Simpson and Delilah

It is claimed that you learn something new every day. Even really old people like Janet and David are supposed to learn something new every single day. I'm going to tell you what I learned today.


We looked at the life of Samson. It's a great story, told in the book of Judges (Chapters 13-16), and like most of the Old Testament it's full of violence and death.

I knew the story of Samson, the whole thing about his hair being the source of his strength, about his one man war against the Philistines, and about the woman he loved (Delilah) betraying him. What I had never really thought about, until John said it tonight, is that Samson is like Jesus, in that he achieved more through his death than all through his life.

I'm not suggesting for a moment that killing people is a noble thing, but we must remember that the Old Testament times were filled with upheaval, with wandering tribes attacking each other to control the land; and that God had chosen the Israelites as His people, encouraging them and protecting them. If the Philistines weren't fought in battle, they would certainly have killed every last Israelite: man, woman and child. Samson's final victory was to kill so many Philistines that his people would be safe for a long time to come.

Jesus never killed anyone, his death was not a victory, but his resurrection was: through it he opened a door to eternal life, never again would death mean the end for believers in Christ. Now that's what I call a victory.