WHY IS SAMSON IN THE BIBLE?
‘And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection.’ Hebrews 11:32-35
What a hall of worthies the author of Hebrew sets before our eyes. But when we take a closer look we are tempted to think the author had imbibed a bit too much of the communion wine. What is Samson doing in that list? One might surmise he never read the 13th through 16th chapters of the Book of Judges and threw in the name of Samson because he heard some Sunday School teacher mention his name. Who knows? What we do know is that Samson was hardly a life worthy of our emulation and yet here he is, listed among the Davids and Samuels and Gideons of the world. They were all flawed men, we would agree, but they did some marvelous things for the Lord, and displayed some really strong evidences of their faith. But Samson? Come on. He was a thug, nothing more than a common criminal, an embarrassment to his parents and to his nation. His inclusion in this list leaves us confused. Why then would the author even mention him? If a book of great surgeons was written who would dare include the name of Josef Mengele, the ‘Angel of Death?’
Exactly why is it so shocking to find the name of Samson in this list of faithful heros? His life looks like the long rap sheet of an inveterate criminal. In most churches today he wouldn’t get by the front door must less be allowed to partake in Holy Communion. But here he is, listed along with other great Old Testament Saints like Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses. The author of the Book of Hebrews has esteemed Samson as a faithful saint of yore. How did this happen?
So let’s review this man’s life for a minute and see if he qualifies to ba member of the Hall of Faith.
Samson was to born to barren parents and like others of the Old Testament he was a miracle baby. By God’s decree was to be a Nazirite for his entire life. A Nazirite was one whose life was totally separated to the Lord. Samuel and John the Baptist are in this number. But unlike these two men, Samson chooses a life of profligacy. How so?
He dishonors his parents by requesting to marry a heathen Philistine woman simply because ‘she pleased him.’
He single handedly kills a lion and later on touches the animal’s carcass and in it finds a hive of bees with honey.
He gambles with some Philistine men by proposing to them a riddle with a high stakes payout.
His Philistine wife reveals to them the solution and in revenge, Samson slays thirty Philistines and uses the booty to pay off his bet.
He leaves his wife but then decides to return to her only to find she had been given to another man.
Samson, enraged, burns up the fields of the Philistines by setting foxes’ tails on fire.
Samson so offends his own people that they surrender him into the enemy.
Samson again retaliates and kills a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a dead animal.
Samson cavorts with a harlot in Gaza and once again avoids captivity by escaping her city by picking up the metal gates and walking to freedom.
Samson falls in love with another Philistine woman, Delilah, who becomes and agent for the Philistines to capture Samson.
Samson engages in a game of mutual deception with Delilah.
Delilah exploits Samson’s weakness and discovers the source of his power; his hair.
Samson is blinded, taken to Gaza where both he and his God, Yahweh, are ridiculed.
That’s quite a life. Let us delve a bit more deeply into his life and see all the ways Samson violated the law of God and his Nazirite vow.
First, Samson was a man ruled by lust and passion. On several occasions he took for himself a heathen Philistine woman and also cavorted with prostitutes. These acts were serious deflections from the law of God.
Second, Samson kills a lion and touches the animal’s dead body. This was a serious defection from the Nazirite vow that was pronounced over him at birth. The stipulations of the Nazirite vow are found in Numbers 6:1-21.
Third, Samson’s life is full of deception, he toys with the women he seduces and also the young Philistine men.
Fourth, Samson is ruled by a superiority complex, considers himself superior to others, and falsely believes his strength from God is impregnable.
Fifth, Samson ignores and resists the opinion of his parents.
Sixth, Samson is full of the spirit of revenge and retaliation.
Seventh, Samson attends raucous parties where wine freely flows; another violation of his Nazirite vow.
Quite a list. And I’m sure many of us are now asking, ‘could this man possibly be a member of the family of God?’ The author of Hebrews says yes, and he is inspired. So what should the life of Samson teach us?
