Samson’s End
Judges 16
Judges 16
Judges 16. In this chapter, we have the final series of events in Samson’s life; most notably, the loss and restoration of the outward sign of his Nazariteship. The Spirit of God provides such details as to show us how a man of such strength was overcome by temptation. His fall was accomplished is gradual steps. The Lord graciously preserved him in a wrong step, and he failed to recognize the seriousness of the situation. We find that Samson’s weakness for Philistine women was a besetting sin that ultimately uncovered the secret of his strength. However, we see a beautiful contrast between Christ and Samson. There is a similarity in circumstances, both being peculiarly alone in the world (Ps. 102:6-8). Christ, a Nazarite in type, whose opposed by the religious flesh (Philistines) as an enemy from without, but also was rejected by His own people, just as the men of Judah had no love for Samson. It is a special kind of trial, to continue in separation to God without even the support of those we are serving. The only recourse for the Nazarite is full dependence on God, like a root our of dry ground, to draw all resources form God. In Samson we see the weakness of the flesh: he grievously fails, seeking a woman of the Philistines, which brings him into bondage, steals his strength, and robs him of discernment (eyes). Christ is the perfect contrast. Faced with greater trials, pushed beyond measure by Satan, the world, and sin in His own people, Christ never wavered in devotedness to God, and answered every temptation (Matt. 4) and accusation (John 8) with the Word of God! Samson won a greater victory in his death than in his life. How much greater the work of Christ, who lived every second for the glory of God!
Samson Takes Away the Gates of a City to Avoid Capture (16:1-3)
CHAPTER 16
1 And Samson went to Gazah, and saw there a harlot, and went in to her. 2 And it was told the Gazathites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they surrounded him, and laid wait for him all night at the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning light we will kill him. 3 And Samson lay till midnight; and he arose at midnight, and seized the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and tore them up with the bar, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron. DARBY
vv.1-3 Samson Escapes from Gaza. We find a striking principle at the beginning of this chapter. Samson was once again taking a wrong step, going to Gaza, one of the five cities of the Philistines, and going after a woman of the Philistines who was a harlot. However, the Lord preserved him by His grace, and he displayed even a greater strength in opposition to the Philistines than before. There is in the victory of Samson at Gaza much that would prefigure to us the death and resurrection of Christ. A Samson woke out of sleep and took the gates and bars and carried them away to a high place, so Christ has risen from the dead and annulled him who had the power of death (Heb. 2:14), spoiling principalities and powers (Col. 2). Gates speak of power (Matt. 16:18). Hebron is the place of communion. There seems to be no recognition on the part of Samson that he was had been in a dangerous position with this woman, and it was by God’s grace that he was delivered. What should have produced humility and self-judgment in Samson instead produced greater carelessness.
Samson’s Love for Delilah, He Tells His Secret (16:4-17)
4 And it came to pass afterwards that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Persuade him, and see in what his great strength is, and with what we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to overpower him; and we will each give thee eleven hundred silver-pieces. DARBY
vv.4-5 Samson Loves Delilah: She Is Bribed by the Philistine Lords. Simpsons unseparated heart went out again after a Philistine woman. This time it was Delilah, a woman in the valley of Sorek, meaning “tendril”, of the vine. A tendril a is a thin, specialized stem that climbing vines use to grip and climb up surfaces. Aside from the connection to vines, which was dangerous ground for Samson, the tendril represents the way Samson’s affections drew him to these compromising individuals. The woman of Timnah pleased Samson’s eye, the woman at Gaza ensnared him for a moment, but Delilah took possession of his affections. There’s a powerful lesson in this for us. This was now the third time that Samson had loved a Philistine woman. His affections became attached to the very world from which his Nazariteship separated him. When a believer fails, the enemy of our soul becomes wiser as to our weaknesses. In his craftiness, he can exploit those weaknesses to gain an advantage. Raw strength was never going to restrain Samson, as the incident in Gaza showed. His weakness was for women, and Delilah was bribed by the Lords of the Philistines to defeat his great strength by finding out the secret of it. The Bible states that Samson loved her, but her interest was in the eleven hundred pieces of silver. It is a sad thing to see this man, whom we cannot help but love, so thoroughly fooled and cheated by Delilah.
