God’s Creative Battle Plans – Samson and the Philistines
God’s Creative Battle Plans – Samson and the Philistines.
“Yahweh is a warrior! Yahweh is His Name! (Exodus 15:3).
Moses and Miriam in their famous Song at the Red Sea, were the first ones to describe the Lord as a warrior. And throughout Scripture, God was identified as a warrior ever since. The Hebrew word for warrior in this passage is “ish milhamah,” which means man of war, warrior, champion, hero, fighter, mighty man. God’s stature as a fighter was taken up by the prophets, like David, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zephaniah.
The Fierce Warrior with a Vivid Imagination. Lord Yahweh, as we would expect, was not just any common fighter. He was a warrior with the divine imagination that created completely unpredictable battle plans for every conflict between an enemy of God and His Chosen People. In Scripture, the Warrior-King was the master of unconventional warfare, unexpected schemes that would leave people scratching their heads in surprise or shaking their heads in amazement. God’s strategies were so diverse that they might appear to be random, but of course they were divinely orchestrated. His battle strategies to victory were well outside the human imagination, in such a way that the faith of His fighters on the ground was tested. It became obvious to His fighting men, though, that God was going about this battle in a completely different way than they would, and they were wise when they trusted in Him.
The Birth of a Special Son. “An angel of the Lord appeared to a woman and said to her, ‘Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean… No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hands of the Philistines… And the woman bore a son and called him Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him…” (Judges 13:3-5, 24-25).
The Riddle of Samson. When discussing a perplexing character like Samson, where do you start? Unquestionably, he was one of Scripture’s biggest mixed bags, the judge who ruled over western Israel for 20 years. On the one hand, he was touched by God’s hand in a unique way. His birth was announced not once, but twice by an angel of the Lord. There are some scholars who believe it was Jesus Himself making an appearance. The angel of the Lord gave precise instructions to the wife of Manoah about her pregnancy with this son. The boy was to be consecrated to God’s service right from the mother’s womb, dedicated to God and His purposes. The angel told her to eat kosher, drink no alcohol, and never cut the boy’s hair. That was known as a nazarite vow, and was unusual. The parents named him Samson, and he was blessed with superhuman strength in order to subdue, or at least start to subdue, their enemy the Philistines. Samson indeed killed thousands of the enemy before his career of twenty years as Judge was through. The Philistines would not be totally subdued until king David. The truth of the matter is that Samson was uniquely called and gifted by God to do His will.
Seriously Flawed. On the other hand, this special consecrated man was deeply flawed. He consorted with prostitutes. He was especially violent. He was ruled by his sensuality and arrogance. He foolishly confided in the wrong people. He chased after pagan women. But his final downfall was trusting in a woman, his latest infatuation, who would betray him to the enemy. Delilah nagged until Samson told her his secret… his unusual strength was his hair, a sign from God that he was blessed by Him. So Delilah called in the Philistines, they shaved his hair, and his strength was gone. Once able to kill a lion with his bare hands, Samson became as weak as a kitten.
And Yet Heroic. One might be puzzled by the fact that, despite his flaws, Samson was specifically mentioned for his faith in the Hebrew Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11. Samson revealed this faith in his one shining moment at the end of his life, the one time he seemed to place his trust fully in God. Despite his many failings, Samson was a certified biblical hero.
Betrayal. Since Samson lived such a dramatic life, it makes sense that his days on earth came to end with some sensational drama as well. Samson loved the deceitful Delilah, who was in cahoots with the dreaded Philistines and told them of Samson’s secret for his superhuman strength… His long hair that had never been cut. His hair was an extension, a living symbol, of his dedication to God, and so Samson would have God’s blessing of strength as long as he enjoyed his uncut hair. Delilah betrayed Samson by divulging that secret to the enemies of Israel, the Philistines. and soon Samson found himself captured by them with his first haircut.
