The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1915-01-30

1A42oOAN 1EAl-JuQEeS lJsb=lb, Zl=LD.
GOLDEN TEXT-Beware, l pray thee.
and drink no wine nor strong drink
Judges 1874.
The, story of Samson bulks large in
ne book of Judges and in the interest
and imagination of all men ever since
his day. This being the only lesson in
a seven years course we suggest, in
outline, Samson's entire life.
!. samson's Parents. God chooses
a humble man and woman, folk of piety
and prayer, to bring forth and e
this great deliverer. The angels most
improbable promise (13;3) is accepted
by Manoah and his wife (13:6, y.
They express a desire to be able to
measure up to the responsibilities
suggestion to parents. There is also a
hint of the dual responsibility of par
ents in the words, teach u.s." (See
Eph. 6:4; Jas. 1:5-7.) II was reasons
able to believe hat 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
SAS AobhOA v ~ Ab lu6 HlOII5I VI u
Nazarite she must keep herself from
all things unclean ". IA; II Cor. 81;
I'D, even Is Mary, the mother OF
Jesus (Luke 1881. The experience of
the sacrifice, the worship of Manoah
and his wife and the fact of Sam
sons birth completes the record OF
chapter ID. Manoah could not worship
the angel, but could show him hospi-
talfty. Verse Is Or. W seems to indie
cate that this was another premanis
festation Of u Lord Jesus.
u. SamueI's 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 a harp is open to
human touch. "Samson's power was
the result Of a faith that was open
to the infinite storehouse of the d.
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.
Chapter 10. verse rs, illustrates the
amounting of the Holy Spirit for service
as perhaps distinguished from the
same Spirit for holiness. The laughter
heard in the haunts of sin has lots It's
~buoyancy, is forced, is different, is
that of men whose hearts are unclean.
III. Samson's lmpurity. A woman
can make or mai the man with whom
she associates. AS a Nazarite, Samson
was dedicated unto God, must not al
low a razor to touch his head, was not
to touch anything %unclean, nor drink
Intoxicating liquor. This VOW was
usually for a 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; 1917; Luke 1:15), Samson's
strength burned out when he lay his
head in a harlot's lap and the laughter
went out of his soul. 1t was that
which broke the contact between him
and God. Samson's birth in a godly
home, his knowledge of his relation to
God and the experience of Gods power
did not keep him from an ignoble
failure. He left the atmosphere of
Gods spirit for that of sin prov. 4:
23).
~. samson's Imprisonment. We find
him after his excuses grinding in the
Philistine prison, where he perhaps
overheard praises being sung to Dagon
who had overthrow Jehovah's Judge.
1t is never safe to play with tempta-
ton though conscious of u own
strength; then 1t is we are most apt
to fall q Cor. 1919. One act and
the gay hero is grinding in a prison
house. Directly a 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, a type of the force and
power of intemperance and other i'm
pure habits. During these years he
doubtless put his hand upon his head
and said, MY hair is growing again.
and 1t gave him courage to believe
that God would yet give him another
chance.
Finally, when their hearts were
merry" (16:25), he is brought out to
make sport. During one of his resting
periods he said to a boy neal by, Let
me feel of the two pillars" those upon
which the main walls rested and
which were within a mans reach.
Then 1t was that he was able to grip
the mysterious power of the unseen
C6:30). Wa Samson a 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 a
token Of that conservation which he
had surrendered when he failed to
Withstand the wiles of Delilah.
The Temperance Teaching of this
lesson Is all too plain. 1t must begin
in the home and continue throughout
all of life. AS we have scattered in
formation throughout our land we