Failed But Not Finished - 4
A Final Fling - Judges 16
It’s one of the many exciting stories of the Bible, with drama, intrigue and romance. Sadly not everything goes well for “the hero”, but it seldom does in real life! His name was Samson, the woman who caused him so much heartache was Delilah, and the story is found in the 16th chapter of the book of Judges. It was a time of Israel’s history of which they have no reason to be proud. The book of Judges commences about 1385 B.C. with the death of Joshua, the capable and God-fearing man who had led them into the Promised Land, and it finishes with the cryptic comment “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21 verse 25). How up to date that is! What a description of the day in which we live. In the book of Judges there are seven cycles, each made up of four movements; the people’s sin and disobedience, God’s judgement, followed by the people’s repentance and, finally, God’s forgiveness and deliverance. Although they did not have kings, Israel was ruled by judges, of whom the best known were Deborah, Gideon and the character who is at the centre of today’s study, Samson.
We will look at this story under four headings, Blessing, Baiting, Blinding and Believing.
Blessing – Judges 13 Verses 24 and 25
The birth of Samson followed a special promise made by God to the parents, that if their son became a Nazarite from birth, not partaking of alcohol nor using a razor on his head, then he would begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines. In due course the baby was born, named Samson, and we read “the Lord blessed him and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him” (Judges 13 verses 24 and 25). He had a wonderful start to life!
As he grew up we read of his great strength, but also of his self-will and dominating character. He fell in love with a Philistine woman, and told his father in no uncertain terms to get her for him to marry. Sadly that marriage ended in heartache, as Samson’s wife went off with the so-called friend who had been best-man at the wedding. Sometime later Samson fell in love with another Philistine woman by the name of Delilah, which leads us to our next heading:-
Baiting – Judges 16 Verses 4 to 19
Delilah was obviously “hand in glove” with the leaders of her nation, and she did her best to discover the secret of Samson’s great strength. He resisted the temptation to tell her that he was committed to no alcohol and no razor, giving her several false leads. Each time he tried to lead her along a blind alley, she told the Philistines what Samson had shared with her as the secret of his strength. This should have alerted Samson to the fact that she was being unfaithful to him, but they say ”love is blind”, and in the end he told her that if his head was shaved he would be “like any other man”. Once again, Delilah had the Philistines lay in wait as she put him to sleep, and quickly called for a barber to shave off the seven braids of hair which singled him out from other men. Then follows one of the saddest verses in the whole of the Old Testament, for as Delilah called out to Samson that the Philistines were coming to attack him, the man to whom God had given such super-human strength, awoke from his sleep and we read “He thought ‘I will go out as before and shake myself free’. But he did not know that the LORD had left him” (Judges 16 verse 20).
Isn’t that sad! Here’s a man whom God has used powerfully in His service, whose borrowed strength has now been withdrawn, and he didn’t know it. I wonder if I’m speaking to someone today who has been used by God in His service, perhaps as a worker amongst young people, or even as a preacher of the Gospel, and your witness and work has lost its cutting edge, and you don’t even realise it. The people around you know, and of course the Lord knows, but it’s passed you by. Let’s open our hearts to the Holy Spirit today, and pray the words of Psalm 139 verse 23 “Search me, O God, and see if there is any wicked way in me”. But thankfully Samson’s story isn’t quite finished, for our next heading is …
Blinding – Judges 15 Verse 21
The Philistines had an easy task overcoming the weakened Samson, and he paid the penalty for sharing the secret of his strength with the fifth-column agent of the enemy, for they gouged out his eyes, and set him to work grinding in the prison. Here is the man who was once a champion of the people and powerful for God, now blinded by the enemy and reduced to grinding in the prison-house. What a sad picture of God’s servant. I wonder, does this describe you? Your work for God lies in ruins, you are held by our enemy, the devil, and you feel utterly useless. Samson was indeed a failure, but take heart, for he wasn’t finished, and the God who picked him up and used him against the enemy can do the same for you today. But I’m running ahead of my story, for our last heading is …
Believing – Judges 16 Verses 22 to 30
Note verse 22 very carefully! What an encouragement, for we read “But the hair on his head began to grow again”. As the curtain is pulled up on the next scene, we see the Philistines holding a great celebration in a huge national arena, and the record reads “While they were in high spirits they shouted, ‘Bring out Samson to entertain us’”. The great stadium was packed with thousands of people, including all the rulers of the Philistines, and as Samson stood between the two central pillars, to be the sport of the crowd he prayed “O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more” (verse 28).
Then, putting his trust and confidence in God, instead of in himself, he braced himself, pushed with all the God-given strength, and brought the whole stadium down upon the crowded arena. The record reads “Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived”. The oppression of Israel’s enemy had been broken, and the man who was written off by the people as a failure, was not finished in God’s book.
Don’t let the devil or the people around you write you off as a failure, and don’t write yourself off, either, for the God who sent His Son to the cross is the same One about whom it is written “God works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose” (Philippians 2 verse 13). What He requires of us is repentance for past sin and failure, a total commitment to Him and His will, and a willingness to be and to do what He wants.
May God pick you up, and use you again in His own powerful way. You may be a failure but you’re not finished!