SKILL OF STRENGTH
Matt Martin
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
“But, Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.”
Judges 16:3
THE SKILL OF STRENGTH
Physical strength is the primary skill in warfare. We all love the underdog, but most of the time Goliath wins—not David. The central focus of military training is increasing the physical strength of the individual soldier, while honing additional fighting skills. Why? —because stronger soldiers triumph and weaker soldiers get killed. Strong soldiers don’t beat the odds—they are the odds. Strength is the imperative skill of soldiers who prevails in conflict, hands down!
"IF YOU FAINT IN THE DAY OF ADVERSITY YOUR STRENGTH IS SMALL" —SOLOMON
God gave Sampson a miraculous physical strength intended for the rescue of his people [the Israelites] from their archenemies, the Philistines. The Bible records a number of Sampson’s incredible feats of strength, but none describe his brute, physical power quite like the removal of the city gates from the Philistine city of Gaza. Although we don’t know the exact weight of the gates, posts and all, historical evidence suggests the gates could have been as heavy as 10 tons (20,000 lbs.) More impressively, the additional force it would have taken to rip the gates from their moorings and haul them to an elevation of 3200 feet—some 26 miles away to Hebron, in the Land of Israel, would have been incredible.[i]
Not bad for an early morning workout—very early morning according to the text!
Unfortunately, our hero is not nearly as dominant morally and as he is physically, and regularly loses his ethical battles as easily as he wins his physical ones. The story of Sampson is a sad story of what-might-have-been, had Sampson relied on the Lord for spiritual strength as often as he relied on him for physical strength.
THE SKILL OF BEING STRONG IN THE LORD
In the same way Sampson was given a skill of physical strength and tasked by God’s to lead and protect his people, believers are given skills of spiritual power and strength to follow Jesus. We possess a number of God-given skills and abilities, but our primary skill is strength in the Lord and our mandate is to humbly rely on His wisdom and guidance in our walk with Him.
Imagine what Sampson could have accomplished, for the Lord, had his affection been towards God and God’s people instead of the immoral Philistine women. With his incredible God-given skill of strength, Sampson could have easily led Israel to permanent victory over the Philistines and brought generations of peace and safety to those in his care. Instead, his life was marred by his own self interest and moral failures, thus tragically ending at the hands of those he should have destroyed.
BE STRONG IN THE LORD
The word “be” means to exist. Warriors must be strong and "exist" in their strength in battle. Warriors train with the enemy in mind, at all times, focused on building the necessary strength and ability to overcome them in battle. When Paul challenged the Ephesians to be strong in the Lord, he was imprisoned in Rome chained, day and night, to a Roman Praetorian Guardsman. The Praetorian Guardsman were Rome’s most elite troops and endured strenuous physical training for strength in battle. Despite the incredible physical power and endurance brought about by their training; the soldiers ultimate reliance was not on themselves but on something greater than themselves—the weaponry they had acquired the strength to use during “boot camp”.
The Christian life is not a spiritual vacation we take after we decide to follow Jesus, it is a spiritual war fought, daily, on fields of battle. Winning is really about how we respond in the moment; what we do in the heat of battle; how we face adversity; what we do, say, and think in mortal combat with the enemy and ultimately how strong we are in the Lord.
Sampson’s failure and ultimate demise, is a lesson we should regard seriously as Christians. Spiritual strength is something given to us at spiritual birth, just like strength was given to Sampson when he was born physically, but must be continually engaged. The challenge is to hone our strength through camaraderie, daily spiritual self-discipline, and our reliance on someone stronger than ourselves.
CHALLENGE
· Train daily—be faithful to reading, memorizing and meditating on God’s word to keep your minds sharp and alert spiritually.
· Be accountable to others—Sampson was a loner and paid the price.
· Pray always for each other and the church—despite Sampson’s glaring moral weaknesses he ultimately knew the source of his strength and called out to Jehovah for renewed power to overcome his enemies with his dying breath.
Unfortunately, Sampson failed through self-interest and moral failure. We are no different and are prone to similar failures and defeats. Continue to challenge yourselves , personally, each other, collectively, and stay strong!
[i] http://www.practicalbible.com/top-stories/samson-and-the-philistine-gate
