Fast forward to Judges chapter 14, when baby Samson has grown up and is a young man now. And what is the very first thing we see this hero doing? He lustfully takes a fancy to a young Philistine woman and demands to have her as his wife.
Wait a minute! Samson was supposed to begin rescuing his people from Philistine oppression. Instead he wants to get in bed - literally - with the enemy! It seems unbelievable. Why would someone deliberately choose a course of action that was the exact opposite of their destiny and calling?
Not only that, in the course of the drama, we also see him touching a dead body, something that he had specifically committed not to do, because of his calling as a Nazirite who was especially dedicated to serving the Lord.
Samson's case may seem a little extreme, but how often in everyday life do believers deliberately choose things that sabotage their destiny? It might be a bad habit, like gossip, criticism or pornography. It might be embracing unbelief, so that we fail to take steps of faith that God is asking of us. Or, like Samson, it might be a subtle self-centredness that keeps us living our lives the way we want, rather than the way God wants.
We are called to love God, love others and become more like Jesus. How often in our daily lives do we make choices that take us in the opposite direction from that destiny?
Read on below for the sad epitaph of Samson's life.
