Old Testament Characters (Part 10)
Samson: A Lesson on Temptation - Judges 13-16

Here is a man to whom God gave twenty years’ time to begin to overcome
the enemy, yet in the end, he himself was overcome by the enemy.

The story of Samson presents for us a vivid lesson on temptation:
James 1:12-15: "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because
when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God
has promised to those who love him. {13} When tempted, no one should say,
"God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he
tempt anyone; {14} but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire,
he is dragged away and enticed. {15} Then, after desire has conceived, it
gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to
death."

Samson’s history is also an illustration of Paul’s warning in 1
Corinthians 9:27: "No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after
I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the
prize."

1 Corinthians 10:12: "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful
that you don't fall!"

Samson was eventually viewed as a person of faith
Hebrews 11:32-35: "And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell
about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets,
{33} who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and
gained what was promised..."

Note the steps that led to Samson’s sin and tragic end.

I. HE DESPISED HIS HERITAGE (13)
Samson was born into a godly home, to parents who believed in prayer. He
was God’s special gift to them and to the nation. He had a father who
prayed, "Teach us what we shall do unto the child" (v. 8).

His parents had a fear of God and tried to instill this same fear in
their son. They brought offerings to God and dared to believe His
wonderful promises.

God gave to Samson a special enduement of the Holy Spirit that made him a
conqueror. God called Samson to be a Nazarite ("separated one"), wholly
surrendered to the Lord. According to Num. 6, a Nazarite was never to
drink strong drink or touch a dead body; and the mark of his dedication
would be his uncut hair.

All of this wonderful heritage the grown Samson despised!

Instead of putting himself in God’s hands to accomplish his God-given
task, he chose to live to please himself. How tragic it is when God gives
a young person a wonderful heritage and a great opportunity, and he or
she treats it lightly.

As you ponder the record of Samson’s life, you get the impression that he
was a fun-loving fellow with a good sense of humor; and sometimes he
didn’t take his gifts and his work seriously.

A sense of humor is a good thing to have, but it must be balanced with
serious devotion to the things of the Lord. "Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling" (Ps. 2:11). Samson’s power was a weapon to
fight with and a tool to build with, not a toy to play with.

II. HE DEFIED HIS PARENTS (14:1-4)
One evidence of spiritual decline can be the way we get along with our
loved ones. "Samson went down . . . " (14:1) is true both spiritually and
geographically.

Samson was living by sight and not by faith. He was controlled by "the
lust of the eyes" (1 John 2:16) rather than by the Law of the Lord. The
important thing to Samson was not pleasing the Lord, or even pleasing his
parents, but pleasing himself (Judges 14:3, 7, see 2 Cor. 5:14-15).

When God isn’t permitted to rule in our lives, He overrules and works out
His will in spite of our decisions. Of course, we’re the losers for
rebelling against Him; but God will accomplish His purposes either with
us or in spite of us (Es. 4:10-14).

Samson should have been going to a war instead of to a wedding, but God
used this event to give Samson occasion to attack the enemy. Because of
this event:
· Samson killed thirty men (Judges 14:19)
· burned up the enemy crops (15:1-5)
· slaughtered a great number of Philistines (vv. 7-8)
· slew 1,000 men (v. 15).
· Samson hadn’t planned these things, but God worked them out just the
same.

Instead of staying in the borders of Israel, he went into enemy territory
and fell in love with a heathen woman. He knew the laws of separation God
had given to the Jews, but he chose to ignore them (see Ex. 34:16; Deut.
7:3; and 2 Cor. 6:14-18; also Gen. 24:1-4).

Note that he told his parents; he did not ask them. And when they
reminded him of God’s law, he defied them. "Get her for me," he insisted,
"for she pleases me well!"

It did not bother Samson that his desires displeased his parents. Note
that in this instance God mercifully was going to overrule his sin and
use it to weaken the Philistines (v. 4). Christian young people need to
stop and consider carefully when they find themselves defying godly
parents who know God’s Word.

III. HE DEFILED HIS BODY (14:5-20)
In those days, the parents arranged for a marriage, and there was several
months time between the engagement and the wedding. When Samson met the
lion, God gave him the power to overcome it even though Samson was not
walking completely in God’s will.

When he came back months later to complete the marriage, he found honey
in the carcass of the lion. Numbers 6:6-9 tells us that a Nazarite was
never to touch a dead body, but Samson deliberately defiled himself for
the sake of the honey!

