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Meditative Reflection
Setting Apart to the Lord

“No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” (Jdg 13:5)

As a judge, Samson was very special in that from birth he had been chosen not only as a judge to begin the delivery of Israel out of the hands of the Philistines, but also as a Nazirite set apart for the Lord. As such, he was the prototype of all judges. Though he was not the first judge, however through him, God expresses His ultimate desire for all servants of His choice, and that is they are to live a life set apart for Him.

The long, uncut hair is the outward symbol to signify this setting apart for the Lord. No matter where Samson went, he would be recognized as a person set apart for the Lord. If he was given to drinking, he should be challenged. Whatever he did that did not befit this setting apart would be visible to all.

Of course, Samson failed miserably in this respect, but his failure was nothing more than a reflection of the collective failure of the whole people of Israel who, in a sense, should be a “Nazirite Nation” set apart for the Lord (Exodus 19:6).

However, Samson was also unique in that he possessed unusual strength not paralleled by any judges. Again, this represented a promise by the Lord that should the people stay true to their separation to the Lord, they will have strength unparalleled by any of the nations; they will gain victory over the most powerful enemy, even the Philistines whom, of all dwellers of Canaan, were most feared even by the Egyptians.

Meditative Reflection
A Society of Lawlessness

“On the fourth day, they said to Samson’s wife, ‘Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death…’.” (Jdg. 14:15)

To understand many of the ethical questions we might have, especially the apparent condoning by God of some of the violent actions of Samson, we need to understand the kind of society he lived in. Even within the passage we studied today (Jdg. 14:10-20), we can sense the lawlessness exhibited by the characters in this passage:

- The marrying of the Philistine girl to Samson: We are not told the reason why the parents of the girl would agree to marry their daughter to an Israelite man, Samson, but the most logical deduction was because of his strength. And if the killing of the lion was somehow known to the locals, in a lawless society, it would be beneficial to have a warrior like Samson as your son-in-law.

- The thirty young men, the companions, threatened to burn and kill simply because of the potential that they could lose their bet. The stake wasn’t even that high — thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes (presumably shared equally by the thirty men)! It was obviously a society without law and order (what the 30 men threatened to do did eventually come to pass through the hands of other Philistines in chapter 15).

- And worse, the anger of Samson, whether justified or not, led Samson to smite thirty innocent men in Ashkelon and rob them of their clothes to satisfy his bet—though these 30 men in Ashkelon probably were not innocent men, but typical Philistines, men of violence and wickedness themselves. But one wonders what Samson’s anger was about—the betrayal of his wife over a riddle or the loss of his bet? His subsequent comment in 15:3 implied that he knew his action was not fully justified.

It appears it was more a case of God punishing the wicked by the hand of the less wicked, though the remembrance of His covenant with the forefathers of Israel also played an important part in God’s action.

Meditative Reflection
Woman - a Commodity Only?

“And Samson’s wife was given to the friend who had attended him at this wedding.” (Jdg. 14:20)

It is true that in most, if not all cultures of ancient times, the father had absolute authority over the household, especially when it came to the lives of his children. In Roman times, it was called, “patria potestas”—the father could decide the future of his children and in some cases, they could even put their children to death for wrong doing or disobedience. And when it came to the daughters, the father could decide whether they should marry and to whom they would marry.

But such patria potestas was not invented in Roman times, we find examples even in biblical times; the most famous example was perhaps how Laban used his two daughters for his own advantage in enslaving Jacob. Therefore, it was not surprising for us to read of the fate of Samson’s wife.

It was already a marriage with a modern tone, as Samson did get to meet her beforehand, and twice the Bible mentions that Samson liked her. With Samson’s charisma and physique, his wife probably counted herself lucky to have him as her husband, except that she did not know he was not a “one-woman” kind of man.

In any case, whether she liked Samson or not, it appeared that she really had no say in the marriage. However, the poor girl could never have thought of what would befall upon her because of this marriage:

- Samson’s determination to humiliate the Philistines meant that he would use a riddle to humiliate the 30 young Philistine companions at the wedding resulting in threats being leveled against this new bride—the joyous wedding occasion had turned into a life-threatening event;

- Sure, she had the option of telling Samson of her danger, but she really hardly knew him, and in fact, from the mouth of Samson, it was obvious that she was second to his parents in the heart of Samson;

- Then as Samson left in anger right after the wedding, deserting her in shame, she was given to another man by her father;

- And eventually she was burnt to death by her own people.

