When heroes fall: Lessons from Samson

We all have our heroes. The Hero of heroes is, of course, our Lord Jesus Christ.

His is the Name above all names, and it is He more than any other that we should love, trust and emulate. Yet Paul exhorted the Christians in Corinth, ‘Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ’ (1 Cor. 11:1), and we are right to be thankful for godly examples. But sometimes they disappoint.

Samson is something of a surprise hero. Were he not named in the gallery of the faithful in Hebrews 11, we might wonder whether he was a hero at all. And there was so much that was surprising about him. He had a surprising beginning (Judg.13), entered into a surprising marriage (Judg. 14), gained a very surprising victory (Judg. 15), suffered an equally surprising defeat (Judg. 16:1-22) and, true-to-form, came to a surprising end (Judg. 16:23-31).