Samson- A Faithful Example

I’ve been thinking a lot about Samson’s story.  We first learn about him in Judges Chapter 13 with the prophetic announcement of his birth and calling.  He was to be a Nazirite, set apart for the purpose of the Lord, and a deliverer of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.  It is widely accepted among scholars that Samson’s life was a string of what-not-to-do’s.  On the surface, it seems he is a willful, prideful man, filled with contempt for the law and his calling.  While I would agree it seems his vices took grip of him for a period, I think if we look carefully we actually would find a true, faithful man who had a real relationship with the Lord; which would explain the seemingly perplexing honorable mention in the Hebrews’ hall of faith. (Heb 11:32)

I’d like to zero in on Judges Chapter 14.  But before we get there, I believe the last verse in Chapter 13 is crucial in understanding the Lord’s perspective of Samson’s life.  Judges 13:25 begins, “And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times. . .”

This is the verse leading into a chapter filled with ridicule from commentaries and scholars alike.  You see, Chapter 14 is filled with events where Samson completely ignores the religious law and Nazirite rules.

In the Old Testament the Lord chose a select few on which to bestow His Spirit.  A true Nazirite was one of these people.  They were different during that time because the Spirit had not yet been released on everyone, which was only made possible by Christ’s sacrifice.  The beauty of the cross is that we all can have this close relationship with God, and the Spirit of the Lord moves us too.  This is why I believe it is important to learn from Samson as a man who truly knew God, and was motivated by His Spirit.

The chapter opens with Samson demanding his parents to get a Philistine woman for his wife.  Hold on, red flag!!!  The Lord was clear with the Israelites that they were not to intermix with women of the land they had been given (Duet. 7:3-4).  Samson’s parents knew this and tried to persuade Samson to marry one of his kinsmen.  His response was simple, “she is all right in my eyes.”

Samson was born during a very dark period for the Israelites, and it was recorded that each did what was right in their own eyes.  Samson’s response may have been a reflection of the depravity of his culture.  However, we see in the next verse this is not the case with Samson.  Verse 4a says, “His father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord. . .”  This, I believe, is the difference between a man motivated by the Spirit of God and one motivated by the moral depravity of a fallen society.  From God’s perspective, it is written “He sought an occasion for assailing the Philistines.” (vs 4b)

I believe this perspective is further supported by the events which unfolded on their way to Timnah, in order to meet the woman Samson wanted as his wife.

“Then Samson and his father and mother went down to Timnah and came to the vineyards of Timnah.  And behold, a young lion roared against him.

And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion as he would have torn a kid, and he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

And he went down and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well. 

And after a while he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the body of the lion, and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion.

And he scraped some honey out into his hands and went along eating.  And he came to his father and mother and gave them some, and they ate it; but he did not tell them he had taken the honey from the body of the lion.” (Judges 14: 5-9)

Oh dear, this is where religious scholars have a fit.  Once again Samson was breaking the rules.  By law, touching the carcass of a dead animal would make him unclean, and Samson had taken vows to remain clean as a Nazirite.

Again, if we are focused on God and His purpose, and remain steadfast in our conviction that Samson was motivated by the Spirit, we see a profound message in this strange story about a lion.  I believe this was a prophetic encounter and through it God was revealing His purpose not only for Samson, but for the world.  It seems Samson knew it was a divine encounter and the message was heavy on his mind.  So much so that he made his experience into a riddle.  Perhaps he was searching for it’s meaning.

“And he said to them, Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.”  Judges 14:14a

Here’s what I see in this encounter.  God was revealing Samson’s fate.  That he would die, but in his death God would bring forth sweetness.  I believe this encounter tells of  deliverance and salvation.  That God would use Samson’s death to deliver and save the Israelites.  As with most prophesy, this also could be a foretelling of Christ who would die for all so we could live in God’s sweet presence through the Holy Spirit.

From this perspective, Samson’s life takes on a whole new meaning of profound consequence.  His life becomes that of a type of Christ, yet another glimpse of relationship and salvation to come.