6 Then Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, in what is thy great strength, and with what thou mightest be bound to overpower thee. 7 And Samson said to her, If they should bind me with seven fresh cords which have not been dried, then should I be weak, and be as another man. 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now she had liers in wait abiding in the chamber; and she said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he broke the cords, as a thread of tow is broken when it touches the fire; and his strength was not known. DARBY
vv.6-9 The Test of the Seven Fresh Cords. Delilah openly asked Samson how his great strength could be overcome and how he could be bound. Samson should have recognized the danger, but instead he began to play with the very thing that sought his destruction. He should have just said “No”. He was led as an ox to the slaughter. He told her that “seven fresh cords which have not been dried” would make him weak like another man. Yet when she bound him and cried, “The Philistines are upon thee, Samson!” he broke the cords like tow touching fire. Ironically, while the physical cords could not bind him, his heart was increasingly being bound by his affection for Delilah. Nevertheless, God still sustained His unfaithful servant, and his strength remained.
10 And Delilah said to Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me and told me lies. Now tell me, I pray thee, with what thou mightest be bound. 11 And he said to her, If they should bind me fast with new ropes, with which no work has been done, then should I be weak, and be as another man. 12 And Delilah took new ropes, and bound him with them, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! Now there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he broke them from off his arms like a thread. DARBY
vv.10-12 The Test of the New Ropes. Delilah continued to press Samson, accusing him of mocking her and telling her lies. This time Samson told her that “new ropes, with which no work has been done” would make him weak. Again she bound him and again the Philistines lay in wait, but he broke the ropes from his arms like a thread. Despite the increasingly obvious purpose of Delilah’s questions, Samson remained with her. His sin was blinding him to a danger that should have been unmistakable. Yet God continued to sustain him, because he had not yet surrendered his secret.
13 And Delilah said to Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me and told me lies. Tell me with what thou mightest be bound. And he said to her, If thou shouldest weave the seven locks of my head with the web. 14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep, and tore out the pin of the beam, and the web. DARBY
vv.13-14 The Test of the Woven Hair. In the third test Samson allowed Delilah to come nearer to the true secret, speaking now of “the seven locks of my head.” She wove them with the web and fastened them with the pin, but when she cried again, “The Philistines are upon thee, Samson!” he awoke and tore away the pin and the web, showing tremendous strength. Even this could not quench the power that God continued to supply to His poor and unfaithful servant. Yet Delilah’s influence over Samson was steadily increasing.
15 Then she said to him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? these three times hast thou mocked me, and hast not told me in what is thy great strength. 16 And it came to pass when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death; 17 and he told her all his heart, and said to her, There has not come a razor upon my head; for I am a Nazarite of God from my mother's womb; if I should be shaven, then my strength would go from me, and I should be weak, and be like all mankind. DARBY
vv.15-17 Samson Reveals His Secret. Delilah now pressed Samson through his affections: “How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me?” His life with Delilah had become miserable. She pressed him daily until “his soul was vexed unto death,” and finally “he told her all his heart.” He revealed that he was “a Nazarite of God from my mother’s womb.” His uncut hair was the sign of his separation, dependence, and obedience to God.1 The real issue was not some inherent power in Samson’s hair, but obedience to God’s will. The outward sign represented his secret relationship with God. Samson now surrendered that secret to Delilah.
Delilah’s Betrayal, Samson’s Capture and Imprisonment (16:18-21)
18 And Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, and she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this time, for he has told me all his heart. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand. 19 And she made him sleep upon her knees, and called a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to overpower him, and his strength went from him. 20 And she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep, and thought, I will go out as at other times before, and disengage myself. And he knew not that Jehovah had departed from him. 21 And the Philistines seized him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gazah, and bound him with fetters of bronze; and he had to grind in the prison-house. DARBY
vv.18-21 Samson’s Hair Is Cut and His Strength Departs. When Delilah realized that Samson had “told her all his heart,” she called the Philistine lords. She made Samson sleep upon her knees – a picture of moral sleep (Eph. 5:14; Rom. 13:11) – and had the seven locks of his head shaved away. With the mark of his dependence removed, “his strength went from him.” Samson awoke expecting to escape as he had before: “I will go out as at other times before, and disengage myself.” His previous experiences of God’s deliverance had given him a false security, but now the bond of communion had been broken. Most solemnly, “he knew not that Jehovah had departed from him.” The Philistines seized him, put out his eyes, bound him, and reduced the once-mighty Nazarite to grinding in the prison-house.
