Monday's Devo - Samson vs. John the Baptist

Read Luke 1:5-17
I know Samson is finished, but I have to bring up an interesting discovery I made. I have found that the Bible is full of dualities. Two people will have so much in common, yet turn out completly opposite. (Jacob and Esau, Adam and Jesus, Isaac and Ishmael) I see this mirror image in Samson and John the Baptist. Both were born to women who were barren till God spoke life into their womb. Both parents were visited by an angel from the Lord and told not to eat or drink anything from the vine. Both were dedicated from the womb. Now things get different. Samson was put under a strict Nazirite vow. It was the epitome of living "under the law." He was to live all his life under this strict law. The law didn't make him a godly man, in fact, it did just the opposite. Religion makes you a Pharasee - good on the outside, but dead on the inside. Samson followed the strict law of the Nazirite (until Delilah) and broke all the others. He went after prostitutes, hung out with the heathens, murdered for revenge, destroyed property, etc., etc. The only time we see him calling out for God is in the end so he could "avenge his two eyes."
John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost from the womb. His mission was to turn the hearts of the children of Israel to the Lord. He was to give the spirit and power of Elijah. Samson had super natural strenth; John had Supernatural power. Both came from God: one natural, one spiritual. That is the main point about the Old and New Testament. The Old Testament is about laws that man cannot keep. The New Testament is about God's spirit who can give you power to overcome our flesh.
Samson brought fear and terror everywhere he went. John brought joy and salvation. I can't imagine what it was like to live in the Old Testament without a Bible and without the Holy Spirit. I am so thankful to be living now.
We have a mirror image. It is ourself. We have the "old man" and the "new man". The old man tries to follow God's laws with little success. The new man falls on the mercy of God and is strengthened with God's power to walk with God. The new is so much better. Romans is all about these two that war against each other. Lord, kill our flesh that your life might be resurrected in us.