Samson's Final Years Series

The eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews has often been called the biblical “Hall of Fame,” or “Hall of Faith.” chapter.

In this particular chapter of the Book of Hebrews, the writer introduces an impressive list of heroic figures from the Old Testament - Remarkable men and women whose stories stand out to encourage and challenge our faith.

Some of these heroes of faith are well-known Bible personalities such as...

Abel, the first martyr in the Bible

Enoch, the man who walked with God,

Noah, the righteous man,

Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation,

Sarah, the mother of the Jewish nation,

Isaac, the Father of Esau and Jacob,

Jacob, the Father of the 12 tribes of Israel,

Joseph, the Interpreter of Dreams,

Moses, the Giver of the Law,

Joshua, the Successful leader

Rahab, the spy for the Israelites,

Gideon, the reluctant Warrior,

Barak, the Obedient Warrior

and Finally, Samson, the one who should have run a way from Delilah but did not.

We have learned from our previous study that he was supposed to deliver Israel from the hands of their enemy, the Philistines.

But instead he was so consumed by his lust for Philistine women until he met Delilah.

He thought it was true love, but he did not realize that he was being lured into the bait of sin and destruction.

Until he gave away the secret of his great strength when he was sleeping in the lap of Delilah.

His hair was cut short and God's presence left him.

Because of that, he lost everything - he lost his freedom, he lost his strength, he lost his eyesight, he lost his dignity and he lost his testimony.

The consequences and the devastation of sin has a far reaching effect in his life.

We though that the legacy he left behind could never be repaired.

Yet, many years after his death, the writer of the Book of Hebrews included him in the Biblical Hall of Faith.

In spite of all his illicit past, in spite of his moral failures and the overwhelming weakness of the desires of the flesh, at the end, he was still considered to be a man of faith worthy to be recognized.

What would have been the reason why Samson's name was there?

Was there a mistake in including his name?

No. Not at all. There was no mistake.

His name was included for a purpose.

Hebrews 11:32 (NIV) “32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets."

The writer said that there are a lot of things to tell about the spiritual conquest of these great men and women of faith including Samson, but he had no time to tell them.

There are things in the life of Samson that we do not know about.

We cannot just focus on his sin and it's consequences, but we do not know about his inward spiritual transformation.

I believe that at the end, he had made a complete turn around of his life that ultimately changed his legacy.

During those times of great difficulty, when he was suffering humiliation because of the consequences of his sin, he probably had plenty of time to reflect and to think about his past and reform his ways.

You see, many people have changed for the better because they have suffered a lot.

Samson had time to repent from his sins and eventually recognized his mistakes.

He eventually recovered his faith and trust in God and thereupon God honored this humble request.

God sees the content and the attitude of the heart of men.

We only see the past and judge people by what we know about them.

But God judges a person differently.

And so upon seeing a change of heart, God renewed Samson's strength and used him for a purpose.

We believe that our God is the God of the second chance.

Regardless of what we have done in the past, regardless of the failures we have made out of bad decisions, regardless of the sins we have committed and the misery we have experienced, God can still forgive us and cleanse us and use us if we truly repent and recognize our sins.

Our God is compassionate and loving God waiting for his children to come to Him in humility and in spiritual purity.

Samson did that even in the last moment of his life and miraculously, he was able to recover what was lost.

God is not much interested on how we start the race of life but how we end this race.

And Samson ended it well by renewing his faith in God more than anything else.

No wonder, his name was in the Biblical Hall of faith.