Samson Brings Down the House of the Philistines (16:22-31)
22 But the hair of his head began to grow after he was shaved. DARBY
v.22 Samson’s Hair Begins to Grow Again. In the midst of Samson’s humiliation something happened that escaped the Philistines’ notice: “But the hair of his head began to grow after he was shaved.” The mark of his Nazariteship began to return! His defeat was not to be the end of his history, and God would yet gain the final victory through His humbled servant.
23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands. 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god has given into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, even him who multiplied our slain. 25 And it came to pass when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison-house, and he played before them; and they set him between the pillars. 26 And Samson said to the lad that held him by the hand, Let loose of me, and suffer me to feel the pillars upon which the house stands, that I may lean upon them. 27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and upon the roof there were about three thousand men and women, who looked on while Samson made sport. DARBY
vv.23-27 The Philistines Celebrate and Mock Samson. The Philistine lords gathered to sacrifice to Dagon and attributed Samson’s defeat to their false god: “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands.” This was a step too far. Samson was brought from the prison-house to make sport before them, while the Philistine lords and thousands of people looked on. The judge who had once struck terror into the Philistines was now a blind slave and an object of ridicule. Yet the real issue went beyond Samson. His defeat had become an occasion for the Philistines to exalt Dagon over Jehovah. But Samson’s jealous God was about to magnify Himself and overturn their apparent triumph.
28 And Samson called to Jehovah, and said, Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may take one vengeance upon the Philistines for my two eyes. 29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood (and he supported himself upon them), the one with his right hand and the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines! And he bowed himself with might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than those whom he had slain in his life. DARBY
vv.28-30 Samson’s Final Prayer and Victory. In his humiliation Samson finally turned again to Jehovah: “Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once.” There had been a work of God in Samson, who was now free of his offending eyes. Nevertheless, fleshly thinking was still evident. His desire was to be avenged “for my two eyes.” 2 Nevertheless, the God who is above the failings of His servants heard Samson, and granted Samson strength for His own glory. Samson grasped the two central pillars and cried, “Let me die with the Philistines!” God strengthened him once more, and the house fell upon the Philistine lords and people. Thus “the dead that he slew at his death were more than those whom he had slain in his life.” Samson’s life had been marked by serious inconsistency, but his end was his greatest victory. He accomplished in death what he could not do in life, because of his recurring failures. How much greater the work of Christ, who lived every second for the glory of God! Samson in this way is a type of Christ, although also a great contrast to our Deliverer! Nevertheless, Samson died with the Philistines, the enemies of God’s people, whose association he could never escape, though he hated them. It is a solemn reminder of the governmental consequences of sustained fellowship with the world.3
31 And his brethren came down, and all the house of his father, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zoreah and Eshtaol in the sepulchre of Manoah his father. And he had judged Israel twenty years. DARBY
v.31 Samson Is Buried. Samson’s brethren and all his father’s house came and carried him back, burying him “between Zoreah and Eshtaol in the sepulchre of Manoah his father.” The Spirit closes his history by repeating that “he had judged Israel twenty years.” Samson’s course had been marked by grievous failure and deep chastening, yet God gave him a brighter end than the course that had preceded it. His final victory brought greater results than all his previous exploits. Samson is not the very last judge. God’s recourse in Samson’s day was to raise up a Nazarite. But what would God do when that servant failed, as Samson did? He would raise up another Nazarite in the person of Samuel! More separation to the Lord is always the answer.
- In Samson’s case, tested in a seemingly little sign but a sign of entire subjection to God, and this in separation from all others, it was obedience. – W. Kelly. Lectures on Judges.
- “I feel pretty assured that he saw clearer morally without them than he had seen in any sense with them. He had far too often made a wretched use of them in times that were past; and even now, in spite of the work of God in his soul, was there nothing weightier, was there nothing deeper, was there nothing to lament over more than the loss of those two eyes? It was Samson feeling for himself, yet not unpitied of the Lord; for there was One above Samson Who heard. And this is the great point for us that we can and ought to count on.” – W. Kelly. The Book of Judges.
- “But he is blind and enslaved, and he must perish himself in the judgment which he brings upon the impiety of his enemies. He had identified himself with the world by hearkening to it, and he must share the judgment which falls upon the world. There was something of this, though in a very different form and manner, in Jonathan. His faith was not perfect. He held the world with one hand and David with the other, though the excuse of natural relationship might be there.” – J.N. Darby. The Synopsis of the Books of the Bible.