Samson: A Very Weak Man

 

 

 

Introduction:

  1. God dedicated four chapters of Judges to Samson, which is more than any other (Gideon had three).
  2. The Greeks and some other nations have Hercules, which they may have plagiarized from Samson.
  3. While we know Samson was a child of God by Hebrews 11:32, we also know he wrecked his life.
  4. Though we must be overall negative about his life, it should not astonish us in light of Jonah!
  5. There are in the history of this judge of Israel several lessons we can learn to be more successful.
  6. While young men rejoice in bodily strength (Pr 20:29), we want them to fear the Lord (Ps 147:10-11).
  7. They should recognize that physical prowess and mental sharpness and spiritual power are unrelated.
  8. Many texts could introduce this subject, but Paul’s sober warning in I Corinthians 9:24-27 is best.

His Origin

  1. When God’s children sin, His chastening can be severe – like forty years under Philistines!
  2. The tribe of Dan inherited land bordering the Mediterranean and in the middle of Philistia.
  3. But the Lord is merciful, and He sent Samson to begin to deliver Israel from them; however, due to his pitiful performance, we will have to wait for Saul and David for victory (13:5).
  4. God takes tender care of barren women i.e. Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Shunem, Elizabeth, etc.
  5. Samson was a perpetual Nazarite from his mother’s womb. See the rules (Numbers 6:1-21).
    1. He could not cut his hair during the time of his vow, which was for his life (Num 6:5).
    2. He could not come in contact with any dead bodies, which was for his life (Num 6:6).
  6. Angels are not fluffy, effeminate, and sweet men that the world likes to imagine (13:6,22)!

His Strength

  1. Manoah’s wife had a son, whom they called Samson, and the Lord blessed him (13:24).
  2. The Spirit of God, by virtue of his obedient long hair, began to move him at times, of which we have no further details, but it likely included his physical strength and speed (13:25).
  3. He slew a young lion by the power of God, but he kept the fact secret for the time (14:6).
  4. He slew 30 men in a capital city of Ashkelon to take their clothes to pay off his debt (14:19).
  5. He caught 300 foxes and used them in pairs to burn up the Philistine cornfields (15:4-5).
  6. He destroyed many of the Philistines in a slaughter by a proverbial expression, which is not all that different from our “kicked his butt” for any kind of a substantial victory (15:7-8).
  7. He broke two new cords and killed 1000 of them with the jawbone of an ass (15:14-15).
  8. He escaped the city of Gaza by removing the doors, posts, and bar of the gate, and he carried this enormous weight to the top of a hill toward Hebron, about 20 miles away (16:1-4).
  9. He escaped 7 green withes as a thread of tow in fire, new ropes as if they were threads, and a web, beam, and pin holding his hair in the games with Delilah (17:6-14).
  10. He pulled down the temple of Dagon in a final act for his eyes to kill many (17:25-30).

His Failures

  1. Samson went to the Philistines and saw a woman that he liked among the pagans (14:1-4).
    1. It is the lust of the eyes for beautiful women that brought a worldwide flood (Gen 6:1-2).
    2. Therefore, Job and Solomon wrote for men not to look at women (Job 31:1; Pr 6:24-25).
    3. The rules had been made very clear about not marrying unbelievers (Ex 34:16; Deut 7:3).
    4. It was this terrible decision that ruined the life of Solomon (I Kings 11:1-11; Neh 13:26).
    5. The rule still stands today that we must marry only in the Lord Jesus (I Cor 7:39; 11:11).
    6. His parents wisely tried to dissuade him from this foolish and profane relationship (14:4).
    7. Observe that even with strong Samson, he pursued marriage plans through his parents.
    8. Not only did he start a relationship with a wrong woman, he could not resist her appeals.
    9. We understand the pronoun “he” to be the Lord (Josh 11:20; I Kgs 12:15; II Chr 25:20).
    10. He had operated by his eyes, and then he took steps to talk to her, all by his lusts (14:1,7).
    11. It is a travesty of interpretation to say Samson did this consciously and wisely by God’s leading, as most commentators write, for he was a slave to his lusts by the Spirit’s words.
    12. Why did he not pick any woman? Why did he not just kill the mayor? Why did he not just start a fire? Why did he not rape her, if he was going to sin anyway? Why did he not kidnap her? Why could he not resist her solicitations if she was merely his stooge?
    13. Though the Lord used this event, Samson sinned in the matter (II Sam 24:1; Matt 26:24).
  2. He ate honey out of the dead carcass of an unclean animal, but this does not directly cross the law of the Nazarite, which condemned touching a dead human body (14:8-9; Num 6:6-7).
  3. He could not resist the begging of a woman to reveal his secret, which reveals a weakness that would destroy him in the end with Delilah (14:17; Prov 7:21,24-25).
  4. He visited other Philistine prostitutes at Gaza, which reveals a major weakness (16:1-3).
  5. He loved another Philistine woman named Delilah, who was also a whore for money (16:4).
  6. Instead of running from her, he continued to play with her until he was eventually destroyed.
  7. He did not repent in the end that we know of nor commit suicide for any noble reason.

Conclusion:

  1. Paul fought a good fight, finished his course, and kept the faith – different from Samson (II Tim 4:7).
  2. Though Paul had sexual lusts (Rom 7:8), he kept his body under to avoid shipwreck (I Cor 9:24-27).
  3. Paul labored more abundantly than other apostles – far different from Samson’s labors (I Cor 15:10).
  4. If you are to make no provision for the flesh, then you must avoid all sexual situations (Rom 13:14).
  5. Sexual sins and temptations are primarily of youth, and the warning is to flee them (II Timothy 2:22)!
  6. You were created and purchased by another, so you owe Him your body and spirit (I Cor 6:12-20).
  7. Women are dangerous, for they are stronger than you through their attractiveness, and they will destroy you (Prov 2:16-19; 5:5-13; 6:24-29; 7:21,26; 22:14; 23:27-28; Eccl 7:26).
  8. Where are you playing with the world in your life that will eventually take you down shipwreck?
  9. You cannot play with sin and be okay; it will deceive and destroy you, just as leaven corrupts dough!
  10. You must run away from all lusts and temptations, as did Joseph; you must reject them, as did Daniel.