On Tuesday we started discussing Samson, the “dumb jock” deliverer. ;)  Today we’ll pick up where we left off… Samson had just pulled the huge city gate from Gaza’s walls and had carried it literally uphill for 40 miles… remember that he was in Gaza to visit with his prostitute friend.  I’m sure they were just reading the Pentateuch together.

Samson was unmatched when it came to physical strength, but is sorely lacking in moral and spiritual strength. He’s consumed with and controlled by lust. He disregards the sacredness of his calling and uses his physical strength for his own fleshly desires for sex, control, and revenge.

The next chapter of Samson’s life is infamous and a common element of costume parties – his lovely girl Delilah.  Every single time Delilah asks what would make him able to be overpowered, he tells her something, and the next thing he knows, she’s tried it and has a bunch of Philistines trying to take him down!  Could he possibly be THAT stupid??

My suggestion for consideration is: I don’t think he was stupid.  I don’t think the issue was that he didn’t figure out what Delilah was trying to do. Rather, I think he was so impressed with himself that he thought he could fight his way out. Notice that after she shaves his head, the text says: He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him. (16:20) I think Samson so disregarded the supernatural source of his power, felt so sure of his own strength and ability, that he cast aside his call to obedience and thought he could make it on his own.

This story actually has a lot of application for us to consider.

*God still used Samson even in all of his lustful, perverted ways. How do we deal with that? The reality is that God is in control, and He can use anyone He wants to accomplish His plans. Now, ponder this: Hebrews 11 lists Samson among those of great faith! …but that doesn’t make him flawless. God is the real hero of the story. Every time. He doesn’t use us because we have it all together – it’s all about Him.

*That being said, as soon as start thinking of ourselves as the source of our own strength, we’re in deep trouble. We can start living life like Samson with Delilah – “I’ll never fall to temptation,” “that would never happen to me,” “look at those poor people being deceived,” etc. Pretty soon the Philistines are on top of us – we have trusted in ourselves and we will quickly realize that we’re only human after all. Remember Peter walking on the water? He wasn’t able to do it because he had power in and of himself – he walked on the water through the power of relying fully on Jesus Christ.

*Finally, Samson is one more example of how poorly we often teach the Bible to children. Samson is not just a big strong guy who does amazing things. He is a fallen, flawed, messed up man who did some incredibly stupid things. But His God was big enough to use even him and whatever faith he had to help deliver His people. Once again, it’s all about God!

So please, don’t buy the Samson muscle suit for your child this Christmas.  Let’s teach them the whole story – he was a deeply flawed man.  And his God was big enough to use even him… and I am thankful He is big enough to use even me in spite of all my flaws and failures, aren’t you?