Title: STORIES OF FAITH: SAMSON’S RISE

Focus: Samson’s controversial role as judge of Israel foreshadows Jesus’ Messianic role and sheds light on the nature of faith.

Function: To encourage the people to reflect their faith in Christ courageously by resisting and transforming worldly cultural pressures.

Texts: Hebrews 11:32-34; Judges 13:24-14:20

When I emigrated from Europe at the age of 21 and came to this side of the ocean, I did not realize it, but I stood out like a sore thumb. You see, I wore red and green and orange socks and thought nothing of it. For that’s what we did in Europe in those days. But after I started to date Rosanne a few years later, I realized something was wrong. Later, when we got married, I found out: my socks were a problem. After we got married, I no longer could find my colorful socks.

And so, I learned to conform to American color codes and other normative standards. I no longer stand out with my socks, I think. I’ve accommodated to our culture. The Israelites in Samson’s days were somewhat like me and my socks today. They have accommodated to Philistine culture. They inherited and conquered (up-to-a-point) the Promised Land. And now they are living comfortably in the midst of pagan cultures and practices.

Samson’s tribe (the tribe of Dan), for example, has accommodated itself to the Philistine’s culture and religious practices. Intermarriage, trade, and a “don’t bother the Philistines” mentality have given the Philistines the upper hand. They tend to call the shots in Samson’s region. And God’s people Israel is going along, blissfully unaware that they are being secularized and drawn away from obedience and worship of the Lord, their God.

It’s in that context that God raised up Samson as a Judge of Israel. Samson is to arouse his people from their accommodation with the Philistines. Samson must awaken in Israel a new allegiance to God. As we consider Samson’s rise as judge of Israel, we observe that Samson’s controversial role as judge foreshadows Jesus’ Messianic role, and as such Samson spurs us on to live by faith. Samson sheds light on the nature of faith. Thank God for Samson! And thank God for Christ Jesus, our Redeemer and Lord!

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Now as we consider Samson’s rise as Israel’s judge, we must be aware of a number of important things: (1) Samson is God’s instrument; Samson is not an ordinary Israelite with some exceptional abilities; no, Samson is God’s redeemer for Israel. We note, for example, the special announcement of Samson’s birth to Manoah and his wife. We also note that God sets Samson apart from most Israelites by requiring that Samson lives like a Nazirite—his hair shall not be cut; and no alcoholic drink shall enter Samson’s body. God has raised up Samson for a particular task.

(2) Samson grows up with an increasing awareness that God has chosen him to lead his people from Philistine oppression and religious idolatry. Scripture tells us, for example, that Samson “grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.” Surely, the stirrings of God’s Spirit led to a faith awareness in Samson—an awareness that he belongs to the Lord, and that the Lord has a particular task for him in the midst of Israel.

(3) Here’s another important thing to know: The Philistines are Egyptians in origin; they remind the Israelites of their history with Pharaoh and Israel in the days of Moses. In fact, the Philistines are doing to the Israelites in the days of Samson what they used to do—to a certain extent—in the days of Moses. They dominate and oppress the people of God.

Now you may have seen pictures of the Sphinx in Egypt. You find the Sphinx, for example, at the entrance of ancient Egyptian pyramids and temples. For the Egyptians (and the Philistines therefore), the Sphinx is their guardian. It is a winged creature, having the body of a lion and the head of a woman. And the story with the Sphinx is that the Sphinx will stop anyone from entering Egypt if they cannot find the answer to a riddle that the Sphinx throws at them. In fact, the Sphinx or lion of Egypt will kill anyone who does not know the answer to its riddles.

So keep these things in mind as you enter the story of Samson’s rise as Israel’s judge: (1) Samson is God’s instrument; (2) Samson has a growing awareness of his divine destiny and God’s claim on him; and (3) The Philistines represent Egypt—its power, its idolatry, and its oppression.

Samson’s fame or rise in power begins with his choice of bride. He sees a dame in Timnah, a town in Philistine territory. He likes her—enough to ask her to marry him, and at the same time to test her. For by asking her to marry him, Samson offers her to live under the umbrella of Israel’s covenant God. Samson offers her the opportunity to change her loyalties from the Philistines to the Israelites, from the Philistines’ religion and way of life to the God of Israel and his way of life. Will she say “yes” to Samson? More than that, will she say “yes” to Samson’s God and his way of life for his people?

The text tells us that the Spirit of God stirs Samson to choose this Philistine woman. Samson’s parents don’t realize this. They think that Samson is making a mistake to marry a Philistine woman, especially if she is not a convert to God’s way. If she were like Rahab, the parents might have kept quiet. But they do not know the woman—and frankly Samson does not know her well either, but he will test her. In Samson’s eyes she is the right woman—she is part of Samson’s destiny as Israel’s redeemer or judge. And that leads us to the next part of the story.

As Samson and his parents go to Timnah to visit the woman and her family, Samson traveled a bit ahead of his parents. He comes close to the vineyards of Timnah, and there he encounters a roaring young lion—a Philistine lion, ready to devour Samson. At that moment, the Spirit of God comes upon Samson in power, and Samson tears the lion apart with his bare hands.