Yes, I do believe Samson’s life is an example of great faith worthy of mention in the book of Hebrews.  May we learn to see our life, and other’s, not from the perspective of sin, but through the light of God’s salvation and purpose.  We may understand better that we were designed for a reason of great consequence.  That we, like Samson, are filled and motivated by the Holy Spirit, even when it looks like a disaster from the perspective of the world.  

If you would like to read more about Samson, please go here.

Samson - Part 2

This is a continuation of a post I started on Samson’s life.  If you have not yet read it, here it is:

Samson- A Faithful Example

I am coming from the perspective that Samson is who God says he is: a Nazirite moved by the Spirit to “deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines.” (Judges 13:5)  The reason Samson’s life is important to us is because I believe he is one of those characters who is a true example of what it means to live by the Spirit - yes, even in the Old Testament - and motivated by God’s purpose.

When we left Samson in Judges chapter 14, he was eating honey from the carcass of a lion; something forbidden by his Jewish vows.  I see great prophetic significance in this act, suggesting that he was again moved by the Spirit to do such a thing.  First of all, the interpretation of honey carries much spiritual weight, and would have been personally meaningful to Samson.  Honey was a reminder of God’s fulfilled promise.  The Promised Land was called the land of milk and honey.  It meant abundance and blessing.  I think God was saying, “Trust me.  I always keep my promises.”  Perhaps Samson needed this encouragement as he was about to go against the Law by marrying a Philistine!  In the act of eating the honey, I see Samson and his family participating in the first fruits.  The spiritual significance of first fruit dates back to the festival of First Fruits in Jewish Law, and can also relate to Christ when he rose from the grave, thus becoming the first fruit of the righteous.  Because of Christ, we too participate in the first fruits of heaven when we experience the presence of the Lord through the Holy Spirit; this can also be called the abundant life.

Ok, moving right along.  Samson used his riddle at his wedding.  His wife betrayed him by giving the answer away, and Samson ended up killing 30 Philistines to fulfill his bet.  He then went home to his parent’s house, leaving his wife behind.  In the flesh we might assume he went away in anger to stew over the events of the wedding.  However, it could have been that Samson removed himself in order to spend time alone with God, reviewing the events with the lion and processing the seemingly failed marriage.  Perhaps this is a time where God reminded Samson who he is, and his purpose on earth.

This is really important to note.  Samson, like Jesus, took time out to be with God.  Let’s put ourselves in Samson’s shoes.  He felt moved by God to marry this girl, and the wedding turned into a blood bath.  How disappointing!  Can you imagine the parent’s reaction?  “We told you so. . .”  What a humiliating time for Samson.  Please hear me, the only way to truly heal our pain and disappointment in life is to bring it to God.  We have to be able to share our feelings with Him, listen to His perspective, and believe Him.  We have the right as adopted children to ask God in faith, why?  This is what I believe Samson did, and I think God reminded him that He “sought an occasion for assailing the Philistines.”  (Judges 14:4)

When Samson emerged, I believe he was filled with a clear understanding of his mission and purpose.  Interestingly enough, Chapter 15 starts with Samson returning to his wife “in the time of wheat harvest.”  There are so many details in the Old Testament filled with rich, spiritual significance.  Sometimes you catch one and realize the writing of these seemingly boring books was deliberate and breathed by God.  The Festival of Weeks was during the wheat harvest.  It was held 50 days after the Festival of Unleavened bread so it is also called Pentecost.  As many of us know, the day of Pentecost is also associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit.  I believe Samson’s return to the Philistines was prompted by the Spirit of the Lord.

When Samson returned to be with his wife, her father wouldn’t allow him to go into the inner chamber.  Her father announced that he had given her to Samson’s best man!  Like a man filled with purpose, Samson says, “This time shall I be blameless as regards the Philistines, though I do them evil.” (Judges 15:3) 

Samson’s next move might seem totally irrational to those who are unfamiliar with his mission and purpose.  He amazingly caught 300 foxes, put them in pairs, and tied torches between their tails.  Seriously, how did he do that?  Only by the power of the Holy Spirit!  He let the foxes go into the fields with standing grain.  He completely burned up the harvest and the olive orchards.  Again, in the flesh this doesn’t make any sense.  Why would Samson lash out on the Philistines when he was mad at his father-in-law?  In the Spirit, according to God’s purpose, it makes perfect sense.  Samson’s purpose was to begin to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines.

