Samson

SAMSON

INTRODUCTION

            The life story of Samson can teach everyone some invaluable lessons.  Almost any casual reader of the Bible knows of Samson and his predicaments that resulted from his inability to bridle his insatiable appetite for women.  The correlations to lust and a lack of Samson’s self-control have been preached for centuries to the men of the “church”.  While this story does, in fact, teach priceless instruction for coping with the avenues that lust is propelled toward men, it has other meanings as well.  Specifically, the story of Samson symbolizes the spiritual state of Israel during the time of the judges, and is particularly relevant for the church today.   It was during this time that people were doing what was right in their own eyes (Jud. 21:25).  Even Jesus addressed the fallacy of using one’s own judgment to determine truth, which is precisely what Israel had become accustomed to during this time (Matt. 7:2).  It is true that history is repeated in cycles and that there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9); the same philosophies that were held by the people during the time of the judges are the very ideals that people are judging with today. They determine what is right or wrong by their own belief(s); no person’s belief system is more right than another’s and the common rules or standards have been all but wiped away.  Unbridled religious and sin tolerance have replaced ethical absolutes.   No one has an authority in his or her life and no one is willing to submit to the Christian authority—the Word of God.  When the law is deemed too stringent and people feel guilty about their sin actions, they seek to lighten it.  This was the moral decline during the period of Samson’s life, and it is unchanged today. When a person’s individualized will is exalted as supreme it affects the community in which they live and brings pandemonium. The final antecedent to God’s judgment is when the last societal group becomes perverted by the pandemic of total self-gratification.     

Just as Israel needed an untainted deliverer to bring them back to their proper spiritual state, so does the world today.  And although Jesus—the Great Deliverer—makes Himself available to all, only a few are willing to lay down their selfish volition and what they believe is right, to embrace the life of Christ and the will of God.  

BACKGROUND

            Samson (Hebrew Origin, meaning: Son of the sun)[1] lived during the period of the judges about 3000 years ago (1375 B.C.-1040 B.C.).[2] This period lasted nearly twice as long as the United States has been a nation.  It was during this time that Israel found themselves enslaved to a foreign people called the Philistines (Jud.13:1).  These are the same Philistines that manufactured the killing machine named Goliath some years later.  The Philistines were an aggressive sea people who worshipped a fish god named Dagon. (Dagon looked similar to a mermaid. It had the head, hands and chest of a person, but the rest of its body looked like a fish.)[3] They were a ruthless people whose history dates back to the time of Abraham.  Around 1236 B.C, when the Egyptians and Hittites were militarily weak, the Philistines launched an attack from nearby Libya in an effort to gain complete control over the Mediterranean region.  After an unsuccessful attempt they were allowed to settle in the small coastal area known today as Palestine.  It was here that these sea people waged lesser battles with the surrounding tribal peoples in an endeavor to gain more ground for their cause.[4] This is, of course, when Israel comes into focus; and this is the setting before and during Samson’s life.  Just before Samson was born, the Israelites were given into the hands of the Philistines because of their disobedience to God. 

Again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. Judges 13:1

            As Samson’s birth ushered in the close of the period of the judges, no one in Israel assumed that he would be their deliverer, especially when he caused Israel even greater trepidation. On one-occasion, Samson’s hostile temper and self-vengeance on the Philistine people prompted Israel to arrest Samson and turn him over to their enemy (Jud. 15:11-13). Israel had taken drastic measures to ensure that Samson’s belligerent rage be restrained to assist their self-preservation.  Even as Israel thought that their annihilation was en route, God was establishing his plan through Samson.  God took a man with severe moral and mental weaknesses and used him to literally shake an entire nation.  Even though Samson’s own people turned him over to the enemy, God’s implanted seed of deliverance in Samson was just beginning to take root. He used someone that everyone thought was a loser and an authority abuser to get the job done.  This should give everyone hope that God can use the worst person, whom everyone else has deemed a lunatic and outcast, and use them to perpetuate a revival.

THE NAZARITE VOW

Before Samson was conceived, the wife of Manoah was barren.  She could have no children.  One day an angel came and announced to her that she would be having a child.  It was during this announcement that the angel told her that this child was going to be special. He was to be set apart for God under the Nazarite vow.

