JU13-8: The Huge Gap Between How Rabbinical Judaism And Christianity Views Samson

“There was a man from Tzor‘ah from the family of Dan, whose name was Manoach; his wife was barren, childless.  The angel of Adonai appeared to the woman and said to her, “Listen! You are barren, you haven’t had a child, but you will conceive and bear a son.“-Judges 13:2-3

Each Judge we’ve studied so far has been unique in their personalities, circumstances and mission.

However, I think you’re going to find that Samson was the most unique of them all.

First, the opening verses of Judges Chapter 13 tell us the Angel of the Lord announced his birth.

We’re not given any special reasons why Samson was given this honor.

The ancient Jewish sages say this was because Samson was on a spiritual level higher than your average person.

I find that thought interesting because we’re going to see Samson was one of the most carnal men out of those who judged Israel.

So what else is unique about Samson?

Unlike many of the other judges who came before him, he never raised an army or led a group of men against Israel’s enemies.

He was one-man wrecking ball who proved to be a royal pain in the butt for the Philistines.

Of course, this is what the Lord intended from the beginning by raising up Samson.

It seems like God knew beforehand that Samson’s warped sense of morality and his complete lack of self-control would serve His objective well to cause grief for the Philistines…

Which actually leads me to my next point.

There’s a huge gap between how Judaism and Christianity views Samson.

Putting aside the admired Samson of children’s bedtime stories, we’re gonna see this Incredible Hulk for God do some pretty shocking things.

When you read about Samson’s exploits, you’re gonna come across behavior that from your viewpoint could hardly be considered Godly at all.

But again, it all depends on one’s perspective and which monotheistic tradition one grew up in.

Because I have to let you know the parts of Samson’s story the Christians view negatively, the Rabbis have glorified and praised.

Don’t get me wrong here folks.

I’m not saying everything Samson did was good or Godly.

But I am saying God knew darn well what He was doing when He chose Samson to be His wild and wacky instrument of judgement against the Philistines.

Don’t forget Samson was the product of a miraculous birth…just as Isaac was.

Isaac’s mother was also barren and at an age that would have been impossible to have children minus divine intervention.

So what am I trying to say here?

What I’m trying to say is we’re going to encounter some shocking behavior on Samson’s part. 

Stuff the gentile church has judged negatively for no good reason other than it goes against their preconceived notions of what is right and wrong…

Or it goes against the doctrinal brainwashing they’ve been exposed to for years on end…especially in the area of sexual ethics.

In many ways, this reminds me of all the flack I got for taking the position that Jephthah really did kill his daughter.

I even got kicked out of a major Messianic group on Facebook for taking that position.

It seems some folks can’t wrap their heads around the fact that Jephthah is called a bible hero and at the same time did what the Scripture clearly and plainly says he did…an incident that was also supported by witnesses.

However, since people can’t accept it because it goes against their preconceived ideas about the way things should be, they get all creative in their interpretations.

Well, I ain’t gonna be getting creative with Samson’s story.

I plan on reading the text of Holy Scripture with an open mind and let the chips fall where they may.

Darn, this is gonna be fun.