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HAIR BY SAMSON It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. Psalm 18:32 Hair is very important. Just ask most men, and check out the ladies at the beauty shops these days. Even God thought it was important. Not only did He create hair, but He knows exactly how many hairs we have on our heads. Just check out Matthew 10:40. God not only knows how many hairs are on my head, He even knows my true color. My husband says I belong to the color of the month club! He is referring to the first time I ever colored my hair. It was supposed to be a little red tint to my already brown hair. Instead, it turned out grape purple. Lucky for me I have a wonderful friend who is a hairdresser. Needless to say, after several attempts to do my own hair coloring, which ranged from red to Elvira black, Gary, the expert, is now in charge of the color control. I guess maybe since God said that gray hair is the sign of wisdom, I should be happy and honored. Proverbs 20:29 says, “The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the grey head.” O.K. so I’m not a man and I’m not old. Where does that leave me? I am very particular about my hair. I want to look nice so I go to great lengths (no pun intended) to make sure that my hair is just right. One day Gary had cut my hair. It was shorter than usual and I was quite happy with the results. I was sportin’ my new “do” when one of the ladies of our church noticed my coiffeur. She looked at me very seriously and said, “Oh, Karen, you got a haircut!” I replied proudly, “Yes, Gary cut it today.” She then commented, “Well, don’t worry honey, it will grow back.” Well, now, I wonder if anyone said that to Samson! Do you really think he would have listened? Probably not. Samson was a Nazarite. That meant that he was to be separated from worldly things in order to consecrate himself to God (Numbers 6:1-8). So while under the Nazarite vow, his hair could not be cut. It was a visible sign of his commitment. Samson’s parents were visited by an angel and told that Samson was to be a Nazarite from the womb to the day of his death (Judges 13:7). He could not cut his hair for any reason or occasion. But somewhere along the line Sam took his eyes off of God and became a self sufficient ladies’ man. Imagine that! This is where “bad girl” Delilah steps in. It was her job to find out the secret to Samson’s success. At first, Samson avoided telling her his secret, but after so long of the constant nagging from the beautiful Delilah, he finally gave in. The Bible says that Delilah aggravated Samson almost to death (Judges 16:16)! Big mistake!! Here’s where Samson’s weakness for a pretty face comes in. Sneaky Delilah lured him to sleep and had the local barber give him a shave and a haircut for a lot more than two bits! How sad! I have heard that great ability without discretion usually comes to a tragic end. This is what happened to Samson. It didn’t take him long to realize his mistake. I am sure that those lonely times in the prison house caused him to reflect on his first visit with a barber and the mistakes he had made throughout his life. Samson was well known for being a hero and well known for his moral weaknesses as well. Ecclesiastes 9:17 says wisdom is better than strength. I’ll bet Samson realized through his blindness, that hindsight was 20/20 vision. Samson should have learned early in his life the price of disobedience. His love for pagan women would eventually bring the world crashing down on him. Literally!! Imagine the potential Samson had for serving the Lord. Samson was physically strong but spiritually weak. If only he had learned to stay close to God who had given him his strength in the first place. This should be a clear warning to us today of the price of disobedience and selfishness. God is our strength in times of our weaknesses. We all have the potential to accomplish great things for God. I know that my strength is not in the length of my hair. Praise the Lord for that! I don’t have to worry if and when it will grow back when I get it cut. Actually, I am more concerned about what my husband thinks about my hair. The important thing to remember is that our strength comes from the Lord. However, we can take heart ladies, the Nazarite vow is not in effect for us today, but our vow to serve the Lord with all our heart and all our body is in effect. How much less can we give?
GREATNESS LIES NOT IN BEING STRONG, BUT IN THE RIGHT USE OF STRENGTH.
Other Scriptures: Judges 16; Psalm2:11; Psalm18:2; Isaiah 40:29
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