For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son…the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb… Judges 13:5

According to the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, there are two types of the Nazarite vow that are mentioned in the Old Testament.[5] The first involved a individual to be separated unto God for a specified amount of time (Num. 6:1-21).  Paul was a Nazarite for a limited period of time (Acts 18:18).  This first type of the Nazarite vow was initiated after the person chose to consecrate their self to God by employing their freewill.  The second did not utilize the person’s will at all.  It was a vow for life that was chosen by the parents before the baby was ever born.  There was no waiting for the child to grow up to make his/her decision to become a Nazarite, it was determined exclusively by God and the parents.[6]  In the case of Samson, the Lord conveyed His intentions for him to undertake the lifelong vow when the angel revealed the reversal of his mother’s barrenness.  In any case of the Nazarite vow, these are the separating stipulations[7]:

1.      They could not drink or eat anything from the fruit of the vine (i.e. wine, grapes or raisins).

2.      They could not have a razor come upon their head. (i.e. no hair cuts).

3.      They could not touch anything dead.

THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SAMSON

            The fact that the wife of Manoah (Samson’s mother) was barren and unable to have children reflects the spiritual state of Israel during the time of the judges (actually, it helps us to understand most of Israel’s history).  During the period of the judges, Israel was unable to fulfill her God-given destiny in enjoying the Promised Land and leading all nations to God.  Not only did they not produce any spiritual children by leading other nations to God, but they also were in danger of losing their own spiritual connection with God.  Instead of setting nations free from evil bondage and pagan traditions, they found themselves burdened by these nations (Jud. 13:1).  This spiritual degradation describes the backslidden condition of the church even today.  The church has long held the necessary antidote to release people from the snares of Satan and the abhorring bondage that he uses to keep people from freedom in Christ, but it has failed miserably.  Instead of releasing people from the devastating effects of sin and enslavement to the enemy, it has its own wrists shackled in an ever-increasing oppression. Much of the church seems to be content with building bigger auditoriums, which are more like dead men’s mortuaries, where congregants cling to man-made ritualistic traditions.  More people are coming to the four walls of the church, but less people are finding the true freedom in Christ.

            Manoah’s wife was probably extremely perplexed at her inability to have children.  In the Ancient Near East, women who could not have children were looked down upon and were considered a social outcast. Since much of the tribal and patriarchal societies depended upon the family, and because the size of the family often determined its strength, not having children would pose a significant problem.  Manoah’s barren wife could not fulfill her destiny and her greatest desires as a woman.  When it was announced to her that she would have a child it was the first indication that Samson would be the deliverer to a people who were spiritually barren. When the angel came to Mary and announced the miraculous birth of Christ, it was Israel’s indication of the final deliverance they had hoped for and expected.  Sadly, most of the Jews did not embrace Jesus as their long awaited Messiah. 

For behold, you shall conceive…a son…and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. Judges 13:5

A CYCLE OF DISOBEDIENCE

It should be understood that during the period of the judges, Israel developed a pattern of continual disobedience to the Lord and His will for their lives.  Remarkably, the favor of God rested upon Israel and when they repented from their disobedience God delivered them each time.  When Israel disobeyed God, He allowed them to be oppressed by some external element that would eventually lead them to a total surrender to the will and desires that God had in mind for them.  When they cried out to God for His loving-kindness and mercy He would raise up a deliverer to liberate them from their tyranny and restore peace.  This is an acronym that can be used to understand the cycle of Israel’s disobedience and God’s restoration during the period of the judges:

R- Rebellion (Israel disobeys God’s will).

O- Oppression (God allows Israel to be oppressed).

P- Prayer (Israel cries out to God in desperation).

E- Erase (God removes the affliction).

S- Start over (The cycle repeats).

 Just remember that ropes are a type of bondage.  When Israel repeatedly turned away from God they found themselves in “ropes” of oppression. 

