Judges 14:19
"Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave the changes of clothing to those who had explained the riddle. So his anger was aroused, and he went back up to his father's house."
The troubling passages concerning Samson continue to haunt me. This time, with the Spirit on him mightily, Samson gives in to anger and takes revenge on the men of Ashkelon. Surely this was a selfish move on his part, even a sinful act. What good can come from acting in anger to kill and steal? How are we to understand this touch of the Spirit upon Samson's life?
Let's settle this point first. We must come to the conclusion that God's hand led Samson to take this action, even if we can't explain it to our satisfaction. There is just no other way to read the text. With the Spirit at the helm, Samson kills thirty men in anger. Does that trouble you as much as it does me? It should. The taking of any life is a serious thing, even when it is God ordained. Life is precious and I'm unsettled in the face of every death, even when it involves the enemies of God's people. I'm particularly unsettled when death is ordained of the Spirit.
We must also conclude that God had a righteous reason for moving Samson to anger and what would seem to be murder. For some unnamed reason, God chose to judge the Philistines through Samson. As Israel's deliver, God stepped in, using Samson for this purpose. Maybe he did it because of persecutions. Maybe God grew tired of their idolatrous worship. Or maybe even there was something specific in the town of Ashkelon that caused God to move.
For whatever reason, we must conclude God acted for the sake of righteousness. That I the only way the Spirit acts in the world today--never for the sake of sin, but always the sake of righteousness.
It doesn't take long for most to rightly conclude life is not fair, at least in any sense of our understanding. This is where faith comes to play. When it comes to the touch of the Spirit in our lives, God always moves in a righteous way to accomplish his ends. Our job is to affirm God's decisions as a matter of unwavering faith.
LORD JESUS
May my heart never be tempted to question your righteous plan upon the world today. May I look to you for answers, and even when none is given, may I always trust in your plan. Amen.
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