Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 16:1

Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her.

Ch. Jdg 16:1-3. Samson at Gaza

1 . Gaza ] The most southerly of the Philistine cities, and far from the scene of Samson’s other adventures. Long before the Philistines arrived Gaza is mentioned in Egyptian lists (e.g. in the time of Thothmes III), and in the Amarna letters. As it lay at the meeting-point of the caravan-routes from Egypt and the Arabian desert, it was always an important centre; the kind of place where bad characters might be found. In Hebr. the name is ‘Azza, with the hard ‘ayin represented in Assyr. by (hence azzatu), in Greek by g (hence Gaza); now Ghazze or Razze.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Gaza – About 8 hours from Eleutheropolis, and one of the chief strong-holds of the Philistines.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Jdg 16:1-31

Then went Samson to Gaza.

Pleasure and peril in Gaza

For what reason did Samson go down to Gaza? We imagine that in default of any excitement such as he craved in the towns of his own land, he turned his eyes to the Philistine cities which presented a marked contrast. There life was energetic and gay, there many pleasures were to be had. New colonists were coming in their swift ships, and the streets presented a scene of constant animation. The strong, eager man, full of animal passions, found the life he craved in Gaza where he mingled with the crowds and heard tales of strange existence. Nor was there wanting the opportunity for enjoyment which at home he could not indulge. A constant peril this of seeking excitement, especially in an age of high civilisation. The means of variety and stimulus are multiplied, and even the craving outruns them–a craving yielded to, with little or no resistance, by many who should know better. The moral teacher must recognise the desire for variety and excitement as perhaps the chief of all the hindrances he has now to overcome. For one who desires duty there are scores who find it dull and tame and turn from it, without sense of fault, to the gaieties of civilised society in which there is so little of the positively wrong that conscience is easily appeased. The religious teacher finds the demand for brightness and variety before him at every turn; he is indeed often touched by it himself, and follows with more or less of doubt a path that leads straight from his professed goal. Is amusement devilish? asks one. Most people reply with a smile that life must be lively or it is not worth having. And the Philistinism that attracts them with its dash and gaudiness is not far away nor hard to reach. It is not necessary to go across to the Continent, where the brilliance of Vienna or Paris offers a contrast to the grey dulness of a country village; nor even to London where, amid the lures of the midnight streets, there is peril of the gravest kind. Those who are restless and foolhardy can find a Gaza and a valley of Sorek nearer home, in the next market town. Philistine life, lax in morals, full of rattle and glitter, heat and change, in gambling, in debauchery, in sheer audacity of movement and talk, presents its allurements in our streets, has its acknowledged haunts in our midst. Young people brought up to fear God in quiet homes whether of town or country, are enticed by the whispered counsels of comrades half-ashamed of the things they say, yet eager for more companionship in what they secretly know to be folly or worse. Young women are the prey of those who disgrace manhood and womanhood by the offers they make, the insidious lies they tell. The attraction once felt is apt to master. As the current that rushes swiftly bears them with it, they exult in the rapid motion even while life is nearing the fatal cataract. Subtle is the progress of infidelity. From the persuasion that enjoyment is lawful and has no peril in it, the mind quickly passes to a doubt of the old laws and warnings. Is it so certain that there is a reward for purity and unworldliness? Is not all the talk about the life to come a jangle of vain words? The present is a reality, death a certainty, life a swiftly passing possession. They who enjoy know what they are getting. The rest is dismissed as altogether in the air. (R. A. Watson, M. A.)

And went away with them, bar and all.

Our Champion

Poor Samson! We cannot say much about him by way of an example to believers. He is a beacon to us all, for he shows us that no strength of body can suffice to deliver from weakness of mind. Samson is also a prodigy. He is more a wonder as a believer than he is even as a man. It is marvellous that a man could smite thousands of Philistines with no better weapon than the jawbone of a newly-killed ass, but it is more marvellous still that Samson should be a saint, ranked among these illustrious ones saved by faith, though such a sinner. St. Paul has put him among the worthies in the eleventh chapter of the Hebrews. I look upon Samsons case as a great wonder, put in Scripture for the encouragement of great sinners. If such a man as Samson, nevertheless, prevails by faith to enter the kingdom of heaven, so shall you and I. Though our characters may have been disfigured by many vices, and hitherto we may have committed a multitude of sins, if we can trust Christ to save us He will purge us with hyssop, and we shall be clean; and in our death we shall fall asleep in the arms of sovereign mercy to wake up in the likeness of Christ.

I. Look at our mighty champion at his work. You remember when our Samson, our Lord Jesus, came down to the Gaza of this world, twas love that brought Him; love to a most unworthy object, for He loved the sinful Church which had gone astray from Him; yet came He from heaven, and left the ease and delights of His Fathers palace to put Himself among the Philistines, the sons of sin and Satan here below. There He lies silently in the tomb. He who is to bruise the serpents head is Himself bruised. O Thou who art the worlds great Deliverer, there Thou liest, as dead as any stone! Surely Thy foes have led Thee captive, O Thou mighty Samson! He sleeps; but think not that He is unconscious of what is going on. He knows everything. He sleeps till the proper moment comes, and then our Samson awakes; and what now? He has defeated death; He has pulled up his posts and bar, and taken away his gates. As for sin, He treads that beneath His feet: He has, utterly overthrown it, and Satan lies broken beneath the heel that once was bruised. In sacred triumph He drags our enemies behind Him. Sing to Him! Angels, praise Him in your hymns! Exalt Him, cherubim and seraphim! Our mightier Samson hath gotten to Himself the victory, and cleared the road to heaven and eternal life for all His people!

II. Consider the work itself. We will stand at the gates of this Gaza and see what the Champion has done. He had three enemies. These three beset Him, and He has achieved a threefold victory. There was death. Christ, in being first overcome by death, made Himself a conqueror over death, and hath given us also the victory; for concerning death we may truly say, Christ has not only opened the gates, but He has taken them away; and not the gates only, but the very posts, and the bar, and all. Christ hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light. He hath abolished it in this sense–that, in the first place, the cause of death is gone. Believers die, but they do not die for their sins. The curse of death, then, being taken away, we may say that the posts are pulled up. Christ has taken away the after-results of death, the souls exposure to the second death. There is no hell for you, believer. Christ has taken away posts, and bar, and all. Death is not to you any longer the gate of torment, but the gate of paradise. Moreover, Christ has not only taken away the curse, and the after-tumults of death, but from many of us he has taken away the fear of death. He came on purpose to deliver those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Besides, there is a sense in which it may be said that Christians never die at all. He that liveth and believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. He that liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. They do not die; they do but sleep in Jesus, and are blessed. But the main sense in which Christ has pulled up the posts of the gates of death is that He has brought in a glorious resurrection. If you have imagination, let the scene now present itself before your eyes. Christ the Samson sleeping in the dominions of death; death boasting and glorifying itself that now it has conquered the Prince of Life; Christ waking, striding to that gate, dashing it aside, taking it upon His shoulders, carrying it away, and saying as He mounts to heaven, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Another host which Christ had to defeat was the army of sin. Christ had come among sinners, and sins beset Him round. Your sins and my sins beleaguered the Saviour till He became their captive. In Him was no sin, and yet sins compassed Him about like bees. Sin was imputed to Him; the sins of all His people stood in His way to keep Him out of heaven as well as them. I may say, therefore, that all our sins stood in the way of Christs resurrection; they were the great iron gate, and they were the bar of brass, that shut Him out from heaven. Doubtless, we might have thought that Christ would be a prisoner for ever under the troops of sin, but oh, see how the mighty Conqueror, as He bears our sins in His own body on the tree, stands with unbroken bones beneath the enormous load. See how He takes those sins upon His shoulders, and carries them right up from His tomb, and hurls them away into the deep abyss of forgetfulness, where, if they be sought for, they shall not be found any more for ever. Then there was a third enemy, and he also has been destroyed–that was Satan. Our Saviours sufferings were not only an atonement for sin, but they were a conflict with Satan, and a conquest over him. Satan is a defeated foe. The gates of hell cannot prevail against the Church; but, what is more, Christ has prevailed against the gates of hell. As for Satan, the posts, and bar, and all have been plucked up from his citadel in this sense–that Satan has now no reigning power over believers. He may bark at us like a dog, and he may go about like a roaring lion, but to rend and to devour are not in his power.

