The word for the week is the story of Samson in Judges 13, no doubt a popular story. I love Samson, his story is so incredibly human; that tale of a man destined for greatness eventually failing to fulfil his destiny because of a simple character flaw. Its crazy to think just how easy it is to lose out on a great future because of a character trait that you have not been able to master or subjugate. I find Samson’s character so relatable because I know that I struggle with self-discipline in so many areas, in the little things like tardiness to stubbornness, rudeness and insisting on my own way.

It’s interesting to note that although we often think that Samson’s downfall was his love for ‘foreign’ women, the women weren’t actually the real problem. If you notice, Samson’s issues started well before Delilah came on the scene. Poor Delilah, her name has become synonymous with godless seduction…home girl was probably just looking out for herself and her people…the fact that she may or may not have gotten a Lexus chariot with the silver the Philistines paid her for Samson’s seduction is neither here nor there. Go on get yours girl! Lol.

Samson’s decline began long before baby girl Dee came on the scene (I am sorry, I’ve been watching The Game…I have been Tasha Mack-ed!). Remember first of all, that Samson’s birth was predicted; an angel told his mum and confirmed by appearing to both parents to tell them that they would have a baby. Not just any kid of baby, no no, this one was created with a purpose and a full destiny. We always seem to forget that when we read this story. The angel told Samson’s parents that their son will begin the redemption of the Israelites from the Philistines.

I always find this very interesting, the fact that it was said that Samson would “…BEGIN the redemption of the Israelites…” Was God already aware that Samson would not be able to live to his full potential and completely redeem the Israelites and as a result, lessened Samson’s role and responsibility in the redemption of the Isrealites to merely beginning their redemption? Or was Samson made to do exactly what was said, that is begin the Israelites’ redemption while the other judges that came after him would complete the redemptive work? I wonder.

Anyways, so Samson was clearly a special guy. To show that he was marked for something special, he was to be a Nazarene, said the angel. The Nazarenes are a Jewish order called to be separated from the rest of the lot. They were to live IN the world but not be OF the world. They were to live holy and righteous lives and their long hair was to be a symbol of their separation for God, their dedication to God. The Nazarenes sort of remind me of Christians.

In return Samson the Nazarene had the power of God on him. The things this young man did! Interestingly, some of Samson’s feats are not unique. You know that story of him killing hundreds of Philistines with a donkey bone? Yeah, I randomly read in my bible a few days ago that one of the people in David’s motley crew of wandering warriors, like Samson, could kill hundreds of men with a donkey’s bone. Now I’m not sure if there’s something lost in translation, if this is an expression used in that time this like “Oh hey, I can kill X number of people with a donkey bone”, but the whole thing just seems suspicious! It seems so supernatural, this superhuman strength. It sounds too far-fetched. I wonder if there’s an exxageration or Samson was really this incredible. That’s not the key thing though, its just a random observation. If the story is indeed accurate then Samson’s strength is very Peter Petreli-esque (I miss Heroes). Anyway, that’s not really the point, the main thing is that Samson was able to do superhuman things although he was a mere man who simply had God’s power upon him.

We know Samson was called to live righteously, to set himself apart for God and in fact not do anything considered unclean including having a simple drink of wine. Yet somewhere along the line, we see some real character flaws begin to manifest. We see a potential anger-management problem with Samson burning his enemies fields up. We see Samson as a bit of a petulant child when he demands from his parents that they go and get him the Philistine woman who he has randomly decided to marry for the very solid reason that “…she pleases me well”(Judges 14:2), somewhere along the line Samson goes off and sleeps with a prostitute. (Read Judges 13-16). Nollywood drama has nothing on Samson.

It makes you wonder how we can blame Delilah for all of Samson’s problems, the man was well on his way down the slippery slope, on a downward spiral, before she arrived. Samson had definitely moved away from what he was created and called to be; a Nazarene, a person set apart for God. By the time Delilah arrived, the land was already fallow and ready for planting. The soil had been laid. I wonder whether Samson would not have seen through Delilah’s wiles or been more astute and discerning of Delilah and the Philistines if he was indeed living in the way God had originally intended him to live; in close relationship with Him, separated from the things that entangled and distracted him from God and goodness. I wonder if he would have been finally captured, eyes gouged out, imprisoned and made the entertainment of the Philistines.

I love this story. When I was little, we had a collection of illustrated bible stories and I think Samson’s story was number 6 or 7 in the series, I still remember because I read and reread it. It just seemed so absolutely fascinating to me at the time. I love his cheekiness; the audacity and ingenuity of tying the tails of foxes together, inserting a torch amongst the tangled mass of tied tails and letting them run amok in the Philistines fields? Torching the whole place to the ground? Beauty. Lol, clearly even as a child I had a bit of a mean streak. I like Samson. I honestly like Delilah as well, like a true woman she knows how to get what she wants. I appreciate that cunning. Admire it in fact.

But the most instructive part of Samson’s story for me is the end, the redemptive bit. In prison, when he had lost everything and come back to his senses, he remembered God and once he asked for God’s power on him again, God answered immediately as though He was waiting to be summoned. The end was tragic, suicide; very difficult and sad. But it reminds me that many times, it is often in the prison-phase of life that we are able to hear God the most honestly, the most clearly. It is in that darkness that we begin to find the light within ourselves again.

I like Samson, the ultimate tragic hero and a real human being.