The Green Forest tribune., 1915-01-29

LESSON TEAT-JudgeS 13:S-16, N-25.
 GOLDEN TExT-Beware. I pray thee. and drink no wine nor strong drink Judges 1874
 The story of Samson bulks large in the book of Judges and in the interest and imagination of all men ever since his day. This being the only lesson in seven years course we suggest, in outline, Samsons entire life.
 l. Samson's Parents. God chooses a humble man and woman, folk of piety and prayer, to bring forth and rear this great deliverer. The angels most improbable promise Q3:3) is accepted by Manoah and his wife Q3:6, D. They express a desire to be able to measure up to the esponsibility-a suggestion to parents. There is also hint of the dual responsibility of par ents in the words, teach us." (See Eph. GA; Jas. 1:5-7) It was reason able to believe that the one who brought the promise could also tell them how to train and nurture the child. God honored the mothers pray er and she shares her experience with the father (v. 9. As the mother of Nazarite she must keep herself from all things unclean (v. IA; II Cor. 6: ID, even as Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:38). The experience of the sacrifice, the worship of Manoah and his wife and the fact of Sam sons birth completes the record of chapter 13. Manoah could not worship the angel, but could show him hospi- tality. Verse IS (R. V.) seems to indi- cate that this was another premani- festation of our Lord Jesus.
 II. SamueIs Power. Every race has its superman, and usually it is one of physical strength. That Samson had no physical evidence of his superior strength is evident from the fact that Delilah asked to know his secret. Nor was his strength in his hair, else there was no need that the Spirit of Jehovah" should come upon him. The secret of his power is indicated in 1925. The word move" suggests to play upon a harp, as if Samson's heart was open to God as harp is open to human touch. "Samson's power was the result of faith that was open to the infinite storehouse of the di- vine dynamic" Such spiritual power is within the reach of every man. Samson ("sunny") was full of laugh ter; not the comic, but the joyous. He did the big things God gave him to do and was filled with gladness. But Samson came under the spell of an evil woman and all of this true laugh ter and glad joyousness left his soul.
 III. Samson's Irlpurity. A woman can make or mar the man with whom she associates. As a Nazarite, Samson was dedicated unto God, must not al- low razor to touch his head, was not to touch anything unclean, nor drink intoxicating liquor. This VOW was usually for short period. Samuel and John the Baptizer are other Naza- rites recorded in Scripture, and are said to have been such from birth (3.14; 16:17; Luke 1:15). Samson's strength burned out when he lay his head in harlots lap and the laughter
  which broke the contact between him and God Samsons birth in a godly home, his knowlege of his relation to God and the experience of Gods power did not keep him from an ignoble failure.
 w. Samson's Imprisonment. We find him after his excesses grinding in the Philistine prison, where he perhaps overheard praises being sung to Dagon who had overthrown Jehovah's judge. It is never safe to play with tempta' ton though conscious of our own to fall q Cor. 10:12). One act and the gay hero is grinding in prison house. Directly man goes into i'm purity, whether in act or thought, he loses the power that formerly moved men or worked wonders. Year after year Samson plodded his round of en- forced toll, type of the force and power of intemperance and other im- pure habits.
 Finally, when their hearts were merry" (16:25), he is brought out to make sport During one of his resting periods he said to boy near by, Let me feel of the two pillars" those upon which the main walls rested and which were within a mans reach Then it was that he was able to grip the mysterious power of the unseen (16:30). Was Samson suicide? No! He accepted death as the inevitable consequence of his act of duty (See Heb 11:32).
 The growth of his hair was only token of that consecration which he had surrendered when he failed to withstand the wiles of Delilah.
 The Temperance Teaching of this lesson is all too plain. It must begin in the home and continue throughout all of life. As we have scattered in formation throughout our land we have seen the work of temperance ad vancing nightly. Samson's exploit with the lion is temperance sermon in parable (14:5. 6; Prov 20:D. The husiness of the temperance forces is