III. We will now see how we can use this victory. Surely there is some comfort here. You have a desire to be saved; God has impressed you with a deep sense of sin; the very strongest wish of your soul is that you might have peace with God. But you think there are so many difficulties in the way–Satan, your sins, and I know not what. Let me tell thee, in Gods name there is no difficulty whatever in the way except in thine own heart, for Christ has taken away the gates of Gaza–gates, post, bar, and all. They are all gone. Is not this an incentive for us who profess to be servants of Christ to go out and fight with the world and overcome it for Christ? Where Jesus leads us it needs not much courage to follow. The earth is the Lords and the fulness thereof. Let us go and take it for Him! (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth.–

Mans cannot and mans can: A New Years address

Man has the power to turn bad things to a good account, and it is lawful and right for him to do so. On this principle we shall use these words of a bad woman to a not very good man to illustrate the ability and the inability of man.

I. The inability of man; or what he has no strength for.

1. He cannot destroy the actions of his life.

2. He cannot bring back the neglected opportunities of his life.

3. He cannot blot out the sins of his life.

4. He cannot arrest the course of his life.

5. He cannot destroy the influence of his life.

II. The ability of man; or, what he has strength for. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Through the moral strength of Christ man can–

1. Reverse the ruling impulse of his past sinful life.

2. Make amends for the pernicious influence of his past life.

3. Remove from his own soul the pernicious influence of his past life.

4. Turn the very scene of his earthly life into a heaven. (Homilist.)

The secret of Samsons strength

Samson was not transparent to the vision of those who were nearest him. His true nature was a riddle they could not solve. His phenomenal prowess was not written in the lines of a vast and unwieldy body, or, as imagined by some, in the flowing locks of his hair. It was no mere matter of exceptional physique, of massive thews and sinews, of Titanic proportions visible to every eye. There was more in him than met the eye, or the question would not have been repeated with such despairing urgency, Tell me wherein thy great strength lieth? Did it spring from the dignity and exaltation of his lot? Samson was a judge in Israel, the saviour of his tribe, the liberator of his people, an uncrowned king; one of those elect military and moral leaders raised up in an era of gross barbarity and widespread lawlessness to repress irreligion and godlessness, subdue the foes of Israel, call the people back to truth, and goodness, and God, and prepare them for the acceptance of law and order at the hands of His earthly representative, a Divinely-given king. But Samsons strength lay no more in his position than in his body. He had to make his opportunity rather than to take it. Therefore, we repeat Delilahs inquiry and say–if neither in the limbs he used, nor in the place he filled, where then lay his great strength?

I. The first response, with all the uniqueness and definiteness of inspiration, brings us face to face with God. The historian of the judges, with characteristic simplicity and directness, brevity and force, traces Samsons power, by one single and swift step, to Jehovah, and credits his marvellous triumphs to the mighty and immediate movements of the Divine Spirit. His birth is a Divine incident and his nurture the Divine care. He is reared according to the directions of God, and whilst still a young man the Spirit of God moves him, strikes him repeatedly and with increasing force, as the smith hits and welds the glowing metal on the anvil with his hammer; pierces him through and through till his pain-born patriotism is unsupportable and he flings himself against the Philistines with the crushing weight of an avalanche. From first to last the heros life is invested with the supernatural. Samsons power is moral, of the will and spirit, and not merely of bone and sinew. He is not a giant in body and a dwarf in soul. The Spirit of God is the underlying force of his character, and alone secures for him his rank in the long line of mediators of Divine truth, and agents of Divine revelation.

II. Now what is attributed to God directly and at once in the Old Testament is set down to the credit of Samsons faith in the New; and accordingly this Divine hero takes his place in the long roll-call of conquering believers, along with Abel and Abraham, Jacob and Joseph, Deborah and David. The language changes, but the fact is the same. It is the view-point that differs. The historian is seated on high, and reads Samsons career from beside the throne of the Eternal. The key-note is the same; both are struck in the high spiritual realm, but the note has different names in the different notations of the old and new economies. In the former case the answer to the question reads, Samson is of God, and has overcome them; because, greater is He than is in him, than he that is in the world; whilst the second case is expressed in the language of the same writer: This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. But this is not all. The new description is itself a positive addition to our knowledge–another ray from the Sun of Revelation. The same people do not describe the same facts in different ways without a motive. Fresh forces of the Spirit are at work meeting the fresh needs of living and suffering men, in a fresh and living speech, addressed to the heart and life. True eloquence, says one of our most recent seers, is to translate a truth into language perfectly intelligible to the person to whom yon speak. That is what the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews does. In a sustained stream of the purest and most exalted eloquence he translates the histories of Enoch and Noah, Moses and Samson, into the language of the Church and the street, brings them into vital touch with the feelings throbbing in the heart, and makes the Hebrew Christians to realise the unity of their lives, under the new and revolutionary conditions created by Christianity, with those of the fathers of the human race, the founders of the Hebrew nationality, and the prophets and leaders of the revelation of God. In becoming Christians they were not destroying the law and the prophets, but filling out their programme, advancing their ideals, and accomplishing their projects. We can only discharge our obligations to our age as we catch the spirit of the writers of the New Testament, make the use of the elder Christianity they made of Mosaism and Judaism, adopt a language that beats and throbs with the life of to-day, and so reveal the unity of human life, and of all ages in the living and loving God.

III. Bringing Samson, then, out of the ancient Eastern world, and looking at him in the full blaze of all the lights that shine on human character in its making, and on human struggle in its success and failure, what is the answer yielded to the demand, Tell me wherein thy great strength lieth?

1. No despicable advantage, surely, was that with which our hero started life. His being was stored with force at his birth. He had an uncommon, I may say, for that day, a uniquely opulent inheritance. He was born of a good family, though in a bad time; a family that dwelt at the topmost heights of spiritual consecration, had grandly dared in the midst of seething vice and irreligion to choose the most self-suppressing type of personal and domestic life, and dedicate its energies to obeying the most strenuous law of living yet made known, even that of the Nazarite vow. No aspiration soared higher. No range of service was broader. No attitude was less open to question. No position made greater demands on courage, fidelity, and self-sacrifice. Can you estimate the spiritual wealth of such a descent? Have you any measure for the advantages of such a home? Would not every day be an acquisition of power, and may we not readily believe that as the child grew the Lord blessed him? Parentage and nurture are among the chief agents for continuing and advancing the spiritual welfare of the world; and so, whilst God was the fountain-head of all the power of Samson, one stream of the spirit-force assuredly came along the line of inherited sanctities and family training, constituting him the typical Nazarite, the chief example of that special phase of the Hebrew religion–at once of its splendid strength and of its possible weakness.

