Judges 13-16   Israel again "did what was evil" and the Lord again gave them over to an enemy.. this time the Philistines.  For 40 years the Philistines ruled over Israel.  We are not told that Israel cried out to  the Lord.  He chose to work in a whole new and different way this time.  We are familiar with the story of Samson, but just to remind us of the whole story, let me summarize it here:

An angel appeared to Samson's mother to announce that she would finally have a child.  This child would be dedicated to the Lord, so she had to avoid wine and unclean things.  He would be a Nazarite to God from the womb.  (God had a plan for Samson before he was even conceived! Think about that!)

Samson's father, Manoah, and his mother prayed for the angel to return and give them instructions for raising this special child.  They offered up a sacrifice and watched as the angel went up in the flame. They knew that this was all ordained by God. 

As Samson grew up, the Lord blessed him and put His Spirit upon him to do great things.  The problem with Samson was that he didn't make the best choices when it came to women.  His first wife was a Philistine woman. She ended up betraying Samson to her people because of a riddle..  The final result from all this was destruction of the Philistines fields and the death of his wife and her father.  When the Philistines came after Samson again, he killed 1000 men with the "jawbone of a donkey."

But, Samson did not learn a lesson. He again married, this time a woman named Delilah. Three times she asks him to tell the secret to his strength in order to betray him.  Three times he lies to her and three times he is attacked and escapes unharmed.  Finally, Delilah nags Samson to the point that he is "bothered.. to death" and he tells her the truth.  This time Delilah shaves his hair and when he is attacked, he is defeated. The Word tells us that Samson "didn't know that Adonai had left him."  

Samson's strength was not in his hair.. it was in the Lord.  Samson had taken his strength for granted and trusted in himself instead of trusting in his God.  It is only later, after Samson has suffered for a while, that he calls upon the Lord.  This is the first time we hear him pray.  "Adonai Elohim, just this once, please, think of me, and please, give me strength , so that I can take revenge on the Philistines for at least one of my two eyes."   God answered that prayer.  Samson pulled the two pillars supporting the temple of Dagon, the god of the Philistines, and the whole building collapsed.  "So he kills more at his death than he had killed during his life."  

The Philistines continued to plague Israel until the days of King David.  Israel didn't change during the days of Samson. He is said to have judged Israel 20 years.  But, what did he really do?

What was true of Samson was true of Israel.. they "didn't know that Adonai had left [them]"
They listened to the lies of false religions and failed to follow the Lord.  Time after time they trusted in the idols that could not save them.  Israel became corrupt.  They became morally abhorrent.

The pattern of corruption and failure is not unique to Israel. We see it happening before our eyes in our own country.  Evil is called good and good is called evil.  God will do what He says He will do, for He is Holy and Just.  No nation will go unpunished for doing evil and forsaking the Lord.  More than ever we need to pray for our land.

Father in heaven, forgive us for the sins that plague our land. Bring repentance and revival.  Help us to seek You and find You. May we cry out to You and seek to  return to Truth and Righteousness.  You are Adonai Elohim, the Lord God who is self-existent, holy, infinite, wise, and good.  Raise up Your church to fulfill Your purposes in preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ, who is above all and who will forever reign.   In His name we pray,    Amen.