Famous Bad People: Samson (Judges 13-16)
Big Idea: Don't squander your strengths because of your fatal flaws.
As a kid growing up, I had one verse that really inspired me whenever I got to thinking what I wanted to do with my life. It’s a verse that’s stuck with me today, and I can never read this verse without getting a little bit excited. Let’s read it together – it’s up on the screen:
The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. (Daniel 11:32 NKJV)
Isn't that an amazing verse? I used to dream – I still do – about doing exploits for God. I love the word "exploits." It makes me think of daring, courageous adventures into enemy territory to serve God. It brings to mind qualities like risk, adventure, courage, purpose. It’s the very opposite of what I think about when I think of somebody drifting and wasting his life. Who wouldn’t want to be strong and carry out great exploits for God? With a mission to do great things for God, there is no enemy too strong, challenge too difficult, or obstacle too high to overcome.
I've grown up and noticed that it's easy to settle for just getting by instead of living a life of purpose and taking risks for God. But deep down, I don’t think there’s anyone who really wants to settle for that. No one wants to reach the end of life feeling unfulfilled or like they haven't made a meaningful impact. We were made to do more than just exist. We were built to want to do exploits with God.
If you are the type that would like to live a life like this, you have to like the man we’re going to look at today. His name was Samson. If ever there lived anyone who could and should live a life of adventure for God, it’s him. Look at some of what he had going for him.
He was born for a purpose.
Imagine what it would be like to grow up knowing that your very life was a miracle from God, that an angel had announced your purpose. Most of us have to discover our purpose for living, and that’s not always easy. Samson knew right from the start. His parents informed him. Judges 13:3-5 says:
The angel of the LORD appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink or eat any forbidden food. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will rescue Israel from the Philistines.”
A miraculous beginning, announced by an angel and with a clear mission, sets a strong foundation for doing God's work.
He faced a challenge.
If you want challenges that test your skills, there’s no better time than the era of Samson. The angel said, “He will rescue Israel from the Philistines” (Judges 13:5). The Philistines had been a longstanding presence, but they increasingly posed a significant threat to the nation of Israel. They were warlike and powerful, and they were beginning to apply pressure from their five western cities. Just five years later, they would begin to oppress and rule Israel. If Samson was looking for a cause to champion, he found it.
He was dedicated to God.
Judges 13:5 says, “You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth.” A Nazirite dedicates a specific period to God by not cutting their hair, drinking alcohol, eating grapes or raisins, and avoiding contact with corpses. But Samson was going to be a different kind of Nazirite. He wasn’t going to dedicate only part of his life to God. His entire life was going to be an act of service before him.
He had enormous strength.
The story of Samson often leads us to imagine him as a muscular figure like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but that's not the main idea. I believe that Samson likely appeared quite ordinary. His incredible strength was not derived from weight training, protein supplements, or steroids. Samson possessed supernatural strength, which he could use to fulfill the mission God had given him.
By the way, what was true of Samson is also true of you and me. If we could see ourselves the way that God sees us, we would know that we were born for a purpose. God has put you here at the right time, with the right challenges, the right set of strengths, for a mission only you can fulfill. Yet there’s a danger that we’ll end up like Samson. Because Samson, for all of his strengths and for all the things he had going for him, left a legacy that was mixed at best. On the positive side, he is mentioned in Hebrews 11 as a hero of the faith. He did kill many Philistines, which sounds barbaric now, but back then it was really a case of killing them before they came to kill you. Yet Samson spent most of his life either aimless or defeated. He did experience some success, and yet his life didn’t begin to approach what it could have been.
Fatal Flaws
We won’t take time to read Samson’s entire story here today. I would encourage you to do so, though. But as I read his story, I noticed three fatal flaws that prevented him from becoming the person that he could have been.