Israel’s continual cycle of disobedience to God’s plan can be paralleled with the Christian’s individual walk.  Every Christian disobeys God at some point in their walk.  When this happens, God allows the Christian to go through pain, anguish, trials and oppression (as a result of the individuals sin thoughts and actions) to being them back to a place of understanding that God is the only true source of provision.  God uses these afflictions to alleviate the Christian’s selfish will and the pattern of thinking that insists that ultimate joy rests in something that they can do or maintain themselves.  When the Christian comes to the realization (being prompted by the trials) that the affliction, and the absence of it (resulting in true peace), is out of their control they submit to the fact that they cannot make things better on their own.  Ultimately, they come crawling back broken and surrendered to the will of their Maker.  When the Christian submits to God by placing his/her trust in Jesus then they are restored to wholeness.

…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us…looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,… Hebrews 12:1b, 2a NKJV

You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; god is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline? Hebrews 12:7 AMP

For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness—in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God]. Hebrews 12:11 AMP

            The example of Israel’s continual disobedience in the Old Testament should be examined closely as this chosen people were eventually “brought to an end” in their relationship (not their “chosen-ness”) with God (Hos. 1:4).  The children of Israel were betrothed to God and He kept up His end of the covenant, but they continually walked away from Him.  Their continual acts of spiritual adultery resulted in divorcement from God.   He did not divorce them; they walked away from God by their own volition, through their own repeated actions of pagan idolatry.  Israel broke the marital covenant with God [Again, this has nothing to do with the everlasting Abrahamic covenant of God’s choosing them to be His people].

But you [Israel] trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing who would have it. …you are an adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband… How degenerate is your heart…and I will judge you as women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged. For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, who despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Ezekiel 16:15, 30, 38, & 59

            One day God will restore the house of Israel, but that will be after they go through the worst tribulation period that can be imagined (Hos. 3:5).  Where men seek to die, but will not find death (Rev. 9:6). God sent the full revelation of His will in His Son, Jesus Christ. He sent Him to the chosen people of Israel, but they rejected Him.  When Jesus came on the scene, Israel had already divorced themselves from God.  Amazingly, His rejection by them was not the final straw.  He came to His people as the result of their disobedience and the cry for help.  Most, however, did not perceive Him as the hope of Israel (and ultimately the whole world).  They could not understand His willingness to lay down His life to not only take on the sins of the world, but to conquer the result of their sin—death (Heb.2:9).  The Jews could not accept Jesus’ assignment because they expected a military Messiah—one who would set them free from the Roman occupation. All they had to do was put aside their preconceived ideas of His mission, place their trust in Him, and embrace the revelation of a loving Father in heaven.  That is all we need to do today. Sadly, many find themselves in the same situation that Israel was in when Christ came to be the ultimate liberator.  They are estranged and divorced from their Maker.  Not because God has left them, for He cannot leave (Heb. 13:5); they have left of their own volition.  They have internally rejected the truth, because the Word has no place in them (John 8:31-32).

            The life model of Israel has been placed in God’s Word to be a compass for those who have decided to place their faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ.  Their example is for admonition, to keep us from straying too far off the narrow way. 

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow…is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it.   Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV

            It is advantageous to examine the Old Testament stories to learn from their mistakes.  It is also very sobering to read how only two people from hundreds of thousands of Israelites actually entered the Promised Land.  It is amazing to read of only three people who escaped the judgment and total destruction of five large cities in the book of beginnings (Genesis).  It is convicting to reflect on the eight people who lived to walk the earth again after God annihilated the entire earth’s population.  In reality, only very few will find the way to everlasting life, as evidenced by these Old Testament stories.

SAMSON’S WOMEN

            Before any article on Samson can be complete, one should mention his obvious problem with lust and women.  Through examining his life, this fact is unquestionable. On one occasion he even sought a harlot among the enemy rivals of the uncircumcised Philistines.[8]  Samson was not directed by his spirit, but was controlled by his fleshly appetite.  The same sins that have existed from the beginning when Adam and Eve succumbed to temptation are found in the life story of Samson.  In fact, the three women that Samson encountered are indicative of the three temptations of sin in the world. 