2. Again, Samsons Nazarism, practised from boyhood, nourished by a mothers watchful care, and intensified by his isolation from the rest of the world, must have exercised an incalculable power upon his mind, and fixed in the porcelain of his nature the faith that he had a supreme work to do for God, and was responsible to Him, till the last stroke was given. The man who means to do any real work in a brief life must know what not to do. Samsons vow was of signal service in teaching that. The root of his religion was separation, and his vow roused and stimulated his nature, opened his being to the access of Gods Spirit with unresisted fulness and all-subduing might, developed the feeling of the sacred inviolability of his life, assured him he could not be hurt so long as he was faithful to his calling, and rendered him susceptible of that strength of will, heroic fearlessness, and resistless dash, which made him indomitable. Samson is a dedicated will; and once dedicated in will to God we are strong for God and by God.

3. The reputation of Samson has suffered from the grim humour marking some of his exploits and the gigantic and boisterous mirth that runs riot through some of his achievements. We men of the West set so high an estimate on strenuous earnestness, rigid intensity, and serious ardour, that we always prefer majesty to grace, sober sincerity to playful humour. The massive dignity and royal gravity of Milton win upon us, whilst the nimble pliancy and occasional sportfulness of Shakespeare are ignored. But we must not forget that great natures are rarely wanting in humour. Samsons natural cheerfulness; his light and cheerful temperament, sending forth a full buoyant river of mirth, was one of the sources of his strength, saving him from the weakness that, in a time of oppression and calamity, nurses care, frets away power, anticipates disaster, and wastes existence. Never quailing before the superiority of his foes, he is as sunny as he is strong, as bright as he is bold, and thus is able to husband his strength for the heaviest demand that the day may bring. Joy is a duty, and of priceless worth is the temperament that makes obedience easy, opening the soul to every genial ray that shines, and closing it to the access of brooding care and darkening anxiety.

4. It was one of the darkest hours in Israels history. The tribes generally had lost heart and hope, and Judah was so disorganised that, instead of co-operating with Samson, they betrayed him into the hands of the common enemy. Here then was urgent need, and the need provoked and stimulated Samsons faith, as his vow had inspired it. Necessity was laid upon him. The Spirit of God moved him mightily by the sight of the work to be done, the widespread anarchy and confusion, and the vast suffering and misery. Consecrated souls are goaded to battle by the sympathetic pains they feel with the wronged and the oppressed. Oh, for the quick sympathy that sees in every lost soul a call to service, and in every national and social evil a Divine summons to a quenchless zeal in service for God and men!

5. But the function of Samson in revelation would be most imperfectly discharged for us if we did not recognise the teaching of his flagrant and ignominious fall. Nothing external, though it be the purest and best, can enable us to keep the heights the soul is competent to gain. God, and God alone, is sufficient for continuous progress and final victory. (J. Clifford, D. D.)

Individulalism in religion

The lesson of Samsons life is Individualism in religion: what God can accomplish for His people by the power of a single arm. Wherein lay his strength?

I. In his early consecration to God. And just in proportion to the degree of our consecration will be the extent of our influence and success in the Divine service. We are weak in the ratio of what we reserve. Give up little for Christ, and we will accomplish little. Give up all, and we shall be more than conquerors through Him who loves us.

II. In doing the work assigned him.

III. In fighting with the weapon given him.

IV. Samson was prepared to die for his cause. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. This was the Hebrew warriors greatest and most heroic exploit. He gave his life for his country. ( R. Balgarnie, D. D.)

His soul was vexed unto death.–

The gradual and subtle advance of sin

That story of the blandishments of Delilah is compassed in a few verses, but as a matter of fact, I presume, it spreads over a considerable time. Delilah could not have overcome a man of native wit and ready perception like Samson by bringing those snares against him in a short period; but she might now, with soft, silent look, woo the secret from his heart; then, changing her humour, she would try the loving petulance of the toy of his love as she was: How canst thou say thou lovest me, seeing thou withholdest this secret from me? Then inch by inch she wearied out the strength of resistance, and then came that terrible catastrophe; but it was slow, very slow. He felt himself strong through it all, perchance; but because he felt himself strong, the snare was biting through the very joints of his harness; and when the day of danger and necessity came, it fell from off him, and left him a victim to the powers of the enemy. Now, you are an old man; white hairs are upon your head. Did you notice their growth? Did you notice how one by one they began to whiten? Did you not rather, the first day you noticed that symptom of coming age, pluck out the recreant hair and cast it aside as a mere accidental thing? But it grew notwithstanding, till it frosted your head. You see it is bleak, cold winter, and there is not a leaf to be seen, and the earth is bound up in its snowy coat; you never noticed how it stole in, and how bright, warm summer and the green leaves turned to the crispness of the sere and yellow leaf, and one by one dropped away, till at length winter came and killed the last leaf that fluttered in the cold wind. You did not notice this, but it came on. Or see yon noble berg that floats in the northern seas, and upon its pinnacled crown the bright spring sunshine plays till it lights it up into a diadem of glory. How majestically it floats upon the blue bosom of these waters! Then suddenly as in an instant you see that mighty diadem of crystal pinnacles plunge into the depths. Sudden? no, not sudden at all. Sudden in its collapse, sudden in its end; but the warm waters of the springtide far beneath the broad base which weighted it so well were lapping away its strength and melting down the icy surface, and then, when the gravity was just pitched over, it fell. So gradual is sin. You go on in all the joyousness of your sinnership; you glory that you at least have been free from all the grievous pestilences which hang about sin: aye, go on, and float down towards the south, and remember that the warm currents which you do not notice are eating out the strength of your life, and your fall will be sudden, in an instant, because you have not noticed its gradual approach. You do not notice that first sin; you feel that it has not produced any great impression upon you; but toils are being prepared, and inch by inch you are let down to the very edge. It is only taken to put back again; it is only keeping a little longer; it is only preparing the way for disgrace and exposure. It is only a light laugh at the corner of the street, and a merry innocent freak with a strange coy face that meets you. It is only tarrying a while to speak a word of ready and easy good-humoured jest. But her ways lead down to hell, and her end is in the grave. (Bp. Boyd Carpenter.)

If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me.–

The giants locks

I. Learn how very strong people abe sometimes coaxed into great imbecilities. Those who have the kindest and most sympathetic natures are the most in danger. The warmth and susceptibility of your nature will encourage the siren. Though strong as a giant, look out for Delilahs scissors.

II. This narrative teaches us the power of an ill-disposed woman. While the most excellent and triumphant exhibitions of character we find among the women of history, and the world thrills with the names of Marie Antoinette and Josephine and Joan of Arc and Maria Theresa and hundreds of others, who have ruled in the brightest homes and sung the sweetest cantos, and enchanted the nations with their art, and swayed the mightiest of sceptres, on the other hand the names of Mary the First of England, Margaret of France, Julia of Rome, and Elizabeth Petrowna of Russia have scorched the eye of history with their abominations, and their names, like banished spirits, have gone shrieking and cursing through the world. Woman stands nearest the gate of heaven or nearest the door of hell. When adorned by grace she reaches a point of Christian elevation which man cannot attain, and when blasted by crime she sinks deeper than man can plunge.

