Judge Samson

Samson’s name comes from the word shemesh, which means “Sun.” So his name means sunlight, or man of the sun. And Samson is like the Christian version of Hercules.

And for a man whose name means sunlight, his story shows us the darkness of the time. But it also shows us that even through the darkest night, the sun will rise again. I pray that during this dawn service, may we catch a glimpse of the spiritual sunlight.

Samson’s story has five parts, from Judges 13-16.

First, he is born. Second, he gets married. Third, he stirs up trouble. Fourth, he’s with Delilah. And finally, he dies.

Samson’s birth

Samson was born during the last oppression of the Judges period, the Philistine oppression. And this, by far, is the most dangerous oppression of them all. It’s the most dangerous because it’s the least dangerous.

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The Philistines are what we call enablers. They enabled the sinful nature and sinful appetites of the Israelites. How? By supporting them. By giving the thumbs up. By giving them a supportive crowd and a majority vote. They enabled the Israelites to do what was right in their own eyes.

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In other words, the Philistine oppression was an oppression by freedom. Freedom to do whatever you want.

That’s why Samson’s story begins by saying that the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

And into such a world, Samson is born.

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His family is from the tribe of Dan, which was the biggest failure out of all the tribes of Israel. Many of the other tribes didn’t drive out the natives from their allotment, but at least occupied their land. Dan couldn’t even occupy the land. And so they actually had to live in campsites. And this lasted throughout the entire Judges period.

Judges 1:34 ESV

The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain.

Judges 13:25 ESV

And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Mahaneh here means campsite. So Mahaneh-dan means the campsite of Dan.

Samson’s parents were barren. Unable to have children. But the angel of the Lord appears to Samson’s mother, telling her she will have a son, and he is to be a Nazirite.

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Nazirite comes from the Hebrew word nazir, which means separated or consecrated. A Nazirite is someone who is set apart for God, even more than a normal Israelite. So Samson cannot drink alcohol, cannot have a haircut, and cannot touch dead bodies. Not even those of his family members. That’s all in Numbers 6.

So Samson has this calling upon his life, even before he was born. And now the question is, does he live up to it?

Samson’s wedding

In Judges 14, Samson goes to Timnah, and he sees this Philistine girl. So he tells his parents to get her for him as a wife. And Samson’s parents are against it because she’s a foreigner.

Judges 14:3 ESV

But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

This woman is from Timnah, and Timnah is part of the land allotted to the tribe of Dan. But the Philistines are dwelling there. So even though his parents were against it, Samson planned to use this as an opportunity against the Philistines, to chase them out of his tribe’s land.

Judges 14:4 ESV

His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.

But what we see is that this was Samson’s plan. It involved breaking God’s law, but it was right in his own eyes.

So Samson and his parents head down to Timnah together, and Samson at some point is alone. And all of a sudden, a lion attacks him, but he kills the lion.

Judges 14:6 ESV

Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

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Some days later, he comes back to take her as his bride. And he sees some bees inside the lion’s dead body, and there’s also honey inside. So he scrapes the honey with his hands and eats some of it, with no regard for his Nazirite status. And he gives it to his parents as well without telling them where it was from. And they eat it.

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And so Samson has a wedding with this Philistine woman. There was probably alcohol, which he may or may not have drunk. The Bible doesn’t really say, but we’ve already seen Samson’s casual attitude towards his own purity.

Long story short, his wedding goes terribly wrong. Samson kills thirty men from another Philistine city, and storms off back home. And his bride ends up marrying his best man.

Samson’s trouble-making

Some time later after the wedding, Samson goes back to Timnah to visit his wife. He still doesn’t know that she’s married his best man.

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So when he finds out, he’s so furious that he catches 300 foxes and ties their tails together, two-by-two, and puts a flaming torch between their tails. And he sets these foxes loose into the Philistine fields and grain storehouses.

The Philistines retaliate by burning Samson’s wife and father-in-law. Samson retaliates by beating all of them to a pulp. The Philistines then retaliate by attacking the Israelites in Judah.

So because of Samson’s trouble-making, the Philistines for the first time become hostile toward the Israelites.

Judges 15:9–11 ESV

Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a raid on Lehi. And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.” Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.”

There are two things we need to see here. The Israelites’ attitude toward the Philistines, and Samson’s attitude to the Israelites.

The Israelites, by this time, had already accepted the Philistines as their rulers. This is the new norm, so why would you stir trouble? But Samson says back to them, “They attacked me first, so I attacked back.” What’s his attitude? He doesn’t even care about how his actions affected his own people. He’s supposed to be a judge of Israel, but he doesn’t even seem to care about Israel.

