Pharos Journal of Theology (Nov 2021)
Lessons from the life of Samson on battling with harassing iniquities
Abstract
The story of Samson one of the Israelite judges emanating from the tribe of Dan, was a Nazirite and it is indeed an intriguing one in the book of Judges. Klein (1988) alerts us that an even superficial reading of the book demonstrates that the epic is far more biographical in nature than any of the earlier chapters tends to be. Samson’s sensual attachment to women are they stuff that legends are made of. The last glimpse we have of Samson is of a man who seemed to have put his act together. We earlier saw Samson calling on the Lord in humility. He prayed to God and God ultimately delivered him from death through a great miracle. That story ends with Samson having judged Israel for 20 years. Crenshaw (1978) contends that Samson was indeed one through whom God would “begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5). However, after a period of peace and steadfast service, Samson sadly falls once again into his old ways. His old passions rise to the surface and Samson once again finds himself entangled in a web of sin. Samson may have been a powerful man physically, but he was to intents and purposes a moral weakling. He may have demonstrated his power time and again over the enemies of the Lord, but he was helpless against the power of his mortal flesh. It also is evident from books preceding Judges, that the wickedness of the Israelites validates Israel’s subjugation to the Philistines. Thus, we see that sin is punished and that unrighteous dealings lead a nation or an individual to destruction. As a judge, Samson was invariably unsuccessful in delivering what the Lord required of him and he thus brought destruction on himself (Bar, 2020). This article based on an exegetical methodology considered mainly historical context and it unpacks how failing to serve God ultimately leads to one battling with harassing iniquities which ultimately lead to destruction. It serves as a model of how we ought to seek to serve God in a spirit of obedience.
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