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Samson, the strongest man in the entire world’s history, had one peculiar secret to his great strength. Many would
immediately cry out, “It was his long
Nazarite hair!” In a very broad sense, they would be correct. However, as one stops to consider that Samson was not the only Nazarite who ever lived (I Samuel 1:11; Lamentations 4:7; Amos 2:11-12) but that he was the only Nazarite ever endowed with such unmatched might, a new element not as immediately obvious must necessarily enter the equation! Indeed, what was unique about Samson’s life? It is simply this: to have been probably the most physically empowered man not only among God’s saints but also throughout all of human history, Samson is surprisingly never even once recorded by Scripture as directly speaking to or hearing from the very God Who so miraculously strengthened him. Abraham talked with God. Moses talked with God. Joshua talked with God. Likewise did Samuel, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and more! Even Samson’s own parents both talked directly with the “angel of the LORD” (Judges 13:21-23)! However, Samson talked with God not even once! Why? What was the purpose behind this divine silence? Why was history’s mightiest man never once given the honor of a personal conference with his Divine Strengthener? Most of the other prominently empowered Old Testament saints received not merely one but often multiple audiences with their Heavenly King! Strangely enough, Samson, to have been so amazingly helped of his God, had to rest content on receiving his commission and hearing about its details not from God but from—of all things—merely his parents! Never once does Scripture portray Samson on some hillside with the skies clouding over with heavenly glory and a voice thundering from heaven, “Samson, no razor shall come on thy head…!” Never once does Scripture paint Samson lying as a child on his bed as the still, small voice of God surrounds him, “Samson, Samson…!” Not once does Scripture speak of mighty Samson scaling some mountain to nestle down into the jagged cleft of the rock while all the Glory of the Most High passes by and while Jehovah Himself audibly proclaims to that privileged audience of one, “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious….” Not once does Scripture speak of Samson conversing with even an angel, a mere messenger of Jehovah! Whatever could possibly have kept Samson’s God that quiet toward this particular judge of Israel who was so matchlessly undefeated in miraculous physical prowess?
Perhaps the answer lies in a possibility little expected. Namely, Samson all his life long was ever placing his own will in contest with Jehovah’s. Only twice does
Scripture even record Samson as praying to his God—and both of those times were only when death seemed imminent! Nevertheless, Samson is still recorded in Hebrews’ chapter eleven hall of faith along with all the
other patriarchs who did indeed converse directly with God Himself! (Hebrews 11:32) Thus, the answer cannot entirely be that Samson was merely a faithless wretch bent on self-destruction; for God would not have
included him among such giants of the faith as Gideon, Samuel, and even King David himself! No, Samson did have a notable relationship with God, no matter how strained that relationship may have been because of
Samson’s self-will. Aha! Samson’s self-will! That is the key to the whole situation! After all, who called Samson? God did! Who equipped Samson? God did! Who fought for
and through Samson? God did! Well then, upon whom did Samson rely? Samson relied upon Samson—far too often! While God still even used his servant’s waywardness in a broken-vessel type of way,
surely God could have accomplished far more through Samson had Samson completely yielded every ounce of his being and every fiber of his might to the very God from Whom it had all come anyway! What Samson needed his
whole life long was something to force him to look back
and submit to the very God Who had called him. Otherwise, Samson’s great physical abilities posed far too great a temptation to forget his Creator and depend entirely upon himself.
What better redirection could Samson face than to be forced to submit to God by having to submit to and believe what his parents had told him about God and God’s calling for
him? There
could certainly have been nothing more effective: for had there been, surely God would have implemented that instead. After all, who could imagine the mightiest man in the world closely following his own parents’ directives? (He never did cut his hair until encountering Delilah!) Furthermore, Samson could boast no mountain-top experience with God, except the evident empowerment he received from God “at times” (Judges 13:25). What a humbling truth to face for such a man so mighty! Even then, Samson was never humbled to the point to which he should have kneeled. That self-dependence is where most of his problems originated—and it eventually led to his death! If only he had obeyed the commission his parents had received from God and given him when he was yet a youth, he may not only have been recorded in the Bible but also etched into secular history for what could have been a potentially unforgettable impact! Thus, the lesson remains for every child of God today: the stronger one stands in his own estimation, the more that Christian must wholly and humbly submit to the God-ordained authorities in his life—if he is ever to effectively serve the God Who thus empowered him. For Samson, that critical authority test was nothing less than needed submission to his own parents virtually his whole life through. Sadly, he just never seemed to move past that very first lesson. For many young Christians today, that same test is placed before them, only to be failed again and again. For older saints, the authority figure in question may assume a different form. However, the truth remains the same either way: “…for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (I Peter 5:5-6) Let every Christian young and old, the next time he encounters a test of obedience from an authority placed over him by God, remember the lesson of Samson’s secret!
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