God is God in spite of who we are.

And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.

Judges 16:30

It is hard to make sense of the Samson biography. It is a tragedy of heroic proportions. He is the least likable judge, though his story starts out like he ought to get superhero treatment. But Samson was ultimately a sick, selfish disappointment... a waste of so much potential. He was the weakest strong man ever. He was a lifelong rebel whom God chose to still empower. He didn’t really lead Israel in any way, choosing always to promote his own selfish ambitions and image. He wasn’t a military leader, a political leader, definitely not a spiritual leader, and even Israel at one point just wanted to hand him over to the Philistines! Yet God used his life sovereignly to keep the Philistines from overwhelming Israel. 

Samson lived on sick jokes, sadistic actions, and psychotic threats. He spent more time partying with the Philistines than he spent praying in worship with the Israelites. He wrote sick poetry over his violent exploits. He seems more serial killer than savior.

Everywhere Samson went he racked up an 80’s action movie body count in his wake. It started with a lion that attacked him (Judges 14:6). It quickly escalated to thirty men in one night (Judges 14:19). Then he captured and tortured 300 wild foxes in an act of animal cruelty and mass arson that destroyed an entire agricultural economy (Judges 15:4-5). This led to an encounter where he killed something over 1000 people, bashing them to death with a donkey’s jawbone (Judges 15:25-16) like some sort of primal raging animal. Samson was one sick, sick dude.

In the final act of Samson’s life he started hanging out exclusively with Philistine prostitutes. Nothing holy about that... and his favorite was Delilah, who conspired his demise with Philistine leaders who figured out Samson’s weakness. He gave in to her seductions, thinking himself invincible. And once the Spirit of God finally left him, he was weak. Only at the end, when he truly asked of God one last time did God use the broken man a final time so that in death, he brought down more Philistines than in life, in a staggering violent house party collapse that killed 3000.

What’s the possible point of Samson’s story? He is not the true savior. You can’t save yourself or others by your own power. That just brings more sickness and sin. Yet God can choose to use the worst actions of the worst people to accomplish His sovereign purposes. Samson was a failed savior in many ways, but there is One Who is a true and better Savior. Jesus is our strong Lord. Jesus trusted His father. Jesus stretched forth His hands and took the blows that nailed Him to the cross to die, not to avenge people, but to take the wrath of God so that lives might be saved, not taken. And Jesus accomplished the most in His death, saving a world. He is the true, strong, promised Savior. He truly kept all that God demanded of the One Who would save His people.