Judges 13:24-25 reads, “Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol” (NASB). The Greek word for “stir” is paam, which means to tap or move. The Spirit of the Lord found a way to move Samson to do various things. Apparently, the Spirit put thoughts into Samson’s mind but we are not specifically told that in the Scriptures. We know that the Spirit of the Lord stirred or moved him, and Samson moved!

In Judges 14:1,2 we see that Samson saw a Philistine woman and wanted to marry her. In verse 3 Samson’s parents questioned his desire to marry an ungodly woman, but Samson still commanded his father to get the woman for him to marry. In Judges 14:4 we read, “However, his father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel” (NASB). Samson appears to be acting selfishly, but the Lord had a purpose in it to use Samson to oppose the ungodly Philistines.

In Judges 14:19 we read, “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of them and took their spoil and gave the changes of clothes to those who told the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house” (NASB). In Judges 15:14, 15 we read, “When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds dropped from his hands. He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out and took it and killed a thousand men with it” (NASB).

After Delilah convinced Samson to tell her the secret of his strength, a man cut his hair in Judges 16:19. We read in Judges 16:21, “Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison” (NASB). The Philistines praised their god Dagon for delivering Samson into their hands in Judges 16:23,24. When they brought Samson from the prison to entertain them, Samson prayed to the Lord for strength to push the pillars apart and kill about 3,000 Philistines. The Lord answered his prayer and we read in Judges 16:30 that “the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life” (NASB).

In summary, the Lord’s Spirit stirred or moved Samson to stand up to the ungodly Philistines who were ruling God’s people Israel at this time. Samson had many faults, but the Lord still used him as a one-man army and he is listed as a man of faith in Hebrews 11:32. God worked in different ways in Samson’s day than He does today. However, we can still allow the Spirit to lead us as we seek to please the Lord in our lives. As we read in Romans 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” May we pray for the Spirit’s leading in our lives and study our Bibles so we know God’s will for how to serve Him. (329.6) (DJ)