A Savior is Born

We have come to our final and most famous Judge or perhaps most infamous, Samson.  Normally, when you hear about Samson, you hear negative things.  He struggled with women and anger issues. He is criticized for being a shadow of who he should be. Sunday school lessons use Samson as an example of who not to be and what not to do.  But is this fair? Just as Gideon and Jephthah often receive a bad rap, what about Samson?  Is Samson a zero? Or a Hero? We will see. Unlike all judges, Samson is not only unique in his miraculous birth but also in that he is the last judge and given the most space in the book. This child was born to be a savior and to deliver Israel from the Philistines.  In this birth narrative, we again see the gracious hand of God saving a people who have wandered away and the manner of his salvation.