As we delve further and further into the story of Samson, one cannot help but notice that something seems amiss. The narrative closely details Samson’s mission from his own perspective but the presence of the nation seems to be missing from all the action. After previous stories which are very “nation-centric,” why the sudden shift in perspective? What does this change demonstrate about Samson’s leadership ability and the nation’s response to him?

Many other leaders seem to rally behind the people. They rally the people to fight alongside them in battle and also rely on the nation’s support to sustain the leader while fighting. If the leader comes knocking at a door, that family is expected to give them bread, sustenance, and anything else requested to assist them in defeating the nation’s greatest enemies. By interacting with the nation on a more personal level, they are able to bolster their own leadership and unify the nation in pursuit of a common goal.

While this behavior pattern seems to be established among leaders, Samson takes a very different approach to his leadership. He seems to be a one-man show, barely relying on the nation to support his leadership. Samson not only does not interact with the nation, but also ventures deep into enemy territory alone to accomplish his mission of defeating the Philistines. Even though Samson was tasked with being a savior for the nation, it is clear that he does not value (or require) their contribution.

This is both a leadership failure and a failure on the national level as well. This demonstrates the extent to which the nation has deteriorated, to arrive at such a point of disunity. They are unable even to try to get behind the savior that God sent them. In such an intense time of national discord, the leader should be the one to facilitate unification of the nation and the the people should also be willing to take initiative to rally behind their leader. It is a two-way mission but when both sides fall short, it will cause a further breakdown of the already weak system as the story develops further.

Hannah Vorchheimer is a senior at SAR High School.

Shared by Avraham Norin, as an example of this week's 929 posts. 

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