In other words, she was only a pawn in the game Samson played and she was nothing more than a commodity in her father’s house. However, it does not mean that this is the way our God looks at women—those that He has created also in His own image (Gen. 1:27).

We do not have to wait till the New Testament to read of Paul’s clear declaration of equality in Christ—no distinction between male and female (Gal. 3:28). How God speaks gently to Hagar (Gen. 16), how God wipes away the tears of Hannah (1 Sam. 1) and how God uses Deborah to lead the men of Israel (Judges 4) are examples of the love He has for all and the dignity He confers to women as well. They are not pawns or commodities to Him, not to mention that our Lord Jesus Christ died for all, men and women alike: “for God so loved the world…” (Jn. 3:16).

True, the Apostle Paul still reminds women of the order of creation and that wives should submit to husbands (Eph. 5:21-22), but it does not mean that husbands can lord over their wives and abuse them. Just the opposite, husbands are to love their wives “as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25). If we truly love our wives as Christ loved her church, there is no room for disrespect, abuse verbal or otherwise, and putting down, but only our nourishing them with love, care and gentleness as if they were our own bodies (Eph. 5:28-30).

Gary Smalley is right: There is no wife who can resist a husband who makes her feel loved (Eph. 5:25), respected (1 Pet. 3:7) and honored (Rom. 12:10), because this is how Christ treats His bride, the church.

Meditative Reflection
A Lone Ranger

“Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.” (Jdg. 15:15)

The victory of Samson over the Philistines was certainly spectacular:

- Who can break two new ropes like charred flax?

- Who can single-handedly kill a thousand armed, well-trained warriors?

- Who can kill that many people only with the jawbone of a donkey?

Such was the strength of Samson!

Such was the demonstration of the power of the Lord!

It was unprecedented for sure. But it was also unprecedented for any judge to defeat their enemies without calling other Israelites to join in the battle. In other words, as much as it was God’s victory, it was also, on a human level, one person’s victory! It was hardly the pattern of biblical victory. It was hardly the desire of God.

Before the time of the judges, God did raise up individuals to lead His people and gave them power to perform His miracles. But Moses and Joshua both involved their people in their campaign over their enemies. As a result, the people not only witnessed the power of God, they also took part in the defeat of their enemies. In other words, they were not just on-lookers, but sharers of both the labor and the fruit of victory.

This might explain why as a Nazirite, Samson’s licentious lifestyle was not opposed by anyone, because he was a lone-ranger with no friend to consult, no one to hold him accountable for any of his actions. Howard Hendricks once mentioned that he and two other scholars conducted a survey of 246 cases of “fallen” servants of God and discovered that they all had one thing in common: They did not have an accountability group—they were all lone rangers in ministry!

Meditative Reflection
Losing One’s Mind

“One day, Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her.” (Jdg. 16:1)

It was more than obvious that Samson was a man given to lust; he was a slave of his own licentiousness. One often wonders how he could time and again be fooled by Delilah and still did not suspect her motive in asking him about the secret of his strength. The truth of the matter is the Philistines knew what his Achilles’ heel was— his giving in to lust, and so it would only be a matter of time that he would also reveal the secret of his strength. Hosea 4:11 gives us much insight in this respect. Allow me to quote from several versions of translation below:

NASB: “Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the understanding.”

KJV: “Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.”

NIV: “…prostitution; old wine and new wine take away the understanding.”

While the Bible does not mention that Samson had wine, it is not far-fetched to imagine that Samson, with all his partying, had violated his Nazirite’s vow in this respect. If he could not control his lust, it is not unfair to say that he could not control his drinking either. But whether it is wine or lust, Hosea is clear that once we are given to either, it will take away our understanding (which in the original Hebrew is the word leb, the heart which is often translated as mind or understanding).

This, perhaps, also explains why such a man of God as David would resort to murder, all because he had lost his ability to think straight once he surrendered to his lust.