First, his life undermines our moralistic view of the Christian life. Over the course of church history, the idea that obedience is the final proof of one’s salvation has seeped into the church. It takes a variety of forms. Its pattern goes something like this. At the first we are justified by faith and forgiven by God. Then comes the journey of the Christian life and his faithfulness on this journey becomes the measure of his salvation. But this is never the teaching of the Bible. One’s salvation rests not on the quality of one’s life, but the quality of one’s faith. All the people that Jesus healed were healed because of their faith and that alone. Paul in Galatians and Romans makes it clear that belief in Jesus as Messiah is the sole basis of one’s salvation.
Second, the life of Samson once again proves that divine election is the ultimate proof that one belongs to God. Election is God’s choice of us not our good choices in life. Election is immutable, the solid proof of one’s salvation rooted in the eternal mind of God. Samson was a Nazirite from birth; chosen by God in eternity to be His. Christian professions rise and fall, assurances of salvation sway in the stiff winds of life. But one’s election is settled forever in heaven. Thus it is always tenuous to judge one’s life by one’s outward deportment for we are not the judges of others, nor can we see what really is happening inside one’s soul. To say one is saved because God chooses them sounds unfair but who ever said grace was fair. it is neither fair or unfair. But it is free.
Third, the life of Samson teaches us that faith and faith alone is what connects us to God’s salvation and that faith is given to us as a gift. One searches in vain to find in Samson a failure to believe that God was real and active in his life. Samson knew the God of the bible and knew it was trust in Yahweh that afforded him supernatural strength. He abused that faith, no doubt. His faith was not exemplary nor did faith rule his behavior. But that Samson believed cannot be denied. His faith triumphed in the end. In the final act of his life, bound and blinded, Samson called upon God. ‘O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes’ (Judges 16:28). Perfect faith? In no wise. But here was the weak faith of a mustard seed that Jesus said would save a soul. This reminds us that one’s faith can be so weak that it is hard to discern whether it exists at all. It is easy to condemn our weak brothers for their apparent fruitlessness. But we must ever remember that we cannot see the faint whisper of one’s faith that dwells in their soul. This causes us to be patient with our weaker, professing brothers and sisters. As protestants we must ever cling to the fact that salvation comes by sola fide, faith alone. Works are never the basis of our salvation for how would we ever know if our works are sufficient to save us? To include works as a basis of our salvation is to recede back into a Roman Catholic mindset. In America, many protestant churches have subtly adopted this standard. This is terrifying.
Fourth, Samson always knew who the enemy was and who God was. Samson’s life was always characterized by opposition to the Philistines. Though his methods to defeat them can be questioned, his conviction that they were the enemy to God’s people cannot. Samson’s life was always sympathetic to the cause of God and God used Him despite his many failures. There is a verse in Judges 14:4 that indicate that God used Samson’s attraction to the Philistine woman as His (God’s) way of infiltrating the enemy camp. Of course Samson willingly and knowingly disobeyed God in going after the woman, but God ordained it and we must remember that God often uses the strangest means to accomplish His purposes. Samson is guilty for his sins, but we must also acknowledge that God used his misguided faith for His glory. In the same way God works today.
Fifth, Samson’s life forces us to make a distinction between believers we wish to emulate and those we do not. The fact that Samson appears in Hebrews chapter 11 is not an encouragement to follow his life. His life is included in this list because he performed great feats by faith, not because his life was a sterling example of piety. All this teaches us that we are to follow a Christian’s faith but not every aspect of his life. Faith alone is the common denominator that marks every redeemed life. There is not much in Samson’s life to copy, but we do wish to copy those moments when faith ruled supreme in him.
Lastly, Samson’s life teaches us that when we live in disobedience we will not be punished eternally but temporally. God forgives us completely because of our faith. And we must remind ourselves and others of this daily. But God does not eliminate the consequences of our disobedience. This is most important for us to remember. Samson was a child of God. But because of his disobedience God took him early. Samson endured shame standing blind in that Temple of Dagon. He deserved it. Yet God honored Samson by allowing him to kill more Philistines in his death than he did in his life. Why? Because of his faith. Thus the end of Samson’s life points to One greater than Samson. This One also stood before idolaters in derision and shame. He too must die. And He too destroyed the empire of his enemy the devil with this one great act of His death. Yes, Samson even points us to Jesus. So are the mystifying ways of God.