III. Consider some of the ways in which strong men get their locks shorn. The strength of men is variously distributed. Sometimes it lies in physical development, sometimes in intellectual attainment, sometimes in heart force, sometimes in social position, sometimes in financial accumulation; and there is always a shears ready to destroy it. Every day there are Samsons ungianted. I saw a young man start in life under the most cheering advantages. His acute mind was at home in all scientific dominions. But he began to tamper with brilliant free-thinking. Modern theories of the soul threw over him their blandishments. Scepticism was the Delilah that shore his locks off, and all the Philistines of doubt and darkness and despair were upon him. He died in a very prison of unbelief, his eyes out. Far back in the country districts there was born one whose fame will last as long as American institutions. His name was the terror of all enemies of free government. He stood the admired of millions; the nation uncovered in his presence, and when he spoke senates sat breathless under the spell. The plotters against good government attempted to bind him with green withes and weave his locks in a web, yet he walked forth from the enthralment, not knowing he had burst a bond. But from the wine-cup there arose a destroying spirit that came forth to capture his soul. He drank until his eyes grew dim, and his knees knocked together, and his strength failed. Exhausted with lifelong dissipations, he went home to die. It was strong drink that came like the infamous Delilah, and his locks were shorn. Evil associations, sudden successes, spendthrift habits, miserly proclivities and dissipation, are the names of some of the shears with which men are every day made powerless. They have strewn the earth with the carcases of giant, and filled the great prison houses with destroyed Samsons, who sit grinding the mills of despair, their locks shorn and their eyes out. (T. De Witt Talmage.)

Made him sleep upon her knees.–

The victim and the victor

I remember once walking with a man ever a large mortgaged farm; the poor owner had fallen somehow in the rear of life; and some years before he had mortgaged the whole property. He began life badly, and when I knew him he had been past the prime of life, for some time ineffectually trying to overtake old mistakes. But it is a difficult matter for the wisdom of to-day to overtake the folly of yesterday. Thus a mortgaged life is far more affecting and hopeless than a mortgaged farm; and there are those who mortgage their lives, and they cannot redeem them. Some mortgage health by the excesses of intemperance. Oh, it is a sad spectacle, a man trying to overtake or trying to repossess a mortgaged life. Of course a nature like Samsons was especially in danger from women; and there were women in Sorek! His is the old story; so all these heroes fell. Thus it was with Hercules and Omphale; and Hercules, as we have said, was the strong Samson of the ancient classic world; his story is so like that of Samson that some have not unnaturally supposed it derived from Hebrew story. Omphale was the queen of Lydia, and Hercules fell in love with her, and became her slave for three years, and led an effeminate life in winding and carding wool, while Omphale wore the skin of the tremendous Nemean lion he had slain! What a parable! He had squeezed the lion to death; and 0mphale pressed out his manhood in her embrace! Thus it was with Antony and Cleopatra; thus it was with Henry IV. of France. Few, like Ulysses, have passed in safety the isle of Syrens; few escape Calypso! One of the great masters of modern poetry has, with subtle and matchless power, in the Idylls of the King, drawn in Vivien the very illustration of the history before us; you pity, you feel contempt for, the great prince lying there, his head in the lap of the Syren of Sorek; you cannot believe it! You say, Did he not know? You say, Could there be such matchless folly? Could he surrender his secret? Yes, wise men fall, great men fall! Notice the manner of Samsons fall; it was by the extortion of his secret; therefore has it been said, Keep thine heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues, or, which is the same thing, within it is the secret of life. There are around us constantly those who seek to know our secret, the secret of our strength and of our weakness; for there is a dangerous secret, there is in all of us a charm; we know it. Surrender to others the charm, and they put it forth against us. And then the victim lies dead; lost to life, and use, and name, and fame. You remember the wonderful dream of John Newton. He was, he thought, in the harbour of Venice, on the deck of a ship, when a stranger brought him a ring of inestimable value, giving him charge to keep it, because its loss would entail on him trouble and misery. The ring was accepted, and also the responsibility of keeping it; but while he was meditating on the value of the ring, a second person appeared. He talked to him about the supposed value and virtues of the ring; he laughed at the idea of its value, and, in the end, advised him to throw it away. He plucked it from his finger, and threw it into the sea. Immediately, from the Alps, behind Venice, burst forth flames; and the tempter, laughing, told him that he was a fool, that the whole mercy of God was in that ring. He trembled with agony and fear, when a third person came, or the same who had first given him the ring; he blamed his rashness, but, exactly where the ring went down, he plunged, and brought it up again; instantly the Alps ceased their burning, and the seducer fled. He approached his friend, expecting to receive again the ring. No, said his friend, if you kept it, you would soon bring your self into the same distress. You are not able to keep it; I will keep it for you, and produce it, when needful, on your behalf. A wonderful dream–do not doubt it. We all have something to keep–something precious. We must not let the enemy of our spirits steal our secret from us. Do you remember Samson in the lap of Delilah? Samson had his secret; Show me, said the crafty woman, wherein thy great strength lieth. But Samson kept his secret. How canst thou say, said she, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? So he gave up his secret; he parted with his heart. Then, in one moment, she put forth the charm of woven paces and waving hands; and he lay as dead, and lost to life, and use, and name, and fame. Then they burst forth into laughter. Ha! ha! ha! Samson, where is thy secret now? Ha! Ha! But he had parted with his heart; he had lost, he had mortgaged his secret. And was lost to life, and use, and name, and fame. And what a spectacle is that of Samson asleep! Behold here the recklessness, the carelessness, of the tempted soul. There is but one thing more; the price of his ruin is paid, now awake him! The Philistines be upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord had departed from him. He rouses, but all is lost! How strange it all seemed; how new! Where am I? What? No man knows well the value of what he has had until he has lost it. A character gone! Young Weltly sat at his desk; a clerk came to him and said, Weltly, Mr. Drummond, the principal, wants to speak to you. He went into the office; he knew! The principal looked to the inspector of police standing by. Theres your prisoner, sir. And the lost young man held out his hands mechanically for the handcuffs. Poor boy! they were not needed, but it was a lost life! So here strength is gone! character is gone! Israel has lost her hero! her hero has lost himself! He surrendered the secret of the Lord, which is only with them that fear Him, and awoke to find the Spirit of the Lord departed from him! (E. P. Hood.)

Samson shorn of his strength

Learn how it was that Samson was shorn of his strength.

1. Because he was not equally strong in all directions.

2. Because he ventured too far into temptation. Samson allowed Delilah to bind him with green withes, etc. He laid his head in her lap, etc. Beyond a certain point retreat was impossible.

3. Because he relied upon his own strength. He did not realise that his strength was from God. It is a sad experience that teaches men what Philip Melanchthon learned at last, that Satan was stronger than Philip. (The Preachers Monthly.)

I will go out as at other times.–

The evil of knowing evil

These were the words of a man once strong, who found, to his amazement, that he had, through his own fault, lost that in which his strength lay. What do you try to keep from your children? Is it not the knowledge of evil? Their innocence you feel to be their safety, as you know it is your admiration. You preserve it to them while you can. Why? Because when it is gone they are not the same. At best they go out as at other times before and shake themselves: they are not aware that, for a season at least, the Lord has departed from them. Their history is the universal history.

I. There are, no doubt, many subjects about which we have learned something, and about which nevertheless we know very little afterwards, and feel little inclination to make experiments. This is, probably, the case with all sorts of studies except one; and that one varies in different persons. What would afford me extreme gratification might be to some one else a very wearisome pursuit; while his favourite subject would have no charms for me. And so he might have gained an insight into the nature of my pursuit, or I into the nature of his, without any danger of either of us injuring our prospects or losing our time by following the pursuit of the other to the neglect of his own. Now this safeguard, you will see at once, is wanting as regards the knowledge of evil. We have naturally a decided taste for wickedness. Here, then, is an answer to the common excuses for becoming unnecessarily acquainted with the evil that is being done in the world. It is admitted that the practice of sin is injurious. Well, the taste is so decided in your heart, that the likelihood of your stopping short and being satisfied with mere knowledge is reduced to almost nothing. In your own strength you surely cannot resist. Strength from on high how can you expect when you are tempting God? On what, then, are you to depend to preserve you from going beyond knowledge if you once get it? On nothing. Then you had better not have the knowledge.

