Revisiting the Story of Samson: Judges 13-16

In Judges 13-16, we find a remarkable story about one of the judges and warriors of Israel. His name was Samson. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

In ancient Israel, there was a man named Manoah, who had a wife. And, he and his wife lived in a time when the Israelites were being persecuted and oppressed by the Philistines. Their houses were broken into; they were stolen from; their women were taken captives; they were abused in public; they were not free to pursue their hopes and dreams, because the Philistines dominated them. Well, in this time, Manoah and his wife were hoping to have children. But, she could not conceive. One day, Manoah’s wife was praying, and an angel of the Lord appeared to her. He heard her prayer and promised her that she would have a son, and she, the angel, told him that this boy was to be set aside to serve God’s purposes. He was to observe the customs of the Nazarites: to not drink wine or strong drink, and to not cut his hair.

And, as promised, Manoah’s wife conceived, and she gave birth to a baby boy and they named him “Samson.” Samson grew strong, and they let his hair grow, and when he was grown, he continued to observe the ways of the Nazarites: he didn’t drink wine or strong drink, and he did not let a razor touch his head – he let his hair grow.

And, God filled Samson with a spirit of concern for his people, the Israelites. He saw them mistreated by the Philistines, and Samson was provoked to attack and push back the Philistines. The Israelites hearts were lifted up when they saw they had a defender and a warrior who would take their side and fight for them. And, it was clear to all that Samson was blessed by God. He was stronger than any warrior anyone had ever known. He was even stronger than the greatest Philistine warriors.

Although Samson wasn’t one to drink, he did have a weakness for Philistine women. And, this gave his enemies the Philistines a chance to entrap him. Samson fell for one particular Philistine woman, Delilah. And, the Philistines who could never overcome Samson in battle, came up with a plan to surprise him when he was with his girlfriend.

They tried, but Samson defeated them. And, Delilah tried to help them surprise Samson, but always he was too strong. Until one day, she got him talking. And, he let her know that he had never cut his hair, because of the command of the angel of the Lord. He said, “If I cut my hair, I would be just as weak as other men.”

And, that was all it took. Delilah knew he had told her the truth about his strength now. And, she notified the soldiers that they could come at a certain time and capture him at her house. She cut his hair when he was sleeping, and when the soldiers came, he thought he would fight them off as usual. But, this time, his strength was gone. They tied him up, and took him away. They mocked him in the public streets. They even goudged his eyes out and beat him, and brought him to the temple of their god, Dagon. And, all the Philistine people rejoiced that their god had delivered their enemy into their hands. And, they celebrated in the great temple.

And, there Samson was – the once proud warrior of Israel, reduced to a prisoner in chains, blinded by his enemies. And, all the people laughed at him and spoke of how their god was greater than Samson’s God. At some point, Samson had had enough. He asked a servant boy to put his hands in the great columns that supported the temple. And, he put his right hand and one, and his left hand on the other, so that Samson stood between the two great pillars that held the roof of the temple. And, he prayed to God for strength this one last time. And, God heard Samson. And, Samson pushed as hard as he could, and his strength had returned and he pushed the pillars of the temple so that they broke and and caused the whole roof of the temple to crash down and kill all that were gathered under it. And, yes, Samson was killed too. But, the amount of Philistines he killed in his death was even more than he had killed in his life, so that the Israelites were able to free themselves from their oppressors.

They remembered the life of Samson and gave thanks to God. The man who would not stand for his brothers and sisters to be mistreated had died. But, in his death, he was true to the purpose for which he had lived.

This is one of those great stories of scripture. It tells the adventures of Samson, as a warrior, a lover, and a warrior who was captured because he entrusted his holy secret to a woman who was really his enemy. But, this story also tells us something about God. It tells us that God stirred up a man to deliver his people from oppression and injustice. It tells us that God taught Samson that he was special and that he was to keep his vows to God: the vows of a Nazarite – no drinking and no cutting of the hair of his head. God would bless Samson, and Samson was to show his respect and love for God by keeping his vows.

Samson would attack Philistines and even made it so they started being afraid. They started leaving the Israelites alone, because of fear of Samson. And, Samson would attack them whenever he had the chance. He had a spirit of vengeance against them, and a spirit to liberate his people.

That was Samson’s calling in life – to bring freedom to his people. He was similar to Moses in that sense. But, when you have a calling in life, you need some support. Samson fell in love with a woman who was a Philistine, and he didn’t think it mattered. Because he knew who he was, and what he had to do. He would keep battling the Philistines, and thought he could love this Philistine woman. The problem was that Delilah remained loyal to the Philistine warriors, and used Samson’s love for her to help her own people. Samson thought he was invulnerable. He didn’t think he could be defeated. He thought he could entrust his heart to Delilah, and nothing bad would happen. Love and his calling were two different things. When it was time to fight the Philistines, he would fight the Philistines, but when it was time to enjoy time with his girlfriend, he would do that. He never thought that his greatest enemy would end up being the one he loved.

Turns out,the only one who could really hurt Samson was the one he loved. And, that is really true in life. And, that is a message we need to take very seriously. Because when someone loves us we can really hurt them if we are not careful; if we love someone, they can really hurt us if they are not careful. Love makes us vulnerable. And, opens us to real communion with others, but also opens us to real harm from others. When we love, we trust; we take down our guard. One of my former clients produced a rap album, and one of his songs goes like this: “Ain’t got no love for nobody who ain’t got love for me.” Another way o f saying that is to say: “I am not going to let down my guard with anybody unless I know they love me – unless I know I can trust them. I am tired of being taken advantage of; I am tired of being jerked around and stomped on by those I love. I am tired of love, because it only seems to bring me trouble.” Samson could have written that song – after his eyes were gouged out.

Maybe some of us could have written it too. But, love is not meant to be the occasion for abuse or manipulation or mistrust. The heart is meant to open to the opening of another heart, not to the coming of another thief or pretender.
We get so mad at others who hurt our children or our wives or our husbands or our sisters or brothers or mothers or fathers, but nobody has ever really hurt them as bad as we have. Nobody has ever really hurt us as bad as they have. It is only those we love who can really hurt us deep down where it counts. It is only those who love us that we can hurt deep down where it counts.

All the evil in the world comes from the hurting of loved ones, who in turn and hurt others out of their bitterness and pain. As the song says: “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.” Take a good long look at your life, and consider who you really love in this life and what they mean to you. And, take a good and holy vow before God to quit hurting those you love. If you have been hurt, it is time to figure out how to quit passing it on to those you love. But, how? By deciding that you are done with hurting those you love. By looking honestly at the course of your life. And, by asking for help in the areas of life you just can’t seem to get control of.

I had never looked at Samson from this side before. Even after all these years of hearing and knowing that story. There is a real tragedy in the story. Samson opens his heart to Delilah, and she abuses his trust and his love. Most all human pain comes of our need to love and the human tendency to take advantage of love. Let’s continue to love, and protect love, and be done with hurting anyone we love and anyone who loves us. And, lets be done with thinking that it is alright for anyone we love to hurt us. Hurt and love don’t belong together. Love heals hurts; it doesn’t cause them. Experiencing that truth in our hearts and in our lives- well, that would be a good start on building a better world.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.