The Sabotage of Samson
Samson was one of the first superheroes. Possessed of both wit and strength, he confounded his enemies with riddles and performed super-human feats of violence.
He killed a lion with his bare hands.
He killed thirty men at one time all by himself.
He caught 300 foxes, tied them in pairs by their tails, fastening a torch to each pair. They went wild and burned the grain fields of the Philistines. When they came out, Samson struck them “hip and thigh with a great blow.”
Later, he killed 1,000 men with nothing but the jawbone of a donkey.
He died killing even more men than when he lived by using his strength to destroy two huge pillars, causing a temple to collapse. A big swath of the leadership and nobility of the Philistines perished that day.
God had raised Samson up to overthrow the oppressors of His people.
And how did His people respond? With timidity and cowardice.
After one of Samson’s feats, the Philistines raided the land of Judah. In response, 3000 men of Judah go visit Samson and said
“Don’t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?”
Judges 15:11
And then they bound Samson (which he allowed them to do) and brought him to the Philistines. Of course, Samson broke the bonds and made the Philistines sorry they had come.
The men of Judah in this story are like so many people today. They will never fight themselves, but they throw criticisms at those who do deign to fight.
Some will even actively attempt sabotage.
These are the worst.
They nitpick your tone.
They try to get you banned from social media.
They pretend to stay neutral but only end up punching one way.
All they really want are back pats from their cultural superiors who rule over them.
They will not fight their oppressors, but they will fight anyone who dares to fight their oppressors. They become a willing tool in the hands of the enemy.
They should at least have the decency to sit on the bench and shut up.
The men of Judah numbered 3000. They could have gone to Samson to ask for his help. It turns out Samson didn’t need 3000 men at his back, but those 3000 men certainly needed to show that they had a backbone.
I’m sure many of the men of Judah assuaged their consciences by writing think pieces about the proper way to undermine the Philistines. Ways that required no courage whatsoever. Ways that were only hurt by the antics of Samson.
Why, he set back Israelite-Philistine relations for decades!
Do not be like the men of Judah.
Do not twist your cowardice into a virtue and then cast disparagement on courageous men so you can feel better about yourself. So you can feel safe.
Do not sabotage those who are doing hard work and fighting the good fight. If they are shooting in the right direction, for goodness sake, don’t interrupt them.
Either get out of the way or start fighting with them.
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