Women
Samson’s fatal flaw was women. It was literally a fatal flaw. We read of three women in Samson’s life, and all of them were disastrous for his life. Remember how he was supposed to conquer the Philistines? Judges 14:2 says, "When he returned home, he told his father and mother, 'I want to marry a young Philistine woman I saw in Timnah.'" He did marry her, although that soon turned into a disaster, as we read later on. They didn’t end up marrying after all, she was given to the best man as a wife, and she and her father ended up burned to death. Not a happy story.
The next woman was not any better. Judges 16:1 says, “One day Samson went to the Philistine city of Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute.” The third woman led to his ultimate downfall. Her name was Delilah, and she ultimately betrayed him.
Riddles
At his first marriage, Samson got into trouble for telling a riddle. The riddle likely began as wedding entertainment, possibly the first "solve the riddle, get a kiss" game. The celebration went out of control, causing stress and upsetting his new wife during their honeymoon. This ultimately contributed to their marriage ending and her passing. You have to wonder when somebody so gifted ends up known for women and riddles rather than fulfilling his purpose.
Revenge
Samson’s life is centered around revenge, including burning crops, killing a thousand Philistines at once, and ultimately slaying all the Philistine leaders in a crowded temple. He spent a good part of his life consumed with anger and taking revenge.
The result is that Samson spent most of his time in defeat. For all of his limited successes, he never fulfilled his mission. The saddest verses about Samson highlight what his life could have been at the start and summarize what actually happened.
“He will rescue Israel from the Philistines.” (Judges 13:5)
“Samson was Israel’s judge for twenty years, while the Philistines ruled the land.” (Judges 15:20)
What About You?
Let’s talk about you this morning. If there ever was a time for God’s people to be doing exploits, this is the time. We have all we need to live boldly for God: courage, purpose, risk-taking, and a clear mission. We are living in a day in which people are hungry for God. They want God’s people to be God’s people. There’s a deeper spiritual hunger today than has existed in recent memory. We, God’s people, have been dedicated to him, and he has promised to use us. And to top it off, the Spirit of God has given us gifts to be used to build his kingdom. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts.”
Let me ask you three questions as you come to the Communion Table.
1. What’s your fatal flaw?
Samson’s was women. Yours may be different, but we all have one – a character defect that is keeping us from being who we should be. What is it in your own life that’s keeping you defeated, from becoming what you should be? Envy? Love of money? Do you prioritize your own comfort? Pornography? Anger? Or, if you say that you don’t have a fatal flaw, lying?
The good news is that God uses all kinds of people who have all kinds of fatal flaws. The only type that he doesn’t use is the type that refuses to admit it – refuses to come clean with God. Listen to what God does with those who have fatal flaws who admit it, and who surrender their flaws to him:
How thankful I am to Christ Jesus our Lord for considering me trustworthy and appointing me to serve him, even though I used to scoff at the name of Christ. I hunted down his people, harming them in every way I could. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how kind and gracious the Lord was! He filled me completely with faith and the love of Christ Jesus.
This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I was the worst of them all. But that is why God had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:12-16)
2. What’s wasting your energy?
What’s your version of Samson’s riddles? What lesser things are keeping you from investing your energy in doing exploits for God? A poet once wrote, “Some men die in ashes; some men die in flames. Some men die inch by inch playing silly little games.”
3. What grudges are you keeping?
Samson spent most of his life consumed with hatred against other people. If the truth were really told, there are a lot of us who are spending a lot of energy angry with a boss, a family member – even somebody else in the church. It’s impossible to hate another person and be on an exploit with God.
God has given you one life. He’s put you here for a purpose. We are coming to the table today of the one who died to make you right with God, to take you – fatal flaws and all – and make you an indispensable part of what he’s doing in this world. “The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” (Daniel 11:32)
Prayer:
Samson was born with a purpose. Thank God as you come to the table that you were not only born with a purpose, you’ve been born again with a purpose. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Confess – what’s been keeping you from doing exploits with him.
Thank you in advance for what you are going to do in and through us, for the glory of your Son. In his name we pray. Amen.
