WHO GAVE SAMSON SUPERNATURAL
STRENGTH TO KILL?

One of the most famous or shall we say infamous characters in the book of Judges is Samson. His enduring fame is mainly due to the incredible strength he displayed on several occasions. While preparing to teach a class on this man's life I called a friend in Seattle to get some ideas. I was really surprised to hear my friend tell me that Samson was probably the result of Jewish fable/myth devised by the bored scribes of Israel who were constantly seeking stories, true or not, which they could use to illustrate and emphasize the superior power of their invisible Hebrew deity, Jehovah. I prayed and asked the Lord to help me prove from the Bible that Samson was not a myth but really existed.

My mind was directed to Hebrews 11:32. "And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak and of Samson and of Jephtahe; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets." If Paul believed Samson was just as real a character as Gideon, David and many other Bible characters this was good enough for me. The book of Judges has 21 chapters and covers the time period following the death of Joshua (1427 BC) until the birth of Samuel (1171 BC). These dates are based upon Bishop Ussher's chronology. Although he was not infallible his dates are accurate enough to give us a good idea of the period in which Samson lived.

The class I was asked to teach happened to be Spanish, so, of course, I had to study from the Spanish quarterly. Although this language gave me a few new insights I ultimately had to go to the original Hebrew to find the exact meanings I was looking for in a couple of key texts which answered the main questions I believed needed to be dealt with in this amazing story.

The first point was that Samson's father, like the Israelites in general, believed Jehovah God was a mighty warrior king who killed and destroyed those who disobeyed or displeased him. Even Moses believed this as we read in Deut. 32. The angel who announced Samson's birth to Manoah's wife appeared twice. The second time as a result of Manoah's prayer to the Lord that He would send the angel again to give more instruction. Once again the angel repeated the instructions that their child was to be a Nazarite all of his life which meant he was to never cut his hair or eat any fruit of the vine, especially wine or strong drink. The only vow Samson observed was that of letting his hair grow. He drank strong drink and committed fornication. The word used for feast is "mishteh," meaning a drinking bout.

After the angel finished his message and left, the father's fear of a destructive God overwhelmed him and he told his wife that he was sure they were going to die because they had "seen God." Just as Satan was able to deceive all of humanity beginning with Adam so he was able to whisper into Samson's ear: Samson, you can do anything you want...just don't cut your hair, and I will make you so powerful you will be able to destroy all your enemies with your bare hands. There was nothing magical about his hair. This is the real myth regarding the story of Samson. The angel did not say that this was to be a secret or that if he let his hair grow long God would give him supernatural strength. This is the lie Samson came to believe and which he shared with delilah. But in reality this was nothing but supposition based upon scriptures that do not exist. Yes, he was to be a Nazarite. This is true but no one in this sect ever claimed to have super natural strength because of his long hair. Nevertheless, Samson came to believe this was the secret of his success. Satan was glad to use Samson like a puppet, giving him abnormal, demonic strength to destroy. We have all heard of demon possessed people who have performed extra-ordinary feats of strength.

Even David and some of his men accomplished great feats of strength which are recorded in I Chron. 11:20-25. Abishai killed three hundred men with a spear. Benaiah also possessed more than normal strength. Besides killing two lion-like men of Moab he slew a lion in a pit on a snowy day. Later he slew an Egyptian of great stature who was five cubits tall, I Chron. 11:23. A cubit was 18 to 22 inches long. If you figure the cubit at 20 inches the man would have been over 8 feet tall. If you figure it at 22 inches the man would have been over 9 feet tall. Patriarchs and Prophets, pg. 567 tells us that Samson had a "giant form." I Sam. 17:4 informs us that Goliath was in height 6 cubits and a span. A span was at least 9 inches. Using the same estimates as before and adding 9 inches Goliath was right about 11 feet tall. The question will surely come from someone: Did God help David to kill Goliath?

The situation with David and Goliath is different than it was with Samson in that David did not need supernatural strength to kill the giant but only a steady and deadly aim from his trusty sling-shot. David was already an excellent marksman who regularly killed animals who tried to destroy his flock. But I believe the critical difference was that David's ego was not involved in this encounter. His only desire was to defend the Name of Jehovah whose sacred Name Goliath was blaspheming. God protected David throughout his entire life. No man ever laid a hand upon him in peace or war. Symbolically speaking, David was a type of Christ, in that He never lost a battle. Nevertheless, he did not understand the true character of God. The same is true with Elijah who killed 450 prophets of Baal. This was not done out of anger, spite, revenge or ego. Still Elijah did not understand the character of God. But I believe he learned shortly after the Mt. Carmel experience when he ran away from Jezebel and lived up in the mountains. There God revealed Himself to Elijah as a non-destructive Saviour who communicates to us in a still small voice.

