A Vow Broken
I remember a class with Dr. Black in Bible College as he taught about the value of a vow. He said that the Lord didn’t require a vow, BUT if you made a vow, you had better keep it. I remember hearing about the stories of Samson since I was a kid. His strength sounded like what we would see in the sci-fi series The Avengers. I suspect he looked a lot like a normal man. I don’t imagine him as a giant like Goliath. I think his strength was supernatural and given by the Lord because of the vow taken before he was even born. His Mom and Dad had been instructed by God to dedicate their first-born son to God as a Nazirite from birth. He was born to rescue Israel from the Philistines. (Judges 13:3-5) He grew up and had incredible strength and the Spirit of God stirred in Him. He was apparently unstoppable.
Samson didn’t honor the Lord in relationships. He was a bit of a womanizer. It was his relationship with Delilah that was his undoing. She loved money more than she loved Samson. She had begged him at three other times to share with her the secret of his strength and he played games with her and lied. She finally nagged him and wore him down. Check this out….
17 Finally, Samson shared his secret with her. “My hair has never been cut,” he confessed, “for I was dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as anyone else.”
18 Delilah realized he had finally told her the truth, so she sent for the Philistine rulers. “Come back one more time,” she said, “for he has finally told me his secret.” So the Philistine rulers returned with the money in their hands. 19 Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him. (Judges 16:15-19 NLT)
They gouged out his eyes. He was captured and became quite the trophy for the Philistines. Delilah was paid off and Samson was put into prison and forced to grind grain like an animal. The Philistines gave their god credit for his capture. The scripture says that Samson’s hair began to grow back. I think his heart began to grow and turn to the Lord through his brokenness.
They planned a huge celebration and brought Samson out for display. He was placed between the two load-bearing pillars in a prominent place. His prayer to God was genuine and the Lord answered his prayer. Check this out….
28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.” 29 Then Samson put his hands on the two center pillars that held up the temple. Pushing against them with both hands, 30 he prayed, “Let me die with the Philistines.” And the temple crashed down on the Philistine rulers and all the people. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime. (Judges 16:28-30 NLT)
A broken vow can be devastating. I see a vow as my word and my bond. If a vow is broken, trust is destroyed. It takes years of keeping a vow to build rock-solid trust, only to have it destroyed in a moment of poor judgment. I’ve seen families, leaders and life-long reputations destroyed from a vow that was broken.
I’m so thankful to the Lord for His forgiveness and mercy. I wish I could say that I had never broken my vow and pledge of obedience to Him. I’m thankful that He has forgiven my wayward heart and welcomed me back home time and again. I am growing deeper in my faith as I live out my vow to Him, one decision at a time.
I will follow God all the days of my life. I will seek Him. I will love Him. I will honor Him. I will obey Him. This is my solemn vow.
Pressing On!
Dwayne