Samson

Samson is a good example of God using someone for good even when they do wrong and do not care. Samson rescued Israel without trying or caring. He did not seem to care about his people, family, or God. He only cared about himself. Nonetheless, God placed him in situations where he harmed the Philistines, whom God allowed to oppress sinful Israel.

The first example of how God used Samson happened when he told his parents he wanted to marry a Philistine girl. This surprised his parents because Israelites were commanded not to marry the people of the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–4; Joshua 23:12–13; see also 2 Corinthians 6:14–18). But Samson insisted even though his parents did not want him to marry a Philistine girl.

On his way to the wedding party, he took honey from a dead lion he had killed earlier. Samson was born a Nazirite, and Nazirites were strictly forbidden from touching a dead body (Numbers 6:1–21). But Samson did not care. He then created a riddle about the lion (Judges 14:14). He bet thirty young Philistine men that they could not solve the riddle. The Philistine men pressured his wife into revealing the answer. As a result, Samson became so angry that he killed thirty Philistine men and took their clothing to settle the bet. God used this self-serving hero to “begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5).

The last important story of Samson's life tells about a woman named Delilah (Judges 16:4–31). She kept bothering Samson until he told her why he was so strong. By telling this secret, Samson broke his special promise to God, called the Nazirite vow. She cut his hair, allowing the Philistines to overpower him. They blinded him, tied him up, and forced him into hard labor.

While in captivity, Samson’s hair began to grow back. During a Philistine celebration where they mocked him, he asked to be led to the two main pillars of their temple. He prayed to God for strength to defeat the Philistines and end his own life. He then pulled the temple down, killing about 3,000 Philistines and himself. This act was not for his people or God, but to "pay back the Philistines for my two eyes" (Judges 16:28). Although it was part of God’s plan, Samson’s story leaves the reader wishing for a better savior.

Passages for Further Study

Judges 13:1–16:31; Hebrews 11:32