Hmm... the things that we don't understand. We are hesitant to admit what we don't understand, anxious to either change it, ignore it or conquer it. Children are great to be around, because they are less inhibited. It's still "ok" for them not to understand. They can ask, "Why," "Why," Why?" over and over again, sometimes to their parents', teachers' and sunday school teachers' dismay. But if we listen a little more closely, they have something important to teach us... we don't understand everything.
To Conquer
Samson answered her, "If anyone ties me with seven fresh thongs [b] that have not been dried, I'll become as weak as any other man."
8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh thongs that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the thongs as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
10 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."
11 He said, "If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I'll become as weak as any other man."
12 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.
13 Delilah then said to Samson, "Until now, 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 14 and [c] 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.
15 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." 16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.
17 So he told her everything. "No razor has ever been used on my head," he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man."
18 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. 19 Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. [d] And his strength left him.
20 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.
21 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 in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved. -Judges 16:7-22
The story of Samson is a classic case of one where the Philistines tried to conquer what they did not understand. They didn't understand the secret of Samson's strength. Honestly, the story also reminds me of the saying, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me 4 times shame on me." Perhaps it goes to show that Samson, although powerful, was not the brightest crayon in the box. After Delilah setting him up 3 times, he still told her the truth, getting his eyes gouged out in the process.
But even after conquering Samson, the Philistines didn't quite understand the power of his hair. They thought it was the hair upon his head that gave him power, but instead it was the fact that he was set apart as a Nazirite in obedience to the command given to his parents, with a special connection to God. The continuation of the story shows how Samson called out to God for strength and shook the pillars of the palace where they had taken him. It was God, not Samson, that the Philistines didn't understand.
To Ignore or To Believe
11Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."
14Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" 15The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." 17This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea[a] and the surrounding country-Luke 7:11-17
Here we had a time where Jesus was performing miracles that were even harder to understand. How could this carpenter's son be doing such things? Healing the sick, bringing the dead back to life? While some chose to praise God on account of what they didn't understand, others (the Pharisees) chose to ignore and change and confront Jesus. This had to be stopped, whatever "this" was, "this" person with authority and power they did not understand.
And like Samson, they thought they could conquer him. As they took Jesus and crucified him, they thought they had taken his power away by killing his body. But it was this act of Crucifixion that brought his power to truth, that allowed his power and grace to cover the sins of each and every one of us. The power was not in his earthly body, but his part in the trinity from the Father above.
And this time of the year, this is what we celebrate... this power that we don't understand.
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