This is part 2 in a series of posts based on the manuscript from a 2018 talk on the life of Samson. In part 1, I covered how Judges fits into the overarching story of the Bible. All currently available posts in this series are available here.
In similarity with the other episodes we’ve considered so far this semester, we see the “Judges cycle” begin again here. The first two elements of the cycle are found in the very first verse: “And the people again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.” But after this, the cycle breaks down. What we would like to see is that the people cry out, this time in genuine repentance, a deliverer is sent, and forever more the people of Israel obey the commands of the Lord and heed His laws. But that’s not what happens. Again, we’re about 250 years into this downward spiral, and by this time, they’re so assimilated into the pagan culture surrounding them, and they’re so accustomed to living in a form of bondage, that they don’t even have a problem with where they are. They take no issue with serving their enemies, and they never cry out to the Lord for deliverance, not even out of regret for the consequences of their sin. What we see instead is that the Lord takes the initiative, wholly on His own and wholly because of His character, and raises up a deliverer for them. The manner in which He does this is reminiscent of some other accounts with which we’re probably familiar. The visit from an angel and the supernatural involvement may bring to mind Gideon’s commission from a couple weeks ago, or perhaps the birth accounts of Isaac, John the Baptist, and even Jesus. One of the more unique aspects of this incident is that the angel – and as was previously mentioned in prior weeks, this could and perhaps should be read as a preincarnate appearance of Christ – initially appears solely to the woman. Even after Manoah prays for a second visit, the angel still appears to his wife alone until she goes to fetch him.
We don’t get much of a look at Samson’s childhood, but we can perhaps extrapolate based on the information we do have. Firstly, we see some doubt or hesitancy in this encounter with the angel. Samson’s mother seems to have a pretty good grasp of what’s going on, but we can’t really say the same about Manoah. He seems to not believe his wife’s words, and then continues to inappropriately question the angel when the instructions are repeated. The offering of food and the asking of the angel’s name are ways that the culture around them would have attempted to gain control over a spiritual entity, and then when Manoah does finally grasp who it is that has been speaking with them, and whose face they have seen, he immediately jumps to the conclusion that they are going to die. This could be a logical assumption based on God’s words to Moses back in Exodus 33:20, that no one can see Him and live; but that ignores the calling that has just been placed on at the very least his wife’s life through the promise and commissioning of Samson from the womb. And indeed, it takes his wife to bring Manoah back to reality and remind him of what has just transpired. Secondly, Samson’s very name makes reference to a pagan sun god. That’s not exactly a great sign for a man who from before his birth is literally set apart or dedicated to God through the vow of a Nazirite. The entire purpose of such a vow was, as Numbers 6 explains, to communicate a dedication to the Lord, and this dedication was made quite clear to Samson’s mother. I find it rather interesting then, that we are also specifically told that she is the one who names Samson. And so it is in this atmosphere of competing worship and a lack of faith in the word of the Lord that Samson is raised.
The remainder of Samson’s life before he reaches adulthood is summed up in just a verse and a half: He grew, he was blessed, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him. From that point, we’re given a few distinct episodes of his interactions with the Philistines. For starters, he makes his way well into the geographical territory of the Philistines, sees a woman, and decides based only on what he sees that he wants to marry her. He demands that his parents arrange the marriage for him despite their objection that she worships a different god; manages to break – not just once, but twice – the part of his vow that entailed not touching a dead body; throws a 7-day drinking party during which he most likely broke a second part of his vow; issues a smart-mouth riddle challenge to his Philistine companions, which exposes his wife-to-be to threats, manipulation, and coercion; shows himself to be a poor loser and yet again a smart mouth; antagonizes the Philistines by killing their compatriots and using the plunder to fulfill his obligations incurred when they told him the answer to his riddle; and finally walks off in a rage, abandoning his new wife and returning to his parents.
Moving into chapter 15, when he calms down, he decides to go see his wife, but his father-in-law has already given her in marriage to one of the Philistines, so out of vengeance, he uses foxes and fire to destroy their harvested grain, the grain still in the fields, and the olive orchards. In escalating retaliation to his setting fire to their crops, the Philistines burn his wife and father-in-law, and so Samson goes out and kills a great number of them before retreating to Judah. But of course that’s not far enough, and the Philistines track him down and raid the land of Judah. And instead of joining forces with God’s chosen deliverer to strike the Philistines, the men of Judah get together and form the only Israelite army mentioned in these chapters, not to throw off the yoke of their oppressors, but to bind Samson and take him to the Philistines, as well as chide him for making their lives difficult with their overlords. And he lets them do it. He makes sure they’re not going to kill him, but he allows them to bind him and hand him over to the Philistines, who presumably do intend to kill him. Instead though, the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him, and he kills 1,000 of the Philistines with the closest weapon at hand, which is a “fresh jawbone of a donkey”. As he is wreaking havoc on the enemies of the Lord, he is yet again conveying his disregard for the terms of his vow, and then once more opens his mouth with a witty saying. Then in an incident rather reminiscent of the Israelites in the desert, he complains that after all of that, God is going to let him die of thirst. But God doesn’t let him die of thirst; instead, He supernaturally provides water for him and saves his life, despite his complete lack of respect for either his calling or his vow.
When chapter 16 opens after an unspecified length of time, he is once again in Philistine territory, sees a prostitute, and again wants and determines to have what his eyes see. This time the Philistines place an ambush, but he rises earlier than anticipated and makes his escape in a massive show of strength that also leaves the Philistine capital completely undefended. And so when he loves another woman, the Philistines prove themselves to be good students of Samson’s weaknesses, and their rulers bribe the woman he loves to betray him. And this she does, quite obviously. Delilah is rather straightforward as she asks Samson how he can be subdued. And rather than flee from danger, Samson chooses to engage and leads her in clever little turns as he lies to her repeatedly about the true source of his strength. Eventually she wears him down in much the same way that his wife did originally with his first riddle, the last remaining tenet of his vow is broken, and Samson, supposing quite wrongly to the very end that God will provide him with his great strength no matter what he does, is captured and his eyes are gouged out by the victorious Philistines. He is forced to provide slave labor until one day, the Philistines, still celebrating his defeat and the victory of their god Dagon, bring him out to laugh at him and see the triumph of their god over the menace of their people. And Samson, for the first time, genuinely prays to the Lord for help, that help is granted, and Samson pulls down the temple on both the crowd of gathered Philistines and also on himself. And so he dies. But peace has not come to the land, because he had only begun to deliver the people of the Lord.