Samson the Avenger

“Since you’ve acted like this, I swear that I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.”
Judges 15:7

Samson was not like Gideon. 

Every step Gideon took involved dialogue with God. Above all, Gideon wanted to be certain he was on the right path so his actions would be blessed by God. Gideon’s life was marked by humility and victory. Gideon was a servant. Most of us hope to emulate Gideon. Samson, on the other hand impetuously took matters into his own hands. If he was offended he impulsively extracted revenge. No fleece, just swift justice. A person like that could get hurt. And...Samson did.

Let’s not forget that God called them both. 

In fact, when Samson demanded to marry the Philistine woman (an unorthodox demand) his parent saw trouble coming. But...”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.” So...even though Samson’s life appears fraught with turmoil and, arguably less effective than Gideon’s, we might remember, different mission...different method.

As believers we see a cautionary message in Samson: Samson was called by God to be an “avenger” because of the Philistine abuse of Israel. Vengance is often misinterpreted as “revenge” and Samson, himself, made this mistake in reaction to the murder of his wife.

• Revenge - is inflicting pain or harm in return for pain or harm inflicted on oneself or on those persons to which one feels loyalty. 
• Vengance - is inflicting punishment as an act of retributive justice or as a vindication of propriety.

Scripture says “Never take your own revenge but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” (Romans 12:19). There are occasions when the Great Avenger delegates. God calls every believer to serve Him and He calls some to be His avengers. I have known a few and...they make me nervous. They are unpredictable. They are just as called as the rest of us but they serve in a far more chaotic environment, often self-made. Samson endured a lot of pain and heartache when he mistook his mission to be revenge. But, when he was “on point” his service to God was awesome to behold and effectively restored Divine justice.

Pain for pain only leads to more pain. It is the human vortex that leads to destruction. Retributive justice...at God’s direction...brings peace. We should be thankful for the avengers God has called. They need our prayers, not our criticism.

Personally, I’m thankful God didn’t call me to be an avenger. When I think about Vengance it looks too much like revenge.

Live boldly out there today...