So the Israelites decide to bind him and hand him over to the enemy. And he goes willingly. Does that sound familiar?

But when the Philistines comes to kill him, the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon Samson and he breaks off his bonds and kills 1000 of them with the jawbone of a donkey.

Judges 15:14–15 ESV

When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men.

The jawbone of a donkey is a very unlikely weapon. But in the hands of Samson, it became the strongest weapon. This jawbone points us to the cross, which was the most unlikely weapon that destroyed Satan’s grip over us. And the jawbone shows us that if the Spirit of God empowers us, we too can become powerful tools in God’s hands.

Samson’s humiliation

Some time after this, Samson goes to Gaza and sleeps with a prostitute there. Then he falls in love with another woman living in the Valley of Sorek, and her name was Delilah. And the Philistines pay her 1,100 pieces of silver to discover his weakness.

Judges 16:4–5 ESV

After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”

So Delilah presses him on and on and on for the secret of his strength, and Samson lies to her repeatedly.

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But in the end, Samson gives in and tells her that he has never had a haircut. So she cuts his hair while he’s sleeping, and the Philistines capture him. And this time, for the first time in his life, he’s lost his strength. So they gouge out his eyes and bring him down to the prison in Gaza.

Judges 16:20–21 ESV

And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.

Samson’s death

So after they capture Samson, the Philistines decide to have a big sacrifice to Dagon to celebrate the victory. And they bring out the blind Samson to entertain them.

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But Samson asks a young man to let him lean on the temple pillars. And as he feels the temple pillars, Samson makes a final prayer to God.

Judges 16:28–29 ESV

Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other.

Judges 16:30 ESV

And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.

This was the second time and the last time we ever see Samson praying to God. And it was only at the end of his life, when his strength was gone, when his pride was gone, when he had nothing else to depend on. That’s when he repented, and asked God to remember him. And that’s when God worked through him to bring down the temple of Dagon.

Conclusion

Samson represents Israel, who’s doing whatever is right in their own eyes. He lives however he wants, he eats whatever he wants, he marries whoever he wants. and even kills whoever he wants. But in the end, he comes back to God and gives his life for God’s purpose, to defeat God’s enemies.

In conclusion, Samson’s story gives us two warnings and two hopes.

Samson’s story warns us against worldly culture and influence

Today’s society has given way more and more to the tide of sin. The French Olympics, the increasing lewdness of online content, and the constant comparison on social media. These are just a few examples of how the world has made acceptable what is unacceptable in God’s eyes.

So we should remember the warning of James, not to be a friend of the world.

James 4:4 ESV

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Samson’s story warns us against living in the Spirit’s power without growing in the Spirit’s character.

Samson operated in the power of the Spirit, but his character doesn’t show any signs of maturing in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control. That’s the fruit of the Spirit in Gal. 5:22-23.

As people called to be leaders for the kingdom of God, our works are important. But what’s even more important is our character.

Isn’t it true that many big churches and organizations fall because of a moral failure by the leaders? If we want Zion church to grow, we must first submit ourselves to grow more and more in the character of Christ.

Dallas Willard said, “The most important thing in your life is not what you do; it’s who you become. That’s what you will take into eternity.”

So with this hope and warning from Samson’s story, let us keep in step with the Holy Spirit, trusting in His power and bearing the fruit of the Spirit.

Samson’s story gives us hope for our salvation apart from our works

In Samson, we see a man whose entire life falls short of the calling placed upon him. He had almost no regard for the Nazirite vow. He had no good works to speak of. But despite all this, the Spirit of the Lord stayed with him and empowered him with strength.

If he didn’t have the Spirit’s power, he probably would have been killed by the lion or the Philistines. But the Spirit kept him alive. God had many reasons to take the Spirit away, and He only withdrew the power at the end in order to humble him and bring him to repentance.

So even though Samson didn’t care that he was a Nazirite, God didn’t forget the man He called. And if God didn’t forget Samson, He won’t forget us, whom He chose before the foundation of the world.

Romans 8:28 ESV

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Ephesians 1:4–5 ESV

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

So since we are called, does the Holy Spirit protect and preserve us? Amen. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is God’s seal upon us, and He is God’s guarantee to us.

Ephesians 1:13–14 ESV

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Philippians 1:6 ESV

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Samson couldn’t meet the standard of holiness expected of a Nazirite. But we have a Savior whose holiness outshines all the Nazirites put together. And He has given that holiness, that righteousness, to us. So let us believe that until we enter into the kingdom of heaven, God’s Holy Spirit, His love, and His power will never depart from us.