Samson: Part Three

The Final Chapter

Samson is identified in Judges 15:20 as the one who ‘judged’ Israel for two decades.

Previously in the accounts of the judges this kind of sentence would indicate the end of an era, the end of the life of the judge.

In Samson’s case this assessment opens the last chapter of his life.

There are two accounts of Samson’s actions in Judges 16 and both highlight Samson’s involvement with women.

These two incidents reveal more about Samson than they do about the women. They also reveal how God’s people can be easily deduced into ignoring God’s clear call to be a separate people.

Searching For Love?

The first incident occurs in Gaza. Gaza was one of the five ‘capitol cities’ of the Philistines. Gaza was actually in territory that Judah had been given by Joshua. However, in Samson’s life - and beyond - Gaza was firmly controlled by the Philistines.

Similar to Judges 14, this’ and incident begins with Samson ‘seeing a woman’ and initiating action.

In Judges 14 Samson persuaded his father to arrange a marriage with a Philistine woman - a violation of the Nazarite vow.

In Judges 16, no marriage ceremony is required. The woman is clearly marked as a prostitute.

The Philistine’s hearing of Samson’s presence make plans to capture him, holding him responsible for the deaths of 1,000 men and the destruction of the fields and the harvest recounted in Judges 15.

Superhuman Strength

Samson, likely aware that his presence was known arose at midnight and left the city.

Upon leaving he uprooted the pillars supporting the city gate and taking the gate as well he traveled 40 miles uphill to Hebron where he laid down the pillars and gate.

City gates were a crucial piece of defense for cities in the ancient world. Locked at night the gates kept out invaders and marauders, and gave the residents of sense of security.

The city gates were also an important place for meetings and business.

As one theologian noted:

Judges, Ruth (4) God’s Gift of [Partial] Deliverance (13:25–16:31a)

Samson may be able to uproot the gates of a major city and carry them forty miles uphill, but he cannot withstand the wiles of a woman.

Samson and Delilah

One of the most well known accounts from the book of Judges is told in Judges 16:4-20.

First, note that this is the only instance where Samson is said to be ‘in love.’ His unnamed ‘wife’ in ch 14 was really an opportunity for God to create a confrontation with the Philistines.

The prostitute on Judges 16:1 is unnamed as well.

After depositing the city gates in Hebron (which will later serve as an early capitol city for King David) one might think Samson is done with foreigners.

However, as 16:4 indicates he left Hebron, travelled back towards the Meditarranean sea - a land inhabited by Philistines.

For some unexplainable reason, Samson cannot seem to avoid the women of this people group - who clearly worshiped another god, who were among those God has ordered to be destroyed by His people.

The Philistine leaders saw another opportunity to capture this one who had done damage to their people.

The five Philistine governors (there were five capitol cities among the Philistine’s) agree to pay a sum that one writer described as equivalent to $15 million in today’s money.

Verses 6-14 recall three different ways Samson claimed that would render his strength ineffective.

None of them were true!

If you really love me…

Like Samson’s bride to be in chapter 14, Delilah persists in her efforts to earn the reward she’s been promised.

Samson shares with her the promise his parents had made on his behalf regarding the Nazarite vow.

Judges 16:16–17 (HCSB)

Because she nagged him day after day and pleaded with him until she wore him out, he told her the whole truth and said to her, “My hair has never been cut, because I am a Nazirite to God from birth. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be like any other man.”

His strength was not ‘in his hair.’ Samson’s strength was a manifestation of God’s power. His hair was the external symbol of God’s endowment of power.

Having put him to sleep she enlisted a man to cut his hair.

Awakening him as in each previous episode, we read one of the most tragic verses in the OT

Judges 16:20 (HCSB)

But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

The deliverer is delivered

Prior to his birth the LORD revealed to Samson’s parents that he would be the one to “begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.”

Now, that one is controlled by the very one’s he was born to save his people from!