For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. I John 2:16 NKJV

The three areas of temptation are:

1.      The lust of the flesh

2.      The lust of the eyes

3.      The pride of life

Samson is best known for his sinful encounter with the Philistine temptress, Delilah.  She, however, was only one of three different women that had a sinful rendezvous with Samson.  Interestingly, all three women died after their affair with God’s covenantal man.  The three women represent the different temptations that arouse a person to sin, but they also represent the three avenues that sin is impelled toward a person.  A person can be encouraged to sin internally (their flesh), or externally through the world and the devil.[9]  Here are Samson’s three women:

1.      The woman of Timnah (Judges 14:1)- Samson’s betrothed wife represents the lust of the flesh.[10] Further along in the chapter, Samson asks his parents to get the girl for him as wife (present the bride-price to her father to enact betrothal) because she “pleased him well”(14:3).  She pleased Samson’s flesh.

2.      The Gaza harlot (Judges 16:1)- This woman represents the lust of the eyes.  When Samson came to Gaza, it says that he saw the woman and went in to her (16:1).  There was no emotional or even fleshly connection.  He simply saw her and paid for what he wanted.

3.      Delilah (Judges 16:4)- Finally, we come to the notorious Delilah.  Delilah is the woman who Samson actually loved (16:4). She represents the pride of life because it was after this third woman that the Spirit of the Lord left him. [A parallel can also be drawn to the common phrase that many people use to indicate that a person’s hair is beautiful: they will say that their hair is their pride and joy.  This was especially true of Samson.] Why did the Spirit of the Lord leave Samson when Delilah shaved off his hair? Samson’s sin had become full grown (Jas.1:15). Not only was this the third encounter with a Philistine woman, it was also the third time Samson had broken his vow to the Lord.  The Nazarite vow had three stipulations, and among them were that Samson could not touch anything dead.  He violated this vow when he touched the dead lion and refused to tell his parents for fear of what they would do or say (Jud.14:8,9); he also violated the vow when he touched the dead donkey’s jawbone (Jud. 15:15).[11]  The consummation of his sin came when Delilah removed his hair (Jud. 16:19-20). This was the third time that Samson had violated the Nazarite vow before the Lord.  The Bible makes it very clear that God is patient with people, and this is true even when they sin.  The book of Romans states that if people continue to disregard Him that He will eventually give that person over to their sin—a debased mind (Rom. 1:26).  The book of Psalms says that if we love our sin, God won’t even hear our prayers (Psa. 66:18).  Finally, Ezekiel chapter 16, which was already covered briefly, gives sufficient proof of God’s forbearance with sin when He tells of all the nations that Israel turned to instead of Him. In verse 38, He declares that Israel’s heart had become degenerate—a final phase of total denial of God, their Husband.

Samson had lost three full rounds in the boxing ring with the temptations of sin, and the Spirit of God had left him completely.  In fact, because Samson’s sin had become full grown, three consequences to his evil actions ensued. First, the Philistines took his eyes (Jud. 16:21). Then they took him and bound him in bronze fetters (v.21).  Finally, they took Samson and locked him away in prison where he became a professional grain grinder.  He wore ruts in the ground when he walked in circular motions around the grinding wheel, probably, in blazing temperatures for days on end. 

When we sin, God’s mercy reserves the full penalties of our rebellion until we become debased and our sin grows full-grown.  When the insurgence against God is finalized, God’s mercy is lifted and we reap fully what we have sown. 

As Christians, we must remember that the devil has employed the same ill-fated tactics since the opening pages of the Bible with Adam and Eve.  He came to Eve with the lust of the flesh, the lust the eyes and the pride of life. 

1.      So the woman (Eve) saw that the tree was good for food.  This was the first temptation—the lust of the flesh.

2.      [She saw] that it was pleasant to the eyes.  This is the lust of the eyes.

3.      [She saw that the] tree [was] desirable to make one wise.  This is the pride of life. 

From examining this text it is apparent that Eve had allowed the enticements to take up roots in her heart.  She didn’t just decide to eat the fruit from the forbidden tree.  A desire began in her mind that eventually seeped into her heart.  It began like anything else; a sweet, innocent thought that eventually intoxicated her entire being.  It was that first innocent thought that gave way to her final rebellion and sin of eating the fruit.  When Eve exhausted her insurgence against God, she had died spiritually.  When Samson’s sin had become full grown, he also died spiritually—for the Spirit of God had left him.  This was also true of Saul, and countless others. 

