Men are willing to fight and die for a great leader; Sampson was not a great leader. At no time in his life was Sampson ever able to lead the Israelites into combat against the Philistines. When the Philistines came for Sampson, the men of Judah chose to surrender him rather than fight for him. Even after the spirit of the Lord came upon him and he killed 1000 Philistines, the men of Judah did not flock to his side.

Sampson was not a great leader because he never put anybody or anything, (including God and God’s will), before himself. The story of Samson is full of, “I have seen… I want… I have a right… I merely did… I have killed… must I… I, I, and I.” Simpson was never righteous with anyone else because he was always unrighteous with himself.

Sampson was not a great leader, but in spite of that, after his victory he led Israel for 20 years. Nothing is recorded of what he did in those 20 years, there were no outstanding achievements. Sampson was a lone-wolf more than a leader. The writer of Judges noted that Sampson led for 20 years before he tells the story of Samson’s final demise. This leads scholars to believe that Sampson’s days of leadership were already over when chapter 16 tells the rest of the story.

The angel of the Lord had told Sampson’s parents that he was going to grow up and begin the final defeat of the Philistines. The angel of the Lord spoke the truth, but that does not mean that the course of Sampson’s life was predetermined. Sampson had real life choices just as we all do. He chose to be disobedient, selfish and unrighteous, yet he still was the first Israelite to defeat the Philistines in combat. The undeniable fact that God was able to use him, in spite of his unrighteousness raises an interesting question. How much more could Sampson have accomplished if he had chosen to be righteous?