II. But, besides this, it is a fact in our nature that the desire of knowledge is connected with the desire of society. Now how will this work in the case under our consideration? The man who has acquired a knowledge of evil from pursuing it as a study, must seek for the society of those already acquainted with it, or of those not already acquainted with it. Of the former class–those already acquainted with it–how many of those he meets are likely to have stopped short at that point? and how many are likely to be satisfied so long as he stops short of it? But suppose, on the other hand, that the associates chosen be those to whom the knowledge of evil is new, and to whom it may be imparted. See what an infinity of mischief you are bringing about, even supposing–and it is a very wild supposition–that you avoid actually committing the sins about which you are so anxious to acquire and to impart knowledge! There is, literally, no end to the mischief. You have made yourself Satans missionary. The effects of your first–perhaps thoughtless–effort you never can reverse.

III. There is yet another important practical evil resulting from the knowledge of sins, even though we neither practise them nor speak of them; that is, the tendency of such knowledge to deaden in our own minds the sense of sin as such, to divert us from viewing it as something utterly antagonistic and abhorrent to a pure and holy God, as something so bad that to save us from it Christ, who was very God, died on the Cross. There are very many cases where repentance seems doubtful not so much from an unwillingness to abandon particular acts of sin, as from, apparently, an utter incapability to comprehend the nature of sin itself. So difficult is it when once we have left the path of safety, which we trod with the Divine aid, to return to it again–so impossible to come back to it as we left it. In presumptuous security we part with the innocence which was the secret of our success, forgetting that our strength was dependent upon its preservation. In an unfounded conviction that at any time a little effort will restore us to the position which we wantonly abandon, we do wantonly abandon it and slumber unconscious of our loss, until at last, like Samson in the text, awakened from our sleep we say, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself–not knowing that the Lord is departed from us. No words of mine could at all convey to you my deep sense of the inestimable benefit of following all through life the injunction of the wise man, Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it and pass away. (J. C. Coghlan, D. D.)

As at other times

Now the story of Samson is told in this book, just in the characteristic fashion of Bible biography. There is nothing extenuated, and there is nothing concealed. Here you have the man as he is–in his strength and his weakness, in his right-doing and his wrongdoing. Now, in the story of Samson itself there is nothing very puzzling. The one puzzling thing about it is in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where we find this man canonised as one of the heroes of faith. Now, as we candidly read the story, we must confess that Samson does not seem to have very much religion about him. That unshorn hair was a solemn thing to him. It marked out a certain dedication of him to God, a certain separation of him among men. But so far as we can see that is all the religion that Samson had about him. Whence that verdict of the Epistle to the Hebrews? There is no doubt that Samson was possessed of a certain faith in the God of Israel, and in Israels future, which did help to redeem his life from utter ignobleness, which did inspire him to make a part of that history that leads up to Christ. As I understand, that is all that the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says. Samson is an illustration of how far a liberal, true, and noble faith will go to redeem what is essentially a poor life from utter ignobleness. Samsons life is far from that of inspiration and example. He is here rather as a signal warning. I daresay some of you are familiar with Miltons poem of Samson Agonistes. If so, let me remind you that the Samson of the Bible is not at all the Samson of the poem. Miltons tragedy depicts Samson as a stately, majestic, fallen hero, great and admirable in every respect, even in his overthrow. The Samson of the Book of Judges is quite another man. I do not think that he is, on the whole, a man whom you can possibly respect, though I think he is a man that you cannot possibly help liking. A boyish, sunny, radiant soul–keen for life as he understands it. Just the sort of man to be exposed to extra temptation by the very qualities that were fitted to make him so popular. Aye, we too need that natural and happy hopefulness in Gods campaigns–and we have too little of it. We are too sour and grim, we who fight His battles. And yet, I think, there is a false ring in Samsons laughter. There is just a touch of the crackling of the thorns under the pot, of the noisy laughter of the fool. The youth of him was the best of him; and that is a hard thing to say of any man. The strongest man of his day, he was about essentially the weakest man of his day. No doubt he did much to save his country; he began to save Israel from the Philistines. But himself he could not save. First of all, glance at his childhood and youth in Zorah, for that is the first chapter of his life. How the story of Samsons birth is as beautiful and tender as a summer morning. And how mother and father resolve together that the life God would have their boy lead they, by Gods grace, will help him towards. They will not take Gods gift apart from Gods purpose. They will not plan their boys career to please themselves. And so, under these happy auspices, the boy is born, and under such training he grows up in his happy youth until the time comes that, as an Israelite, he must take his responsible part in the burden and the pain of his people. And now I think we may entitle the second chapter, Samson in the camp of Dan. There he has betaken himself, with his consecrated life, where the manhood of his tribe are wont to gather for military exercise, or perhaps for grave counsel concerning the public peril; for they seemed to be ever in peril in those days. There his forefathers, long ago, had established their camp. There was the ancestral burying-place of his people. There he felt himself moved nearer to all that was great and glorious in the world and in the history of his people. There we read , The Spirit of the Lord moved him in the camp of Dan. And I think that to all of us ere we took our plunge into life there came this same experience in some sacred spot when a vision was given us of the future that dawned so fair for us when we were children, but now shown so near, a vision of the heaving and wresting of immortal powers, of the battle between good and evil, between God and the world; and when we felt, oh, a great scorn of the world and the trivial and the selfish, and a great purpose to strike in and strike out on the right side–to be for God and for Gods cause in this world, to win the glory that is of God. Well, well, the Spirit of the Lord, I venture to say, hath moved us all in the camp of Dan. And now we pass on to the third chapter, and we may entitle it Samson in Gaza, or Samson plunging into Life, or if you prefer, Peril and Pleasure in Gaza. Gaza was the chief seaport of the Philistines, a great commercial city, a gay, pleasure-loving place, contrasting strikingly with the quiet monotony of the home-life in the tribe of Dan. And, although Samsons first visit to Gaza is first spoken of well on in his life, there is no doubt whatever that he had visited Gaza in early youth. Gaza lay very near to the camp of Dan, and there all that he had purposed and felt was to be put to the test. The fact is, there is no escaping Gaza for you and me. We have to mix with life. One ought, in one sense, to trust life utterly. You cannot believe too strongly in the good of life, and in all that you can get from life if you live it rightly. Yet, on the other hand, one is bound to say you must distrust life. Ah, it is life that undoes folk, and undoes them smilingly and tenderly, as Delilah undid Samson in Gaza. It is life that lays the unholy hand on the holy secret, that asks insinuatingly, Tell me, tell me, wherein the secret of thy strength lies. Tell me what makes thee different from other folk. Tell me what prevents thee now from coming in with us. Tell me– and wins the secret from us, laying the unholy hand upon the holy secret for the unholy purpose. So Samson in Gaza gives himself away. Not knowingly, mark you. He believed that even if he got into some kind of mess, he was strong enough to get out of it. He believed that he could touch the fire and not be burnt. Samson one day woke up finding he had made a mistake, but saying to himself, Well, I must retrieve; I will go out as at other times, and resume my life. But he was never more to go out as at other times. He had gone too far; he had done it once too often; he had given way too much. Now, it seems to me that this is the teaching of Samsons life. The man had no principle, no definite and consecutive purpose in life. Even an inferior principle, even any kind of purpose, would have spared him much that he suffered. Why, one would rather have seen that man set himself to be a millionaire than drift as he did; one would rather see the mans heart given to gold than to Delilah. But the man had no purpose at all, he had no rudder to steer by. That man was doomed to drift upon the rocks, to make shipwreck of his life. Ah, what a strange and awful trust this life of ours is! It is the one thing that you must not play with. You must take it very seriously. The gift that God gives you, if you do not use it properly, it will undo you. I will go out as at other times. That is the history of every temptation and of every failure. That is the encouragement every one applies to his soul, ere he goes into temptation. You cannot do that. It cannot be with you as it was, you who have yielded to the temptress, you who have yielded to sin. Oh, then, you must come straight back to God, and get His forgiveness, and begin life again with His help. But be very sure you can never without that leave your sin behind you; you cannot go out as at other times. (J. Durran.)

