What dead things are you returning to in your life?

Have you heard the story of Samson? Samson's story is told in the book of Judges in the Old Testament of the Bible. Samson took a Nazarite vow, meaning he committed himself to these 4 things for his entire life:

1. Never cut your hair

2. Never drink alcohol

3. Never touch dead things

4. Be holy

Samson was given incredible Hulk-like strength. But Samson had some serious downfalls.

To summarize his life…Samson was an incredibly strong man, with a dangerously weak will.

Let's look at an example.

JUDGES 14:1

"One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye."

The Philistines are a group of people who ruled over the Israelites at this time. Timnah is Philistine terriority. Samson has crossed enemy lines and is fraternizing with the enemy. And while he's there, he sees a Philistine woman who catches his eye and he goes home to tell his mom and dad about her.

JUDGES 14:2 2 When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.”

His dad is rightly concerned about this idea and suggests that he find someone within their own camp to marry. But Samson isn't having it. He wants her. So they head back to Timnah to arrange for this marriage and on the way, Samson encounters a roaring lion. Not your average "going to propose to a woman" encounter.

JUDGES 14:6 6 At that moment the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and he ripped the lion’s jaws apart with his bare hands. He did it as easily as if it were a young goat. But he didn’t tell his father or mother about it.

You read that right. He ripped a lion's jaw apart with his bare hands. That's pretty intense, right? And then he doesn't tell his mom or dad about it. If I ever rip apart a lion's jaw, you can expect to hear about it. So Samson ends up meeting the woman and he likes her. The deal is on. They're going to get married.

JUDGES 14:8a 8 Later, when he returned to Timnah for the wedding, he turned off the path to look at the carcass of the lion.

He went BACK to the lion carcass. The dead thing from his past. And not just something dead from this past, but something that God specifically gave him the strength and power to have victory over. The thing he has killed, the thing he had victory over, he returns to.

What dead things are you returning to in your life? Relationships? Habits? Addictions?

Are you going back to dead things that God once gave you the power and strength to have victory over?

JUDGES 14:8b-9

And he found that a swarm of bees had made some honey in the carcass. 9 He scooped some of the honey into his hands and ate it along the way. He also gave some to his father and mother, and they ate it. But he didn’t tell them he had taken the honey from the carcass of the lion.

Okay things are getting weird. First off, gross. Don't offer me honey from a carcass. Nobody wants that. But other than it being gross, it seems like maybe just a strange tangent. But it's not.

Remember Samson is a Nazarite and the Nazarite vow carries with it four things.

1. Never cut your hair

2. Never drink alcohol

3. Never touch dead things

4. Be holy

This is the first time that we see Samson break his Nazarite vow to God. He touches something dead.

Samson, sees the sweet thing, he wants the sweet thing, he takes the sweet thing and eats the sweet thing. He gives it to someone else whom he loves. And then he tries to hide what he did from his father. If you've read any of the Bible before, this may sound familiar. That's because this story echoes throughout all of history.

This is the story of Adam and Eve. This story is repeated all throughout humanity. This is the brokenness of humanity.

Sin doesn’t always just look like death and decay. Sometimes sin looks and smells sweet, like honey. More often than not sin is a deadly trap coated in honey.