God has something better for us (Judg 15:9-13)
Judg 15:9-13
Rosaria Champagne Butterfield was an associate professor in the English Department of an American university in the 1990s. She had no time for Christians whom she considered intellectually shallow. However, when she was researching the Religious Right, she encountered a pastor and his wife who were not like other Christians she had come across. They did not condemn her for her life choices or views but related to her with genuine affection and friendship. Their honest conversations over several years brought up larger questions that began to nag at her. In her book, she describes her eventual conversion as a train wreck that upended her whole life.[1] What struck me more than anything in her account is her description of her life without God. She was happy and content in the world that she had built for herself with a meaningful job, with friends that she cared about and who cared for her. Her story illustrates that it is possible to live without God and be at peace – at least for a while. In fact, it is possible to live a compromised life as a Christian and no longer feel the pangs of conscience.
The cost of Judah’s ‘peace’
Judah in the lifetime of Samson has made peace with the Philistine occupation – witness their lack of crying out to God (Judg 13:1). They accepted the enemy as their rulers, so that Samson’s shenanigans seriously upset the equilibrium (Judg 15:11). Now they had to face upheaval, tensions, even the possibility of all-out war. However, the Philistines were really only after the troublemaker (Judg 15:10). They have seemingly taken the people’s measure and knew that once Samson was out of the way, conflict would be nipped in the bud. The narrative is terse, so that we do not hear the Philistines explicitly asking Judah’s help, nor do the latter promise to hand over Samson, but presumably a deal was struck. Judah clearly knew where to find their man and they promptly dispatched a group of 3,000 to his hiding place (Judg 15:11), a disproportionate number against one man. They clearly feared Samson’s strength and his resistance to capture. Much was at stake in reclaiming peace, so a strong force in binding the troublemaker was essential. In fact, they were willing to betray their own in order to have peace with their adversaries… It is hard not to hear voices from another story where another deliverer was handed over to the enemy for the sake of preserving the status quo (John 11:48-50).
Samson – a blunt instrument
Samson comes across as surprisingly docile in the encounter. Perhaps he did not want to turn on fellow Israelites, but all he asked was not to be killed outright by his own (Judg 15:12). Possibly, he hoped that that the superhuman strength he had experienced before would present him with a way out. Nevertheless, he comes across as not much better than his fellow countrymen. Yes, he wreaked havoc among the Philistines, but this originated in a personal quarrel and there is no sense that Samson was aware or even cared about his own calling at this stage. When he was done, he did not rally Israel around him and lead them into battle against the Philistines but went into hiding (Judg 15:8). When he was questioned on his actions, his answer was almost mulish: I have done to them as they did to me (Judg 15:11). Despite the material God had to work with, His purpose for Israel was something better than a life resigned to compromise.
God has something better for us
In our lives, too, there may be times of upheaval, whether it comes through someone who challenges our complacency, the Holy Spirit stirring our conscience, or external circumstances that awaken us to being ruled by some sin. It is (sinful) human nature to get angry with those who disturb the peace, to muzzle their voices, to ‘bind the strong man’ that causes chaos and upsets our calm. We hold onto the temporary pleasures we gain from sinful ways even though we may recognise that they are destructive because it is hard to face the alternative disruption. Yet, it is for our ultimate good to do so because in serving God we find true flourishing and rest.
[1] Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor’s Journey into Christian Faith (Pittsburgh: Crown and Covenant, 2012).
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