Dedicated to Melissa
More about Samson
Today on Choosing Peace you’ll read about three paintings, the word because, and An Old Testament Billboard.
The first painting
Last year, I received a very special gift from a very special lady—a talented artist and friend of mine, Melissa. She painted this beautiful painting of Logan and his dog Pierre, based on a photo I’d taken 10 years earlier.
Where we were
I took the photo—the one that inspired the painting—while we were camping with my sociopathic in-laws. We were in our old Airstream and they were nearby in their monstrous fifth wheel. At the time, we had no idea what we were dealing with.
Even though danger—spiritual warfare—was close by,
the most important truth was that God was there.
He gave Brandon, Logan and me the time together. He gave us the place. He gave us the sunshine. He gave us sweet Pierre. And he gave me the photo. A snapshot of a beautiful moment—filled with peace.
God was there.
How we met
And I wouldn’t have met Melissa, the artist, if it weren’t for my sociopathic mother-in-law, the artist. After my mother-in-law’s unexpected response to a gift I made for her—an elaborate photo book that I didn’t want to make—I started a small, short-lived business designing photo books. I met Melissa at a craft fair when she stopped by my booth. She won my drawing that day for a free photo book design.
God was there.
The second painting
After we found out the truth about my in-laws, Andrew and Delia, we started removing The Sociopathic Presence from our home. Brandon asked me to take down all of his mother’s paintings, which left a lot of empty places on our walls. And God filled them. One by one.
God was there.
In this post, I wrote about the painting I received after my mom died. A painting I’d never seen before. Now it hangs over our fireplace. It speaks peace and warmth to me. Strangely enough, it came from my parents, who weren’t peaceful or warm at all. They were afraid that one day someone would find out the truth about them. And I did. The narcissist and his exceedingly-quiet, codependent wife. The Non-Stop Talker and The Silent One.
Because…
Watch the unfolding of our lives and how God was working in all of it.
(1) Because we didn’t know Brandon’s parents were sociopaths, we spent time with them. (2) Because we went camping with them one November weekend, I took the photo. (3) Because I gave Delia a special photo book as a gift, she carried it around like Linus carried his blanket. (4) Because she talked about it a lot, I started a small business. (5) Because I started that business, I met Melissa. (6) Because Melissa won my drawing, I designed a photo book for her. (7) Because Melissa was impacted by her photo book, she painted that beautiful painting for me. (8) Because we found out the truth about my in-laws, we took down Delia’s paintings from our home. (9) Because my mom died, I received a beautiful antique painting. (10) Because we had empty places throughout our home, we had the perfect spot for Melissa’s painting and for the antique painting.
God was there. For all of it.
He was there in the “how” and the “when”
—as the events and the truths unfolded.
Later in this post, we’ll explore the third painting. The one of Samson.
Remembering the truth
Last time, in part 2 of The Beauty of the Bible, we started looking at Samson, one of my favorites.
At the beginning of Samson’s story, we learned this vital truth:
And the Spirit of the LORD began to direct him….
Judges 13:25a, New Heart English Bible
The Holy Spirit—the Spirit of the Lord—directed Samson’s steps.
God was there.
Because…
Because the Holy Spirit directed Samson’s steps and because it was Samson’s purpose to begin delivering the Israelites from the Philistines, Samson’s steps moved in certain directions.
(1) Because Samson saw and chose his future wife—which was God’s plan—he walked in the vineyard while going to meet her. (2) Because he walked in the vineyard, he killed the lion. (3) Because he killed the lion, God caused bees to make honey in the lion’s carcass. (4) Because Samson saw and ate the honey on his way to his wedding, he made a riddle about it. (5) Because Samson told the 30 Philistine men at his wedding feast a riddle that would cost them significant money if they couldn’t solve it, they threatened Samson’s wife with death if she didn’t find out the meaning of the riddle. (6) Because she cried and begged Samson for the answer for seven days, Samson told her. (7) Because she valued her life, Samson’s wife told the answer to her people. (8) Because the Philistines “solved” the riddle, Samson killed 30 Philistine men for their clothing—to honor his word and fulfill the debt of the riddle. (9) Because Samson’s wife betrayed him, Samson left, temporarily. (10) Because Samson left, his wife was given to Samson’s best man. (11) Because Samson was livid and decimated the Philistine crops with the foxes-on-fire, the Philistines murdered Samson’s wife and her father. (12) Because they murdered his wife, Samson killed many of them.
I could go on, but you get the point.
All the while, Samson was fulfilling his God-given purpose—to begin the deliverance of his people from their enemies.
Q&A
Who helped Samson capture 300 foxes—which is unfathomable? God did. Who gave Samson a way or a place to corral the 300 foxes? God did. Who gave Samson the materials for 150 torches and a way to tie the foxes’ tails together in pairs? God did.
Who gave Samson the power and strength to kill the lion; and then the 30 men; and the next group, which was even larger; and ultimately—a thousand men with the donkey’s jawbone? God did.
And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him—to kill the lion with his bare hands [Judges 14:6a].
The Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him—to kill the 30 men [Judges 14:19a].
