The Story of Samson: Inner Reality Manifested Outwardly

“And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison” Judges 16:21. 

The Story of Samson

Many people are probably somewhat familiar with the account of Samson and Delilah. And how he was ultimately taken down by her when she cut his hair. Our passage tells us the Philistines then blinded, bound and put him in prison.

But they would not have been able to do this had he not already been blind, bound and imprisoned by lust for a long time (Judges 14: 2,3, 16: 1, 4). Whatever we have, whether for good or evil, we have first in the spiritual realm, then the natural.

To read the passage for context, click here.

Inward Reality Revealed Outwardly

Whatever we are inwardly will eventually be revealed outwardly. That’s why David tells us “No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” Psalm 84: 11. In other words, when we lack nothing inwardly in our character, we will lack nothing outwardly in our circumstances.

Astoundingly, Samson stayed with a woman who was obviously trying to kill him. He literally slept in the lap of his enemy. He did this because he was enslaved to lust. It seems he was addicted to her and was “held fast in the cords of his sin”.

“The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,
    and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
 He dies for lack of discipline,
    and because of his great folly he is led astray” Proverbs 5: 22, 23.

Samson displayed by his actions that he was blind, bound and imprisoned inwardly, long before these things showed up in the physical world.

The Israelites in the Wilderness

The Israelites were ultimately led into a good land that lacked no good thing. But not before they had allowed their wilderness experience to mature them, making them good, lacking nothing in character.

The reason the first generation never made it is because they refused to allow their wilderness experience to work in them the good things inwardly necessary to inherit good things outwardly (Numbers 14: 28-32).

Adam and Eve Inward Reality Manifested

Adam and Eve are a negative example of this principle. When their character lacked nothing, their circumstances lacked nothing. They lived in paradise and had every good thing and perfect gift at their disposal.

But when they sinned, their character began lacking. And so too did their circumstances. As a result of their sin, which produced weakness and corruption (lack of character), they had to leave their paradise home, never to return (Genesis 3).

Inner Reality Manifested Outwardly in the Story of Samson and Others

Thus, we see, when they were no longer perfect inwardly, their life was no longer perfect outwardly. So, in some sense, we create our external reality by our internal character (or lack of it).

Now this is not to say that we always only experience our inward reality. Joseph was both enslaved and imprisoned (Genesis 39). In Acts 12: 5-17, we see that Peter was imprisoned. And so were Paul and Silas in Acts 16: 23-34. And also, John the Baptist in the Mathew 14: 1-12.

But they were all miraculously delivered. Even John was too in the sense that he was brought safely to the heavenly kingdom.

But there have been many imprisoned Christians down through the ages who were not delivered. But it could be said that they chose that fate rather than deny Christ. It wasn’t against their will.

For Adam and Eve, the Israelites and Samson, their external truth came to reflect their internal truth. And they were ultimately destroyed by their inner demons.

To read another post related to The Story of Samson: Inner Reality Manifested Outwardly, see The Truth Will Set You Free, but How?