Samson's story continues to be a fascinating moment in Scripture. In Judges 15 we read of his miraculous feat of destroying 1,000 Philistines using nothing but the jawbone of an ass. It's a moment that defies reason, but that's precisely the point. What's interesting is that there has been debate as to Samson's character as he goes about performing these implausible feats of strength. Is Samson an arrogant hero who gives himself all the credit for his accomplishments? Or in humility does he remember that his strength comes from God? Great figures such as Saint Ambrose or Josephus have believed the former. But many, I think rightly, believe the latter. One simple verse in Chapter 15 seems to settle the debate: "And being very thirsty, he cried to the Lord, and said: Thou hast given this very great deliverance and victory into the hand of thy servant: and behold I die for thirst, and shall fall into the hands of the uncircumcised" (Judges 15:18). Some believe his thirst is evidence of his arrogance, as a punishment for it. Granted, it is at a moment of weakness that he cries out to God and attributes his feat to Him. But there isn't evidence that he gave himself all the credit prior to this moment. And his thirst (which is only an understandable consequence of his immense physical feat) gives occasion for God to perform another miracle, that of the water issuing forth from the jawbone. Samson clearly calls himself a "servant," which alone requires much humility. This isn't to say that Samson is a perfect figure. He clearly has moments of weakness and perhaps that is what ultimately does him in. At this point, though, his exploits are miraculous occasions for God to show His wonders and deliver His people from the hands of the Philistines. Samson is an instrument, and one unlike any we've ever seen in Scripture. He is a Hercules working for God, a servant of strength, showing God's signs and wonders come in all forms.
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