Why is Samson in Hebrews hall of faith?

In today's scripture reading (Judges 13–15; Luke 6:27-49) I want to focus on the person of Samson. Samson is famous for the Samson and Delilah's story. It has been made into movies and other forms of art and literature, like this one by Rubens:

 Judges 13-15 told the story of Samson's beginning and the time prior to the Delilah story in Judges 16. His birth was a miracle - God gave a childless couple a son and instructions on how to bring him up (Judges 13). He then married a Philistine woman which led to a whole lot of conflict with the Philistines, who were ruling over Israel at the time (Judges 14 and 15).

God gave Samson tremendous physical power:
"The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat." (Judges 14:6)
"Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle." (Judges 14:19a)
"So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves." (Judges 15:4,5)
"As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men." (Judges 15:14,15)
Samson became Israel's judge (this was before Israel asked for a king) for 20 years and he protected his people from the Philistines.

So what was it that made Sampson so great that his name is listed among the people named in Hebrews 11? I am talking about people like Noah, Abraham and Moses. The scripture described him (among a list of others) as:
"And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies." (Hebrews 11:32-34)
The Hebrews famous "faith" chapter then concluded: "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." (Hebrews 11:39,40)

Now I don't think I am alone in thinking that among the "people that are listed in Hebrews 11, there is none as controversial as that of Samson. Most messages that I've heard on him leave the impression that this man was a failure, a failure that just happened to straighten out in the very end... for most writers had little good to say of him, and many went so far as to imply that it was a mistake that he was even mentioned in the 'Faith chapter' at all." (from this Discussion Forum by ceedub or C Johnson). C Johnson went on to say: "It seems that the consensus among the majority today is that Samson was a man of little faith, or worse yet, not a man of faith at all, a man that failed for most of his life and somehow managed to repent in the end, thus squeaking into Hebrews 11 by the skin of his teeth. But something is amiss, for it was God that placed Samson among the giants of faith, listing him by name no less, and with God there are no mistakes. So why the controversy?". He then went on to give a fabulous sermon as to why Samson was indeed a man of faith - well worth reading. I will extract here a few key points which I will chew on today to help me grow in my understanding of what my faith is about:

• Heb 11 doesn't list the men that had the cleanest records (for otherwise David may have been excluded), nor the ones that played it safe and protected their reputations among men the best (for then the Pharisees would have been found here). Hebrews 11 is not nicknamed the 'Hall of Law Keeping'. It lists those that were sure of the unseen, who believed in God's promises, who had their praise from God and not men. (Rom 2:29)
• Samson was the last of Israel's judges who lived in the same time as Samuel. The days of the judges are listed as the darkest days of Israel's history, a time of great evil and faithlessness, and a time when, according to Judges 17:6, 'every man did what was right in his own eyes', a condition that makes the faith of Samson shine all the brighter, for it was a terrible time to be given the task of leading this nation. It was in this time when Israel was being oppressed by the cruel Philistines for the wickedness that they themselves had committed, that God ordained Samson, before his birth, to begin the deliverance of his people, (for David would finish it some years later).
• One of the most fascinating things that set Samson apart from all others is the call upon his life, before he was even conceived, to be a Nazirite... to the time of his death. He is the first Nazirite mentioned in all of scripture, and unlike others, his lifelong vow was ordained and commanded by God himself, making this Samson a most unique type of Christ, who was the fulfillment of the true separation of a Nazirite... Samson's life and calling are very unusual and even appear odd at times, so it is important to see that Samson was set apart by God not so much to imitate, but rather to see a picture of the coming Saviour. (C Johnson then explained what "TYPE" means - imperfect "picture" of what was to come; illustrated by (1) his calling, (2) his taking a gentile bride, (3) destroying the lion in the vineyard, (4) the wedding feast, (5) striking out against Israel's enemies as God's appointed deliverer, (6) betrayal of Samson, (7) the middle 20 years are missing, (8) Delilah's betrayal, and lastly, (9) Samson and the cross).
  

What a picture of Jesus, who came and accomplished His greatest work of deliverance with outstretched arms! And as he laid down His life, accomplished the deliverance that would set his people free!!