Samson
A Hero Of Strength
Author: Heather Lynn
Illustrator: Lauren Mays
Samson was an appealing superhero. He had all the qualities that made him a hero by today’s standards. He was incredibly strong, perhaps with the strength of the Incredible Hulk or Superman. He was a very smart man and could outwit anyone around him. Perhaps he was even smarter than Ironman or Batman. However, the greatest quality that Samson possessed was the Spirit of the Lord, greater than any quality a superhero could possess. From the moment of his birth until his dying breath, the Spirit of the Lord was with Samson. Even despite the bad decisions and mistakes he made in his life, God still used him to deliver His people.
Samson could win a fight against any animal or human. In fact, once when he and his parents were traveling to Timnah, a young lion attacked him. Judges 14 says that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he ripped the young lion apart as if it were a goat. He continued to show strength throughout the rest of his life as he fought off the Philistines and protected himself against them. Another time, when he was captured by them, he snapped the ropes on his arms as if they were simply rubber bands, and then he attacked the Philistines with just the bone of a donkey. Even after he defeated them, they were constantly trying to find out the secret to his strength so they could bring revenge upon him. They even tried to trick him by bribing the people who were close to him.
Let’s start at the beginning to understand a little more about Samson and his heroism. Samson’s family lived during a time of hardship in Israel. The Israelite people had a history of disobeying the Lord and His commands, so God sent the Philistines to rule over them. They would need someone to deliver them. Samson’s mother couldn’t have any children. The hope of carrying on their name seemed bleak until an angel of the Lord came and told his mother she would carry a son named Samson. He would have great strength and deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. However, she would need to eat a strict diet while pregnant, and his hair couldn’t be cut. As long as he kept this promise to the Lord, he would remain a strong force to be reckoned with. This would be the secret that many men and women would try to divulge from him.
Samson was smart and knew how to trick the Philistines whenever they tried to pry the secret of his strength from him. He would give them riddles they couldn’t solve or tell them false stories about where his strength came from. He always seemed to stump them until Delilah. Samson took this secret very seriously and kept it to himself until one day he let his guard down. He met Delilah and fell in love. Delilah was a Philistine woman that Samson fell in love with and married despite the warnings from his family that she was not of God’s people. While it seemed like she loved him, the Philistine’s used her to get to Samson. They met with her and bribed her to find out the precious secret. In the beginning, Samson’s secret and promise to God was more important to him than Delilah. Every time she tried to get the secret out, he would lie to her and fool the Philistines. He showed his great strength and his wit each time Delilah bound him in the way he had told her. She was disappointed that he had fooled her and the Philistines again and again. However, he eventually gave in to the beautiful woman he loved as she guilt tripped him by saying that he didn’t love her. So he finally shared the secret to his strength: his hair. She immediately told the Philistines and they began to shave his head. As they cut the locks of his hair and as his promise with the Lord faded, his strength faded as well. Samson knew the moment Delilah woke him that his precious gift from the Lord was gone. The Philistines had finally captured him and there was nothing he could do about it. His wit and his strength would not be able to deliver him now.
This time it wasn’t about Samson or his strength. It was about the Spirit of the Lord. God had been with him since his birth, would he be with him now? Every time Samson was in danger, the Spirit of the Lord would come upon him and deliver him with his strength. Now, as Samson was in captivity, his hair slowly began to grow back. As his hair grew back, so did his strength. Perhaps the Lord would deliver him once again.
The Spirit of the Lord was the best thing about Samson. Even when Samson had strayed time and time again, the Lord never left him and would deliver him. This time was no different. During a festival, the Philistines decided to bring Samson before all of the people. He had been grinding grain for them. However, his hair was growing back and his strength was returning. They put him between two pillars, on display for the people to mock him. God had other plans. As he put his hands on the pillars and pushed, the building came tumbling down on top of Samson and all of the Philistines. His people were finally free but it cost him his life.
Samson was an everyday hero because even though he often followed his own path, in the end, when it mattered, he trusted the Lord and renewed his strength. His story is a story of redemption and restoration. Because of Samson’s strength and endurance, God’s people were saved. God redeemed Samson and used him to deliver them. Many years later God would send another man to deliver His people. This man; however, would be perfect and without blemish. This man would not need forgiveness, and instead, would offer forgiveness to the world. This man was Jesus. He would save God’s people through the strength of the cross.
Heather Lynn
Heather Lynn is a teacher, mom of three children, and a pastor’s wife. She and her husband have been serving churches for the last 15 years. Writing, reading, blogging, and women’s ministry are just a few of her passions. She also loves studying the Word and teaching women to grow deeper in their walk with the Lord through Bible studies and conferences. You can read her personal blog at: www.hisbrokenremnant.wordpress.com
