faithrunner

I described Samson's life as " an angel in the flame " from the mysterious event that happened at the announcement of his birth. An angel, a messenger of God , affirmed Manoah’s wife would become pregnant with a son, who would begin the deliverance of Israel. At a sacrificial meal to commemorate God’s child-giving grace, we are told that, “as the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame.” (Judges 13:20) The angel in the flame was a foreshadowing of Samson’s life. Israel’s leader was set apart for the purposes of God, empowered with muscle, looks, and wit…He was to be a savior, a hero, and leader… As long as he stayed within God’s plan and Spirit, he would have the power to serve God’s purposes for his birth and life. Step outside the plan, and he would fall to earth like Lucifer after his failed coup in heaven. (38) The flame of ego rather than God’s Spirit consumed Samson …in the end his life flamed out in self-in...