Bald and Beautiful
Tiffany Ann Lewis 

This month I would like to talk about Sampson’s hair.  Not about the strength that was allegedly found there, but rather the weakness hidden within.  When we think of Sampson, 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)  However, the reality is, Sampson 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. 

If you are unfamiliar with the life of Sampson, it starts at Judges 13.  The Angel of the LORD announced to Sampson’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.  I want to debunk the legend that Sampson’s strength was in his hair.  God never said the strength was in his hair, Sampson did.  I believe Sampson really thought his strength was in his hair.  He told Delilah “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb.”  Sampson should have stopped there, giving all the glory to God but he went on saying, “If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me.”  (Jud. 16:17)  The truth is he would loose his strength if his God left him.  All Nazarites took the same vows, not just Sampson.  The hair was a sign of the covenant.  Sampson’s hair was to be a witness to God Almighty.  People would have seen the hair and known this person belonged to God. 

A Nazirite is 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.  Sampson’s vow was life long. (See Numb. 6)  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 

These are all outward signs of an inward covenant, just like a wedding ring is an outward sign that you are married.  If a Nazirite broke his/her vow they would need to purify themselves by shaving their head and starting their days of separation all over again.  

The Spirit of the LORD would come upon Sampson now and again empowering him with supernatural strength in order to fulfill the call.  In Judges 14, Sampson killed a lion with his bare hands.  Sampson’s miracle conquest now held his temptation.  In the dead lion’s carcass, there was a beehive full of delicious honey.  Sampson 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.   

Sampson should have admitted what he had done wrong and shaved his head but he did not, he protected his image instead of his anointing.  This pointed to the bigger issue; Sampson 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; Sampson 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.  Sampson was too weak to resist temptation but worse, he was too weak to admit that he was not strong.  This weakness snowballed for the rest of his life until finally his enemy cut off his hair.   

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 or show weakness; that is why we work so hard to be good at whatever we do.  However, it is in our weakness, not our strength, that God will perfect His power.  What the Lord deposited in Sampson was there outside of all his success and outside of all his failures too.  Sampson 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.  No longer, will we 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 Sampson’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.  Or, in today’s lingo, 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.  Plain and simple, when we get to heaven, 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 his or her 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.  Sampson didn’t need his hair in order to be strong; he needed the God of the Nazirite covenant.  If Sampson’s hair had never been cut, I wonder 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 Sampson comes to a close.  The typical view is that Sampson lost his power because his hair was cut off.  I just don’t see it that way anymore.  Remember, his hair was only the sign of the covenant.  I see a God who loves Sampson enough to get his hair cut, even if it happens through the hand of his enemy, so that he

could start over again. 

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 Sampson, not of his hair growing back and giving him strength again.  This shows us Isaiah 1:18, "No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly  fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool.” (NLT) 

No, Sampson didn’t shave his head as a sign of repentance however, in his baldness, he found where his strength ended and where God’s grace began.  Then finally, for the first time Sampson 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 Sampson 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 Sampson’s weakest hour, God perfected His power.  HalleluYah!

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 display His glory through our lives.  Amen.