When we are tempted, we must remember that Jesus overcame all of these temptations in the Wilderness Campaign.  Satan came at Him with these same allurements that were used on Eve and Samson—but Christ stopped the devil in his tracks.  The devil even tried to use the Word of God to persuade Jesus, but He used the Word in its proper context and sliced away the embellished lies with the Sword of the Spirit.  Here is a summary of His victory over the temptations:

1.      If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread (Matt.4:3)  Satan came at Jesus with the first notorious temptation: the lust of the flesh.  Jesus defeated him when He made this statement: It is written that, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4).

2.      If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone (Matt. 4:6).  Satan came at Jesus using the lust of the eyes.  Jesus saw the height that He was at and knew that He could call upon the angels to keep Him from hitting the ground, but He would not give in to the devil’s devices. Here Satan used the Word of God to try and convince Jesus that it would be perfectly fine to call for the angels.  The problem that the devil didn’t perceive was that Jesus knew the Word better than he did.  He came right back at Satan using the Sword in it’s proper context and authority: It is written, you shall not tempt the Lord your God (Matt. 4:7).

 3.      Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him,” All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me” (Matt 4:8-9).  The devil had one more temptation to use on Jesus.  He came at Him with the pride of life.  Jesus was lured by the attraction of having all the earthy kingdoms at His disposal.  Something only the devil could offer Him.  But Jesus knew the promise of the Father and the royal position that He would undertake when He had completed His mission.  Jesus conquered the final temptation using the Word of God: “Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Matt.4:10). 

Christians can be confident in the verity that Christ has overcame the world, devil and all its lusts.  When the devil tries his best to attack us using the same strategies, we can stand in the victory that Christ has won for us. We have a sympathetic High Priest that was in all points tempted as we are, yet was without sin (Heb. 4:15). Christ defeated all temptations and there is no need for us to fight them again, if we are in Christ.

SAMSON’S REPENTANCE

            As the story of Samson and the other judges are closely scrutinized, Christians will quickly learn the value of obedience to God’s will.  The book of Judges reveals that an ordinary man with extraordinary strength was brought down simply because he exposed the secret of his strength and allowed the woman he loved to become his personal barber. This, as was examined, was the final act before the consequences of his rebellion were complete and his powerful superhuman strength left him.  Actually, it was the Spirit of God that enabled Samson to walk in his superman-like might and when the Spirit left, so did the “muscle”.  

When the story of Samson apexes at the Philistine temple, where the Philistines are hoping to make a public mockery and spectacle of Samson’s God (Jud. 16:23-25), it is understood that Samson once again found his strength.  It is the way his strength came back that is sometimes overlooked.  Many commentators will mention that because Samson’s hair had grown back that he was now back in battle ready condition. They theorize that this is why the temple pillars fell enabling Samson to kill more Philistines in his death than in his life.  I must, however, take a different approach. 

 The Scriptures never actually indicate that Samson’s hair was the reason for the Philistine’s demise.  If his hair growth was the reason for his re-establishment as the strongest human to ever live, it is at best, inferred (Jud. 16:22).  What is mentioned, however, just before he “brought down the house”, was the fact that he prayed and asked God to remember him.  He, in essence, repented before God and submitted to His will.  Samson heard the accumulating crowd cheering for Dagon and the blasphemous harassment against Jehovah God.  He decided to take action.  Now was the time to submit to God.  He had already let God down on numerous occasions and now he could repent and be restored for one final act (Jud. 16:28).  Samson prayed and God remembered him. The Philistine’s fate had been sealed.

CONCLUSION

Vital lessons can be learned when the lives of the heroes of the Old Testament are studied.  Their example in weakness and greatness can be applied to the life of the Christian to draw us into a closer, more intimate relationship with God.  As in Samson’s case, it should be understood that when repentance becomes a genuine heart matter, God restores the individual to his proper place.