Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1915-01-29
LESSON FOR JANUARY 81
THE BIRTH OF SAMSON.

LESSON TEXT-Judges 13:s-B. 24-25.
GOLDEN TEXT-Beware, 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
a seven years course we suggest, in
outline, Samson's entire life.
!. samson's Parents. God chooses
humble man and woman, folk of piety
and prayer, to bring forth and rear
this great deliverer The angels most
improbable promise (13:3) is accepted
by Manoah and his wife (13:6, -.
They express desire to be able to
measure up to the responsibility-a
suggestion to parents. There is also a
hint Of the dual responsibility of par
ents in the words, teach u.s. (See
Eph. ga; Jas. 1:5-7.) 1t 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. 81. AS the mother of a
Nazarite she must keep herself from
all things unclean ". IA; II Cor. 6:
I'D, even as Mary, the mother of
Jesus (Luke 1889. 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. W seems to indi-
cate that this was another premani-
festation of our Lord Jesus.
II. samuers 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 harp, as if Samson's heart
was open to God as 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 an of this true laugh
ter and glad joyousness left his soul.
Chapter 13, verse 25, 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 its
buoyancy. is forced, is different, is
that of men whose hearts are unclean.
III. Samson's Impurity. 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 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 knowlege 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 excesses grinding in the
| Philistine prison, where he perhaps
overheard praises being sung to Dagon
9ho had overthrown Jehovah's judge.
u is never safe to play with tempta-
sion though conscious of our own
strength; then it is we are most apt
to fall Il Cor. 10:12). 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, 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 it gave him courage to believe
that God would yet give him another
chance.
Finally, when their hearts were
merry" Q6:25), 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 q
token of that conservation which ne
had surrendered when he failed te
withstand the wiles of Delilah.
The Temperance Teaching of this
lesson is all too plain. 1t must begir
in the home and continue throughou
all of life. As we have scattered in
formation throughout our land W,
have seen the work of temperance ad
: vancing nightly. Samson's exploi
with the lion is temperance sermon
in parable (14:5, 6; Prov. 20:1). Tn
business of the temperance forces i
to slay the lion. We are also to ca
honey out of the rock" to gain vic
,, tories, within and without, and, lik
Samson, we can give honey to Others
To have part in helping to redeem
Slost world requires that we keep clear
Fellowship in Prayer.