have sex with Samson, and this was not the first time. "The last two times, God did not punish me or take back my power, so my service was still effective. This time, with Delilah, it should be fine. God's grace is sufficient." He indulged himself with the grace of God.
Many Christians today also abuse God's grace. The precious blood of Jesus Christ is powerful. It doesn't matter if you commit a sin, just confess it! Many times, we indulge ourselves in sin, and nothing bad happens. Everything remains the same, so we think that we are protected by God's grace and can continue to indulge. Listen: He who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction. Crime has consequences. It will definitely affect you; this is a spiritual law. The tragedy of Samson is an example of this. When Samson awoke from his sleep, he said to himself, "I will break the ropes as I have done before; how can they bind me?" But he did not know that the Lord had left him. (16:20)
God no longer needs Samson. God left him, but he didn't know it. This is the greatest tragedy in life.
God will do the same with our rebellion. He will remind us through His Word, He will advise us through our brothers and sisters and pastors, and He will intervene personally to protect us. But if we ignore it, continue to go our own way, and continue to indulge in our lust, God will let us go. At this point, the ending can be horrific.

Discussion Questions

1. What is the biggest warning that Samson's failure gives you? Any feelings you want to share?

2. What desires in your life (that God doesn't like) are easily out of control? What sins easily entangle you? Is it possible to win?

Samson -- sowing lust, reaping corruption