This is a sign, a clear sign to Samson of the battle or contest that awaits him. He is entering hostile territory; the guardian sphinx of the Philistines appears to Samson in the form of a hungry lion ready to kill Samson. But God intervenes. Samson conquers the lion. And right there, Samson has an inkling of what is to come in the near future. (The same thing happened to David later in Israel’s history. David killed a lion shortly before he killed the Philistine giant called “Goliath”).

Samson does not tell his parents or anyone else of his encounter with the lion. But he keeps it in mind. So the next time he goes to visit and marry his Philistine bride, Samson checks out the carcass of the lion. It has dried up; and in it, Samson finds a swarm of bees and some honey. He takes the honey and gives it to his parents to share.

The honey reminds Samson (and us today) that the killing of the Philistine lion leads to prosperity in the Promised Land. When the Philistine lion is dead, the Land of Canaan may become once again the land of milk and honey. You see? The lion guarding the entrance of Timnah and its vineyard (which is Philistine territory) is parallel to the Sphinx that guards Egypt. Samson’s destruction of the lion is his destruction of Philistia; and thus if they are courageous and obedient, God’s people will be able to invade and conquer the Philistines and find freedom from their oppression. All of this is foreshadowed in these events leading up to Samson’s marriage with the Philistine woman.

Things get more interesting yet. When Samson interacts with the Philistines who are his best men at the wedding, he taunts them and tests his wife by giving them a riddle. Remember the Egyptian Sphinx? It supposedly kills anyone who cannot answer its riddle. Well, Samson already killed the Philistine lion a few weeks ago. Now he has a riddle for the Philistines: “Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.”

The stakes are high. If the Philistine guests cannot answer the riddle, they owe Samson thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. If they answer the riddle, Samson will have to cough up the prize. The pressure is on, and guess where the heat ends up: yep, at the feet of Samson’s wife. Now comes the test: will she choose for Samson? Will she accept his offer to live as his wife under the umbrella of Israel’s God? Or will she still choose the side of her family and Philistine countrymen?

You know the answer. She nags Samson and pleads with him to tell her the answer to the riddle. Since Samson has not told anyone else the answer, Samson will know if she leaks the answer to her countrymen. Will she stand the test? She does not. She remains loyal to her Philistine heritage.

And the rest of the story is history. Stirred by the Spirit of God, provoked by the disloyalty of his bride, Samson goes down to Ashkelon, strikes down 30 of their men, and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Samson burned with anger.

The Philistines take note; they have Samson on their radar screen as a potentially dangerous enemy. And the Israelites—they too take note and are beginning to pay attention to this Samson in their midst —this lion killer and antagonist of the Philistines.

The book of Hebrews refers to Samson, however, as a man of faith—as someone we can learn from. Samson, in fact, sheds light on the nature of faith and loyalty to the God of Israel. And Samson’s story spurs us on today to be courageous in Christian witness, and to be willing to resist and transform worldly accommodations and cultural pressures that weaken our trust in God and our witness for Christ.

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As you study Samson’s rise as judge in Israel through the eyes of Jesus and his work of redemption centuries later, you begin to realize that Samson is a shadow of the good things that are to come to God’s people. Samson’s deliverance of Israel from the oppression of the Philistines points to the future deliverance of God’s Son. Samson points us to Jesus.

But Samson also is our teacher. We can learn from him. For example, Samson is God’s man, God’s redeemer to Israel. But Samson is not without sins and flaws. Samson, in fact, is our brother. Samson has clay feet. In many ways, Samson reflects the Israelites of his days. As the Israelites did what was good in their own eyes, so Samson was prone to do what seemed right in his own eyes. Eventually, his reckless behavior, his own playing with fire resulted in Samson losing his eyes. But that’s a story for another time.

We, however, can learn from Samson. In some ways, he is unlike anyone of us; but in every other respect, he is our brother, a sinner in need of redemption himself. Do not idolize Samson! Do not put him on a pedestal! View him as a shadow pointing to the perfect Redeemer called Jesus. And see Samson as your brother in the faith.

Today is Pentecost Sunday. You and I have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. As the Spirit of God stirred Samson, be aware that God’s Spirit may also spur us on to do God’s bidding today. The Scripture calls us to be “in step with the Spirit,” to be “clothed with the Spirit” every day. The Spirit of God informs, guides, and leads God’s people. The question is: do we tune into God’s Spirit? Do we open ourselves up for the Spirit to reign within us and through us? The Spirit has come. Do we live under his influence? And do we produce the fruit he desires from us?

One more thing: Samson is devoted to God. He seeks to be part of his people. Samson has the wellbeing of God’s people in mind; and Samson seeks to advance God’s mission, God’s reign among his own people. What about us? Do we identify with God’s people—the church today—strongly and passionately? Do we seek the wellbeing of the church? Do we work toward a healthy, vibrant faith community here in Minneapolis and beyond? Learn from Samson. He sheds light on the nature of faith; he points us to the Lord Jesus Christ; and he shows us a heart for God and for his people. Thank God for Samson! More than that! Thank God for our perfect Redeemer, Jesus Christ!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.