A Nation in Moral Decay
Samson’s generation was one of spiritual apathy. “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 21:25). Israel had exchanged covenant faithfulness for compromise. The Philistines ruled over them — not through open war but through cultural assimilation and moral decay.
Into this context, Samson was raised as a separated man — yet he chose to live as though there were no separation at all. His desire for Philistine women violated his Nazarite vow (Judg. 14:3). His arrogance invited defeat. The same hands that once wielded the jawbone of a donkey to destroy enemies would one day push pillars in desperation.
Samson’s life mirrored his nation’s: consecrated in calling, but compromised in conduct.
