The Legacy of Samson
A tale of great failure and great promise
This morning, God led me to read Samson. I love it when he gives me seemingly random stories in the Bible that I’ve not thought of in a while. It means it’s gonna be a good one.
We find his story beginning in the book of Judges 13, it’s worth reading the chapter:
Judges 13: The Birth of Samson
Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.’ ”
Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”
God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!”
Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”
“I am,” he said.
So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?”
The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”
Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.”
The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the Lord.)
Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”
He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord.
“We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!”
But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”
The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Judges 13 (NIV)
Jesus in the Old Testament
First, we learn that the Israelites are being oppressed yet again because of their evil ways, but God hears their cry and decides to answer them in the form of a deliverer. I’ve never noticed this before, but God’s choice of using a very strong man is him continuing to show humanity that even with the strongest of men, we are still hopelessly lost. And so he sent Jesus, the perfect and strongest man, to end our entanglement with sin (the promise to be fully realized in the hereafter).
It is amazing to see Jesus show up in the Old Testament. Though I have read this story many times, I had not seen how so much Samson mirrors Christ:
Christ and Samson
Here are a few of the similarities I found:
Similarities
An angel first appeared to both their mothers, “A man of God came to me.”
Their mothers are told that their son will be special and set apart for God’s work “dedicated to God from the womb.”
Both children are the firstborn.
Their fathers learn later of the great promise from the mother.
Both were born during an oppressive foreign rule.
They both sacrifice their lives for their people and, in death, bring liberation.
They both used parables to be solved/revealed
They were both betrayed, Samson by Delilah, Jesus by Judas
They were both captured and handed over to the oppressor
Differences
What is clear about this comparison is that Samson’s victory was only temporary and doomed to unravel. God showed that violent revolt would be fleeting against oppression.
Jesus did what Samson could not do with supernatural strength.
Strength of spirit is greater than strength of body at ending oppression once and for all.
Samson gave in to his temptation and could not resist Delilah, while Jesus succeeded against temptation.
Samson was continually led astray from the mission, while Jesus was not and stayed focused on the cross.
Samson also showed how easy it is to tempt and lead astray a man set apart for God.
It’s Never Too Late to Be Used by God
The notes in my Bible say that although we often think of Samson as a failure, he is still regarded as a man of faith, and his name is listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews. God still used him to accomplish his will even with his last breath. This shows that “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” This resonates with me today, as I find myself in a place where I am measuring my life by what I’ve lost and not what I still have. Wondering if I can gain back what I once had. Wondering if I can ever be used by God again, or like I had once hoped. In many ways, this blog and my writing are my way out of that. It’s my way of saying, “Lord, I know you had great hopes for me, and I have failed you, but I can still tell others about you.” This is the prayer in the order of Samson.
It’s clear to me now that Samson’s life was an example for us to see that we cannot save ourselves, and yet God still gave us the option. The Lord gave us many options and they all failed but one, King Jesus.
Prayer for Purpose
Dear Lord Jesus,
Help us to walk in faith
in the purpose that you have set for all of us.
Enable us to hear your voice,
avoiding distraction and destruction.
Guide us to follow King Jesus
and his perfect example of a life well lived.
Amen.