Let us take a break to note that traditionally people view Samson’s life as a string of sin.  Even the Israelites questioned Samson’s actions in Judges 15:11, “Have you not known that the Philistines are rulers over us?  What is this that you have done to us?”  

Do you see the importance of viewing ourselves and others from God’s perspective?  Once we believe Christ, and accept the Spirit into our own life, Samson’s story becomes ours!  We have the same opportunity to listen to God, get our instructions from Him, and be filled with His purpose and direction for our life!  We are no different than this great man of faith when we are acting according to the Spirit of God.

So how is this done?  We can start by getting to know God.  Truly humbling ourselves to  go into His Presence and learn from Him.  Read the Bible expecting Him to reveal more of Himself in a very personal way; those moments when God connects His truth to our very own life and circumstance.  Allow Him to reveal the condition of your heart, giving Him entrance into all areas, including those areas of great pain.  Unfortunately, many of us carry wounds from the mistreatment of this broken world that actually harden our heart when we don’t allow the Spirit to council and heal them.  This causes God’s voice and prompting to be distorted or even blocked.  Let’s start by honestly asking God, “Lord, is there any sin in my life?  Please reveal the condition of my heart and heal me.”  Watch as God begins to transform your life!  Over time, with this humble attitude, we too can live extraordinary lives worthy of recognition in the book of Life!

If you would like to continue reading about Samson, please go here.

Samson in the Wilderness - Part 3

This is the third part to a series on Samson.  You can start at the beginning here.

I mentioned in my opening paragraph of Samson- a Faithful Example, that there seems to be a time when Samson fell into a spiritual wilderness, devoid of the power and authority of the Holy Spirit.

Judges Chapter 16 seems to start in this way.  We see Samson visiting a harlot in Gaza.  At this time, Samson was a most wanted man for all the destruction he had caused the Philistines.  The men of the city planned to kill him in the morning.  Samson escaped by leaving in the middle of the night, but there is no indication he did this with the power of the Holy Spirit.  Verse 3 says, “he arose and took hold of the doors of the city’s gate and the two posts, and pulling them up, bar and all, he put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is before Hebron.”

Usually passages showing great strength like this begins with, “And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him.”  This is not the case in Chapter 16.  What this tells me is that Samson is naturally a very strong man.  There is a way that God’s people can walk separate from the Holy Spirit, and in our own strength.  I believe this is what Samson was doing.  The practice of walking separate from God leads us into a spiritual wilderness.  We learned from the Israelites' experience in the physical wilderness that God still provides and is near during this time, but He uses this (very difficult) experience to discipline us and prove our faith (to ourselves).

I’m going to take a slight detour in order to explain the idea of a spiritual wilderness, or the practice of walking separate from God.  In today’s language, we like to make a distinction between religion and relationship.  I have heard it explained that religion is following a set of instructions for holy living without relationship.  God’s people (including us!) have fallen in this category consistently since the fall of man in Genesis. 

After spending much time in the Old Testament Law, I began to understand that there is no distinction between religion and relationship from God’s perspective.  In essence, there is no difference in the Old Testament Covenant and the New.  Today as always, it is God’s intention that true love for Him would be so evident in our lives that we would naturally be concerned with obeying divine instructions pertaining to Holy Living.  It is our flesh which weakens this Covenant, and our human tendency is to separate duty from oneness with God.  Another way of explaining this is to say that we have the tendency to walk independently of God’s Spirit.  It is the sin in our flesh, which we all carry, that has made the distinction and created enmity between us and God.  God made the correction through sending Jesus into the flesh to crucify sin and make it possible for us to walk in Him, or to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and be one with God.  It is through this kind of relationship that the law is fulfilled in us.  As detailed as the law was in the Israelites' lives is how detailed God is with us.  He wants to work, play, rest, love, exercise, clean, organize, serve, lead, and so forth, with us.  (The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence is a gem of a book that can help encourage this.)

