Judges 16-18

Israel often after the reign of Moses and Joshua entered into a cyclical pattern of prostituting themselves to the Canaanite idols serving gods other than YAHWEH. Similarly Samson started well but did not remain faithful, instead fell into temptation operating from impure base desires and disobedience to the commands of God who made it clear for Israel not to intermarry with the Canaanites. Chapter 16 begins with Samson seeking out a prostitute and then falls in love with a manipulative woman named Delilah who takes advantage of him turning him over to the Philistines in weakness with no supernatural strength from God through the cutting of his hair which broke the vow he adhered to from birth per the word of the LORD to his parents. 

Contrasted to Samson, Jesus was filled with the Spirit of God, endured temptation living a perfect and sinless life of obedience to God the Father. While Samson was Israel's deliverer and judge during the reign of the Philistines for 20 years, in Jesus' life of 33 years He overcame the darkness of death and the weight of sin not only for the people of Israel, but for all mankind. Jesus lived a perfect sinless life and overcame the darkness of death with His own death, since Jesus is God becoming man it is deeply profound to know that God saved us from His wrath with Himself. What greater demonstration of love is there than this?

John 15:13 (NIV) "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

The awesomeness of God is on full display when He not only loves mankind so much to give His one and only son as a sacrifice for sin, but that Jesus lived a perfect, blameless and totally righteous life and was brutally murdered at the hands of the people Jesus came to save from the wrath of God. God's grace is amazing in that while we were still living sinful lives Jesus died for us, not because we are worth dying for but because God is love. It's always amazing to me that God never changes, He loves consistently because He is good, the love of God never fails despite our unfaithfulness and failings. It is when we repent and through faith alone walk in obedience according to the will of God that He transforms us, all we have to do is receive the gift of salvation because we can't save ourselves from the evil in our heart or change our behavior enough to be a good person. All evil and bad deeds requires the death penalty, Christ paid the price so we can live - He took a bullet meant for us, that's radical love. 

"Christianity involves the belief that God loves man and for his sake became man and died. Christ did not die for men because they were intrinsically worth dying for, but because He is intrinsically love, and therefore loves infinitely." ~C.S. Lewis, Miracles



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