Sampson seems like quite a wild man, impulsive and vengeful. Despite these traits God uses him to free
In many artist renditions, Sampson is a hulking Adonis of a man. For example this etching is from an 1882 German Bible.
Yet I wonder…
When Sampson is about to do something of extraordinary strength the text precedes the incident with something like, “the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and…” Case in point is verses 14-15: As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.
The repeated use of the phrase indicates that Sampson’s great strength comes from God not from himself. If he looked like an Adonis then the power and strength might be attributed to Sampson himself. But if he was more normal looking who when the Spirit came upon him was empowered to do extraordinary feats, then God gains the credit.
Obviously, we have no pictures of Sampson, so we don’t know. But what is clear is that his great strength was a gift from God, not because he was some Adonis of a man.
Sampson shows us that when empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, humans can accomplish great things that are in line with God’s Will. Such is the gift of God, the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christ followers.
Lord, Jesus, show me who I can open my life more fully to the work of Your Holy Spirit. Lord, I pray for Holy Spirit empowerment. Lord, I seek the Spirit so that I can be effective in my service of You and Your kingdom. I do not seek the Spirit for personal gain or notoriety, but to serve You as the early disciples did in the Book of Acts. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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