Samson...Out of Weakness, He Was Made Strong

Samson was a man to whom God had given super human strength.  He was also a man who was prideful, arrogant and lacked self-control.  A pretty volatile combination of qualities.  The Bible says whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.  When Samson was in his flesh, he had no rule over his spirit.  God used this weakness in his character to bring him to a place of humiliation and helplessness, and it was in this place of weakness that God’s strength was made perfect in the life of Samson.

Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, "O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!"Judges 16:28

Beyond his desire for retaliation, (not good) Samson also expresses a willingness to die to protect his people from their enemy.  The Lord heard his cry.

Then Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.—Judges 16:30

In the suffering and brokenness of his last days, Samson had come to the place of truly trusting His God. As it says in vs 34 of Hebrews 11, out of weakness, he was made strong.  Samson died serving God and protecting His people.  Samson’s name is recorded as a hero of faith in Hebrews 11.

Father,  In my flesh NOTHING good dwells.  In You and by Your Spirit I am made strong...a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.—2 Corinthians 12:9-10

King Josiah...

Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes.—2 Kings 22:11

"because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you," says the LORD.

 "Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place." ' " So they brought back word to the king.—2 Kings 22:19-20

I love Josiah!   He did what was right in the sight of the Lord and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.  He had a humble, contrite heart and a tender conscience.   When Josiah heard the words of the book of the law, his heart was grieved and he tore his clothes.  Josiah reacts rightly to the Spirit’s conviction by seeking the Lord, confronting Judah’s sin and leading the nation back to God. 

Josiah received God’s word with meekness...without argument.  He surrendered to the conviction the Spirit of God brought to his heart and in doing so he brought revival to the nation.  As a bonus, God showed Josiah mercy and held off judgment until after his death.  

I want a heart like Josiah’s!  His heart was humble. Humility protects and preserves.  Lowliness of mind keeps us from our own wrong desires and settles our mind on what He desires.  When I am humble, I am not self seeking...I am looking to live for Him and His glory.  His perfect will then covers me.  I am under his umbrella of protection so to speak.  If I have done what my Lord has called me to do and fulfilled all His desires, than despite how things might look from an earthly perspective, I have led a successful life. Josiah’s meekness and willingness to yield to the Spirit of God brought him the favor of both God and man.  

In Chapter 23 we see Josiah reading the book of the law in the presence of the Elders of Judah and all the people great and small.❤️ His heart desired that all, upon hearing the word of God, would turn and repent.  Verse 3 says this:

“Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant.”

“And all the people took a stand.”

Josiah was a leader.  Josiah took a stand for what was right and good and the people followed him.   Never underestimate what effect your life will have on your family and those around you when you unashamedly take a stand for Your God. What a testimony Josiah had!  (Has!). Stand therefore!

Our OYB Psalm for today perfectly speaks to this section of 2 Kings...

1 Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He shall be like a tree

Planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so,

But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,

Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

But the way of the ungodly shall perish.