Samson: Godly Strength, Human Weakness (Judges 13-16)
11:30 PM
The story of Samson and Delilah is a universally known story. Samson is typically depicted as a strong, muscle bound man with long, flowing hair. I’m not sure he was physically sporting a body builder physique, however. Scripture tells us that his “ super strength“ would come at specific times and the source was divine. Each episode was linked to God being the source of that strength: “ and the spirit of the Lord rushed upon him”. You would think that because Samson had God’s favor that he would be very careful to honor God but Samson had many weaknesses as well. I’m sure that it was challenging as a parent to watch events play out in Samson’s life.
Let’s take a closer look.
We are told that even before Samson was born, God chose him to be special and to have a special purpose. He was promised to a barren woman and he was to be marked as a Nazarite, meant to be devoted to God. “for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.””Judges 13:5 Samson’s mother followed all of God’s instructions regarding raising Samson and we are told that “ the young man grew and the Lord blessed him”.
Samson was raised by God honoring parents and he was greatly favored by God, but Samson was prone to stray and follow the foolish pursuit of his desires. He failed to heed the godly advice of his parents and chose to seek a wife from the Philistines. He told his father “ Get her for me for she is right in my eyes.” How hard it is as parents to watch our children make unwise decisions and suffer for pursuing worldly things. But, God can use our mistakes and the mistakes of our children and still bring his will to pass. “His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines...” Judges 14:4 God knows our weaknesses and the mistakes we will make, and yet He is always in control of the outcomes.
Samson was prone to be turned by a pretty face and to be a poor judge of character. Too many times he played into the manipulative devices of his love interests and suffered the consequences of those circumstances. As parents, it can be heartbreaking to watch our children be swayed by wrong choices in friends or date people who use or manipulate them. How important it is to pray for our children to have Christian values and relationships that nurture and strengthen those values.
How tragic that Samson was so reckless with his pursuits. He let his love for Delilah blind him to the danger of her lies and her selfish disregard for his wellbeing. This ultimately led to God removing His favor and Samson losing his physical sight as well. As parents we may also have to watch tragedy play out in the lives of our children or loved ones as they push God out of their lives. But, sometimes that may be necessary for spiritual awakening. In the end, Samson remembered the source of his strength and he asked humbly for God’s help. He also remembered his purpose of saving his people from the Philistines.
No matter how far from God our children may go, there is always hope that they will lay down their will and desires and seek God with eternity in mind. “And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.”
Judges 16:30
Personal Application:
God knew Samson would struggle with his sin driven weaknesses. And yet, God blessed him and worked through his life to accomplish His purposes. God knows the weaknesses we will struggle with as well. He loves us. He wants to help us. He can and will impart strength to us if we ask to accomplish His purposes.
“Samson's Story Shows Us A Profound Truth Of Christianity: Ours Is A Progress From Strength To Weakness, Not Weakness To Strength. It Is When Samson Is At His Weakest That He Is Most Powerfully Used. Samson Ends His Life Blind And In Chains. He Is Weak. So Are We. God Promises, In His Son, To Perfect His Power In Our Powerlessness (2 Cor. 12:9). So We Can Own Our Weakness. We'll Find God's Strength In It.”
— Tullian Tchividjian —
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