Sad to say, Samson passed the sin along to his parents, and then he made
a joke about it to entertain his friends! As a Nazarite and a Jew, he had
no right to be sharing in a worldly Philistine wedding. The marriage was
never completed, but the seeds of sin had already been planted in his
heart.

IV. HE DISREGARDED GOD’S WARNING (15)
This is a chapter of seeming victories, yet it ends with the "strong man"
utterly exhausted for lack of water. He burned the fields of the
Philistines, but they turned around and burned the house of the woman he
had loved (15:6 with 14:15).

Samson avenged their death, but then his own people turned against him
and delivered him to the enemy (vv. 11-13). God delivered him, but then
God warned him by showing him how weak he was.

We find only two prayers of Samson: here, for water (vv. 18-20), and in
16:28, for strength to destroy the Philistines. His parents had been
prayerful people, but Samson had not followed their example. God warned
him here, but he would not heed the warning.

V. HE DELIBERATELY PLAYED WITH SIN (16)
Samson had already gotten into trouble with one woman, but now he tried
again, this time going deep into enemy territory to Gaza. Again, God
warned him by allowing the enemy to almost catch him, but Samson still
refused to repent.

It was then that Delilah came into his life and led him to his doom. The
Valley of Sorek was near his home, but Samson’s heart was already far
from God.

It shocks us to see this Nazarite sleeping on the lap of a wicked woman,
but this is what happens when people choose to go their own way and
reject the counsel of loved ones and the Lord.

Three times Delilah enticed Samson, and three times he lied to her. Each
time, the enemy attacked him, so he should have realized he was in
danger.

But read Prov. 7:21-27 to see why Samson yielded. He was asleep when he
should have been awake!

Proverbs 7:21-27: "With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced
him with her smooth talk. {22} All at once he followed her like an ox
going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose {23} till an
arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing
it will cost him his life. {24} Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay
attention to what I say. {25} Do not let your heart turn to her ways or
stray into her paths. {26} Many are the victims she has brought down; her
slain are a mighty throng. {27} Her house is a highway to the grave,
leading down to the chambers of death."

Remember the warning Christ gave to Peter in Matthew 26:40-41: "Then he
returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not
keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. {41} "Watch and pray so
that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the
body is weak.""

Note that each lie Samson told actually took him closer to the truth. How
dangerous it is to play with sin.

The rest of the story shows the tragic end of the believer who will not
let God have his way with his life:
· From v. 20 on, Samson does nothing but lose.
· He loses his hair, the symbol of his Nazarite dedication; for that
dedication had long since been abandoned.
· Then he loses his strength, but he is ignorant of it until he is
overpowered. How futile it is for the servant of God to try to serve the
Lord when out of His will.
· Next Samson loses the light, for the Philistines put out his eyes.
· He loses his liberty, for they bind him with fetters of brass.
· He loses his usefulness to the Lord, for he ends up grinding corn
instead of fighting God’s battles. Someone has said that v. 21 pictures
the blinding, binding, and grinding results of sin. And all of this began
when Samson despised his blessings and defied his parents!
· Samson also lost his testimony, for he was the laughingstock of the
Philistines. Their fish-god Dagon, not the God of Israel, was given all
the glory.

Apparently Samson repented of his sin, for God gave him one more chance
to act by faith. His hair had begun to grow and Samson asked God for
strength to win one more victory over the enemy.

Samson illustrates people who have power to conquer others, but who
cannot conquer themselves.
· He set the Philistine fields on fire, but could not control the fires
of his own lust.
· He killed a lion, but would not put to death the passions of the flesh.

· He could easily break the bonds that men put on him, but the shackles
of sin gradually grew stronger on his soul."
· Instead of leading the nation, he preferred to work independently, and
as a result, left no permanent victory behind.
· He was remembered for what he destroyed, not for what he built up.
· He lacked discipline and direction; without these, his strength could
accomplish little.
· He failed to check the impulses that began early in his career, and
twenty years later, they killed him.
· Notice another thing: Samson was a loner; unlike previous judges, he
never "rallied the troops" and tried to unite Israel in throwing off the
Philistine yoke.
· For twenty years he played the champion, but he failed to act the
leader.
· Joseph Parker said that Samson was "an elephant in strength [but] a
babe in weakness."
· We might add that, when it came to national leadership, he was a lost
sheep!

It remained for Samuel and David in later years to finally defeat the
Philistines.

Last modified: April 18, 2006