War Crimes
By Matt Watson
“And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. And Samson said, ‘With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.’”
Ah, the famous story of how Samson killed 1000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. Every Sunday school kid loves this story because they can get away with saying the word “ass.” Every man thinks about what it would be like to be Samson, smashing skulls with a juicy jawbone. And every woman rolls her eyes. Samson’s life seems to be constantly set against a metal soundtrack, what with all the lion punching and Philistine slaying.
Let not his exploits distract us from the point of his story. Remember that not all Scripture is prescriptive but rather descriptive. Samson’s life wasn’t a demonstration of faithfully following the Lord’s call on your life. He goes places he shouldn’t go to, touches things he shouldn’t touch, and breaks commandments with women whom he should never have been around.
Yet, Samson is included in the Hebrews hall of faith, along with Barak, Gideon, and Jephthah.
“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.”
Barak was passive, Gideon was timid, Jephthah was rash, and Samson was the Hebrew Incredible Hulk. They had some awesome battles, but I wouldn’t have included them in the Hall of Fame of the faithful. Yet God’s ways are higher than mine.
Samson’s story leaves me in awe, not at his battle prowess and feats of strength, but with the grace of our Lord King. God keeps giving his Spirit to Samson and he keeps delivering him. After Samson sets fire to a village and wins a jiu-jitsu tournament, he finds shelter in a cave in a cliff face (Jdg 15:8). After he kills 1000 men, his adrenal system bottoms out and he is desperate for water, which God gives to him (vv. 18-19). God gives him victory after victory, culminating in his suicidal victory we all know is coming when he tears down a false god’s temple upon himself.
Not to play a comparison game here, but I’ve never punched a lion to death. I’ve never killed 30 dudes and stolen their clothes. I’ve never set fires to any crops. And I’ve never killed 1000 men with any body part from any animal. But I have killed one man. Two thousand years ago one man died and was forsaken by God the Father instead of me. My sin was a war crime against my Lord, and it killed him.
So I feel awe at the grace of King Jesus, because if he can forgive someone like Samson, who today would have been accused of committing war crimes, then Jesus can forgive me of my war crimes against him. If he can include Samson in the hall of faith, not because Samson was faithful, but because God never ceases to be faithful, then I can be included too.
Like Samson, I am a great sinner. But because of my Lord Jesus, I am a saint.
Likewise, if God can include wretches like Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson, he can include you too. Tim Keller said “You are more sinful than you ever thought you were. And you are more loved than you ever dreamed you could be.” Do you believe that? Maybe it’s in your head, but it hasn’t percolated into your heart yet. It's ok if that takes time. That’s the truth of the gospel, the truth of God’s New Covenant with his people, that we need to meditate on constantly. If he can save Samson, if he can save me, he can save you. Trust him.
This article was originally published by Matthew Watson with Awake! Put on strength!, and is used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.