(Judges 14.1-16.31)
Samson’s imprisonment
Samson’s foolishness, intransigence, or combination of both, led to his being finally taken by the Philistines, who quickly took their revenge. They "put out his eyes…and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house" (16.21). For Samson, always looking around, though often not to his own good (see 14.1;16.1), and used to unrestrained activity (see 16.3), this degrading captivity must have been even more unbearable than the thought of dying gloriously in battle. One thing that may have given him some reason for hope was that "the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven" (16.22), and there was some provision in certain circumstances for the re-consecration of a Nazarite if his first vow was broken (Num 6.9-12).
The possibility of restoration
Although we must certainly not allow the thought of it to lessen our concern about failures, there is always the possibility for us of restoration. God promised Israel that "I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten" (Joel 2.25), referring to their long-running spiritual decline and consequent subservience to foreign power. But, first, there were conditions to be met. "Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children…let them say, Spare thy people O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them" (Joel 2.16-17). Then, to show that God’s own interests were bound up with those of his people, there is added, "wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?". It is after this happens that the resurgence of blessing comes. "Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people" (Joel 2.18).
Willing to die in the battle
At the time when he finally fell to Delilah’s treachery, Samson "wist not the Lord was departed from him" (16.20), but it was by now only too obvious that things had gone drastically wrong and that the only way back was for the earlier relationship to be restored. "Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God" (16.28). That consciousness of the need for a total renewal of real power, not just natural strength, though humbling because it left nothing to his own credit, was the first necessary step. He was not now looking for some outstanding military victory, asking, "Let me die with the Philistines" (16.30). If the defeat of those three thousand triumphalist onlookers (see 16.27) could only be dealt with in his own death pangs, then that was how he was willing for it to be. What do we think was the new impelling drive behind this uncharacteristic willingness? Well, Samson did say that he wanted revenge for his being blinded (16.28), but if that was all he was still very much occupied with himself. However, he had been destined by God to be a leader of his people, and that included being a benefactor too (13.5). It is hoped therefore that concern for those under his care was now at the forefront of his thinking. We must accept that the activities of our spiritual warfare ought not to be just concerned with our own well-being nor of merely making our mark in the right quarters. Our work must be for the Lord Jesus, and that in its day-by-day application most often means for his people (Mt 25.34-40). If it is felt that this rather bypasses gospel outreach, remember how Paul viewed that particular aspect of service. "We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Cor 5.20). Ambassadors for Christ, God beseeching by us, in Christ’s stead: all of these show that the preaching of the gospel is for, and on behalf of, the Lord Jesus, but with the beneficiaries being those who are preached to, and who respond. So, although we may be concerned about, and hopefully engaged in, differing aspects of Christian activity, the end purpose, the result looked for, should in all cases be the same. It is the honouring of the Lord Jesus by individuals trusting themselves to Him and then growing "in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Pet 3.18). In the end Samson did die while engaged, in a rather unorthodox manner, with the struggle against the enemies of God’s people, who, because of that were enemies of God Himself. Remember the question asked by the Lord Jesus, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9.4), when those suffering that persecution were, in practical terms, the church. The same situation was to come about later but with the apostle fulfilling a different role. This time Ananias was told, "I will show him (i.e. Paul) how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake" (Acts 9.16), i.e. on My behalf, or for Me. There is no merit in looking for, much less in seeking to engineer, such an end. It is the willingness to do so if called that counts. It was Paul’s "earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death" (Phil 1.20).
It is true that "the dead which he (i.e. Samson) slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life" (16.30). Remember, however, that he was in his present unhappy situation because of past failures of his own making, rather than that being where God would have had him to be. Do not try to claim credit for outcomes that arise in spite of your failures, but do not fail either to take advantage of worthwhile opportunities that may open up when you least deserve them. If that seems a very difficult balance to maintain, a very delicate pathway to tread, look at Samson, who, after all, is given us as an example of faith (Heb 11.32-34). Learn from his mistakes and be grateful for God’s longsuffering with him. Be grateful too that that same longsuffering is still, through grace, operating for you today.
Concluded.
