Samson, a judge?

Judges
It's kind of interesting to read that Samson was considered a leader of the Israelites.  It seems to me that he was just a capricious, somewhat angry, man who had a serious grudge against the Philistines.  Granted, the Philistines were pagans and therefore mortal enemies of Israel, but Samson doesn't seem to have any sort of typical judge characteristics.  He never offered wise advice, nor did he rally the troops and rout the Philistines completely.  By God's Spirit, he was able to kill an inordinately large number of Philistines on his own, but to what end?  What did his life demonstrate to the nation?
Perhaps the story was meant to show that in the end, Samson was more concerned with God's plan for his life than his own plan (womanizing, etc).  Or that God has compassion on those who call out to him, as Samson did just before he brought down the pagan temple.
An article titled "Samson's Silver Spoon" by Bob Deffinbaugh summed up in more detail my curiosities about Samson.  Basically, Samson had huge potential based on his birth (foretold by an angel, blessed by God as a Nazirite) and yet he squandered it.  He sort of saved Israel, but not in a great way.  Fortunately, in Jesus Christ we have a saviour who makes the grade, so to speak.  In fact, only through Christ can we be saved, as mortal man cannot hope to aspire to be as righteous as God.  We can see this through the story of Samson, since he started out so well, and yet didn't quite reach his potential.  So don't rely on your own strength to carry you through, because it will inevitably fail.  Rely on God!

An oath to the Lord

Judges
I think today's reading Judges (particularly chapter 11) gives us a pretty clear message on vows.  Don't make them too lightly!  Jephthah, a warrior from Gilead of the Israelites, made a vow that if God was with him in battle and he returned home in victory, he would sacrifice as a burnt offering the first thing he laid eyes on when he got home.
Lo and behold, his daughter, his only child, is the first thing to come out of his home.  Did he offer her as a burnt offering to the Lord?  Some say yes, he did sacrifice her.  More likely, he dedicated her to the Lord's service and she never married.  Regardless, he was not prepared to make this sacrifice.  Fortunately, he upheld his oath that he had made to the Lord, and therefore upheld his honour and the name of the Lord.
Lesson to learn?  As I mentioned, when making an oath, or vowing to do something, carry through on your promise, and realize when you're making it that a vow is not a fleeting fantasy.

Not for the faint hearted

Whoever said that Christianity was only a crutch or was meant for little children certainly missed reading the book of Judges!  The stories of God working in the lives of the Israelites are certainly not fairy tales.  Take a look at this:

Judges 3:20-25 - Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his summer palace^g and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose from his seat, 21Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. 22Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came out his back. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. 23Then Ehud went out to the porch^h; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

24After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the house.” 25They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead. 

Ehud went on to lead the Israelites into battle against the evil king of Moab, and they struck down 10,000 men.

Again, God raised up another judge, Shamgar, and this is what is said about him (3:31) - After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.

Our God has the power to save!