…and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him—to kill a thousand men with the donkey’s jawbone [Judges 15:14b].
God gives his power to people so his will—his purpose—will be accomplished.
God was there. In power.
A thousand men and other numbers
Did you notice that each time, Samson fought against a greater number of enemies? One lion. Thirty men. More men. A thousand men.
Your turn
In your life, how has God prepared you and strengthened you for increasing battles, challenges or responsibilities? Take out your journal and reflect on that. How? What did you learn or gain from those earlier experiences that served you mightily later? What truths—about God and about yourself—have been revealed?
More questions
How long did it take Samson to kill a thousand men with the jawbone of a donkey? Were the men in a small area or were they far apart? Did Samson move with lightning-fast, Holy Spirit speed or with human speed? Hmmm. We know that the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him.
The Spirit of the Lord “rushing upon” someone is a remarkable thing. This wording is used three times about Samson, two times about King Saul, and once about David—after he was anointed, but before he became king. (David’s experience was unique and beyond our comprehension. It was a perpetual, ongoing rushing of the Spirit.) That’s it. Six times in the whole Bible (ESV). And three times out of the six—the Spirit rushed on Samson.
God was there. In rushing, mind-blowing, mighty power.
The judge
Samson’s story is chronicled in the book of Judges because he was the judge—the leader—over the nation of Israel.
He judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Judges 15:20, New Heart English Bible
Why was Samson’s role as the judge over the nation of Israel mentioned for the first time at this point in his story—after he killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey? I don’t know. Did Samson become the judge over Israel at birth? How long had he been the leader of Israel when he met his wife? How long was it between the day when Samson first saw her in Timnah and his vengeance with the jawbone? Less than a year? We don’t know.
That’s okay. We know the important things—God’s purpose for Samson, that he blessed Samson, and he directed Samson’s steps.
God was there. In purpose. In blessing. In power.
The third painting
The other day, my pal Charlene and I were talking about the painting of Samson featured in the last post. The artist, Valentin de Boulogne, included the jawbone of the donkey in his painting.
Peaceful Readers, I had a hard time finding this painting. I looked and looked and looked. Most illustrations and paintings of Samson are all about his muscles, his hair or a scantily-clad Delilah. And here’s the thing. The Bible doesn’t tell us that Samson had massive muscles. His strength came from God. It’s easy for us to picture someone a certain way based on that person’s story or based on the illustrations and paintings we’ve seen.
Honoring Samson
I was relieved and so grateful when I found this beautiful painting because it honors Samson deeply. Samson the man, not Samson the character. His hair disappears into the dark background. He’s respectfully clothed. What grabs me in this painting is Samson’s face. His wife was murdered by being burned to death. That’s gruesome. Samson killed many of Israel’s enemies, the Philistines—the people who had ruled over them Samson’s whole life. This season of his life—or perhaps his whole life—was filled with conflict, violence and strife. The artist, Valentin de Boulogne, captured these truths in Samson’s face.
Last time
If you missed the last post, it’s a must-read about what went down before Samson was born, his purpose, and the incredible unfolding of events in his life—up to the massacre with the jawbone.
God was there. For all of it.
The prostitute, the doors and the beginning of the end
After we’re told that Samson led Israel for 20 years, we read the next chapter of his story.
And Samson went from there to Gaza, and saw a prostitute there, and went in to her. And it was reported to the Gazites, saying, “Samson is here.” They surrounded him, and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city, and were quiet all night, saying, “Wait until morning light, then we will kill him.” Now Samson rested until midnight, but got up at midnight and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is overlooking Hebron, and set them down there.
It came to pass afterward, that he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
Judges 16:1-4, New Heart English Bible
Because God loves us and made us in his image, we know that he doesn’t approve of prostitution, trafficking, slavery, etc. As a matter of fact, kidnapping was a capital offense in the Old Testament—and rightly so. People aren’t commodities or products to be bought or sold. That is an abomination to the Lord.
Nevertheless, after Samson visited a prostitute, he kicked the Philistines in the face—again—by carrying off the doors of the gate of Gaza, one of their major cities. And he plopped the doors down on top of a mountain overlooking Hebron, an important Judean city. In other words, Samson said loud and proud: “I’m showing my people that I just kicked you in the face.” That cracks me up. Think of it as An Old Testament Billboard.
The final chapter
See this excerpt from Judges 16 for the final chapter of Samson’s life. Here’s a quick summary.
The betrayal and what Samson lost
After Delilah found out the source of Samson’s strength and betrayed him, she collected her payoff from the Philistines. Samson’s hair was cut/shaved off. When he woke up, Samson figured this scene would be a replay of what went down at Lehi, when the ropes fell off his arms. But things were different this time. Very different. His hair was gone and so was his strength. This next part may have been, eventually, the biggest shock of all.
But he didn’t know that the LORD had departed from him.
Judges 16:20c, New Heart English Bible
The Philistines grabbed Samson and gouged out his eyes. Mercy. That grosses me out. Then they put him in prison, where he worked to grind their grain. No Delilah. No eyes. No strength. No freedom. No presence of the Lord. It looked like everything was over for Samson—but his biggest moment was yet to come.
