Today's Favorite Verse: Judges 14:6

Today's Favorite Verse: Judges 14:6
"And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done."

I've always been disappointed reading the story of Samson. As I child I thought the story of his long hair giving him strength was so impressive. When I got older and read the story in the bible I saw his flaws, lack of moral integrity and control. The story is so impressive where an angel of the Lord first comes to his mother and then both parents to tell of his birth. He is to be a Nazarite. He could have been such a great spiritual and physical leader for Israel, but to me he failed. Then I couldn't understand how in scriptures it would say "the Spirit of the Lord" came upon him. How? In my quest for understand I found this.

"(23-5) Judges 14:6. If Samson’s Life Was So out of Harmony with God’s Will, How Did He Have the “Spirit of the Lord”?
In the Church today when one speaks of a person having the Spirit of the Lord, he means that he is a spiritual person, that is, he is close to God, has a testimony, demonstrates spiritual power, and so on. And such spiritual power comes only through obedience and righteousness. So, could Samson have had “the Spirit of the Lord come mightily upon him”? That or a similar phrase is used three times in the account of Samson, but in every case it has reference to Samson’s demonstration of great courage and physical strength. Samson’s remarkable strength was a gift of God derived from and sustained by the Nazarite vow he was under. Perhaps when the author of Judges used the phrase “the Spirit of God” he did not use it as one does today, but used it more in the way that one would now use the phrase “spiritual gifts.” One may say of another, “The way he taught the lesson demonstrated that he has a spiritual gift.” Samson’s gift was strength, and each time he used that gift in a remarkable manner, the writer of the scripture gave credit to the Lord, the true source of the gift, by saying “the Spirit of the Lord” came mightily upon him."
(Old Testament Student Manual, "Judges 13-21; Ruth 1-4: The Reign of the Judges, Part 2)

Day 3820