Haircuts

“Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. Then she called, ‘Samson, the Philistines are upon you!’ He awoke from his sleep and thought, ‘I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the LORD had left him.

 

Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison. But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.” Judges 16:19-22

 

Story of Samson is definitely one of my favorites. Aside from the gruesome violence (as I was too young to realize such brutality the first time I read it), it speaks of redemption. Rarely do we though realize the time sequence within the stories of the bible. With each passing word, days and years could be past. When I first read this story, I thought Samson’s hair miraculously grew overnight, but I don’t see such haste in the text any longer. How long had he been in prison? He could have spent his age over just to have his hair grow back the way it was. How fast exactly does hair grow anyways? How long did God’s redemption take? Days, weeks, months, years? I certainly hope it was of a monthly matter, but I guess we would never know for sure.

 

How long do I need to meditate on my sins that I may never commit such mistakes again?