FLAMING WORD – P8
JUDGES 14:6
“…but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.”
Samson was beginning his ministry. His parents, who in this case were also his spiritual parents, journeyed with him. A lion, representing the devil, roars against him. The Spirit of the Lord—the Spirit of might—comes upon him, and with nothing in his hand, he kills it with ease, as though he were killing a lamb.
Such bravado! This is something worth shouting from the rooftops! What a mighty deed! The first of its kind ever recorded in the Bible. What a great way to begin one’s ministry! How proud his parents would be to know what he had done (something they certainly had never been able to do themselves)!
Yet, the Bible says he doesn’t tell them.
Why?
This was just the beginning of Samson’s ministry. His ministry was starting where that of his parents’ was coming to an end. Their assignment was to raise Samson as a Nazarite, in line with his divine calling, which they had successfully done. They were not called by God to rend lions like lambs. This didn’t make one ministry better than the other. Together, they were building God’s kingdom.
Beloved, together we build God’s kingdom.
1 Kings 20:11: Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.
A young soldier should not think himself better than a retiring general who has fought many wars in his day. A young minister should not think himself more anointed than the fathers who have passed on the baton of ministerial service. An apprentice must not consider themselves more capable than their master. We live in a world where young people often think they are better than their parents, who made all the sacrifices to get them where they are today.
John 13:16: Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
Without those who raised you, you wouldn’t have come this far. Their input in your life is invaluable. If today you are blessed, remember that others prepared you for this. There’s no need to rub your achievements in their faces.
One testimony or miracle is to serve as a womb for the birthing of many more. For Samson, the coming of the Spirit of the Lord upon him was an assurance that God was indeed going to use him to avenge the Philistines. This was just the beginning, not the end, for him to glory in.
Let’s guard against pride.
In life, and especially in ministry, timing is of great importance.
Matthew 16:20: Then charged He His disciples that they should tell no man that He was Jesus the Christ.
This was after Peter, by divine inspiration, declared that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. If the disciples had gone announcing this, Christ’s work might have been made easier. Perhaps everyone would have believed, and He wouldn’t have been crucified! But you and I wouldn’t have been saved!
It’s not everything we share. I’m not saying we shouldn’t declare the testimonies of our God—no, that’s not it. Rather, we shouldn’t give in to pride by boasting in our small accomplishments. There’s greater work to be done.
Shalom.