《楊清泉律師專欄 》YOUR DEBTS AND SAMSON ( PART I )

If you have debt problems, think of Samson. Samson lived in Israel about 1200 B.C. Before he was born, the Israelites betrayed the one true God again by going back to their ungodly ways. God punished the Israelites by delivering them over to the Philistines who worshipped the false god Dagon. Thus, the Israelites were living under the yoke of Philistine rule for 40 years. Samson was granted supernatural strength by God to fight the Philistines as well as perform heroic feats in the name of God. An angel of the Lord in human form appears to the barren wife of Manoah, an Israelite, and promises her that she will have a son who will deliver Israel from the oppression of the Philistines. However, God’s condition was that both mother and son must abstain from all alcoholic beverages, and not to shave or cut his hair. Following these conditions, Samson would become a “Nazarite of God” who dedicated his life to God. In exchange, God would give Samson supernatural strength. Move over Superman, Batman and Spiderman. Samson was actually the world’s first super hero because of his gift from God, the one true God, the God of Moses and Israel, my God, who sent His only Son, Jesus, who willingly agreed to become man and die on the cross for us because He loves us so, that we may have eternal life with Him after our earthly life expires. Samson was born 1,200 years before Jesus was born through the Blessed Virgin Mary in a manger in Bethlehem.

As a young man, Samson falls in love with a Philistine woman. Although his parents object, Samson decides to marry the woman who worships the false god Dagon. On the way to visit his fiancé, Samson is attacked by a lion. Samson rips the lion apart with his bare hands! Sometime later, when Samson is on his way to his wedding, he finds that a swarm of bees have nested in the carcass of the lion. He eats the honey, and at the wedding celebration he offers a riddle to the 30 Philistine guests: “Out of the eater something to eat; out of the strong something sweet.” Samson said that if they could solve the riddle, he would provide thirty garments to the guests.

Frustrated by their inability to solve the riddle, the guests persuade Samson’s bride to get the answer from Samson. Samson gives the answer to his bride on the 7th day and his bride gives the answer to his guests who say “What is sweeter than honey and what is stronger than a lion? To get the 30 garments that he had promised if the riddle was solved, Samson went to a nearby village and killed 30 Philistines whose garments he gives to the wedding guests. However, when he returns to the wedding, his bride has chosen one of the guests as her husband. The bride’s father offers Samson his younger daughter who weighs a ton but Samson rejects the offer, saying that she is not heavy enough. His original bride at 5 tons was just right for him. Instead, Samson catches 300 foxes and attaches torches to their tails. He lets them loose to burn the corn fields and vineyards of the Philistines.

Samson then falls in love with Delilah. He sees Delilah for the first time lifting 500 lbs. barbells at the gym, and it’s love at first sight. But the Philistines now hate Samson so 3,000 Philistines follow him to his cave where he kills a thousand of them with the jawbone of a donkey. The Philistines bribe Delilah with 1,000 pieces of silver to find out the secret of his strength. Samson teases Delilah by answering that if she tied him with fresh bowstrings, new ropes or if his locks are woven together, he would become weak. Delilah has her servant tie up Samson with fresh bowstrings while he sleeps, but when he wakes up he easily snaps the bowstrings. (End of part I)