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“The Spirit of the LORD Rushed Upon Him”
“And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father’s house” Judges 14:19. So often today we think of God’s Spirit rushing upon a per-son as like a demon possession that takes away all control from a person. Some religious groups enact this out in their services. But 1 Corinthians 14:32 says, “and the spirit of prophets are subject to prophets.” This is what we see happening with Samson here. Otherwise, we’d have to conclude that the Holy Spirit made him kill thirty men and steal their possessions. And Samson had no choice but to be angry and storm home to his parents. So, would the Spirit take us over when we’re baptized? For we believe that we “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38) when we obey the gospel. Perhaps this is why those same groups believe that a person really isn’t a Christian until he has a separate baptism of the Spirit? No, it comes down to what the individual chooses to do with the Spirit that is now poured out upon us rather than in rare dollops—like Samson received.
