A favorite Bible character for many people is Samson. The Old Testament figure is preserved for us in the book of Judges, and his life was truly noteworthy. He never had a single haircut (well, he had one near the end of his life, and it was very costly), he killed a lion with his bare hands, and he was known for his incredible strength. He was so powerful that some have suggested the Bible exaggerates his feats (a position I do not hold).
By all accounts Samson was a bad man. Here are some of the highlights of his life:
He proposed a riddle to thirty people, and the wager involved a change of clothes—thirty for him if they could not solve it, and one for each of them if they could. When they solved his riddle, he killed thirty Philistines, disrobed them, and presented their clothes as his payment. On another occasion he caught 300 foxes, tied them together by their tails, and set them on fire; this sent 150 sets of burning foxes running through the Philistine fields, devastating their crops. After visiting a Philistine prostitute, he ripped the city gate off its hinges on his way home, and carried it forty miles away. His last act on earth was a murder/suicide, something that if occurred today would be called a terror attack.
Bad guy, right? If that is all we ever read about Samson we might conclude that he was a failure, a villain that would go down with people like Nabal, King Saul, or even Queen Jezebel. But the New Testament has something nice to say about the intriguing judge; of all places, he appears in Hebrews 11, the “Hall of Faith” of the Bible. After naming great people of faith, the writer adds this conclusion:
“And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens (v.32-34).”
I’m sorry, did I just see Samson’s name on that list, in the same breath as David and Gideon? The author of Hebrews recognized something in Samson, particularly what we see in the last line, he “became valiant in battle,” and “turned to flight the armies” of the Philistines. Bestselling author Stephen Miller wrote, “Some historians say Samson’s legacy assured Israel’s survival. Before he came along, the kingless Jews were in the process of becoming assimilated into the culture of their stronger neighbor…Samson forever changed the relationship by driving a wedge of distrust and anger between the two nations. In time, the Jews would emerge as winners in the war for the Promised Land.”
I love Samson because, even though he had his many faults, he is proof that we are not defined by our worst moments. He messed up many times, but when push came to shove, he demonstrated faith in God. Many of our Bible heroes are just like that: a collection of successes and defeats. Please don’t misunderstand me: I am not saying that it doesn’t matter how we live or what we do. We should do our best, but the reality is we will make mistakes. The most important thing, then, is if we have faith in Jesus. Let your faith be what defines your life, not your feats or failures.
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