The victory celebration
The Philistines celebrated their victory over Public Enemy #1: Samson.
The lords of the Philistines gathered [their people] together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon, and to celebrate; for they said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.”
Judges 16:23, New Heart English Bible
About 3,000 people were standing on the roof of the massive structure. We have no idea how many people were gathered inside, but we know that all the lords of the Philistines—all their leaders—were there.
The call to the Lord
Samson’s hair—the physical requirement for his supernatural strength and the evidence of his Nazarite vow—had started to grow back.
Samson called to the LORD, and said, “Lord GOD, please remember me, and please strengthen me only this once, God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.”
Judges 16:28, New Heart English Bible
The ultimate defeat
And the Lord did what only he can do. He heard Samson, he remembered Samson and he strengthened Samson, who was standing between the two main pillars of the structure, with one hand on each pillar.
Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life.
Judges 16:30, New Heart English Bible
The Philistines were partying down at their massive Everybody-Who’s-Anybody-Will-Be-Here Victory Celebration. And moments later, they were all dead. Unbeknownst to them, God was there. The One True God. And it was a victory of epic proportions for God Almighty and his chosen people—the children of Israel.
God always has the last word. And he will be victorious.
Samson’s purpose—fulfilled
Remember the purpose of Samson’s life.
And he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines (Judges 13:5c, NHEB).
He shall begin….
Two ways
Samson fulfilled God’s mighty and amazing purpose for his life two ways—in his life and in his death. In his death, Samson took down thousands of his nation’s enemies, the Philistines, including all of their leaders. All of them.
That would be like a take-down of all of Washington, D.C.; Hollywood; Big Tech; Big Pharma; mainstream media; all business leaders; all civic leaders; all military leaders; all religious leaders; etc. All at once. It’s impossible for us to fathom the fallout. And the victory over evil.
Last word
Zephaniah gives us the Bible’s last verse about the Philistines.
Woe to the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites. The word of the LORD is against you, Canaan, the land of the Philistines. I will destroy you, that there will be no inhabitant.
Zephaniah 2:5, New Heart English Bible
And they’re gone.
Why?
Why did God take the Philistines out? Because they were evil. Because they poisoned his people with their ways. Because they fought against the Israelites—and tormented them. Because they were pagans who were never going to leave the darkness and come to the light.
Because God loves his people. A loving father protects his own.
God was there.
Commissioned, created and commemorated
An angel announced Samson’s purpose to his mother before he was conceived. Samson was created by God during a violent, high-anxiety time for the nation of Israel. They were under Philistine rule as punishment for their own sin and idolatry. And it was our loving God’s plan to deliver them. To save them.
Samson—commissioned and created by God—began that deliverance. Empowered by the Spirit of the Lord, Samson killed thousands of Philistines, including all of their leaders.
The hall of faith
Just in case Bible readers skipped the book of Judges and the story of Samson—or perhaps got lost in the drama and missed The Big Picture—Samson is commemorated forever in Hebrews 11, in The Hall of Faith.
And what more should I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets; who, through faith subdued kingdoms, worked out righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, grew mighty in war, and caused foreign armies to flee.
Hebrews 11:32-24, New Heart English Bible
I love this little aside in verse 28 (NHEB) of Hebrews 11—“(of whom the world was not worthy).” God’s word tells us that the world wasn’t worthy of Samson. Amen!
Peaceful Readers, when a pastor at our old church dissed Samson from the pulpit—at length—it burned me up. Samson is in The Hall of Faith! It isn’t called The Hall of Perfection. Besides, Samson utterly and royally fulfilled God’s purpose for his life.
The official record
In the book of Judges, three different judges are mentioned right before the story of Samson. Those three judges ruled Israel for a total of 25 years, and they got one short paragraph each. Samson’s story fills four chapters.
Clearly, we’re advised by the detail and the power of God
revealed through Samson’s life and death to take note of him.
I guess that’s why I wrote about Samson first out of my 12 favorite Bible stories. I really wanted to dig into his story. What an amazing man. What an amazing story. What an amazing victory over evil.
Let me say this for The Official Frankie Ann Record. When I get to heaven, I look forward—greatly—to visiting with Samson and hearing much more about his life, if he’s at liberty to tell me. Samson rocks.
Wrap-up
Peaceful Readers, I hope you were blessed today by Samson—the painting of him, the end of his story and his place in The Hall of Faith.
What did you learn about God from the story of Samson? I learned a lot about God’s purpose, his presence, his power—and his protection of his people.
The song and scripture below remind me of the humility and dependence of Samson’s final prayer. What a beautiful prayer it was.
Coming next: I have no idea which one of my 12 favorite Bible stories will come next. We’ll both be surprised. Until then, thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Blessed by truth and music
Peaceful Readers, I’m deeply blessed by God’s word and music. I hope the scripture and song that I share at the end of each post will bless you too.
Truth from The Word: John 15:4-5
Song: “Abide” by Dwell Songs, featuring Aaron Williams