Samson: Strength and Weakness (Part 1)
By Paul Scribner, CEO, General Holdings Limited and Raven Resources Corp.
With Kelly Delp, Chief Communications Officer, Raven Resources Corp.
Series Introduction: Strength and Weakness
Samson is one of the most fascinating and troubling figures in all of Scripture. His story, told across four chapters in the book of Judges, is full of paradox. He was consecrated to God from birth, yet drawn to the very people who oppressed Israel. He was a man of unmatched strength, yet undone by loneliness and compromise. He was a judge raised up to deliver his people, yet he fought most of his battles alone.
The arc of his life is not a tale of steady victory. It is a story of promise, betrayal, isolation, compromise, and redemption. He was chosen, but flawed. Powerful, but vulnerable. In the end, he was broken — and only then did he discover that God's strength is made perfect in weakness.
This series follows Samson's life in five stages:
● A Child of Promise — A miraculous birth, a Nazirite vow, and a boy set apart for God's work.
● Love and Betrayal in Timnah — The riddle, the betrayal of his wife, and the first taste of rejection.
● The Lonely Judge — A man of strength, but without allies, abandoned even by his own people.
● Delilah's Deception — A slow unraveling through compromise until the Spirit of the Lord departed.
● Broken but Redeemed — A final prayer, a return to God, and redemption in death.
Samson's story is not ultimately about human strength or weakness. It is about the God who delivers His people even through flawed instruments. Across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the figure of Samson (or Shamshun) is remembered as one whose life points beyond himself — to the faithfulness of God.
Our journey through Samson's life will not make us feel like heroes. Instead, it will remind us that God is the hero of every story.
The Arc of the Story
Samson's life moves through five stages:
Promise → Betrayal → Isolation → Compromise → Redemption.
It is not ultimately about Samson, but about the God who remembers His people even when they fail.
Part 1: A Child of Promise
Judges 13
The story begins not with strength, but with silence. A nameless woman of the tribe of Dan carried the weight of barrenness — in her culture, a deep sorrow and a mark of shame. Into that silence, an angel appeared with words that would shape Israel's history: "You shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall touch his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines."
Before Samson ever took a breath, before his parents saw his face, his life was marked by divine promise. He would not be ordinary. He would be set apart.
The Nazirite Calling
The vow of a Nazirite was no casual commitment. It meant abstaining from wine, refusing contact with ritual uncleanness, and never cutting one's hair. For Samson, these were not optional disciplines; they were the fabric of his identity. His consecration was chosen for him before he was born.
Being set apart is both a gift and a burden. To be consecrated to God is to walk differently — to be reminded at every meal, every haircut avoided, every ritual observed, that your life does not belong to you. Samson's consecration was not about personal greatness; it was about God's purposes for His people.
Our Instinct to Be the Hero
We love to read stories like this and cast ourselves as the chosen one. We want to imagine that we, too, are marked by greatness, destined for something extraordinary. But the truth of Scripture points in a different direction: Samson is not a mirror for us to see our own strength. He is a reminder of our need for deliverance. We are not the rescuer; we are the people waiting for rescue.
The God Who Raises Deliverers
Samson's birth points us to a deeper truth: God raises deliverers not to showcase human greatness, but to reveal divine faithfulness.
● In Judaism, the Nazirite vow symbolized radical devotion. Samson's story is both a celebration of God's faithfulness and a cautionary tale of wasted consecration.
● In Christianity, consecration is fulfilled in Christ. He is the Deliverer who never broke His vow, who lived fully set apart, and who gave His life to redeem His people.
● In Islam, Shamshun is remembered in stories of strength given by God. His calling points back to Allah's sovereignty, reminding believers that power comes only from God, not human will.
Modern Echoes
Being "set apart" is a reality many of us know. It might be a sense of calling that isolates us, convictions that make us different, or responsibilities others do not share. Samson's early story speaks to the tension between divine purpose and human loneliness. To be called by God is to be separated, but separation is never for our own sake — it is for God's work.
Conclusion
Samson's life will be filled with battles, betrayals, and failures. But it begins here: with a barren woman, an angelic promise, and a child consecrated to God. His story is not about human greatness but about divine faithfulness.