“If only we had a strong leader during this time of crisis! Then we wouldn’t have any reason to fear.” Maybe that thought has crossed your mind lately, or maybe you’ve heard someone else express such sentiments.

Well, the Ancient Israelites had problems that are just as big as ours – they had been invaded and ruled by the Philistines for 40 years (Judges 13:1). And the Philistines weren’t just better warriors than the Israelites. And they didn’t just have war chariots, the most fearsome weapons on the battlefields of the day. They also had mastered the art of forging iron, while the Israelites remained stuck in the Bronze Age. In short, no matter how you looked at the situation, the Israelites were hopelessly outclassed.

Oh, but they had a leader, a true superman. Samson possessed unimaginable strength – he could tear a lion apart with his bare hands (Judges 14:6). On one occasion, the only weapon he had was the jawbone of a donkey – but the iron weapons of the Philistines were no match for him as he mowed down 1000 of them. You couldn’t ask for anything more, even from a Hollywood action hero.

So, why did Samson only begin the process of delivering the Israelites from the Philistines (Judges 13:5)? Why was it left for David to finish the job, many years later? Because, as Samson’s story shows and as history has proven time and time again, sinful human beings often squander the gifts God has given us. Simply put, Samson had the ability but not the desire to use his great strength to deliver his people.

Worse yet, Samson seems to have gone out of his way to disdain God’s gifts. An angel had told his mother that he was to be a Nazirite, set apart for God’s service by an especially holy way of life. But although Nazirites were not supposed to touch anything dead (Numbers 6:6), Samson casually scooped a honeycomb out of the carcass of the lion he had torn apart (Judges 14:9). Yes, Samson allowed himself to be ruled by his appetites, desiring a Philistine girl just because she looked good to him (Judges 14:3), even though no Israelite was supposed to take a wife from among unbelievers (Deuteronomy 7:3).

Yes, it’s easy to blame Samson for his shortcomings. But are we really doing any better? God has given us American Christians an amount of education and wealth and freedom that is simply unmatched in the history of the Church. But are we any more willing to turn away from our own desires, any more determined to advance God’s kingdom than Samson was?

Judges 14:1-9 (NASB)

Then Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.
2 So he came back and told his father and mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.”
3 Then his father and his mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she looks good to me.”
4 However, his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.
5 Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion came roaring toward him.
6 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, so that he tore him as one tears a kid though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.
7 So he went down and talked to the woman; and she looked good to Samson.
8 When he returned later to take her, he turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion.
9 So he scraped the honey into his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey out of the body of the lion.