He wist not that the Lord was departed from him.–

Moral strength

I. The source of Samsons strength. Evidently then there was a supernatural element in it. But, on the other hand, Samsons vow as a Nazarite bound him to a mode of life calculated to secure a healthy, vigorous physical development; and the rationalist will contend that that of itself is a sufficient explanation of the matter. There was both the natural and the supernatural. And is not Samsons strength in these respects typical of a higher strength, that which is moral and spiritual? Here also we may discern two elements, the Divine and human. The highest form of strength, the strength of goodness, by which a man triumphs over evil, and which finds its highest joy in holy and righteous action, is not to be gained by a life of dreamy contemplation, or by sitting still and affecting that God will some day transform us into giants. It is to be attained by self-denial, self-sacrifice, and true work.

II. The loss of Samsons strength. Now, what is the key to this sad affair? In one word, it is weakness; and that is the key to half the wickedness committed in the world. When temptation presents itself, instead of saying with a soul in utter revolt, How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? men stop to think and dally, and once that is done there is fearful danger. They never intend doing any harm; they have good feelings and desires, and yet through moral weakness commit all kinds of wickedness, and involve themselves and others in misery. If we would be safe from breakdown, we must have a well-fortified moral character. Guard scrupulously the outworks; beware of everything that is morally enervating. If we fail to do this, ere we are aware we may find ourselves shorn of our strength.

III. The restoration of Samsons strength. Have we not here the conditions of moral restoration, with its limitations? The first condition is a painful consciousness of weakness. Without this a man will never desire any change in his condition, and therefore he will never seek any. There must further be a realisation of the folly and wickedness of his conduct, producing sincere regret for it and earnest desires and resolution of amendment. Hence, in true penitence there is an element that will deter a man from committing the sin again. And then there must also be the prayer of faith. Samson prayed and looked for an immediate answer. But there is something lost never to be regained. Samsons strength was restored, but not his eyesight; and he lost his life into the bargain. And that typifies a solemn truth. The man who, like Samson or David, is guilty of glaring sin, may, by the mercy and grace of God, be restored; but he can never regain the feeling of comparative innocence he once enjoyed. To the backslider these thoughts should bring sadness indeed, but not despair. (Joseph Ritson.)

The man who has trifled once too often

The text speaks of one who has trifled once too often. He has allowed some influence, it scarcely matters what, to steal from him the secret of his strength. He has parted with it by his own folly–in a certain sense, with his eyes open–and yet he treats it as still recoverable by the exercise of quite a common kind of effort and of resolution. I will go out, he says, as at other times before, and shake myself. In vain. The strength is gone from him, and the Lord with it. Such is the parable; and to every thoughtful hearer it is its own interpreter. There is in many men, perhaps in most men, an erroneous idea, in two respects, of the free agency and the free will. We exaggerate to ourselves, in the first place, what is sometimes called the bondage of the will. It is an article of our religion, that we cannot of ourselves either will or do the thing that we ought. This, which is all true in its place–true as a reason for humility, and true as a motive for prayer–becomes a terrible falsehood on lips which utter it as an excuse for indolence, or as a sufficient explanation of any neglect or any sin by which we may be dishonouring God or giving an ill example to our generation. On the other hand, the same man who has pleaded the bondage of the will in excuse for his own negligences, follies, and sins will be the first to exaggerate his freedom in reference to the reparative powers of the future. I have but to resolve, any day, and I shall shake myself free–free from the chain of habit, free from the binding force of past action, and from the connection, of yesterday and to-morrow in the living man of to-day–this is language quite familiar to us all, in the ear, if not in the heart. In this state of mind we exaggerate our freedom, as in the other we unduly disparaged it. The real bondage of the will lies in the having sinned away the freedom. It would be easy to apply this general experience to the various departments of the life. I will go out, as at other times before, and shake myself. Thus speaks the man who has allowed some influence of evil to fasten itself upon his conduct, and yet refuses to regard the fetter as anything more than a daily separate willing, which could any morning be reversed and willed into the opposite. The doctrine which that man wants is the true doctrine of the bondage. Tell him that to-morrow, if he does not take heed, he will be a slave; tell him that whosoever committeth sin is sins bondman; tell him that, for anything he knows, by to-morrow the Lord may have departed; tell him that this one nights sinning may be to him like that fatal sleep upon the knees of the traitoress, which cost Samson eyesight and life–I made haste and prolonged not the time is his one chance; the dream of liberty is not false only, for him, but fatal; let him awake and cry mightily unto God, if so be He may yet this once hear him, that he perish not. We cannot doubt that the same delusion has place in the faith as well as in the life. There are thousands at this moment dallying with scepticism, who would be terrified if they thought that they could not at any moment go forth from it all and shake themselves free. A man may count himself free to believe or to disbelieve; he may even set himself above his own scruples, and say, To-morrow, if it so pleases me, I will go out and shake myself free of them; but, in reality, he is fastening them upon himself to-day by the very postponement, and to-morrow, if it ever dawn upon him, may find him one from whom God Himself has departed. There is in us all, as God has created us, a marvellous elasticity of mind, body, and estate. The recuperative power is perhaps the greatest of His gifts. We have seen it wonderfully exemplified on the bed of sickness. We have seen it wonderfully exemplified in the fortunes of men and nations. We have seen it wonderfully exemplified in the moral being. Some terrible flaw there was, in early days, in the character; some vice of untruthfulness, or some worse vice still, brought disgrace and punishment after it into the school-life and into the young home. But, by the blessing of God upon discipline tempered with love, a new growth of honesty and of purity showed itself in the life, and a noble career of usefulness and honour obliterated, long before death, the very memory of the sad beginning. We have seen it wonderfully exemplified in the one higher region, of the spiritual life. Once there was carelessness; once there was unbelief; once there was scoffing: but the blessed promise of the last first had place, by the grace of God, in the history as a whole; and one of the brightest ornaments of the faith and of the Church has been the product of a trying in the fire which promised only, to the eye of flesh, scorching and scathing, if not destruction. This is one side of human experience. But there is another. The recuperative power is wonderful, but it has its limit. Thus far and no further is written upon it, or it would bring evil and not blessing with it. There is a point beyond which recovery is not. If we could foresee the exact moment at which, or the precise act by which, the limit of the possible recovery would be overpassed, it would be contrary to Gods uniform dealing; it would but tempt to presumption on the way to it. No man knows exactly how many injuries he may do himself, in health or wealth, in conduct or faith, and be scatheless. He must take his chance. If he will trifle in any of these ways, there is no Divine Mentor to say to him, The next time but two, or, the next time but twenty, will be fatal. The man is standing aloof from God all the time, and by the nature of the case must look to himself alone for monition. Whatever has been said, and said truly, of the restorative powers of this being, there is another sense, and a yet more grave one, in which we must read the words, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. We speak now of the identity and the continuity of the life, which makes it utter childishness for a man to say suddenly to himself, I will go out and shake myself, and I shall be another man. There is a mighty power in the will, there is a mightier power still in Divine grace; but the former cannot, and the latter could not consistently, isolate one period of the life altogether from another, or make that in the past, which was most of all to be regretted and mourned over, actually unmade or undone again, so as to be as though it had never been. All this is no reason for despondency. Although we are warned by the text that there is always a danger, for those who are living without God in the world, that they may, even without knowing it, overstep the limit of grace, and find God departed from them when they would shake themselves from their bonds, yet we must remember that all this is no matter of chance, caprice, or destiny; it is the result of a long process of sinning and neglecting, which need not be any mans; it is a loud call to awake and arise while we may; to seek God now while He certainly may be found, and, instead of trusting in our independent powers of recovery and self-amendment, to cast ourselves earnestly upon the help of His grace who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not. (Dean Vaughan.)