In contrast to David and Elijah, Samson was filled with pride from day one and continually glorified himself and indulged himself in sensual lusts and feasting. His bitter and revengeful spirit remained unconquered to the very end when he prayed to God to let him die with his final victims. In spite of these failures, and his suicide, Samson is mentioned in Paul's hall of heroes in Heb. 11. What a testimony to God's power to save to the uttermost and his plan to reconcile all in the ages to come. He is calling us today to look into His beautiful face and behold His everlasting glory. He will not hurt or destroy you as most religions teach today including God's professed people. For example, the Adult Lesson quarterly on the book of Judges for April, May and June, 1996 take the position that the true God endowed Samson with supernatural/power to destroy his enemies. Page 77. This is a grave fallacy and misunderstanding based on the idea that the title "Lord" always refers to the true God. This is just one of the reasons. I will go into more detail on the two Lords later in this article.

Another reason for this misunderstanding of God's non-destructive character comes from a wrong interpretation of Exodus 33:20. "And He (God) said, Thou (Moses) cannot not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live." This statement requires spiritual understanding because it is equally true that no man can see God and die. Where in the Bible is the record of anyone seeing God and falling dead? Where in the OT is the text which tells us that anyone ever died because they went into the most holy place? Nadab and Abihu were killed, evidently in the holy place, because they "offered unauthorized fire before the Lord." Lev. 10:1 NIV. In my books and articles on the sanctuary service I go into great detail to show that God never, ever commanded Adam or any of his descendants to kill animals for the purpose of sacrifice or food. This was something that was introduced by Lord Satan. Isa. 1:10-12; 66:1-4 and Jer. 7:21 is sufficient to prove God never commanded, required or demanded animals to be sacrificed. So, the Lord who sent literal fire on Aaron's drunken sons was Diablo (Satan) because God is not the author of literal fire in this world. The burning bush in Moses' day and the tongues of fire on Pentecost reveal the truth about God's fire. It has the appearance of fire but is not literal but a symbol of God's presence, love and truth.

When Christ was upon earth did he ever preach a funeral sermon? Not one. He certainly stopped a few and even raised Lazarus from the dead. Every funeral He came near was broken up by His raising the dead back to life again.

Beloved, the real truth of the matter is that, it is not the person who dies when a man sees God. IT IS HIS CORRUPTION AND THE CARNAL NATURE WITHIN HIM THAT DIES. In a sentence, it is carnality and sin that dies. Paul said, "I die daily." I Cor. 15:31. It is our links and bondages to the world that perish. Prior to our seeing God, we bore the image of the earthly. After we experience Jesus' wonderful presence in our lives, when He comes into our heart, we bear the image of the heavenly. So, it is true that no man can see God and live as he once was because from the ashes of his dead self a new man arises in the image of Christ. The more death there is to self, by dying daily, the more life there is in God as we behold His glorious face and progress in our daily walk with Him from one glorious revelation of His character to another...always walking forward and upward each day with Jesus who keeps on revealing more and more of Himself to us as we continue to grow up into His full stature and reflect His beautiful likeness more and more unto the perfect day because by beholding we become changed. "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed (die), that henceforth we should not serve sin." Rom. 6:6.

It is this false understanding of God's character that caused all of the problems in the world of the Old Testament. And as we shall see it was at the root of all of Samson's problems. Two texts help us to begin to unravel the mystery. "And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him." Judges 13:24. Now, which Lord do you suppose this is? How can we tell? Because this Lord "blesses" Samson we know it is the true God or Lord because the false, pretender Lord never blesses people. Now, let's go to the next verse. "And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him (Samson) at times in the camp of Dan between Zaprah and Eshtaol." V. 25.

Now, let's study the key word in the above text. "Move," is that key word because it is going to help us identify the Lord who is beginning to "move" Samson. The Hebrew word "Paam," means to "tap, i.e. beat regularly; hence (gen.) to impel or agitate:--move, trouble." The commentary adds to these meanings, "disturb and disquiet." Now, just what was this "Lord" moving Samson to do? The answer to this question clearly reveals which Lord was moving and controlling Samson. And of course, the answer is that Lord Satan was impatiently tapping out a military drum beat in Samson's mind to become a mighty warrior of destruction on the battlefield. Now, we all know the official teaching of the SDA Church is that God destroys. This is very clear. There is no doubt about that anymore than there could be any doubt about their stand on abortion and now homosexuality. Let us weep between the porch and altar for truly the glory of the Lord has departed. Jesus no longer abides with this religious organization as EGW has told us in 2T 441, 442; 8T 250.

Lest there be any doubt as to the denominational stand regarding which Lord was "moving" Samson to destroy human life let us read the exact comments as they have been recorded in the SDA Bible Commentary, page 386 of Vol. 2. Began to move him. The Hebrew verb means 'to disturb' 'to disquiet,' to agitate." (Now, please notice carefully the following explanation/comment) Promptings from the Lord began to stir him up to agitate his mind to plan action against the oppression of the Philistines. Samson felt impelled to exercise his unusual strength in deeds of valor. AT TIMES. Some have thought that Samson used his unusual strength at times in this period to perform deeds of valor that the author does not describe.

