The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 15:3, 11,
"This time I [Samson] have a right to get even with the Philistines; I
will really harm them"... "I merely did to them what they did to me."
Samson's story is one of a man's passion and bent for revenge. The
Lord raised up Samson to free the Israelites from Philistine
domination. He gave him supernatural strength and resolve and
exploited his passion for revenge, utilizing it all to accomplish his
decision to end the Philistine's rule over Israel.
In Romans 12:19-20 Paul exhorts us against taking revenge as he quotes
Deuteronomy 32:35 and Proverbs 25:21-22, "Do not take revenge, my
friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is
mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If
your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something
to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.'"
On the contrary, as he tells the Colossian church, "Therefore, as
God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with
each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one
another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues
put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
Colossians 3:12-14. No room for revenge here.
Samson is listed among those whose faith achieved great things in the
workings of God in Israel's history. Along with Gideon, Barak,
Jephthah, David, and others, we are told the world was not worthy of
them, they were commended for their faith, Hebrews 11:32-39. Yet, we
are told not to comport ourselves in the manner in which Samson did:
do not be vengeful. What to make of this?
Along with Samson we see that Gideon, Barak, Jephthah and David had
their weaknesses and faults, yet the Lord used them all. All were
commended for their faith, yet all had failures in their lives. What I
learn from this is that when the Lord does things through people, his
workings are carried out through sinful and flawed people - just like
you and me. None of these men were perfect and all had shortcomings.
One of the many eye-opening realities of Scripture is its refreshing
honesty when it tells us things about the heroes of faith in its pages
- both the good and the bad. What we see is how the Lord works through
less than perfect people and is quite capable of carrying out his
agenda through sinful and fallen people, while at the same time
retaining the posture of his righteousness and holy character.
Paul is very clear about what the Lord expects from us relative to
revenge. There is no room for it in the life of a follower of Jesus
Christ. What this tells me is that adopting what I see in the heroes
of Scripture best be done in the context of all of Scripture. Just
because Samson was a vengeful man (his many exploits were exploits of
revenge) does not make it right for me.
What is so startling about this is our holy and righteous God is able
to (and does) use sinful people, as well as their sinful acts, to
carry out his purposes while retaining his lofty position of pristine
holiness. I recall Joseph's observation to his brothers, "You intended
to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now
being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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