he Lord has it on my heart to talk about Samson’s hair. Not about the strength that was allegedly found there, but rather the weakness that was hidden within. This powerful revelation was originally posted in July 2007 but it’s something I believe the Lord would like me to share once again.
When we think of Samson, we think of the strong man in the bible who was tempted by Delilah, telling her that the secret of his strength was in his hair and that if he cut his hair he would “become weak and be like any other man.” (Jud. 16:17)
The reality is that Samson was weak like every other man, long hair, short hair or no hair at all. He was an ordinary human being with an extraordinary God who placed a call on his life. He was like you and just like me.
If you are unfamiliar with the life of Samson, it starts at Judges 13. The Angel of the LORD announced to Samson’s parents that they were going to have a son whom God called to be a Nazirite from his mother’s womb. His mission was to begin delivering the children of God out of the hands of the Philistines – their enemy.
We have been taught since Sunday school that Samson’s strength was in his hair, but the bible doesn’t teach us that. God never mentioned there was any strength in his hair, Samson did. What God said was that there was a call on his life and that he was to be a Nazirite.
Part of being a Nazarene meant that you were to abstain from cutting your hair. You see, all Nazirites took the same vows, not just Samson which means that they all would be walking around with long hair. The hair was a sign of the covenant; people would have seen the hair and known this person belonged to God. Samson’s hair and all the miracles were to be a witness to God Almighty.
A Nazirite is simply a class of people especially devoted to God. The Hebrew term means - to separate. Both men and women could take this vow. Some vows were made for a specific period of time; others were life long. Samson’s vow was life long. The vows are an outward signs of an inward covenant, just like a wedding ring is an outward sign of the covenant of marriage.
During the time of the separation, the Nazirite vows to abstain from:
· the fruit of the vine
· cutting one’s hair
· defilement by contact with a dead body (See Numb. 6)
I think Samson really thought there was power in his hair because he told Delilah “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me.” (Jud. 16:17)
The truth is that Samson would lose his strength if his God left him.
You see, when God places a call on an individual’s life He also equips that person to walk it out. Therefore, the Spirit of the LORD would come upon Samson now and again empowering him with supernatural strength in order to fulfill the call.
In Judges 14, Samson killed a lion with his bare hands. Samson’s miracle conquest now held his temptation. Inside the dead lion’s carcass, there was a beehive full of delicious honey. Remember that a Nazirite cannot come in contact with a dead body. Please catch this Beloved; the devil will use anything and everything to cause us to stumble and fall, even a prior mighty miracle that God executed in your life.
Unfortunately, Samson took the bait and ate the honey satisfying a craving within, while at the same time breaking his Nazirite vow by coming in contact with the dead body of the lion. An important thing to know at this point is that if a Nazirite broke his/her vow in one way or another, they would need to purify themselves by shaving their head AND start their days of separation all over again from the beginning.
Samson should have admitted what he had done wrong and shaved his head but he didn’t, he protected his image instead of his anointing. This pointed to the bigger issue; Samson was more worried about how he looked to others rather than how he looked to God.
Houston…we have a problem. The Lord wanted him to look like a Nazirite; Samson wanted to look like a strong man. The only image he had to uphold was his devotion to God; the Lord would take care of the rest. Samson was too weak to resist temptation but worse, he was too weak to admit that he wasn’t strong. This weakness snowballed for the rest of his life until finally his enemy cut off his hair.
Beloved, the strongest thing we can ever do is to ask for help. God never asks us to be strong, but tells us that in our weakness His strength will be made perfect. (see 2Cor. 12:9) If we can’t be real with the One who “demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us,” (Rom. 5:8) than who can we be real with?
Nobody likes to fail and admit that they are weak and can't do something. That’s why we work so hard to be good at whatever we do. But it’s in our weakness…not our strength that God perfects His power.
What the Lord deposited in Samson was there outside of all his success and outside of all his failures too. Samson was going to begin delivering the Israelites, hair or no hair.
Beloved, our greatness and strength here on earth does not alter God’s view of us. When God puts something in you, He is faithful to see that work done to completion. He is committed to His word, not our works. “If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.” (2 Tim. 2:13 NIV) This revelation will revolutionize our walk with God. We won’t do something to be accepted, we will do something because we are accepted. There is no more pressure to perform.
God looks at the heart motivation of all we do. I believe God was far more concerned with the devotion in Samson’s heart than with how many Philistines he killed. I don’t know how to say this gently but, when we get to heaven we’re not going to be flinging our glorious hair over our shoulder showing God how many “Philistines” we have defeated, how many souls we led to Christ, how many lives were touched due to a song we wrote, a sermon we preached, a book we wrote, or a work we have done. We’re going to cast our crowns at His feet. We’re not going to cling to our reward; we’re going to cling to the Lover of our soul, Jesus Christ.
Nobody wants their mistakes publicized but sometimes that’s the only way we will get it. God’s not trying to humiliate us; He’s trying to humble us. Samson didn’t need his hair in order to be strong; he needed the God of his Nazarine covenant to be.
I wonder if Samson’s hair had never been cut if he would have learned where his strength ended and God’s strength began. If that’s the only way for me to learn then Lord, take my hair!
Bald and beautiful the story of Samson comes to a close. The typical view is because Samson’s hair was cut off he lost his power. I just don’t see it that way anymore. Remember the hair was only a sign of the covenant. What I see is a God who loves Samson enough to get his hair cut, even if it’s through the hand of his enemy so that he could start over again.
O HalleluYah!
After his hair was cut, scripture says it began to “grow again” (Jud. 16:22). I believe this is symbolic of a new beginning for Samson, not of his hair growing back and giving him strength again.
Although Samson didn’t shave his head as a sign of repentance, I believe that in his baldness he found where his strength ended and where God’s grace began! It is at this moment that for the first time recorded in Scripture, Samson finally prays to the LORD for strength saying, “O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once…” (Jud. 16:28a) And when Samson took hold of the two pillars in his blind and beaten state he pushed them over killing more Philistines in his weakness than he had ever before in all his strength. In Samson’s weakest hour, God perfected His power. HalleluYah!
My calling is quite different from Samson’s, and yours is probably different from mine. However, one thing that we all have in common is our total dependency on Jesus Christ to help us walk it out.
Beloved, we don’t need to fear our weaknesses or even hide them behind our greatest strength. We can rejoice in them, for they are opportunities in which God will showcase His glory through our lives. Amen.