The Philistine’s regard this as a spiritual victory -

Judges 16:23–24 (HCSB)

Now the Philistine leaders gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said: Our god has handed over our enemy Samson to us. When the people saw him, they praised their god and said: Our god has handed over to us our enemy who destroyed our land and who multiplied our dead.

Samson, blinded by his captors, now was paraded in front of the crowd gathered at the temple in Gaza - of all places!

After ‘entertaining’ the crowd, Samson asked to rest by placing his hands on two supporting pillars.

For the second time in Samson’s story he prays:

Judges 16:28 HCSB

He called out to the Lord: “Lord God, please remember me. Strengthen me, God, just once more. With one act of vengeance, let me pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.”

Pushing against the pillars, the temple collapsed and “those he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.”

REFLECT AND RESPOND

No doubt Samson was a flawed human being, ruled by his passions. Having a strength beyond measure one wonders what might have been.

Self-sufficient or… Daily Dependence upon God

Judges 15 closed with Samson desperately crying out to God for deliverance.

Judges 16 closed with Samson calling out for one last opportunity to be what God had called him to be.

Samson, for most of his life dependent on his own strength, failing to acknowledge that God alone was his source, died alone among the very people he was to have delivered Israel from!

For most of his life Samson was aware of the source of his power, yet he used it mainly for his own ends,

Instead of allowing God’s power to direct him to fulfill God’s purposes, Samson’s life illustrates a self-directed, self-sufficient life.

God has endowed every believer in this room with a strength beyond any human ability.

Like Samson we often confuse our own purposes for the priority of God’s purpose.

Fully Devoted…or halfhearted commitment

As God led His people out of Egypt - a land of multiple gods and multiple worship practices - one of the first items God called His people to was an unwavering monotheism -

Exodus 20:1–7 (HCSB)

Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. Do not have other gods besides Me. Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands.

There is no middle ground. Personal wants and desires are to be brought into submission to the clear command of God.

Samson, set apart by his parents prior to his birth always skirted around this issue.

His willingness to violate his Nazarite vows for all sorts of reasons. Samson failed to take God seriously.

Jesus’ step-brother James warns his readers:

James 4:4 (HCSB)

Adulteresses! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy.

God-focused or Driven by self

Remember God’s promise to Samson’s parents:

“He will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5).

Then look again at Judges 16:30

Judges 16:30 (HCSB)

And the dead he killed at his death were more than those he had killed in his life.

Samson’s death - though a heroic deed of importance - is truly a tragedy.

How much more would have been possible with one who was fully focused on God’s agenda rather than being driven by his own appetites.

Our own church mission statement reminds us that we are in the process of becoming ‘fully formed followers’ of Jesus - focused on His agenda, not any one else’s.

Even Peter, one of Jesus’ earliest and closest followers could get confused:

Mark 8:31–33 (HCSB)

Then He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. He was openly talking about this. So Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan, because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns, but man’s!”

Looking at Samson’s life from beginning to end we can draw some crucial connections to our own era:

Am I fully committed to the gospel?

The greatest problem facing our world is lostness.

People apart from Jesus are lost. People who are apart from Jesus will die and spend an eternity apart from God in hell.

Have we fully responded to God’s gracious offer of the Gospel?

Have I taken up my cross?

Is my life’s purpose to fully experience the love of God, to know the presence of Jesus, and to live in the power of the Holy Spirit?

When Jesus asks His followers to take up the cross he is asking for them to fully buy into His vision and purpose for life.

Nothing deterred Jesus from the cross. Nothing.

What deters us from the same kind of laser-like focus?

Following Jesus in every way

Maybe today is the first time you have recognized that you are a sinner far from God. And today you are willing to ask Jesus to save you from sin, to set you apart for Him for and eternity in His presence and a life of service to Him.

The next step is public confession. Standing before this group and acknowledging your willingness to follow Jesus and then to publicly declare your faith by following in baptism…