Blessed and tragic unconsciousness

(with Exo 34:29):–The recurrence of the same phrase in two such opposite connections is very striking.

I. Beauty and strength come from communion with God. In both the cases with which we are dealing these were of a merely material sort. The light on Moses face and the strength in Samsons arm were, at the highest, but types of something far higher and nobler than themselves. But still, the presence of the one and the departure of the other alike teach us the conditions on which we may possess both in nobler form, and the certainty of losing them if we lose hold of God. There have been in the past, and there are to-day, thousands of simple souls shut out by lowliness of position, and other circumstances from all the refining and ennobling influences which the world makes so much of, who yet in character and bearing, aye, and sometimes in the very look of their meek faces, are living witnesses how true and mighty is the power of loving gazing upon Jesus Christ to transform a nature. All of us who have had much to do with Christians of the humbler classes know that. There is no influence to refine and beautify men like that of living near Jesus Christ and walking in the light of that beauty which is the effulgence of the Divine glory and express image of His person. And in like manner as beauty, so strength comes from communion with God, and laying hold on Him. Samsons consecration, rude and external as that consecration was, both in itself and in its consequences, had passed away from him.

II. The bearer of the radiance is unconscious of it. Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone. In all regions of life, the consummate apex and crowning charm of excellence is unconsciousness of excellence. Whenever a man begins to suspect that he is good, he begins to be bad; and you rob every virtue and beauty of character of some portion of its attractive fairness when the man who bears it knows, or fancies that he knows it. The charm of childhood is its perfect unconsciousness, and the man has to win back the childs heritage, and become as a little child, if he would enter into and dwell in the kingdom of heaven. And so in the loftiest region of all, that of the religious life, depend on it, the more a man is like Christ the less he knows it, and the better he is the less he suspects it.

III. The strong man made weak is unconscious of his weakness. The very fact that you do not suppose the statement to have the least application to yourself is perhaps the very sign that it has. When the life blood is pouring out of a man he faints before he dies. The swoon of unconsciousness is the condition of some professing Christians. Frost-bitten limbs are quite comfortable, and only tingle when circulation is coming back. I remember a great elm-tree, the pride of an avenue in the South, that had spread its branches for more years than the oldest man could count, and stood, leafy and green. Not until a winter storm came one night and laid it low with a crash did anybody suspect what everybody saw in the morning–that the heart was eaten out of it, and nothing left but a shell of bark. Some Christian people are like that; they manage leaves, they manage fruit; when the storm comes they will go down, because the heart has been out of their religion for years. Samson wist not that the Lord was departed from him. And so, because there are so many things that mask the ebbing away of a Christian life, and because our own self-love and habits come in to hide declension, let me earnestly exhort you and myself to watch our selves very narrowly. Again let me say, let us ask God to help us. Search me, O God, and try me. We shall never rightly understand what we are unless we spread ourselves out before Him, and crave that Divine Spirit, which is the candle of the Lord, to be carried even in our hands into the secret recesses of our sinful hearts. And, last of all, let us keep near to Jesus Christ, near enough to Him to feel His touch, to hear His voice, to see His face, and to carry down with us into the valley some radiance on our countenances which may tell even the world that we have been up where the Light lives and reigns. (A. Maclaren, D.D.)

The withdrawal of Divine influences

I. Christians in a state of grace and Divine favour may, in a great measure, be forsaken of God, and yet be insensible thereof.

1. The prevalence of some darling idol in the heart may so blind the discerning faculty and disorder the understanding that the soul may not perceive its distance from the ways of religion.

2. There can be no doubt concerning this truth, that God withdraws sometimes from His people, if we observe the many complaints they make to this purpose (Psa 30:7). These complaints were not without cause, nor would such pious characters complain without reason. The deadened state of their souls made them feel that the Divine influences and power were withdrawn; they found the stream was in a great measure stopped, when the waters of life did not revive their souls.

3. Christians may not perceive the withdrawing of the Divine influence, because there may be a counterfeit resemblance between their idols and their duty. When we have a strong affection for something connected with another thing that is good, we seldom see the difference between them, but fall into error and mistake through inattention. We view under one character things different in their nature; and perceive not the unlawfulness of what we covet, when we find it, in some measure, related to other things that are innocent.

4. The subtlety and the deceitfulness of sin in the souls of the best Christians hinder them from distinguishing the knowledge of Christianity from its life and practice.

5. Believers may not only be insensible of Gods withdrawing from them, but also embrace false for true grounds of comfort and enlargement. Sin is so deceitful that it will creep in upon the believer under a mask: sometimes a false hope, at other times a deceitful joy will deceive the saints themselves.

II. Evidences of this condition.

1. When men live easy and indifferent under the means of salvation; when they are not active in the performance of the duties belonging to their several stations and characters in life, but like Samson, instead of destroying the Philistines, for which he was raised up, fall asleep in carnal security, and begin to enter into league with the enemies of God; when they begin to remit their watchfulness, and live secure and careless.

2. When men not only have no fears of their present evil condition, but think well of it; when they imagine that they are rich, and increased in goods, and stand in need of nothing, etc.

3. When thoughts of death and a future judgment are removed from mens meditation and consideration; when the evil day is put far away, and people, like those of whom the prophet Ezekiel speaks, say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, neither doth He consider it. (J. Williamson.)

Samson conquered

I. The strength of the consecrated man. Even though he may consecrate himself to a wrong object, yet if it be a thorough consecration, he will have strength. In the old Roman wars with Pyrrhus, you remember an ancient story of self-devotion. There was an oracle which said that victory would attend that army whose leader should give himself up to death. Decius, the Roman Consul, knowing this, rushed into the thickest of the battle, that his army might overcome by his dying. The prodigies of valour which he performed are proofs of the power of consecration. The Romans at that time seemed to be every man a hero, because every man was a consecrated man. They went to battle with this thought–I will conquer or die; the name of Rome is written on my heart; for my country I am prepared to live, or for that to shed my blood. And no enemies could ever stand against them. If a Roman fell, there were no wounds in his back, but all in his breast. His face, even in cold death, was like the face of a lion, and when looked upon it was of terrible aspect. They were men consecrated to their country. How much more is this true if I limit the description to that which is peculiar to the Christian–consecration to God!

II. the secret of his strength. I have heard some men talk as if the strength of free-will, of human nature, was sufficient to carry men to heaven. No strength of nature can suffice to serve the Lord aright. No man can say that Jesus is the Christ but by the Holy Ghost. If, then, the first act of Christian life is beyond all human strength, how much more are those higher steps far beyond any one of us?