“Then Samson called to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord God remember me I pray you, and strengthen me, I pray you, only this once, O God. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes!” And Samson cried, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’” (Judges 16:28-30).
One Last Request. Samson had been a major thorn in their side for many years, so the Philistines wanted to show off their famous prisoner. They paraded him into a massive pagan temple to celebrate Samson’s capture. The Philistines wanted to offer a sacrifice to their god Dagon in gratitude for their military victory over Samson. Their pagan temples were like our theaters nowadays. They used their temples for worshipping Dagon their chief god, and also for entertainment. They would pack the temples to enjoy blood sport, worship, and even human sacrifice. Perhaps the Philistines even were planning on sacrificing Samson after jeering at him and making a sport of humiliating him in front of all the people. Little did they know that Samson had other plans for the 3,000 Philistines in attendance. Samson asked God for just one more burst of strength, so he could push the two pillars holding up the temple and topple the whole structure.
Quite the Strategy. Sure enough, God devised the unusual battle plan against the Philistines by enabling Samson to wipe a large number of them out in one stroke. The Lord complied with Samson’s last request and down came the temple. Everyone in attendance died, including Samson, and he ended up killing more Philistines with his final act than he did during his whole lifetime. Samson died a hero, but he wasn’t a saint. He obviously had mixed motives in bringing down the temple. He wanted to slay as many Philistines as possible, yes. But he also wanted revenge for their gouging out his eyes. He was a tainted saint. But what other kind is there? He didn’t have pure motives, whether during his time in leadership or at the bitter end. But who does? We’re all mixed bags, aren’t we? And who could better typify that fact than Samson. He nonetheless kept the faith till the end, and his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness.
Samson and Delilah (If I Had My Way), a traditional gospel song by Blind Willie Johnson recorded in 1927:
Refrain: If I had my way, if I had my way, if I had my way in this wicked world, I would tear this building down.
You read about Samson, you read about his birth. He was the strongest man that ever lived on earth.
One day Samson was walking alone. He looked down on the ground and saw an old jaw bone.
And when he got to moving ten thousand was dead.
Refrain
Samson and the lion got in attack, Samson he crawled up on the lion’s back.
You read about this lion, he killed a man with his paw. Samson he got his hands around the lion’s jaw.
And he ripped that beast til the lion was dead, and the bees made honey in the lion’s head.
Refrain
Delilah was a woman, she was fine and fair. She had lovely looks, God knows, and coal black hair.
Delilah she climbed up on Samson’s knee, and said, “Tell me where your strength lies, if you please.”
She talked so fine, she talked so fair, Samson said, “Delilah, just cut off my hair.
Shave my head just as clean as your hand, and my strength will be like a natural man.”
Refrain
They shaved his head just as close as the hand. They took him down to the Philistine’s land.
They took him down to judgment hall, they blinded him and chained him to the wall.
He called out “Lord!” and his hair began to grow. He talked to a kid about three feet tall.
“Place my hands up against the wall,” and he tore that building down.
Refrain
As he was being paraded and shamed at the Philistine’s extravagant pagan ceremony in their huge temple holding thousands of the enemy, Samson asked the Lord for his strength back this one last time. Samson wanted to take down the temple and destroy the enemy there. The Lord gave Samson his strength, and he indeed tore that building down, ending his life but also the lives of the thousands of Philistines in attendance. Samson was truly heroic in his death, he rose to the occasion with his final breath. The Lord responded to Samson’s request with surprising grace, overlooking Samson’s many faults and failed potential. And that is the mystery in the life of Samson. How could someone so specially dedicated to God from birth, with unlimited potential, make such a mess of things? How could a man called and gifted so uniquely, show consistent moral weakness? And how could God graciously overlook the deeds of Samson and grant his last request at the end of his life? Truly, God’s ways are above our ways. His thoughts are above our thoughts. Only God sees the Big Picture. Come to think of it, I guess we are all mixed bags to one degree or another, aren’t we?