Judges 13:2: And there was a certain man of Zorah of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman and said unto her, "Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not. But thou shalt conceive, and bear a son." And the woman bare a son and called his name Samson. And the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

There are many aspects in this story that are unusual, to say the least. There are conversations with angelic beings, secret vows, an unexplained birth to a barren couple; strange life-style; queer diet; a child of many prayers and great promise; unusual supernatural endowments exhibited in unheard of achievements; feats of unbelievable strength.

Surely this would be the incredible part—calling forth the oohs and aahs! Well, while these elements of the story are fascinating, a closer look lifts up to our attention aspects often over-looked in the story of Samson that can truly be described as, "That's incredible!"

The first of these would be the incredible paradox that one so strong could be so weak. He was strong. That was demonstrated again and again, slaying a young lion with his bare hands, or 1,000 men with the jawbone of a donkey; carrying off gates of a city and breaking strong ropes with a slight flexing of his muscles.

He was strong and he was weak. His wayward feet and poor choices reflect the principal central in his life, captured in his words, I saw a young woman. Get her for me, for she pleaseth me. (Judges 14:3) I want what I want, and will do what I want to do. Samson was strong but so weak, and that weakness led him to 2703 Delilah Lane.

That weakness reveals power is no substitute for purity. Muscles have nothing to do with morality. For physically, Samson was the strongest man upon the earth; but in self-control, integrity, and firmness, he was one of the weakest of men. He was weak because he chose to be the strongest slave on earth. The path of least moral resistance that Samson took while young forged the chains that held him for a life time. That's incredible. The paradox—one so strong could be so weak.

But another aspect of Samson's story would be incredible arrogance—thinking he could live without consequences.

For when the Philistines set upon him, He went out and shook himself as before and wist not the spirit had departed from him. (Judges 16:20) And in verse 21, The Philistines took him. Somehow he thought he could go on, flaunting principle, rejecting restraint, and it would be business as usual. The law of the harvest would be waived. It was not applicable to him.

Wisely, the Philistines asked, "Where does his strength lie?" They never asked, "What is his weakness?" That was clearly evident. That weakness led him to Delilah. How foolish can a man be? Time after time, Delilah plied him, with cues on the secret of his strength. Three times he had the clearest evidence that she was in league with the Philistines.

Incredible the arrogance. He could play games, juggle moral values and keep them all in the air. Finally, vexed with her persistence, he told her. And, after cutting off his hair, she cried, The Philistines are upon thee. And he went out and shook himself and wist not the spirit had departed from him. (Judges 16:20)

In addition to the incredible paradox, and the incredible arrogance, there is also found here an incredible prayer.

And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once." (Judges 16:28)

Incredible. He would have the nerve to think that God would hear him. He had willfully followed the Pied Piper of his own sinful desires and it had led him from powerfulness to powerlessness, from faithfulness to faithlessness. What started out aimed at freedom, ended up in bondage.

For Samson, the sin that led him to Gaza to enjoy a prostitute, led him back to Gaza.

But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. (Judges 16:21) Bound, blinded, in bondage and in desperation he prayed, Lord, God, remember me I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee only this once." That's incredible!

The incredible paradox—one so strong could be so weak.

The incredible arrogance—that freedom of choice meant freedom from consequences.

The incredible prayer—Remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me.

These all fade before the incredible answer of an incredible God. The scripture records Samson took hold of the two pillars supporting the house filled with Philistines and with renewed strength, He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the Lords, and upon all the people that were within.

Samson was as low as he could get and as far down as he could go, but God heard his prayer and God answered his prayer. The incredible answer of an incredible God who weeps over Jerusalem, looks down a winding road for a wayward son, sends encouragement to an unfaithful disciple, honors a former prostitute, Rahab, in faith's hall of fame. Yes, God answered his prayer.

That's incredible! The incredible paradox reminds me I can be so strong and yet so weak. The incredible arrogance warns me consequences will follow choices. The incredible prayer gives me courage.

Ah, but the incredible answer of our incredible God—that gives me hope and it gives you hope that we don't have to wait until we're bound, blinded, beaten, but

          Even if you're on the bottom looking up
          Even if so much water has gone under the bridge
          Even if you feel hopeless and helpless
          Waiting for you—no—reaching out to you,
          Is the incredible love of our incredible God.

Father, We thank you for the incredible opportunity to accept now your incredible love and forgiveness. Amen.

Floyd Brown: What an incredible message! What comes to mind if I ask you, what has happened in the past few months that would be on the "that's incredible list" of Dr. Reaves?

Benjamin Reaves: Probably one major thing would be the talks that are going on in Madrid. It is incredible to me to think that the Palestinians and the Israelis are actually sitting down in one place and beginning some dialogue. To my mind, that's incredible.

Brown: It certainly is incredible. How do you feel about this? Do you feel that the world is getting the reaction that we would hope, a spiritual reaction, as opposed to a political reaction, because here are people coming together.

Reaves: I would hope so. The fact is that these are not just political entities, but they are also religious groups as well. There is a great gulf between them.

One of the things that does concern me is that there is a kind of impatience about the media. Even the first day of the discussions, questions were being raised, "Will it last?" I would hope that the media, and the world in general, would not only give the discussions time but give them the support of prayers.

Brown: That's incredible. Let's think in terms of what is happening in our communities around the United States today. We are in a terrible recession, no matter what they say. It is like the old story. They say it is a recession when your neighbor is out of work; it is a depression when you are out of work.

There are a lot of people out of work today and there are a great number of people in need. Are there any incredible things happening on the horizon that you can think of that we should give pause to?

Reaves: Unfortunately, I think that the financial impact and the financial picture is a very grim one and it does affect, in my instance, higher education in a very real way. It is extremely difficult to provide the kind of access to opportunity and excellence that Oakwood College exists for. It is difficult for students and their parents to generate the funds necessary.

In the fundraising area, it is also difficult to secure the kinds of gifts that would be needed to provide that opportunity for access. The incredible thing is that in September of 1991, we had a bumper crop of students. They showed up. They are there. How they managed to get there, I am not quite sure, but that's incredible.

Brown: That is incredible. What about the students? They look at the future and see the job market diminishing. Is there bleakness? Are they afraid of the future?

Reaves: Students are inherently optimistic. They are confident that for them it will turn around. I support their confidence with my prayers that it will turn around.

Brown: That's incredible. I am certain that it will, too. Dr. Reaves, it is always a pleasure to have you with us and always a pleasure to talk about the optimism and the faith of the young people that you are involved with. Are there any activities that you are involved in now that are going to be a complete change in what has been happening on the campuses lately?

Reaves: Not really. There will be some greater focus given on broadening the length of the class day so as to provide opportunity for people who want to recycle. People are interested in shifting from one career to another. They have to work during the day, but they need some class hours. For us, that is a kind of new development, but it is one whose time has come. We think it will make a difference.

Brown: With the job market diminishing, people are having to retrain and get into other areas. Are you involved in that?

Reaves: Yes, we are. These are the initial steps for us. In Huntsville, Alabama, where generally the economic climate has been good, there are difficult times coming. More and more, we find a greater interest of the citizenry for this kind of opportunity.