III. What is the peculiar danger of a consecrated man? His danger is that his locks may be shorn; that is to say, that his consecration may be broken, Now there are a thousand razors with which the devil can shave off the locks of a consecrated man without his knowing it. Sometimes he takes the sharp razor of pride, and when the Christian falls asleep, and is not vigilant, he comes with it and begins to run his fingers upon the Christians locks, and says, What a fine fellow you are! What wonders you have done! Didnt you rend that lion finely? Wasnt it a great feat to smite those Philistines hip and thigh? Ah! you will be talked of as long as time endures for carrying those gates of Gaza away! You need not be afraid of anybody. And so on goes the razor, lock after lock falling off, and Samson knows it not. He is just thinking within himself, How brave am I! How great am I! Thus works the razor of pride–cut, cut, cut away–and he wakes up to find himself bald, and all his strength gone. Another razor he uses is self-sufficiency. The moment we begin to think that it is our own arm that has gotten us the victory, it will be all over with us–our locks of strength shall be taken away, and the glory shall depart from us. There is yet another and a more palpable danger still. When a consecrated man begins to change his purpose in life and live for himself–that razor shaves clean indeed. Oh, Christian, above all things take care of thy consecration. Ever feel that thou art wholly given up to God, and to God alone.

IV. The Christians disgrace. His locks are cut off. I have seen him in the ministry. He spake like an angel of God; many there were that regarded him; he seemed to be sound in doctrine and earnest in manner. I have seen him turn aside; it was but a little thing–some slight deviation from the ancient orthodoxy of his fathers, some slight violation of the law of his Church. I have seen him, till he has given up doctrine after doctrine, until at last the very place wherein he preached has become a bye-word and a proverb. What disgrace was there! What a fall! The man who came out in the camps of Dan, and seemed to be moved by the Spirit of the Lord, has become the slave of error. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Strength lost

I. A man may lose his strength, and yet live in the experiences of the past. You may have made a profession of faith in Christ; you were strong in the Lord and in the power of His might; but you have departed from the Lord, and yet you still retain the forms and habits of your spiritual life. You have a name to live–that is all. You do not know that the Lord has departed from you.

II. When a man departs from the Lord, it is certain the Lord will depart from him. The departure is at first scarcely perceptible–it is in thought and feeling and then in life. I have seen glaciers, like rivers that, flowing down the sides of the Alps, have been stopped and arrested in a moment. There seems no movement, for all appears to be the same year after year. Though not perceptible to the eye, it can be proved by experiment that the frozen river is always moving on and on. So with you–the distance from God may be increasing and widening, but it is so slowly that no one perceives it. At length some circumstance leads to the manifestation of your real state, and the fearful consciousness of your departure from God. The Lord does not all at once depart–there are restraints, remonstrances, difficulties put in the way of backsliding; there are invitations to return. At last, when all is vain, and the man will have his own way, a Divine voice says, Let him alone.

III. When God departs from a man, the consequence will be, that the man loses his strength. Have you ever seen an eagle in its captivity, wearing its chains, an uncrowned king? How sad the spectacle, how deep the humiliation–what a seeming consciousness of fallen greatness! The eagle was made for the glorious mountains, its home is on the summit of the lofty rocks, its wings are fitted for flight, its eye to look on the sun. How much sadder is it to see the change that has come over this man. How are the mighty fallen! (H. J. Bevis.)

The weakness of strength

We still need to learn what true strength is, and that both physical and intellectual power may be the means of moral weakness.

I. Strength from ancestry. Victor Hugo remarks: If you want to reform a man, you must begin with his grandmother. The parents of Samson were sober and pious people. The weakening effects of strong drinks upon posterity are well known. One thing that makes it hard to be born again is being born wrong the first time.

II. Strength through consecration.

III. Strength may become weakness. Great powers imply great passions. With every increase of faculty come more subtle temptations. There is nothing so destructive to strength and youth as sensual sin.

IV. Strength forfeited through falsehood. He broke his vow, and with it broke faith with God. No one can really betray the strong man but himself. Break trust with God, and sin will be too strong for you, and the Philistines of the soul will enslave you.

V. Last effort of strength. The mercy of God gave him still a chance. He was not wholly lost. So do you, already weakened by falsehood to God and your best self, use the strength that remains. Make one last effort to break the chains that bind you. A little more, and your strength will be entirely gone. (G. Elliott.)

Loss of strength

I. The strength by which alone we can overcome evil is to be obtained from the Spirit of God.

II. This spiritual strength is lost by us when we yield ourselves to sin.

III. One may lose this spiritual strength without at the Moment being conscious of the privation. Samson wist not that the Lord was departed from him. That was melancholy enough, but its spiritual antitype is infinitely more so, for it is terribly true that one may become morally feeble through habitual indulgence in sin, and yet at the time be unaware of the change that has passed upon him. How shall we account for this?

1. We may explain it by the fact that all outward things may be with him as they were before. He may be outwardly attentive to the ordinances of religion, but his heart has been given to some earthly object.

2. Another explanation of the unconsciousness of many to the terrible loss of which we speak may be the stealthiness of the growth of the sin which has caused it. No man becomes helplessly wicked all at once.

3. Another reason why a man may be unconscious of the loss of his spiritual strength is the blinding effect of sin upon the conscience. When the snow is untrodden you may easily distinguish the first footprints that are made upon it, but after multitudes have hardened it by their tread, it is no longer possible to mark each separate travellers tracks. So conscience may take faithful note of the first sins which one commits, but when habits have, as I may say, formed footmarks over it, the soft impressiveness of its early stage has gone, and it becomes impenetrable as a rock.

IV. The consciousness of this loss of strength will be realised when the strength itself is most needed. You know the dreadful agony of nightmare, when in your dream, being pursued by some assassin, your limbs refuse to perform their office, and you seem to be left in the assailants power. Such is the experience of the man who discovers in some time of urgency that his strength has departed from him. Enumerate a few of the times of crisis, which will infallibly test whether we have God with us or not: temptation, affliction, death, judgment. As all these are experiences through which every one of us must pass, we ought to be sure that we have strength enough to sustain us in them all. If we have not strength enough for these occasions, we have virtually no strength at all. It is for such times we must prepare, and not for the mere review days of showy profession. Men do not build a ship to lie all decked with bunting in the harbour, but to weather the rough storms of mid-ocean, and the cable that will not bear the toughest strain is in time of hurricane as bad as none at all. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)

Mans power for Gods work

I. That it is derived from a special connection with God. All power comes from God: this is true not only of physical, but also of intellectual and moral power.

1. God is in a good man, morally–dwells in him as the favourite author dwells in the mind of the devoted reader. Gods thoughts live in his intellect, Gods love glows in his heart: he is filled with all the fulness of God.

2. That God is with a good man operationally. Without Him we can do nothing in His cause.

II. That sin dissolves this special connection between man and God.

1. By destroying our sympathy with God.

2. By awakening a dread of God.

3. By generating an opposition to God.

III. That this dissolution may occur when the subject is unconscious of it.

1. Because of the gradual way in which it takes place. God does not give a man up at once.

2. Because external circumstances continue the same. Providence pursues its wonted course; health continues, business prospers, the sun shines as usual, and temporal blessings fall free and full as ever on the path.

3. Because the mechanical habits of religion are maintained. There may be family worship, regular attendance on the house of God, but no soul in anything.

IV. That a period will arrive when the dissolution will be painfully realised. In the hour of severe temptation–in the hour of suffering–in the dark hour of death–in the solemn hour of judgment the want of Divine moral strength will be deeply felt. Its lack will be ruin. (Homilist)

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Samson, the Jewish Hercules

I. That God has respect to the emergencies of His people. The raising of one man, rather than a host, to break the power of the Philistines, served to manifest the Divine power.

II. That moral feebleness may co-exist with the highest physical energy. Many giants in body are dwarfs in soul. Many who have slain an army have been slain by their own lusts.

III. Samsons history shows that great physical strength is not the highest good of man. Here God furnishes the world with a striking example that great muscular energy, apart from moral goodness, is of little worth. