When heroes fall: Lessons from Samson

We all have our heroes. The Hero of heroes is, of course, our Lord Jesus Christ.

His is the Name above all names, and it is He more than any other that we should love, trust and emulate. Yet Paul exhorted the Christians in Corinth, ‘Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ’ (1 Cor. 11:1), and we are right to be thankful for godly examples. But sometimes they disappoint.

Samson is something of a surprise hero. Were he not named in the gallery of the faithful in Hebrews 11, we might wonder whether he was a hero at all. And there was so much that was surprising about him. He had a surprising beginning (Judg.13), entered into a surprising marriage (Judg. 14), gained a very surprising victory (Judg. 15), suffered an equally surprising defeat (Judg. 16:1-22) and, true-to-form, came to a surprising end (Judg. 16:23-31).

It is especially striking that after such a great victory, killing 1,000 Philistines single-handedly with a donkey’s jawbone (Judg. 15), he should suffer such a great defeat, the Lord having left him, and the Philistines gouging out his eyes (Judg. 16:1-22). But he did, and this incident from long ago and far away has many lessons to teach us right here, right now.

1. The best are capable of the worst (v.1).

Samson was one of the very best. In the Old Testament we are told that ‘he led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines’ (Judg.15:20), and the New Testament names him as one of the heroes of faith (Heb. 11:32). Scripture would leave us in no doubt that he was a man of God who did a work for Him.

But Samson was capable of the very worst. The very next verse after Judges 15:20 is Judges 16:1, ‘Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her.’ What reason Samson had for visiting Philistine Gaza – good, bad or indifferent – we are not told. It was enough that he allowed his eyes to linger lustfully, and with that he stumbled and fell.

And he is not the only one. David is mentioned in the same verse of Hebrews 11 as Samson, and we know that he added murder to adultery. Having taken Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, for himself, he had her husband moved to the front line of battle so that he would most certainly be killed. And if the best are capable of the worst, then we who may consider ourselves anything but the best, do well to remember that the seed of every sin is to be found in all our hearts.

2. Usefulness is not the same as holiness (vv.2-14).

The Philistines wanted Samson, but the Lord delivered him, and Samson escaped Gaza in the middle of the night complete with the entire city gate (vv.2,3). Then Samson made a very similar mistake all over again as, immediately after the episode with the prostitute, we are told about Samson’s love for Delilah (v.4). Some think she was an Israelite, others a Philistine; some a prostitute, and others not. Whatever, Samson’s relationship with Delilah was definitely bad news.

Samson was still wanted by the Philistines, but the Lord repeatedly delivered him. They did a deal with Delilah, and she set out to discover the secret of Samson’s strength (v.5). In the inimitable words of Dale Ralph Davis, ‘She started Samson on a new game called The Philistines Are Here!’ (vv.6-14). There were the bowstrings, the ropes and the loom, but Samson overcame each challenge with consummate ease.

All seemed well, but in reality was far from well. Remember that these verses are sandwiched between the prostitute episode and the Lord leaving Samson and the Philistines gouging out his eyes. They teach us that all may often seem well, but is not necessarily as well as it seems. We too easily mistake God’s blessing for his approval, and are too inclined to mistake usefulness for holiness.

3. Serious sin will usually have serious consequences (vv.15-21).

Samson betrayed himself to Delilah (vv.15-17), she betrayed him to the Philistines (vv.18,19a) and the Lord left Samson to his own devices (vv.19b-21). Before Delilah could betray him, Samson first had to betray himself, and share with her the secret of his strength. Once his secret was out, there was no stopping Delilah, and Samson was heading for major trouble.

He was familiar with being bound and breaking free, so Samson said: ‘I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him’ (v.20). Notice, side by side, what Samson was going to do (‘I’ll …’) and what the Lord had already done (‘But …’). Samson’s immorality with both the anonymous prostitute and the infamous Delilah was finally catching up with him.

Serious sin may not have serious consequences immediately, but it usually does eventually. And it is in the delay that so much of the danger lies. Samson seemed to think that he could sin and suffer no consequences. How often we find ourselves reasoning the same way. We persuade ourselves that everything is under control, when often sin is getting the better of us.

4. Divine grace is greater than human sin (v.22).

Some Bible verses are more significant than they may seem at first. One example is the last verse of Ruth 1 which tells us that Naomi and Ruth were ‘arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning’ (Ruth 1:22b). Anyone who knows anything about the story of Ruth knows just how significant the harvest is in the unfolding drama. Another example is the last verse of our passage, ‘But the hair of his [Samson’s] head began to grow again after it had been shaved’ (v.22).

The Lord hadn’t finished with Samson. Yes, his sin was great, but God’s grace was greater. We leave Samson down, but not out. By the end of the chapter Samson is dead, but not before he has gained another great victory over the Philistines. And God’s people – even the best – will often stumble and fall, but we remember that our salvation depends not on our grip upon Christ, but rather His upon us.

Every fall teaches us more of human sin, but each time God picks us up, dusts us down, and sets us going again we learn something more of His grace. And however great the fall, God’s grace is never ultimately defeated. The gospel is good news because grace triumphed over sin at the cross. Even the grave is a defeated foe, and eternal victory awaits us on the other side.