Notice that the commentary calls Samson's murderous deeds, "acts of valor." This really reveals organized religion's penchant and need for a "Rambo" God. It also reveals the shallow conception SDA church theologians, past and present, have of God's true character. Valor is defined as "boldness or firmness in braving danger; heroic courage." How much courage does it require to take a modern machine gun and mow down countless human beings. Let me ask you what John Rambo's real motive was in the movie, "FIRST BLOOD?" All you have to do is look in Stallone's face and you will know the answer. His heart was filled with anger, fear and hatred. The real hero in the film was the Colonel who was finally able to talk Rambo into surrendering before he finished off the sheriff and countless others. Unfortunately, organized religion today views the God of the Old Testament as a mighty hero who destroyed His enemies with "courage, valor and justice." Jesus revealed to the Jewish leaders that this very God they were serving was the Devil. John 8:44.

The first record of Samson having supernatural strength was on the occasion when a young lion roared against him. It does not say the lion attacked him although that was undoubtly its intention. But Samson didn't give this lion a chance to do anything and "rent him as he would have rent a kid." The LB says that he "ripped the lion's jaws apart." This may have been the first indication to Samson himself of the incredible strength available to him when the "spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily." Compare this story to Daniel in the Lion's den. Dan. 6. What a difference between Samson and Daniel's character. Contemplate for a moment the contrast between Joseph's patient submission in Egypt and Daniel's "excellent spirit" in Babylon. What a contrast to the cocky, know it all, selfish, carnally minded, angry and revengeful spirit Samson displayed all throughout his life. In spite of this, he never abandoned his belief in Israel's invisible God and never knew His true character and this is the reason he ended up first in bondage grinding grain like an animal and finally a suicide under the rubble of Dagon's temple at Gaza.

This is also true of Israel as a nation throughout their bloody, war-stained history. It is even true of David although he was more humble. Killing was a normal part of life in this particular era of church history. But when Jesus came He lived and taught a non-violent life-style. Although the disciples did not understand this concept at first, especially Peter, they all finally accepted and taught this doctrine. Eventually, Jesus' non-violent principles were almost totally forgotten and abandoned until today. The majority of the Christian church today believes in a "just" war concept in time of war and in carrying a lethal weapon to defend oneself at all times.

Our culture today is saturated with violence in the movies and TV programs which teach our young people that the ultimate answer to violence is greater and more violence...smarter violence to destroy one's enemies. This all comes from the prince of darkness whose popular schools are graduating more students than ever.

Let's go back to Judges 13:25. "And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol." KJV. The Living Bible gives us more insight. Notice: "And the Spirit of the Lord (Satan) began to excite him whenever he visited the parade grounds of the army of the tribe of Dan, located between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol." The noun Satan was placed in the above quote, in parenthesis by this writer, to identify the real personage/entity behind Samson's destructive acts. I can just hear someone saying, "but what was Samson supposed to do? Just let those wicked, smart aleck, blaspheming Philistines beat him up and kill him?" Let us read what Jesus did in a similar situation. "And they rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way." Luke 4:29, 30. If God chose to do so He could have protected Samson in the same way. The three Hebrew worthies were saved from the fiery furnace, Dan. 3, but they were willing to die if that was God's will for them.

In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus told Peter to put away his sword for 12 legions of angels were at His command. It is possible that some of the non-violent saints of the old testament such as Joseph, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel understood these principles for nothing is recorded about them using any kind of violence to defend themselves in times of threats and danger. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;" 2 Cor. 10:4. The time has now come in this world's history for all sincere Christians who wish to survive the end of this age to enter into the above revelation as well as to the following: "He that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." Rev. 13:10.

It may be shocking to many to learn that God never commanded Israel to fight or take up a sword. First Deut. 1:41 is quoted then this follows: "The Lord had never commanded them to 'go up and fight. It was not His purpose that they should gain the land by warfare, but by strict obedience to His commands." PP 392. This also applied to the life of Samson and David and all of the other violent heroes of the OT. In the days of Samson Israel had reached a very low ebb spiritually. In earlier times they had been powerful against their enemies when they were close to God. The 3,000 men of Judah reproached Samson for rebelling against Philistine rule and for exposing them to danger by hiding within their borders. Just think what might have been achieved if like Gideon of old Samson had the spiritual union with God necessary to lead Israel to victory as Gideon did with only 300 men. "And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled." Judges 7:21, 22. Read a similar account of victory in 2 Chron. 20:20-24 when good under the wise leadership of King Jehosaphat led a choir led Israel to battle with specific instructions that they were not to fight. And the enemy destroyed themselves. There are other similar stories of victory without the literal sword but they are not popular.

The carnal mind seeks to conquer, dominate, humiliate and eventually kill his/her enemy. The story of Samson reeks with ego. Samson sought to humiliate the Philistines with a riddle he knew they could never guess. It was as if he wanted to pick a fight with them knowing ahead of time that he could destroy them. He was just itching to "show them his stuff." The proud Philistines countered by threatening his wife who gave in to their demands. As usually happens this battle of the egos led to violence and death as it still does today only on a much grander and more sophisticated scale replete with nuclear missiles and germ warfare only waiting to decimate the planet. The only ones who will survive this final holocaust of self-destruction are those who have learned to die to self (ego) as Paul explains: "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Gal. 2:20. "I die daily." I Cor. 15:31.

May the Lord help each of us to have this experience today. Thank you for your continued prayers and donations for this ongoing ministry. mfc.