Samson in the Bible
Samson’s life was filled with adventure as God blessed him and gave him strength to become one of the judges of Israel. Yet, he squandered all of his potentials and abdicated his responsibilities as a judge of Israel because he became proud of his strength and disobeyed God. Samson’s parents came from the tribe of Dan in Israel. Although his mother was sterile, she conceived Samson as a result of direct intervention from God. Even at a young age, the spirit of God was already evident in the life of Samson. This happened at a time when the Israelites were not following the statutes and the decrees of God.
Samson was to become one of the leaders of the people and deliver them from oppression of foreigners. God gave Samson immense strength. While he was on the road one day, he encountered a lion, which he killed with his bare hands. Such was his strength that his potentials were definitely from God. Yet, Samson had one fatal flaw – his weakness for women. Because of women, he disobeyed the will of his parents and eventually was led away from his calling as a judge of Israel. The first occasion when he displayed this weakness was when he saw a Philistine woman and became obsessed with her.
He engaged into a riddle with a hefty sum of properties as prize with the men of Ashkelon. The men, however, coaxed his wife to reveal the answer to them. Because Samson was so angry, he killed a lot of the men in that place. When he also learned that his wife was given to another man, he wrought havoc against the fields of the Philistines. As a result, the Philistines came against him. As a result, he set a trap for them. He allowed himself to be bound. But later on, he managed to get away from the rope and kill the men who went against him. His victory against the Philistines was brought about by God.
Samson even saw a source of water when he was already very thirsty. After the incident with the Philistines, he became enamored with a prostitute and the men of the town decided to trap him in that place. Yet, his great strength aided him against their trap and managed to get away from them. The turning point in Samson’s life was his love affair with Delilah. Little did he know that Delilah was being used by his enemies all over again. He did not learn from his previous experiences and instead allowed his emotions and passions to cloud his wits.
Not even once did he suspect Delilah to be the spy of his enemies. So great was his obsession for Delilah that he revealed the secret of his strength with her after several prodding. The end result was his imprisonment and being cut off from his family and his country. During his imprisonment, Samson called out to God during his distress and asked Him to bless him with strength although his hair was no longer long. God granted his request and for a final time, Samson brought havoc and destruction to the enemies of his people. Samson knew his calling as a judge.
As a man, he was always aggressive and on the lookout for the next beauty to pursue. Perhaps, the reason why he behaved the way he did is that he was looking for adventure and he thought he will find it in the arms of the women that he loved. Perhaps he fell easily in love and after that, he became blinded to that love. A lot of people are just like Samson. They have great potentials and strength. They know that they are called to do good for God and their people. Yet, they choose to go their own way, choose their own paths that eventually lead to destruction.
When people start doing as Samson did, they become blinded to whatever it is that they fall in love with—money, fame, power, other people—and forget about their mission in life. The end result is disaster and ensnarement with the effects and consequences of such choices. Some author may have considered Samson as a sociopath with anti-social personality disorder. This may seem to account for his aggressive behavior, his deceit, impulsiveness and even violence. Although this analysis may seem scientific and related to psychology, but Samson’s personality and impulses is similar to what most individuals encounter.
Samson was aware of God’s calling in his life and he even calls out to God when he is deeply in need. Yet, like most men, he has lust for women and he is doing what he can to impress them and win them over. Likewise, he tends to be boastful and arrogant of the strength that he has, a trait which a lot of men display. Another possible reason why he engaged in his acts was loneliness. Calling that “antisocial” might seem more scientific. Yet, men who experience loneliness may try prostitution and other act just to get over with it.
The bottom line is that Samson is an individual who was given immense strength and the potential to lead his people and overthrow the oppressors of his nation. Yet, because of his obsession with women, his lust, his aggressiveness and impulsiveness, he did not fulfill the role prepared for him. Individuals all over the world display just the same kind of attitudes and recklessness. The end result of such attitude and actions is an array of consequences and difficult circumstances. From Samson, individuals may learn that pursuing one’s passions and obsessions lead to harm.