Meditative Reflection
The Hair of Samson

“If my head was shaved, my strength would leave me and I would become as weak as any other man.” (Jdg. 16:17)

St. Ambrose of 4^th century A.D. asked, “Was the hair of his (i.e. Samson’s) head of such importance that, so long as it remained, his strength should endure unconquered, but when his head was shorn the man should suddenly lose all his strength?” (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 10, p.116)

His answer, as with the answers of right-minded scholars, was a resounding no. There was no magic power to the hair of Samson. However, it was the ultimate outward sign of Samson’s setting apart of all of his life to God.

Indeed, well before the shaving of his head, he had gradually strayed from his consecration to the Lord. His parents did their best to inquire of the Lord and apparently did their best to steer him toward the Lord. But even as a young man, he had exhibited his love for the world, and especially for women. However, the Lord is certainly slow to anger and, for the sake of His name and the deliverance of His people from the oppression of the uncircumcised Philistines; He kept His side of His promise, enabling Samson time after time to gain victory over the Philistines.

It appears that as long as Samson still retained some kind of outward consecration to Him, through the keeping of his hair as a Nazirite, the Lord would not depart from him. However, as he yielded to his lust and disclosed his secret of strength to Delilah, that was the last straw—he had done the final act to forsake his Nazirite’s status and his consecration to the Lord. I am not sure it was when his head was shaved or when he let go of his secret that “the Lord had left him.” (Jdg. 16:20).

Drawing on the failure of Samson, Spurgeon warns us: “Now there are a thousand razors with which the devil can shave off the locks of a consecrated man without his knowing it.” (Spurgeon’s Sermons, vols. 5, 246) Spurgeon goes on to highlight three razors that commonly seek to shave off our consecration to the Lord, and they are (1) pride, (2) self-sufficiency, and (3) change in purpose in life and living for one’s self.

All these were, indeed, marks in the failures of Samson:

(1) He was certainly prideful—not that he did not know his strength came from the Lord, but just the same he took pride in it, as if God owed it to him to give him strength. Yes, indeed, God is faithful to His words and as Paul says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful” (2 Tim. 2:13). But even God’s patience can be exhausted. It is not good to test God to His limit. Samson found this out eventually, but it was too late!

(2) He certainly felt self-sufficient—to the point that he felt so sure that he could venture into enemy’s territory at will (Judges 16:1); he could engage in his lustful lifestyle without any serious consequences; and somehow, he misled himself to believe that he could muster his magic power at will; and

(3) He had changed his purpose in life—as he abandoned his vow—strictly speaking not his, but a God-imposed vow—he had stopped living for God for a long time and had been living for himself. All the glory that came with his power of the enemy had emboldened him to live for his lust.

In other words, Samson had been losing his hair for years. What was cut on the lap of Delilah was the little that was left of his inner devotion to God and His cause.

Meditative Reflection
More Valuable Dead than Alive!

“Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.” (Jdg. 16:30)

At the end of Samson’s life, the Bible has this to say about him as he died with thousands of Philistines as the roof of the structure fell, “thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived” (16:30). This is so written as if it were an epitaph on the tombstone of Samson. And indeed, it encapsulates the very essence of his life—he was more valuable when he died than while he was alive.

His life was to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines, and he was successful through his brute strength as empowered by the Holy Spirit in killing many thousands of Philistines when he was alive. But it was at his death that he was able to finish off “all the rulers of the Philistines” (16:27), not to mention that he killed a greater number in total of the people of Philistines than while he lived.

But as a Nazirite and judge, he failed completely in both his moral and spiritual aspects. It is perhaps true that he might have helped maintain the worship of Yahweh among the Israelites, but judging from the events that unfolded after his death, such a worship was at best superficial and cultural, not to mention that it would become more and more syncretized with the worship of the idols of the neighboring nations.

I wonder what might be written as our epitaph.

Are we more valuable to the Kingdom of God dead than alive?

Or, we are of no value to the Kingdom of God whether dead or alive!

Remember, as a New Testament believer, although we are not judges, we are all Nazirites—set apart to the Lord (which is the meaning of being “holy”).