20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. 21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. 22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. Judges 16:20-22
One of the saddest, and one of the happiest verses in the Bible, in my opinion, within two verses of each other.
I'm sure the story of Samson is well known. From his birth, he was set apart by God. God gave him life. God gave him the special Nazarite covenant, where he was not to shave his head. God gave him super-human strength. And God gave him the very hair that he was not supposed to cut.
All Samson had to do was not throw it away.
God honoured that covenant, even when Samson married a foreigner, even when he took revenge for wrongs done to him personally, and even when he visited a prostitute. Samson was chosen by God, and God used him to accomplish His plan.
Yet, in spite of all this favour, Samson let down his guard, and in a way, threw away the hair, the covenant, and the strength God had given him. And he did not know what he had lost until it was too late.
But God does not give up on him. Even though Samson suffers defeat due to his choices, God keeps giving. God gives him more hair. The enemy thought they had won. They thought the job was finished, and that the battle was over. I think Samson even started to believe those lies as well. All he wants at the end is to die with the Philistines. But even in the middle of defeat, God is laying the foundation for future victory. God makes his hair grow again, God renews the covenant, and God sends more strength even after Samson fell. And the victory at Samson's death was greater than all the victories through his life.
Praise God, who does not give up on His people! Who produces Victory even with our own defeat! Who turns death into life, and heals our brokenness!