Lessons from Samson
Ephesians 6:2 (AMP)
2 HONOR [esteem, value as precious] YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER [and be respectful to them]—this is the first commandment with a promise—
Samson was anointed and gifted and when you look back you discover that he had godly parents. His parents were careful enough to follow the instructions they were given by the angel in regards to how they were to raise Samson because they were a God-fearing couple.
Judges 13:8-9
8 Then Manoah pleaded with the LORD and said, “O Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do for the boy who is to be born.” 9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the Angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her.
Samson, on the other hand, had a different outlook on life. Because of his gift, he thought he could have anything he wanted and that was the beginning of his downfall. He refused to heed to the counsel of his godly parents when it came to Philistine women.
Judges 14:2-3
2 So he went back and told his father and his mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; now get her for me as a wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised (pagan) Philistines?” And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, because she [a]looks pleasing to me.”
It seems like Samson is making demands of his parents for something the Lord had clearly directed the children of Israel not to do. Even from the tone of voice, it seems like Samson would not take instruction from his parents and it seems like he was dishonoring his father and mother. Samson was being driven by his appetites and lusts. He demands by saying; “Get her for me because she [a]looks pleasing to me.”
They say pride comes before a fall and the same applied to Samson no matter how strong and anointed he was. Honoring father and mother is the first commandment that comes with a promise of a long life. Samson only judged Israel for 20 years meaning he did not live for that long.
Have you allowed your giftings to cause you to lose respect and honor for your parents? Think again because God demands that we honor our father and mother no matter what kind of people they are.
