‘And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he (Samson) drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore; it is at Lehi to this day.’ (Judges 15:19).

There’s a saying, ‘they don’t make them like they used to.’ That phrase could be applied to the action movies of the 80s with their larger than life characters which were usually played by someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone. The plots were simple, the hero was seriously wronged, or someone in their family was kidnapped or threatened. The hero would then go on the rampage destroying the equivalent of a small country to get justice!I can’t help thinking that Samson almost falls into that category. We’ve already seen that he’s a maverick, he does his own thing and he doesn’t seem too worried about the consequences! So, how do we evaluate Samson in his role as a judge and therefore God’s servant?

But whatever we think about Samson, he’s not holding a grudge. The wedding may not have gone to plan, but Samson turns up on his father in law’s doorstep with a goat in lieu of flowers. He’s probably thinking, their make a fresh start, they’ll have a bit of a BBQ and consummate the marriage like nothing’s ever happened (v1). But his father-in-law informs him that his wife is now married his best man, and anyway, isn’t her younger sister better looking (v2)?

Once again, Samson’s character can be summed up in a sentence. ‘And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm” (v3). At the best, this could be seen as an admission that the Philistines didn’t quite merit the treatment he dished out on them last time (14:19). But it also illustrates Samson’s character. Let’s contrast it with another action hero from the Bible. David’s first words in scripture are concerned for the Lord’s honour (Samuel 17:26). Samson’s words here are concerned with avenging some hurt he somehow feels that the Philistines have inflicted on him!

Samson’s revenge is both ingenious, and incredibly cruel where the foxes are concerned (vs64-5). Not surprisingly the burning of their crops annoys the Philistines greatly. This action proves, once again, that Samson acts impulsively and doesn’t think things through as he may have got his revenge, but his would be wife and her family die for it (v6)! After another confrontation with the Philistines Samson retreats (vs7-8).

But now there’s a major problem as the men of Judah now find themselves on the end of Philistine aggression. Finding out Samson is responsible, 3000 men  go to find him. That made me wonder if they weren’t sure what kind of mood they’d find him in, testifying to his volatile nature. However, they find Samson in, what for him, is a more reflective mood. Asked why he started all this trouble, his answer again shows his impulsive childish nature as he more or less says well it’s just a case of tip for tat’ (v9-11). After a promise that they won’t kill him, but just hand him over to the Philistines, Samson agrees to go with them (vs12-13). But it’s a sad situation as, whatever we think of Samson, he is the one who is to start the deliverance of the Lord’s people (13:5) and here are the Lord’s people collaborating with the enemy!

However, the Philistines completely misjudged the situation. They may be excited at the sight of their enemy being delivered to them securely tied up, but they’ve left the Lord out of the equation! It’s notable that their last tussle with Samson (v8) did not involve the Spirit of the Lord coming upon him. But now they’re in for an unpleasant surprise as the ‘Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him and the ropes that are on his arms became as flax that has caught fire and his bonds melted off his hands’ (v14).

What happens next demonstrates that although Samson may have had an impressive physique, we get demonstrations of his exceptional strength when the Spirit of the Lord hasn’t come upon him elsewhere, but when it does the results are exceptional! Like the best action heroes Samson improvises, by using the jawbone of a donkey that’s lying around. A 1000 Philistines bite the dust, and, again, like the best action heroes, Samson has a nifty one liner: “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men” (v16). A very literal translation, has a humorous touch to it as this is pretty much a pun when it’s translated. ‘With the jawbone of ass I have piled them in a mass.’ The place is named in honour of the event reminding us this is history (v17).

Samson’s spiritual journey seems to have been a long and difficult one. He acknowledges that he is the Lord’s servant, despite having followed his own desires most of the time. But there’s a sense in verse 16 of him almost saying “I’ve done the first bit for you Lord, now you’ve got to help me out” which the Lord very graciously does.

The passage seems to end on a rather odd note where Samson is concerned. ‘And he (Samson) judged Israel in the days of the Philistines for twenty years’ (v20). This might cause us to think, hold on a minute we haven’t got to the well-known part of Samson’s story yet. But I think the writer might be making a sly point here. We are yet to meet the Samson that is listed among the ‘Heroes of faith’ in Hebrews 11:32 as that is yet to come!