Daily – Judges 16:1-31 “Samson”

If there was ever someone who we all should know everything about, it is indeed in my mind Samson.  From the Old Testament his story is told and it is not one of hope (as Job’s ends up being) or one of complete redemption (as Jonah discovers). It is a complex tale of a man, a woman and over all of it, God.

You see, Samson was born to lead. His strength was a great gift from God. He killed more men than Rambo (I think like four more, but you get the picture) and moved to the beat of his drum. To tell the story from start to finish would take more time than I have so I’ll simply skip to the best parts.

The Philistines wanted to kill him. He killed them back. Samson gave some yahoos a riddle to solve. They killed part of his family. He killed them back and took their clothes. There’s a lotta killing with Samson. You run into much of this in the OT. I think of it as rougher days compared to the New Testament. Kind of like Little House on the Prairie, but with Fire, Brimstone and very big swords.

Samson eventually found his way to Delilah (devil woman) who at the behest of the Philistines (and a lotta shiny coin) decided it was time to stop this big brute and destroy him. Through numerous bait and switch he avoided giving away his secret that God had gifted him with until at last he whispered it to her.

And then she fed him to the enemy. Real heartwarming Sunday School Tale so far, right? I have no idea how the Veggie Tales would do this story, but it’d hafta be a doozy. Lots of editing. Lots. Copious amounts of rewrites.

In the end Samson loses his eyes (they stab them out) and is chained up for the entertainment of the Philistines. If you ever wonder why there is an insult (“You Philistine!”) based on an entire group of Old Testament people, look no further than this story (and just about every other one in the OT) because they were evil. Literally full of darkness and terrible acts.

Samson has failed against God. He’s given his secret away. He has failed his people, his nation and himself. Samson is a screwup. You ever been there? I mean, obviously you didn’t lose your eyes, get tempted by a beautiful babe and end up with a bald head….but you ever screw up? Ever mess up? Ever do something so terrible you’re at the bottom of the depths of depression? Feel like there’s way out?

Samson was there. They used him for “entertainment” (make up your own mind about what kind of entertainment this was…moving along!) and mocked him in the cruelest fashion.

What is interesting is his motivations throughout all this. It is selfish passions. I never realized this until I read through it again and found that if he hadn’t been so focused on marrying a Philistine and taking revenge on those around him, he might have actually made a difference. In my study bible it notes that he never did anything for his people as a judge. He was motivated by revenge…and nothing more.

It is perhaps a lesson to us screw ups out there. A cautionary tale of sorts. Samson had great power given by God…and he chose the winding path and not the straight road. It mentions that Samson really never sought to break the Philistines hold. He never sought out the true mission of why God put him in this place. He simply took his gifts and ran as close to the line as he could.

God gifts each of us with something. What we do with that echoes over our lifetime. For Samson, it was a life marked with revenge and selfish acts of passion. What will you do with your strength God has laid in your heart?