參孫還沒出生之前，天使就已清楚的宣告了他的命運。他將被分別為聖歸給上帝，且須禁戒不潔之物，以完成上帝的使命。除了不凡的出生，上帝又賜給他神力，要他拯救以色列脫離非利士人的手，可惜參孫大半輩子都違反他拿細耳人的清規。由於缺少節制，參孫洩露了自己的祕密、失去了他的頭髮、力量、眼睛，最後連命也送了－－不過，在他死之前，上帝仍使用他以超然大力向以色列的壓迫者非利士人報仇。

        聖經毫不留情的報導了某些人物的「劣績」：雅各的欺騙、參孫勾結非利士人(而非與他們爭戰)、大衛與別示巴犯罪。但值得注意的是，這些人都被列在希伯來書十一章的「信心巨廊」裡！雖然他們一生中不乏缺陷，但就如同聖經裡許多其他的人物一樣，他們都「站在上帝的應許上」，憑信心而活。他們並不完美，但卻一天天被改造成「貴重的器皿，成為聖潔，合乎主用」(提後2:21)，上帝也重用他們來榮耀上帝。
        你生命中的失敗記錄(不論像雅各、參孫或大衛的失敗)也不應成為你服事上帝的阻礙，只要你在與上帝同行的途中不斷成長，而不僅僅是馬齒徒長。在一張資料卡上寫下希伯來書十章卅八節的經文，另一面則寫「從參孫身上學到的功課」。從今天開始就靠著上帝的幫助，將它們應用在你生活中。

獨一無二的參孫
        參孫迥異於以色列其他士師的是，他沒有任何軍隊，卻徒手完成了壯舉。參孫起伏的一生，就如同以色列國在罪惡中循環一樣──「那時以色列中沒有王，各人任意而行」(士21：25)。

不說、不做能保證你永不失敗，也保證你一事無成。

English

        Even before his birth. Samson's destiny is clearly announced. He is to be separated unto the Lord for a divine mission—a mission requiring him to abstain from certain defilements. Miraculous in his birth and equipped with supernatural strength for the task of delivering Israel from Philistine domination, Samson instead spends much of his life violating his Nazirite vow. Because of his lack of control, he loses his secret, his hair, his strength, his sight, and eventually his life—but not before God uses him in a mighty way to avenge the Israelites of their Philistine oppressors.

        Certain Bible characters seem to receive more than their share of "bad press": Jacob for his conniving ways, Samson for flirting with (instead of fighting with) the Philistines. David for his sin with Bathsheba. But the remarkable thing is this: All these men are memorialized in the "Believer's Hall of Faith,'" Hebrews 11! In spite of their shortcomings, they, like so many other men and women in the Bible, lived their lives by faith, "standing on the promises of God." They were not perfect but were being perfected day by day into "vessels [of] honor, sanctified, and meet [fit] for the master's use" (2 Timothy 2:21). And God used them greatly to His glory.
        A history of failure in your life, like that in the lives of Jacob, Samson, and David, need not disqualify you from God's service, provided you continue to grow up—not merely grow old—in your walk with Him. On one side of an index card, write the words of Hebrews 10:38; on the other, a "Lesson from Samson's Life" that with God's help you will seek to put to work in your life, beginning today.

Samson, the Judge Like No Other —
        Unlike the other judges of Israel, Samson led no army, but rather performed his valiant deeds single-handedly. His up-and-down career paralleled the up-and-down conditions in his nation during a time when "there was no king in Israel: Every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (21:25).

Failure is something we can avoid by saying nothing. Doing nothing, and being nothing.