What Can We Learn From Samson?

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV)

My daughter asked me what can she learn from Samson. He seemed to do nothing except lusting and killing.

A lot of people want to study biographies of Bible personalities to learn something from their lives. This is not wrong. But the Bible is written from the primary perspective that it is all about God. Samson may not teach us anything from his life. But Samson showed us that God can use such a man to accomplish His purpose.

God chose Jacob to be the ancestor of all Israelites. He was a cheat and a liar. Jesus chose unlearned fishermen to start Christianity. Jacob's character was transformed in the course of his dealings with God. The unlearned fishermen transformed into bold apostles preaching the good news.

Then there were those who seemed to be gifted, like Moses and Paul. Moses would have been a great Egyptian leader if he had not been called to lead the Israelites. Paul could have been a famous rabbi or a Roman philosopher if he had not follow Christ. How many great men from the dead Egyptian civilization affect our lives today? How many famous rabbis or Roman philosophers do we know? But Moses and Paul still has an impact in the modern world. So even the gifted were made greater when God choose to use them.

Famous men and women in the Bible were chosen to show that it is God who enable. If God can use Samson, then God can use us. He set the bar low so that nobody can have the excuse to say that he cannot serve.

Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." (Genesis 32:28 ESV)

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13 ESV)

The LORD said to Gideon, "The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.' (Judges 7:2 ESV)