Zion Evangelical & Reformed Church

Hello Family of Zion!

Welcome to our new addition of the Zion Church website! This will be the first blog post for a new blog series that we will be starting up this month.

One of the most tragic verses in the bible was covered this Sunday for our middle school students in our walk-through of Judges. Samson, who is one the great men in the Hall of Faith found in the book of Hebrews, has been discussed over the last three weeks as we studied through the chapters of Judges that covered his life. Samson, though he is a believer in our God and attributed genuine faith according to the New Testament author of Hebrews (Heb. 11:32), led a life of self.

Samson was the center of his universe and he did as he pleased. Samson sought the pleasure of women he did not marry (Jg. 16:1), abandoned the woman he did marry (Jg. 14:19-20), and betrayed his personal, unique covenant with God to another woman he was living and sleeping with (Jg. 16:16-18). Samson abandoned his life here on earth for the momentary fleeting pleasure of revenge in this life (Jg. 16:30). We also see throughout his life that Samson not only chose to break his personal, unique covenant with God, but neglected the people in his life along the way, including his parents, his ex-wife, and the whole tribe of Judah (Jg. 14:9, 15:6, 9). Frequently in his story Samson’s self-serving lifestyle got the people close to him in danger or killed. The worst part of his story comes near the end in Judges 16. Samson had just revealed his covenant with God and that he had swore to never cut his own hair or God would remove His Holy Spirit’s strength from Samson (Jg. 16:15-20). As God kept His side of the covenant, God removed His Holy Spirit’s strength from Samson and Samson did not even notice. (Jg. 16:20).

“…But Samson did not even know that the LORD had left him.” Judges 16:20b