If we turn to Judges, chapter xvii., we there find, that after the death of Samson, who judged Israel twenty years, a young man (a Jew) stole from his mother eleven hundred shekels of silver, which she had put by to make a god for herself and her son's household,—a worship contrary to the express command of Jehovah, as given in the second commandment; and when her son heard his mother curse most bitterly, he returned it to her. She then loaded him with blessings, and with a part of the silver, and gave the rest to the founder, or artist, and a graven image was made and erected as their god, and a priest hired to perform worship. In the 13th verse of the same chapter, her son exults, and says, “Now know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.”
To conclude this account of worship, the Levite asked counsel of God, (the image,) and received a gracious answer. This image-worship was the religion of the Danites until they were carried away captive. This, then, is proof positive, that the five Books said to have been given by Moses, were then unknown; and without this admission, it is not possible to account for the silence regarding Moses and his writings for so many hundred years. Not only were the five Books of which Moses is the reputed author, written many hundreds of years after his death, but also the Book of Judges could not have been written till after Kings bad reigned in Israel; because, it is often repeated in that Book, “And there was no King in Israel, and every man did that which was right in his own eyes”; for until the end of the Judges, no King was ever mentioned, or thought of, among the tribes. It was in consequence of the injustice of the sons of Samuel, that the seed of Abram demanded a King, in order to get just judgment; and in his person to secure a leader in time of war.
The foolish story of Samson, which commences in Judges, chapter xiii., deserves no notice, but for its being ascribed to Jehovah, the God of Israel. The whole silly account, when it is fathered on the God of the Universe, will not fail to convince every man of a sane mind, how human beings have been imposed upon, in ascribing to the Sovereign Ruler of all worlds such contemptible trash. After the Israelites had for forty years been subjected to the Philistines, Jehovah determined to deliver his chosen people from bondage, by raising up a man (then unborn) to war against their enemies. Samson was the person chosen for this business. The story is as follows:—
The mother of Samson had for years lived with her husband, Manoah, but remained childless. Her sorrow, on that account, so prevailed with the Lord, that an angel came down from Jehovah, whom Christians believe to be the allwise Governor of the Universe, and informed her that she should have a son that would war against the oppressors of Israel, and that particular care on her part must be taken during her pregnancy. She was to drink no wine, nor strong drink, nor eat any thing unclean; and no hair must on any account be taken from his head. The woman told her husband the good tidings, and he was over-joyed, and prayed to the Lord that the angel would again descend. This request was granted, and the angel repeated to the husband what had been told to his wife. When these instructions, given by the angel, were ended, out of gratitude to the heavenly messenger, this joyful pair proposed to dress a kid, and invited the angel to partake of it This request was not complied with, but Manoah and his wife were told to sacrifice to the Lord; which they did, and as the flame ascended, the angel went up with it, after refusing to make known his name.
In a few months, Sampson was born; and his parents were particular in observing all things commanded, as it respected the child, until his arrival to manhood; when, behold! this Samson, the gift of the Lord, who was to deliver his countrymen out of bondage, from the galling yoke of the Philistines—this Samson commenced his life by going down to the Philistines, and taking up with different women. Some he took as wives, and with others he carried on any thing but a respectable intercourse; and in all his actions he sought a quarrel with the enemies of Israel. All unknown to his parents, it is recorded that he possessed strength superior to human beings, and that this strength resided in the hair of his head. His enemies discovered this strength, and bribed his wives and concubines to discover how he could be bound, so that they could destroy him. After lying, and submitting to be bound, he betrayed the secret to one of his favorite women. His head was shaved, his eyes put out and he was cast into prison.
In the course of his revels among his ladies, he was waring continually with his wives’ countrymen; and such was his dexterity, that he caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail, and turned them into the standing corn and burnt up their harvest. At another time, when pursued by his enemies, it is recorded that he slew a thousand men with, the jaw-bone of an ass; and so mighty was his strength, that the gates of a city were by him carried away with ease, and placed on the top of a mountain; and so terrific was his strength, that his favorite woman, by bribery, at last found out that his almost almighty power was in his hair, which had been from his birth untouched and unshorn; but as soon as his hair was taken off, Jehovah withdrew his strength, and his foes bound him with care, put out his eyes, and cast him into prison. At length, his hair grew again on his head, and his mighty strength returned. He then prayed to Jehovah to enable him to lift up the mighty building in which the Lords of the Philistines were; and having succeeded, down it came with a dreadful crash, and Samson, with all that were within, perished in the ruins.
Now, this is the man who is recorded to have been raised up to restore to the seed of Abram their lost power; whose whole life was a scene of folly and madness. Can any man, in the full exercise of his reason, believe that the Ruler of all worlds would employ such a contemptible creature to bring about his plan of redeeming his favorite people from bondage? Let us take a bird’s-eye view of Samson’s life; and first, we will inquire, what end was to be answered by raising up this mighty man? Secondly, did Samson perform the intention of Jehovah towards his chosen race?
We proceed to the first inquiry, What end was to be answered by raising up Samson? His whole life was one continued scene of folly and licentiousness; shedding of blood was his practice; and the mighty strength given him by Jehovah, was employed in doing the most wanton mischief, such as none but a madman would perform. The object of so much murder and bloodshed, we are informed, was to deliver the Israelites from Philistine subjugation; in doing which, he fell a victim to his own folly, in destroying the enemies of the Lord. Can it be possible that the Ruler of all worlds raised up such a madman to carry out his plans? If a story of this kind should be recorded in any other book than the Bible, no credit would be given to it. But when it is recorded as making a part of God’s dealings with his chosen people, it is shocking to all our ideas of Infinite Wisdom, Power, and Goodness.
In the second place, What resulted to Israel by the efforts of Samson? We answer, nothing at all; for in consequence of the wickedness of the Benjamites, a war soon after commenced between the tribes, in which thousands and tens of thousands were slain. The history of Samson, then, is one of those fables with which the Scriptures abound, and which, if recorded by heathen authors, no one could be found who would believe them to be any thing but fables. But being a part of the Bible, Christians attach consequence to them, and father them on the all-wise, all-powerful God, the Ruler of the Universe.
Finally, to show the folly in believing that Samson was raised up to redeem the Israelites from serving the Philistines:—by the battle fought immediately after the death of Samson, the Philistines gained a complete victory over Israel, routed the whole army, and took the ark of the Lord prisoner.