Vince Deagler

i am presently involved in a bible study on monday morning where we have been studying the book of judges.  we are presently in the midst of the story of samson.  have you ever thought about samson and his life?  i recommend it, but i will warn you up front.  as you do, you will probably struggle with a number of inconsistencies.  now, i’m not trying to demean the bible record, or suggest it is anything less than the inspired/infallible word of god.  but this story presents events that are hard to reconcile with what we often think about god and how he works.  let me explain.

samson grew up in what i could only describe as a spiritually grounded home.  when the angel of the lord announced his impending birth to his parents, and specifically described his future role and that he would be under a nazarite vow, they reacted with a seriousness that you would expect from a god fearing couple.  i don’t think samson shared their respect for god, and perhaps the parents could be accused of enabling samson in at least one story.  but as far as i can tell his parents pointed him in the right direction.  on several occasions the text of the story tells us the spirit of god came upon samson.  i cannot imagine the spirit of god leading samson into the reckless, undisciplined life that unfolds in this story.  and if that wasn’t enough, samson was blessed with incredible strength that enabled him to do amazing exploits in his battles with the philistines.  the reality i see is samson had many advantages that should have resulted in a careful walk with god.

unfortunately we see the opposite.  he consistently rejected his nazarite vow, the teaching of scripture, the wishes of his parents, and good old fashioned common sense.  yet god kept bailing him out.  in fact some of his poor choices were explained as god “looking for an occasion” against the philistines.  it is almost a living illustration of paul’s question to the romans…”should we continue in sin so that grace may abound?”…apparently, yes.  or at least so it seems in the life of samson.  he wants to marry a philistine when the bible and his parents condemn such things.  he employs prostitutes.  he murdered 30 philistines to pay off a gambling debt.  you know the story, it presents some very difficult questions. 

did god lead samson to sin?  if not, why would he bless samson as he did?  and should we not conclude we can live any old way we please as long as the end justifies the means?

think about it, i have, here is what i think.  first, i see samson as an underachiever god used despite who and what he was.  second, although he judged israel for 20 years, what would his judgeship have been had he been a man of character and integrity.  i do not believe god led samson to sin.  i do believe god in his infinite foreknowledge knew exactly what samson would do and incorporated this into his ongoing plan.  this insures god’s plan plays out while at the same time samson is responsible for his actions.

as such i do not see god blessing samson in his individual circumstances as much as i see god blessing israel, using samson to begin the liberation of israel from philistine oppression.  this to me is perfectly consistent with the rest of scripture.  god often has used people of questionable standing to execute his plan (pharaoh, nebuchadnezzar to name 2), he has even used donkeys and adultery (as in hosea’s wife).  yes, god delivered samson and gave him great victories when perhaps he deserved defeat.  but this seems to me to be more about israel’s liberation than samsons well being.  his life did have a sad ending, did it not?

and do i think the end justifies the means?  do i think we can live any old way we please and expect god to bless?  not me.  as i said, i think god used samson despite who and what samson was.  i think his life and leadership would have been way more beneficial had he walked with god.  but we don’t have that story.  yet it really seems you could draw that conclusion from samson’s life.  how can we state otherwise?

let me suggest a couple thoughts.  i do not see samson as a great role model.  despite how god used him, my understanding of scripture is that he will have to give an account for his choices as will we all.  god does keep score and our eternal status, whether with god in heaven or separated from god in hell, is effected.  do you remember the parable of the talents?  one servant was given 5 talents, another 2, another 1.  the one with 5, produced 5 more.  the one with 2, produced 2 more.  the one with 1, out of fear, produced nothing.  i think samson is a different wrinkle in this story.  he may have been given the equivalent of 5 talents, but he only produced at perhaps a 1 or 2 talent level.  as i see him, he was an underachiever.

so i think there is a lesson.  do your best.  do all you can.  be all you can be.  god deserves more from us who follow him, than underachievement.  hope this makes you think.  blessings.  vince