Photo by: Lawrence OP
Samson is one of the most interesting people of the Bible. Like the Philistine, Goliath, he’s remembered for his legendary physical strength. After killing a lion with his bare hands, he took on a whole army with the jawbone of a donkey, and in his last act, pushed down the pillars of a huge of pagan temple (Judges 13-16).
Samson ends up however being one of the most tragic and mysterious heroes of the Bible. His greatest achievement was also his last. Humbled by a lifetime of short-sighted choices, he ended up being tortured by enemies of his people. With eyes gouged out, he cried out to the God of Israel and, in a last gasp of self-destruction, killed in death more Philistines than he had in life.
Samson’s ending seems to defy the Messiah-like anticipation that preceded his birth. According to the record of the Judges, an angel appeared to a childless woman and told her that she was going to have a son who would begin to deliver her people from their enemies (Judges 13:1-5).
The same angel appeared to her husband and told him what he had told his wife. They were to going to have a son who was to be raised as one dedicated to the Lord. According to the ancient tradition of the Nazarite vow (Num 6:1-21), the son’s hair was never to be cut. In anticipation of the special instructions for his life, the woman was not in her pregnancy to eat any fruit of the vine, no unclean food, nor drink any fermented drink.
Even the Messenger is mysterious. When asked his name, the angel who appeared to them withheld his name because he said it could not be understood (Judges 13:18). After ascending from their sight in a flame of fire, he left the couple with the alarming impression that they had been in the presence of God himself (Judges 13:22-23).
Was this childless woman to be the mother of the long anticipated Deliverer of God’s people (Gen 3:15)?
The first thing we hear about Samson is that he disappointed his Jewish parents by finding among the Philistines a woman that he insisted on marrying. Later he visits a prostitute in Gaza, and still later marries a woman who is used by his enemies to discover the secret of his supernatural strength.
Samson’s story doesn’t seem to end well. His parents must have been confused and heart-broken. Certainly, their son was special. He did possess a strength that broke the pride and back of Israel’s enemies. But why would his life be marked by such willful, indulgent, and self-destructive ways? Why would his life end in such pain and tortured captivity? Why would those who reflected on his story be left with the thought that their son had accomplished more in his death that in all the days of his life?
What happened to the Messiah-like anticipation of his birth? (Judges 13) Just as mysteriously we might wonder how the New Testament could honor Samson in its “Hall of Faith” (Hebrews 11:32).
Could there be an important link between Samson and the Messiah (Christ) who is so celebrated by the Letter to the Hebrews? In telling the story of Samson, could the record of the Judges be helping to set the stage for a deliverer who would do what no other human hope of the world could ever do?
At first it might seem irreverent to mention the names of Samson and Jesus in the same sentence. But as it turns out, both accomplished more in death than in the days of their lives. Both reflect not only the strength of our God, but also that his ways are not our ways. Who would have thought that God would have set such high expectations for Samson’s birth before giving his parents a son who seems more like a prodigal than a servant of God? Who could have predicted that Samson’s suffering and last act of vengeance would be a faint anticipation of the Son who would one day become the Savior of the world through his own humiliation, torture, and death?
In death, Samson’s arms were stretched out to the pillars of a pagan temple that he pushed down to crush him along with over 3000 onlookers and their leaders. Jesus arms were stretched out on a cross that enabled him in his death to crush the head of Satan and his legacy of death.
Yet the differences between Samson and Jesus are also great. Samson’s accomplishments were partial and temporary. Jesus’ victory was final. The best we can say about Samson is that he knew where his strength came from, and called on his God. The worst we can say about Jesus is that all of Samson’s sins, and our own ended, up falling on him, our eternal God, in the hours of his crucifixion.
Prayer: Father in heaven we see way too much of Samson in ourselves, and far too little of your Son. All praise, wonder, and applause belong to Him.
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