Sunday school pictures of Samson depict Herculean strength. We see him tear a lion apart, slay a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, walk off with the gates of Gaza upon his shoulders and we marvel at his bulging muscles. This is not how Scripture presents him. There is no evidence that Samson was any more muscular than other men. The secret of his power was not to be in well-developed biceps but in his devotion to the Lord seen in the Nazarite vow. The weakness which turned Samson’s life into a tragedy rather than a triumph, lay in his casual treatment of his Nazariteship in yielding to the flesh rather than the Spirit.
The first element in Nazariteship was abstention from wine. Interpreted this indicates that one devoted to the Lord had a source of joy above the earthly – the Nazarite was not dependent upon any stimulant of earth. While it might be hard to prove that Samson broke this element of the vow yet, it is clear, in pursuit of a Philistine woman of whom he said ‘she pleaseth me well’ he passed through the vineyards of Timnath and then arranged a seven-day feast where wine would surely flow. Self-will controlled him and in spite of scriptural prohibition, parental objection and the providential warning of the lion in the way, he was determined to take a Philistine wife. For New Testament believers the answer to self-will must be in the cross; ‘I am crucified with Christ’, Gal. 2. 20.
A Nazarite was not to be in contact with any uncleanness, even the dead body of a loved one. Interpreted this indicates that devotion to the Lord demanded a separation beyond the natural. It is strange, therefore, to find Samson handling jackals and ‘a new jawbone of an ass’, 15. 15. God did over-rule and bring deliverance yet Samson did not learn the lesson. A fleshly motive (revenge), fleshly intrigue (with his vacillating brethren) and fleshly means (the jawbone) hardly commend his service for God. In New Testament terms he had not learned the further truth of the cross – ‘They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh’, Gal. 5. 24. His love for a Philistine girl had drawn him into paths of service essentially fleshly.
