“So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed during his life.” Judges 16:30
Samson’s affair with Delilah is one of the most infamous love stories ever told. This man with superhuman strength was tricked by the woman he loved and betrayed into the hands of his enemies.
As a Nazarite, Samson had never cut his hair. It symbolised his consecration to God, and appears to be the only part of the Nazarite vow that he kept. His mighty strength was not in his hair, but in the fact that God had chosen him from before his birth to be the one to deliver Israel from their enemy; the Philistines.
The Philistines were not aware of the law concerning the Nazarites, and so did not suspect that his long hair had any symbolic meaning. They wanted to capture Samson so that he could do nor more harm to them, so they paid Delilah to find out where his strength came from.
As she coaxed and cajoled him, he gradually led her to the secret: he had been separated unto God from birth, and his hair had never been cut as part of his calling. It is vital to understand that it was God who gave him his strength, not his long hair. But as this was the only symbol of his consecration left, when his hair was cut, this supernatural power was severed from his life. The Spirit of God no longer came upon him, and he was as weak of any other man. He was captured, blinded and imprisoned by the very ones God had chosen him to destroy.
What can we learn from the history lesson of this man, chosen by God before his birth who proved to be morally weak and driven by his own passions?
Samson represents what his own nation had become during the time of the Judges. One commentator notes that Israel, “who had a supernatural origin, were set apart from among the nations with a distinctive vocation, broke their vows and were enamoured of foreign idols, until finally they lost their identity and spiritual power and became the blind slaves of their oppressors in exile.”
What a depressing story! What hope can we possibly take from the life of this super strong yet exceedingly weak man?
Cast your eye back to verse 4 of chapter 14. “His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for He was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines.”
There is a mystery surrounding God’s sovereignty over Samson’s sin. God did not condone it, but in his Omniscience, He was able to use Samson’s poor choices to bring about His divine will. God’s grace still abounded to him. His hair, a symbol of his strength, began to grow again, as he called out to God in faith and repentance. God heard him, restored him and used him to fulfil his God given purpose. In his death, he killed more Philistines than he had in his life.
Samson did not enjoy the blessings of obedience, but his failings did not thwart the covenantal promise of redemption we first glimpse in Genesis 3:15. Jesus is the promised offspring, who will tread down the head of the enemy of our souls. Jesus is The Lion of Judah who was slain for us that out of His death we may taste of His goodness and mercy.
What can we learn from this? Samson is not the superhero of this story, God is. Samson failed so often, yet even in the depths of an enemy prison cell, God heard his cry for forgiveness and His grace abounded to him. God’s grace still abounds in the midst of all our messes and failures. He is the Superhero of this story, and the Superhero of anyone who puts their trust in Him.