HE’S NO HERCULES

Judges 16:20 KJV

And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.

Of all of those Bible stories children get to hear, none likely are more exciting than the story of the Bible’s original strong man, Samson.

Even today, stories of strong men fire up the imagination:

·       Superman, more powerful than a locomotive

·       Arnold Schwarzeneggar ("Hasta La Vista, Baby!") or

·       Hercules, The legendary Journeys

Hercules is probably the legendary strong man most similar to Samson.

Half man and half god, the stories surrounding Hercules occur in roughly the same period of time and Samson lived.

Because mythical Hercules was half god he possessed great strength but because his mother was a human he also possessed weaknesses and fell into temptations.

As much as a person might want to equate the two, Samson was no Hercules.[1]

Hercules is a myth, a legendary figure who

·       never was,

·       never lived and whose existence

·       could never have been.

He is a fictional character they make movies and cartoons about.

Samson, on the other hand, was a historical person who actually lived. His parents were real. His “adventures” were real.

I have very little against using imagination.

I think it can be fun – it can help a person develop the discipline and abilities to think up inventions that don’t exist yet.

·       Aren’t you glad somebody imagined a world with lightbulbs?

·       Aren’t you glad somebody thought, what if we could talk to people who are in the room with us?

·       Aren’t you glad somebody asked, “What would happen if we strapped some kind of motor on top of four round things and let it carry us places”?

I have nothing at all against using our imaginations.

But I do draw this line; nothing in the Bible is a work of imagination.

Hercules is a work of man’s imagination

Samson is a man who really lived a long time ago

I want to tell his story under three headings:

I. SAMSON’S PARENTS

Judges 13:2-3 KJV

And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.

This was a certain man named Manoah

• He was from the tribe of Dan and
• His father was a man named Zorah

We do not know his mother’s name, but we do know that Manoah and she had some heartache and pain; she had not been able to have any children.

There comes a day when the angel of the Lord announced to the two of them that they would have a baby.

They were given very specific instructions on the raising of that baby.

·       God had a purpose for him and

·       They were to help prepare him for that purpose

One of the lessons in the account of Samson is for parents.

·       Every parent ought to consider every child a gift from God

·       Every parent ought to realize that every child has a purpose from God and

·       Every parent ought to raise their children to prepare them to meet that purpose

God has some very specific instructions for parents today.

We are to raise our children in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord.

·       We are to raise them to be unlike this world and

·       We are to raise them not to like this world

The instructions God gave Samson’s parents would have made him completely different than anyone around him.

·       He did not look the same

·       He did not enjoy the same foods

There were things that Samson’s parents taught him that never left him.

In the end, Samson demonstrated the same faith as his mom and dad

But Mom and Dad could not make him believe.

·       They could keep certain food away from him

·       They could force him to dress and look a particular way

But they could not make him believe anything.

I think one of the mistakes his parents made was in expecting that making him conform to what the angel told them, would make him believe what the angel told them.

Our job as parents is much more involved than:

·       Making our kids come to church

·       Making our kids memorize verses

·       Making our kids behave a certain way

·       Expecting our kids to say a prayer for salvation

One of the most important things we do is teach our kids why we believe.

·       It is easy to teach them to act a certain way when we are around

·       It is much more difficult to show them that our actions are a reflection of what we believe.

II. SAMSON’S POWER

There are five powerful things that Samson did in his lifetime”

A. Killed a lion with his bare hands

Judges 14:5-6 KJV

Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.

And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.

B. Killed thirty men in combat

Judges 14:19 KJV

And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.

C. Caught 300 foxes and tied their tails together

Judges 15:4-5 KJV

And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.

D. Killed 1000 enemies with the jawbone of an ass

Judges 15:13-15 KJV

And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

E. Pulled down a building by himself

Judges 16:28-30 KJV

And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

There is only one of these that is so super human that only Samson ever did it – that is when he pulled down the building on himself.

·       King David killed both a lion and a bear with his bare hands

·       David’s 37 mighty men did many of the things Samson did

III. SAMSON’S PROBLEM

Judges 16:20 KJV

And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.

I believe Samson’s problem is one that a lot of people I know have.

·       It is a problem that would have destroyed the whole nation of Israel except for the grace of God

·       It is especially a problem among those who view themselves a successful

Samson really believed he was someone special.

·       He thought he was strong

·       He thought he could never be beaten

·       He thought God would always bless him

Samson forgot that, unless the Lord was with him, he was no different than anyone else.

·       He forgot to seek the Lord in his life

·       He forgot to obey God

·       He forgot to do right

He just assumed that he could do anything he wanted and nothing bad could ever happen to him.

His own pride destroyed him.

Listen and I am through:

The only thing special about any of us is what God has given us.

We have no reason to be proud or to think of ourselves more highly than other people.

So:

·       Every day we ought to wake up and thank God that we have that day.

·       Every day we ought to read the Bible and learn what God’s Word is to us

·       Every day we ought to hear from those spiritual leaders God has given to us

·       Every day we ought to remember to obey the Lord and

·       Every day we ought to take the time to make sure that the Spirit of the Lord is with us

---

[1] He isn’t like Jesus either.

·       Hercules was said to be half god and half man.

·       Jesus is all God and all man.