His parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel. – Judges 14:4

Today's Scripture Reading (March 25, 2022): Judges 14

George Washington Carver commented that "Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses." Maybe we think if we make excuses for our failures, then there is nothing to learn so that we can improve ourselves. Or we forget that failing at something doesn't make us a failure; failing at a task just makes us people who are on the path to success. Excuses are the tools of failure and nothing else. We don't need to be excused but rather to find ways to be better.

I have to admit that there are passages in the Bible with which I struggle greatly. And this is one of them. It sounds like someone making an excuse for Sampson's ill-advised behavior to my ears. My problem is that the story of Samson leaves the reader with the impression that Sampson is nothing more than a selfish child who wants what he wants and doesn't care who gets hurt in the process. His relationships are superficial. All that Samson cares about is what appeals to his eyes; he never asks what it might be that God wants. Samson makes excuses for his behavior, and as a result, he is a failure as a Judge for most of his life. His greatest success doesn't actually happen until the moment of his death.

And the author of Judges, likely Samuel, seems to jump in and offer more excuses for Israel's strongman. The author of Judges argues that because something good happens in the end, then everything leading up to that good must be okay and, in this case, God-ordained. But the truth of life is that just because something good happens in the end does not justify the way that we got there. And the reverse is also true. Just because things don't turn out does not mean that the path we took to get there was wrong. Jesus himself reminds us that God "causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matthew 5:45). 

There is no doubt that at the end of his life, Samson dealt a significant blow against the Philistine enemies of Israel. But part of the message of God has to be that the way that we get there matters. And Sampson's life was dominated by his lusts, and he took his commitments to God very lightly, not seeming to care if he broke them. Sampson was a selfish judge, and just because everything turned out right in the end should not give him a pass for the way he lived his life. I believe that God expected better of Sampson, and he expects better of us. And I think that in making this statement, the author of Judges is in error.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Judges 15