Would You Hire This Man?

Would You Hire This Man?

Read Judges 13-16, and this month’s Feature articles, and you’ll get to know Samson fairly well. If he were applying for the job of judge, and you were asked to give him a reference, what would you list as his strengths?

When I asked this question to a Sunday School class, one student said, “Samson’s only strength was his strength.” If he were applying for the position of boxer, or American football lineman, or circus strongman, this strength might get him the job. But physical strength is hardly an asset for a judge – yet that’s what God chose Samson to be.

Well, what about Samson’s weaknesses? The Sunday School students came up with this list: arrogant; disrespectful to parents; disobedient to parents; very selfish; hung out with the enemy; had a wild temper; cruel to animals; loved women, including bad ones; could not resist temptation; gave secrets to the enemy; cocky and overly confident; broke Nazarite vow.

What a list! Could one strength outweigh a dozen serious weaknesses? With all these character flaws, why did God choose Samson to be Israel’s last judge? Because, as the Angel of the Lord said, “He shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines” (Jud. 13:5). And he did just that – began what Samuel and Saul continued, and David finished.

So, would you hire this man? No way! Yet God did. And He used Samson’s many weaknesses and his one strength to accomplish His intended purpose – to begin Israel’s deliverance from the Philistines. He used his weaknesses to get Samson captured, humiliated and blinded by the Philistines. But once he got him into their camp, he was able to use his strength to “kill many more when he died than while he lived” (Jud. 16:30).

To us, strengths are strengths, and weaknesses are weaknesses. But a sovereign God can lead Paul to write, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10). And He can also make this happen by simply saying, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mt. 19:26).

By Larry Ondrejack