"The Blinding of Sampson", 1636, by Rembrandt.
Judges 13:1 - 16:31 - The Story of Sampson
Samson is truly a paradox. His birth was announced by an angel, but only to pronounce the Nazirite life he should lead. He has unfathomed strength, cavorts with prostitutes, and ultimately finds his demise with a third Philistine woman, by the name of Delilah.
Samson was the last of the 12 "judges", and once again serves up a healthy dose of our propensity to stray from our Creator.
Over, and over, we read in the book of Judges, "And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of...".
I have done a great deal of head scratching, wondering the over-arching purpose of this period in the life of the Israelites. Dr. Mark Dever comes to the rescue with the following four points:
- People respond to God's blessing with sin.
- God's people respond to punishment with repentance.
- God gave them temporary deliverance through imperfect judges.
- The people needed what God would ultimately give them - a perfect Savior (Messiah).
