God graciously and mercifully extended the lives of those elders after the death of Joshua. But soon decline set in, “and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and served the Baals. And they forsook Jehovah ... and followed other gods ... of the people that were around them” (Jud. 2:11-13). As a result of their unfaithfulness, the Lord delivered them into the hands of their enemies. Naturally, this affliction caused Israel to cry out to the Lord, and He delivered them through the judges. All of the judges prior to Samson – including Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon – were raised up in the midst of Israel’s failure, and were mightily used of God. They seemed to be raised up at the moment to deliver Israel from the current enemy. Of course Israel behaved as long as these judges ruled.

Samson, on the other hand, was a special vessel prepared before conception, to deliver Israel from the Philistines who ruled over them. Despite God’s intended bright future for Samson, because he willfully associated with those he was to conquer, that brightness was mainly seen at the end of his life. Let’s explore the character of Samson as found in Judges 13-16 and Hebrews 11, looking at his bright future, his fraternizing with the enemy, his fighting for revenge, his final faith, and his inclusion in the Hall of faith.

Bright Future
Abdon, the judge before Samson, judged Israel eight years before he died (Jud. 12:15). Immediately after his death, the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and were given into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. There seemed to be no hope. The other judges were full grown when called by the Lord to deliver the people. But the Lord had something greater in mind for the next judge. Manoah and his barren wife were praying for a child; the Lord answered their prayer and gave them a son who would be a deliverer to Israel. The Lord always has something greater in mind when we find ourselves weak, barren, and dependent. He is always thinking about the greater cause: “His thoughts are higher than our thoughts” (Isa. 55:8-9).

An angel appeared to Manoah’s wife and told her about their future son and Israel’s hope. He gave her instructions concerning her diet, and stated that their son would be a Nazarite from the womb. What a future for Samson! According to Numbers 6, the Nazarite vow involved total separation from the world and consecration to the Lord.

The Nazarite was to abstain from wine, strong drink, vinegar of wine, vinegar of strong drink, liquor of grapes, and grapes; he could neither eat the seeds nor the skin of grapes. All this speaks of refraining from the intoxication and pleasure associated with the world. His pleasure was to be found in the Lord. He was to let his hair grow, a sign of separation from the world and dependence on the Lord. Finally, he was not to defile himself with a dead body, a sign of not becoming defiled by the decay of sin and the filth of the world.

The Lord had this vow for Samson because he wanted to use him mightily. Manoah was told the blessed news by his wife, and it was confirmed by the angel who ascended in the flame of their offering, never to appear again (Jud. 13:18-21). Samson, though not named by his parents as yet, had a bright future. His name means “little sun.” The Lord wanted him to shine! He was to shine as the son of godly parents, as a Nazarite of God, and as a judge who would “begin” to deliver the children of Israel out of the hands of the Philistines. What bright prospects the Lord has for us! Great encouragement is given in Judges 13:24-25: the birth of Samson to a previously barren woman, his subsequent growth, the Spirit beginning to move him at the camp of Dan (which means “judging”).

Fraternizing With The Enemy
Chapter 13 ends with Samson in good stead, but the next chapter finds him going down to Timnath and fraternizing with the enemy. He mingled with the people the Lord had raised him up to conquer. He found a woman among the Philistines: “She pleases me well.” His father warned him about marrying a daughter of the “uncircumcised Philistines” (14:3). But Samson was intent on self-gratification. The descent had begun.

The Bible warns us not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14). Samson linked himself, his family, and all Israel with the Philistines. The Bible also says, “No one going as a soldier entangles himself with the affairs of life, that he may please him who has enlisted him as a soldier” (2 Tim. 2:4). Yet Samson, a leader in Israel, fraternized with the enemy of God’s people, which ultimately led to failure. Although the Lord was seeking an occasion against the Philistines, Samson’s will was evident. The Lord uses even our failures. The young lion roared against him, but in the power of the Spirit he killed it (Jud. 14:5-6). The devil came as a “roaring lion.”

Samson overcame the lion, but then fell to his wiles (three women). He married the woman and feasted with the enemy. He propounded a riddle and the lords of the Philistines forced his wife to get the answer. In true form, the enemy even used death threats to get material things, the thirty shirts and thirty changes of garments. The chapter ends in failure as Samson’s wife was given to his companion. The “little sun” dimmed and the bright future looked bleak!

Fighting, But For Revenge
In chapter 15 we find Samson fighting, but for revenge. After finding that his wife was given away, he torched the Philistines’ crops. In turn, they killed his wife and father-in-law. To avenge himself, Samson smote them with “a great slaughter” (15:7-8). Although the Lord used the situation, Samson should have defended the Lord’s honor and His people, not avenge himself. Does our character put us in a position to defend the Lord’s honor or avenge ourselves? Are we fighting the Lord’s battles on our own, our way? Sadly, even Judah had to turn on Samson, sending three thousand men to deliver him to the Philistines for their own safety.

In Judges 15:l4-15, the Spirit of God came upon him, broke his bands, and he slew a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass. Praise God, He is always with His servants even in failure. Besides delivering him from the Philistines, He gave water to the faint Samson. Indeed, He refreshes the weary! Chapter 15 ends with these words: “And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.” In this part of Samson’s life, we see some rays of sunshine and plenty of God’s grace amidst much failure.

Final Act Of Faith
The final chapter of Samson’s life includes two women. He spent the night with a harlot in Gahaz (which means “she was strong”). In vain, the Philistines set an ambush to kill him in the morning. But at midnight he seized the doors of the gate of the city, along with their posts and bars, and carried them to the mountain near Hebron. Praise God for the One who gives us songs in the night, and freedom, as he gave Paul and Silas in jail. In the valley of Sorek, Delilah (which means “brought low”) brought about his final demise. Samson, flirting with the enemy to the end, was overcome by the “wiles of the enemy.” The story is familiar; he gave away the secret of his great strength. He thought that he would shake himself free as before, but discovers that he has no power (16:20-21). The “lust of the eyes” had gotten him into trouble most of his life, now the Philistines put out those eyes!

In humility and defeat, Samson was made to grind grain in the prison like an animal. The seven locks of his hair, the sign of his Nazarite vow of consecration, were cut off. He lost the outward sign of the consecration that he failed at keeping most of his life. How are we doing with the outward sign of our inward consecration? Are we letting our lights shine? Samson ended his life in shackles.

This judge, who was consecrated to God from his mother’s womb, was brought out of prison to be made sport of by the drunken Philistines. But thank God for His all-sufficient grace! In Samson’s case, his hair grew back while he was in prison. The Lord heard and answered his final prayer, allowing him to slay more Philistines “at his death than those whom he had slain in his life” (16:30). Samson’s faith was sadly seen only at the end of his life. Yet the Scripture commends him in his death. Samson was buried at the place where the Spirit first moved upon this “little sun.”

Hall Of Faith
To us it may seem as though Samson had a life full of failure, yet he ended up in the “Hall of Faith” of Hebrews 11. That great list includes such notables as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, Gideon – and Samson (Heb. 11:32). Man didn’t place Samson in that list – God did. Praise God for Samson! Let us try to run well for the Lord all of our lives, but if we experience failure, let’s endeavor to end well.

The secret of a life that has the character God wants is to “dwell in the secret place of the most high and abide under the shadow of the almighty” (Ps. 91:1). The Lord had great plans for Samson even before he was conceived. Samson, the powerful judge who was to deliver Israel from the Philistines, unfortunately learned about God’s great strength through his own great weakness. Many times, sad to say, that is the way we learn it as well.

By Al Stuart