Chaos in Life; Character in Death

Samson, judge of Israel --what do you know about him? Well, if you've got a basic Sunday school knowledge of his life, you know he had long hair, was really strong, let Delilah get the best of him, but killed more in death than he did while he lived. But the account of Samson's life which begins in Judges 13 is not even close to being that simple. 

First of all, his mother was barren, and if we learn anything from Scripture, it's that God can work wonders with a woman labeled "barren". As such, the news she was going to have a baby was announced to her by a special messenger from God. He told her the child was to be consecrated unto the Lord, a Nazarite; she was not to drink of the vine or eat anything unclean, and he was not to cut his hair. When she relayed the information to her husband, Manoah, she confessed she'd not gotten the messenger's place of origin or name. Speaking of names, here's a fun fact: Manoah's name means "quiet, rest," but he seems unwilling to do that. He begins to pray the messenger would return; he wants to know more about how to raise this special boy. Have you ever considered the people who God places in your path? Have you ever prayed, Lord, show me how to minister to the people You send my way today? Have you asked God for the resources it will take for you to raise your children? There was nothing in this man, Manoah, that said, Yeah, I got this covered. He was chasing after whatever God was willing to give that he might accomplish the assignment he'd been given.

Secondly, the details. The announcement of Samson's birth encompasses all of chapter 13 and includes an account of what happened when the messenger did return. Chapter 14 develops the character of Samson the adult. He's arrogant, lustful, impulsive; not the usual qualities we look for in a redeemer. This same chapter covers Samson's marriage, the strange riddle Samson used to taunt his wedding party, and the giving of Samson's bride to another. Chapter 15 finds Samson using three hundred foxes to torch (literally) Philistine farms and set off a cycle of revenge that finally ends with a thousand Philistines being slain by Samson using the jawbone of an ass. Lastly, the bulk of chapter 16 records the seemingly never-ending deceptions of Delilah, an account that leaves most of us shaking our heads and wondering why Samson didn't just get himself outta Dodge before she could hire a barber. By verse 21 of the chapter, Samson is a blind slave in Philistine territory, and verse 22, renews hope with However. Something big is about to happen.

And that brings me to the final portion of Samson's life. We're told there's a celebration. We're given the words to the hymn they sang to their god. And in fewer than ten verses we're told of Samson's victory over three thousand Philistines which cost him his own life that day. Verse 26 records the words he spoke to the young man who led Samson like a dog into the temple that day, and in verse 28, we are privileged to read the cry of Samson's heart:

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!

Samson asks for the ability to enact vengeance on his enemies and the enemies of God, but there seems to be more to it than that. There is an indication of repentance there, of a humility that only comes when one has been made to realize just how helpless they really are. Matthew Henry, in his commentary writes, The strength which he (Samson) had lost by sin, he recovers by prayer. In giving one's heart up to the Lord, in coming to know life in our physical bodies is not the highest end, there is infinite strength.

The details of his life are many and complex, but the simple gravity of his death surpasses them all, and not only because of the thousands he took with him. His final moments are a testimony to the strength of hearts broken for our King. Had Samson walked in that kind of surrender throughout his life, we can only imagine the return. Instead, it was his character in death that exhorts us today. May we live with humbled hearts and bring down the house while we still have more days ahead.