Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years. – Judges 16:28-31
Samson’s strength came from keeping his Nazirite vow by not
cutting his hair. In other words, his
power came from his adherence to the law.
Samson is entirely a man of the flesh.
The carnal nature can be somewhat controlled by law, and, so long as it
adheres to the “shalt not”, it can be blessed and empowered. Where there is no transforming grace, the
victories of the law are limited. As we
noted before, though Samson judged Israel for twenty years, he did not defeat
the Philistines and break their oppressive yoke from the neck of the nation,
unlike Gideon and the other judges. As
far as Samson was concerned, it was all about him. In the end, he wanted only to be avenged for
his eyes.
All the old man can ever understand about religion is what is
in it for him – whether in terms of this life or the next. Some will focus on the material benefits that
come from keeping the law, and these are not imaginary. The law of sowing and reaping applies to all. One who sows kindness, charity, and
temperance or who is willing to give financially to help others -- even with
wrong motives, will be repaid in kind. I
find myself grumbling at times because God is so good to people who don’t
deserve it. Then I remember that would
include me – but that’s another topic.
The law can bless us and strengthen us, but it cannot turn us
into new men. Metamorphosis is the
result of grace acting through faith.
Like the caterpillar, the old man has his destiny built into him, though
he does not know it. Samson makes the “faith
hall of fame” in Hebrews 11 not because of his strength but because, in the
end, he found the path to transformation and his true destiny. And
Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” It will always look like death from the
perspective typified by Samson. For a
person who is “stronger” in terms of natural willpower or determination, it may
often be the case that the transformation will be more difficult, painful,
dramatic, or extreme.
Some of us take more killin’ than others. It is, perhaps, one of the reasons I tend to
be sympathetic toward those who believe in universal salvation. I can imagine that there are those who will
only “die” in the ninth circle of hell – and maybe not there. Samson fought on for twenty years. It takes a lot of us a long time. I suppose it could take some an
eternity. I'd rather not find out the hard way.
The secret things
belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and
to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law
(Deuteronomy 29:29)
