Rev. Don Campbell
Judges 13-16
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, April 4, 2019
“A MAN OF FAITH, BUT NOT A FAITHFUL MAN”
Perhaps the most famous of all the judges was the prankster Samson. One reason for Samson’s fame is the fact that Hollywood has presented its interpretation of the story in at least three films (1949, 1984, 1996). It was performed as a grand opera, beginning in 1877 that continues until today.
The story is so familiar to even the average Bible reader that we need not retell it. Rather, we shall note four facts that might be easily overlooked if we get caught up in the details of his escapades. First, he like many other Bible characters was a child of promise. His parents were childless, and the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and promised a son. She would abstain from wine and strong drink, eat nothing unclean or anything from the grapevine (Judges 13:1-14). Second, the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him at an early age (Judges 13:25). This does not mean that the Spirit guided him in all his escapades, which included frequently visiting prostitutes. He did, however, have a divine mission. Third, he is listed in the honor roll of faith along with David the king and Samuel the prophet (Hebrews 11:32).
As Warren Wiersbe has aptly pointed out, “Samson was a man of faith, but he certainly wasn’t a faithful man. He wasn’t faithful to his parents’ teaching, his Nazirite vow, or the laws of the Lord. It didn’t take long for Samson to lose almost everything the Lord had given him, except his great strength; and he finally lost that as well” [Bible Exposition Commentary. Be Available (Judges).]
The Spirit of the Lord had empowered Samson to tear a lion in pieces with his bare hands when it attacked him (Judges 14:5-7), strike down 30 men single-handedly (Judges 14:19-20), and burst the strong ropes that had been used to bind him (Judges 15:14-17). We then read these sad words: “But he did not know that the Lord had left him” (Judges 16:20). Samson got carried away with his games and had revealed the secret of his strength to Delilah, resulting in his loss of power, freedom, dignity, his eyes, and eventually his life (Judges 16:18-31).
There is a redeeming statement: He killed more Philistines in his death than he had in life (Judges 16:28-3). This is not to say that he redeemed himself by causing the walls to come crashing down. The full statement is “Then Samson called to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.’ And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, ‘Let me die with the Philistines.’ Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life” (Judges 16:28-30). In turning to God for strength, he trusted God perhaps as he had never trusted God before.
CONNECTIONS
1. Once again, we see the God of all grace salvaging people who others would toss into the city dump. God has been called “the original recycler.” Do you know someone whom God has salvaged from the trash heap?
2. When the writer of Hebrews said, “Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1), he was not just referring to the shining stars of Judaism. In fact, can you find a name in the honor roll of faith in Hebrews 11 who did not have some dents and scratches?