So how does this work?  It is only through a true humbling and surrendering to God that we can abide in Him.  It is consistently laying down our own desires and allowing the Spirit to have His way.  It is a lifestyle of obeying the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  It is through the Spirit in us that God’s law (way) is written on our hearts.  Sometimes this means coming to the end of ourselves, which can be a very painful process as we will see in Samson’s life.

It’s not hard to see that many of us aren’t tapping into this kind of living.  Even those of us who are called by God to serve in His Church find ourselves, like Samson, operating in our own strength.  Our flesh has weakness, and has limits.  This can be why so many of us experience burn-out, or a dry season.  Operating in this way leads to destruction, as many of us have seen in our lives and in the church.  Samson experienced this destruction.  But have faith, God uses our destruction to lead us into His Presence and to teach us to walk in His way.  God’s story is that of salvation, restoration, and glory.  Good stuff.

More to come. . .  click here.

Samson's Final Act

This is the last post of the Samson series.  You can begin reading the Samson series here.

I’ve been excited to write this post for a while.  This is where Samson’s story gets really good.  Yes, we start at the pinnacle of Samson’s devastation, but please hear me, redemption is SO amazing.  The spiritual significance of the end of Samson’s story is beautiful.  I can’t wait!

We begin in Judges 16:4 with the famous Delilah.  I’m not really going to comment a whole lot on this part since the story is so well known.  Plus you can read it.  :)

Samson plays this messed up game with Delilah and eventually she learns the secret of his strength and the Lord leaves him.  My heart aches for this part of the story.  It makes me think about Jesus on the cross when He takes our sin upon Him, and the Father turns His back.  Remember Jesus’ heartbreaking cry in agony?  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  (Matt. 27:46)

There is a way that we can walk, continually in our own way, and eventually Father will let us go.  In His wisdom, He lovingly lets us have our way, though He can see the resulting destruction.  Samson’s fall was particularly brutal.  For those whom God has called, set apart, and designated for a certain purpose, the result of running away can be especially painful.

Delilah shaves Samson’s head, his strength leaves him, the Philistines capture him, and they put his eyes out.  Samson lands himself in prison, blind. 

You may be thinking, how could this happen?  How can a man so clearly set apart for God, so supernaturally gifted, land in such devastation?  How is it that Samson ended up being so far from God, to the point where His Spirit left him?

Remember the pain Samson experienced in Judges chapter 14?  Recall Samson’s failed marriage and humiliation.  Recall the rejection and betrayal Samson must have felt when his own brethren accused him and gave him up to the Philistines (Judges 15:12).  I can’t imagine the loneliness Samson must have felt throughout his life.  His own parents didn’t understand where he was coming from.

In this world there is pain and struggles- that is certain.  It is when we pick up our burdens and carry them in our own strength, like Samson in chapter 16, that our heart begins to stray.  Without consistently coming to God with our disappointments, when we don’t allow ourselves to feel our pain, we run the risk of inadvertently storing up garbage in our hearts.  This becomes a dark corner and begins to harden our heart.  

It is clear that Samson’s prison time did it’s purpose.  It seems Samson truly humbled himself, surrendering fully and completely- even to the point of death- to God’s will for his life.  His hair grows back and Samson is summoned to be paraded around in front of the Philistine lords.

I smell the sweet fragrance of a man completely surrendered in Samson’s last prayer.  Verse 28 reads,

“Then Samson called to the Lord and said, O Lord God, [earnestly] remember me, I pray You, and strengthen me, I pray You, only this once, Oh God, and let me have one vengeance upon the Philistines for both my eyes.”

In Samson’s final act we see him bowing his head and pushing with all his might on two pillars, arms stretched wide, as the temple roof collapses on him and all the Philistine leadership.  The Bible records that Samson killed more at his death than in his life.  As a result, the Israelites gained much momentum toward their deliverance from the hand of the Philistines.

Do you see what I see?