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Introduction
We’re now on to our last judge, although not quite the last of the book of Judges—the last section of the book details the complete collapse of faithfulness to God, and the terrible consequences of that failure.
The last judge is the famous Samson.
In our imaginations, Samson is almost like a superhero—his immense strength is his defining feature.
But Samson was not supposed to be just a strongman.
God called him from the womb to be a Nazirite.
A Nazirite is a person who has dedicated themselves to special service to God.
They show this by not touching grapes or alcohol, not cutting their hair, and not touching dead people (even their own family members).
All this on top of strict obedience of the law of Moses.
The other famous man who seems to follow this path is, of course, John the Baptist.
It’s hard to imagine two more different men than the sensual, self-indulgent Samson, whose only faithfulness was in his long hair, and the ascetic, spiritual John who was faithful in every way.
Today we’re going to look at one incident from Samson’s life.
I think this incident illustrates the way Samson lived his whole life, and the way that God dealt with that.
It’s the story of Samson’s wedding.
Just a tiny bit of context: the oppressors of Israel at this time were the Philistines.
Samson’s job as a judge or deliverer was to defeat these people.
Keep that in mind as we read this passage.
Bible
Samson’s marriage: three perspectives
The passage we just read from the Bible tells of Samson’s marriage to a Philistine.
The Bible presents three perspectives on this, so let’s work through these one by one.
Perspective 1: Samson
The first perspective is Samson’s.
It’s a simple perspective:
Samson sees a pretty woman.
Samson wants the pretty woman.
Samson demands the pretty woman.
The author of Judges presents the direct connection from Samson’s eyes to his desires to his actions in this demand Samson gives his parents.
It’s almost as if Samson is the prototypical brainless strongman.
There is no thought here, just desire.
To show just how thoughtless Samson is, we turn now to the second perspective.
Perspective 2: Samson’s parents (and God)
The second perspective belongs to Samson’s parents.
But it also represents God’s perspective, although in a rather weak way, as we’ll see.
Samson’s parents know that God’s people are supposed to keep to themselves.
They know God’s command not to mix with the people of the land, because that mixing leads to spiritual corruption.
And so they weakly protest against Samson’s demand.
But there’s more going on behind the scenes here, as the author of Judges reveals.
God has a plan.
God knows Samson’s weakness.
He knows Samson’s desires.
And he knows that Samson will go wherever his desires point him.
And so God fits that into his plan for Israel.
This is a theme of Samson’s life.
God purposes are fulfilled through him despite Samson’s refusal to even seek God, let alone listen to him.
Let’s list the ways Samson serves God’s purposes, despite himself:
To pay off his lost bet, Samson kills 30 Philistines
To take revenge for his wife being given to someone else, Samson burns down the wheat fields and orchards of the Philistines.
To pay back the Philistines for burning his wife and her family (in revenge for Samson’s burning their crops), Samson, eventually, kills 1000 Philistines
Finally, Samson kills himself and the rules of Philistia by destroying the temple they are feasting in
In all of these actions, Samson was simply letting his lusts or desires rule him, and yet each time God was working through him.
Fulfilling God’s purposes, version 1
You know, we often pray that God might work through us.
Well, I do.
And I look forward to God using me.
It is a wonderful and rewarding experience to be used by God.
After all, God always has good purposes in mind, and it’s great to be able to do something that has an eternal, good purpose, right?
But for Samson, it is not so much fun to be the person through whom God works, was it?
He is betrayed by women, enslaved by his enemies, and only defeats them by killing himself.
That’s not a fun life!
If we reject God’s purposes in our life, if we step outside the community of faith, the body of Christ, we will likely experience this disappointment, too.
After all, God works through everything to bring about good for those who love him, but not for the good of those who reject him.
If we reject God, he won’t stop working through us, but he won’t be able to reward us.
Fulfilling God’s purposes, version 2
In contrast, when we listen to Jesus, when we follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit, when we read God’s word and obey him, we find ourselves both being used by God, and being rewarded by him.
Jesus tells Peter, who is worried that God’s path might be a fruitless one,
When we cooperate with God we find joy, peace and abundance.
But God is the one who gets to define what those things are, not us.
Perspective 3: The Philistines
Which brings us to the third perspective, that of Samson’s wife and the Philistines.
It is fascinating to see how unconvinced the Philistines and his wife are of Samson’s motives.
The Philistines wisely did not trust Samson.
He was a threat.
And Samson’s wife sided with her people over him.
You see, Samson may have thought that his desires aligned him with the Philistines, but they never thought that way—they just saw Samson as a threat and an enemy.
When we try to ally ourselves to the world—to the parts of our culture and society that are in rebellion against God—we too will be disappointed.
Like Samson we are a threat.
Like Samson we can never really be a part of the world.
Jesus told his disciples this:
It’s tempting to be a part of what looks like the fun crowd.
But God calls us to follow his path.
Just as King David supplanted Samson and the other judges because he listened to God, so our way is a better way as we listen to God.
To work together with God
I want to leave us with this contrast.
There are two ways to be part of God great work of rescuing the world.
We can be an unwilling part of God’s project, like Samson.
Or we can work under God as a willing and joyful participant, taking the amazing opportunity to serve him and be part of his glorious rescue mission.
Like the apostle Peter healing the lame man at the temple.
As we go out today, let’s listen to God to hear what he has for us each day.
We can be true heroes.
Maybe not “supes” like Samson, but people who truly make the world a better place.
Let’s pray,
Lord, we thank you that you have sent your son, Jesus, to die in our place so that we can be part of your family and your work.
We are grateful that you use us, as weak and fallible as we are.
Please help us to hear your call, and give us the power of your Holy Spirit to obey you and serve you and change the world.
Amen.
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