There is a true story of a railroad worker filed a
$100,000 damage suit against his company, claiming he had been jolted off a
train and, as a result of the fall, his legs had become paralyzed. The company
hired two detectives who opened a crystal-gazing parlor in his home town. Their
advertisement of “Home Readings for Shut-ins” brought a request from the faker
to call and tell his fortune. During the visit, the crystal-gazer “saw a
lawsuit” in his ball and predicted that, to win it, his client would have to
carry a log across a nearby railroad track at dawn the next morning, hopping
over on one foot and back on the other. He did, and the detectives, hiding in
the bushes, took a movie of his performance.[1]
It’s sad whenever deception is tried, but sadder still is when we deceive
ourselves! Samson thought he could flirt with sin and not be impacted, he was
wrong.
Judges 16:21-31 Then the Philistines seized him and
gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with
bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison. However, the hair of his
head began to grow again after it was shaved off. Now the lords of the
Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to
rejoice, for they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands.”
When the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, “Our god has
given our enemy into our hands, Even the destroyer of our country, Who has
slain many of us.” It so happened
when they were in high spirits, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may
amuse us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he entertained them.
And they made him stand between the pillars. Then Samson said to the boy who
was holding his hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I
may lean against them.” Now the
house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were
there. And about 3,000 men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson
was amusing them.
Then Samson
called to the Lord and said, “O
Lord God, please remember me and
please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of
the Philistines for my two eyes.” Samson
grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself
against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. And
Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he bent with all his might
so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the
dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his
life. Then his brothers and all his father’s household came down, took him,
brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah
his father. Thus he had judged Israel twenty years.
First let’s summarize the story of Samson:
God
called Samson from the womb and planned to use him to deliver Israel from the
grip of the Philistines. Samson’s strength was unparalleled and the
Philistines could not stand against him. Many of Samson’s actions were, to say
the least, strange, but God continued to use him. Samson fell in love with a
terrible woman named Delilah and finally capitulated to her nagging as she
sought to know the secret of his strength. He was then taken captive by his
enemies, blinded and placed into slavery. At a feast where all the leaders of
the Philistines were, he was brought out for their amusement. At this point he
asked the Lord to strengthen him again and requested that he be able to destroy
his enemies, even though this would cost him his life. God granted this request
and Samson killed more Philistines in that moment then he had done throughout
his entire life!
No wonder the world treats this as a fairy tale…it
is an amazing story and without the reality of our God, I would not believe it
either! The problem is the world…and many believers I am sad to say, think
they have figured out how God works. In spite of the fact that God warns use
clearly in Scripture that we never will?
Isaiah 55:8–9 “For
My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My
thoughts than your thoughts.
Job 36:26 “Look, God is greater than we can understand.
His years cannot be counted.
Romans 11:33–34 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the
wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and
unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who
became His counselor?
God does what He does because that is what He wants done! The
minute any of us bring the accusation of “well who does he think he is?”
exposes the reality that we do not really understand the word GOD. He
doesn’t
have to explain Himself, I am thankful He allows me to understand some of Who
He is and what He does! A very precious verse has brought the proper balance in
my life:
Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed
belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this
law.
As we end this historical account of one of the physically
strongest men that ever walked the earth, we should remember that all that
strength was overcome by two very small parts of the body…his
eyes! No one can know the true heart of Samson except God, so we should not try
to judge his love for the Lord. What we can do is discern from his actions that
he had a terrible weakness led by his eyes for women. We need to remember that
a weakness does not show the true heart of a person, when we do that we place
ourselves in the seat of Judge! That seat is reserved for only One, so we need
to be careful. Clearly Samson blew the opportunity that God had for him, but we
need to remember from God’s perspective…because He knew what
was in Samson’s heart…God still accounted to him righteousness based on his faith. The
book of Hebrews attests to this:
Hebrews 11:32–34, 39 And what more shall I say? For time
will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel
and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained
promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched
the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made
strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight…And all these,
having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised
It is proper for us to see Samson as a flawed human being that,
because he trusted in God, was still used and honored by the Lord. This should
bring all of us sinners great encouragement. We, too, are flawed, but that need
not limit what God can do in our lives.
One question that begs to be asked: was Samson’s
strength really in his hair? Nothing is stated clearly in Scripture about that,
so I will share my opinion…Nathan chapter 1, verse 1…remember
this is just my opinion. Samson’s hair was the sign he had as his
commitment from birth to be God’s servant, when he treated it with such
contempt by telling Delilah, God departed and so did his miraculous strength.
When his hair grew back, reaffirming the sign of a Nazirite, he did not rely on
it, he cried out to God:
“Then Samson called to the Lord
and said, “O Lord God, please
remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God”
I believe it was his faith, just as it is with us. This is the
key in our walk with God.
We should also take note that it was his eyes that betrayed him
and when he lost them, he finally began to see! Samson asked God to help him
destroy his enemy, even if it meant he would give his life for it.
Lastly, the Philistines made a terrible error when they chose
to glorify a false god for what they had accomplished. Throughout Scripture, of
all our sins, the one God has no tolerance for is idolatry! The quickest way to
bring judgment on yourself is to give some dead rock, crystal or piece of wood
the honor and glory that belongs only to the Creator! The record is clear on
this and we should take heed!
Acts 12:21-23 On an appointed day Herod, having put on his
royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” And
immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the
glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
1 Corinthians 10:7–8 Do not be idolaters, as some of them
were; as it is written, “The people sat
down to eat and drink, and stood
up to play.” Nor
let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in
one day.
Romans 1:21–32 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t
worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish
ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of
worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look
like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to
do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile
and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God
for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the
Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God
abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the
natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the
men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for
each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this
sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they
thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish
thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became
full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling,
deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of
God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they
disobey their parents. They refuse
to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that
those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet,
they encourage others to do them, too.
The next time we blame God for all the suffering and woes of
this world, we need to look straight down at our own feet, because that is
where the accountability lies! God allowed us our choice of who to honor and
how to live. When we choose Him, He brings life! Sadly, mankind chose…and
continues to do so, our own way…God got out of the way, yielding to our
stubborn choice of “self” rule. We have inflicted the ugliness, the pain and regret that
sin brings on ourselves.
With all the mistakes and sins Samson committed, the reason he,
in the end, did what was right, is because he kept his wits about Who God is!
That reality brought his internal compass aright, and it is a lesson we must
get!
Meditation: When was the last time you were away from the Lord?
What was the reason? What did you do to restore your fellowship? Are there some
specific sins you are struggling with? What do you think God wants you to do?
Can you trust God to use you in spite of the fact that you struggle with sin?
[1]
Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700
Illustrations: Signs of the Times (p. 321). Garland, TX: Bible
Communications, Inc.
