Was the strength of Samson in his hair or the Nazirite
vow? If he shaved his hair or allowed
another to do so on his behalf, he would break and annul the vow and covenant
with God. The Philistines captured him
and gave a feast to their god, Dagon, whom they believed gave Samson into their
hands. Samson more or less gave himself
into their hands didn't he? He believed
his strength was in his hair and trusted Delilah with that knowledge, like an
utter fool. She had already used the
information he had given her three times to attempt to bind him, why did he
fall for this one? Imagine the pathetic
sight of the once great and proud Samson with both eyes gouged out, brought
before the lords of the Philistines in shackles to entertain like
Quasimodo. Finally, he cries out to the
Lord for strength, one final feat that will literally bring down the house on
him and all those who were there celebrating.
A pathetic ending to his life.
Jesus' power wasn't in His garments. The woman with the discharge of blood
believed that His power was so tangible, so great, that anything that touched
Him would be charged with that power, so if she could touch even the hem of His
garment she would be healed. She was
required to give wide berth to all, her uncleanness made her "contagious." Anyone who had physical contact with her
would themselves be considered unclean.
She took an enormous risk in contacting Jesus but she had weighed the
risk against the reward and took her opportunity, surely in the belief He would
never know such a light touch. Instead,
He knew power had gone out from Him and turned to ask who had touched Him. Can you see this woman coming in fear and
trembling, on her knees before Him, confessing her sin of touching Him as all
the onlookers glare at her for daring to do so.
Her confession wasn't entirely necessary, Jesus doesn't seem to know who
had touched him, she had gotten away with her act of daring, but she couldn't
not confess, she had to tell the truth.
Her reward was more than healing, it was hearing Jesus call her daughter
and wishing her shalom and the certainty of her healing. Peace, when had she last known peace?
Paul reminds the Corinthians that power in their lives, any
strength they have, is the power of Christ living in them. That He lives in us is itself a miracle no
less than what happened to this woman.
We, sinners, have the power of resurrection, the power of healing and
the power of God in us, in these mortal frames.
We take it for granted and we fail to live from that strength. We continue in sin and we fail to have the
impact we are meant to have for the kingdom.
We, like Samson, believe our power lies in material things, our physical
strength, our mental capabilities, our earning potential, or whatever else we
may rely upon. We forget that the
greatest power we ever know comes through the Holy Spirit, Christ in us. Let us seek today to live by that power and
none other.
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