Though this passage demonstrates the brutality and depravity of mankind, much more does it highlight the #grace of our wonderful God. #Samson had been set apart to #God even before he was conceived. And though he did not lead a perfect life, still the #Lord remained fully with him. That is, until he divulged the source of his great strength to Delilah, who immediately took the first opportunity to shave his head. Samson's hair didn't make him strong, God made him strong. But his hair served as a sign of the Nazirite vow (Judges 13:5), which effectively ended when he allowed someone to come between him and his relationship with God. So in this passage, we see Samson in the lowest of lows, at the slippery slope bottom of not serving God wholeheartedly-- blindness, chains, intense physical labor, and all while imprisoned by Israel's arch enemies. Yet in Samson's darkest hours, almost as a side note, the author says "but the hair of his head began to grow again..." Oh the grace of God! He may give us over to our fallenness for a season, but He will never forsake us. No matter how far His children may fall, He is there--working, teaching, refining, loving. Even today, no matter how deep the pit, how weary the soul, how sick the sin, how far off the path--from 1-180 degrees, there is always more than enough grace. Jesus is light in the darkness, He breaks the chains of sin, He provides rest for the weary because His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and we are set free from the arch enemy of all mankind--Satan, sin, and death. The grace of God in #jesuschrist as Paul says "how unsearchable, inscrutable..." #quote #bible #bibleverse #judges #oldtestament #forgiveness #otnarrative #hope #harpsonwillows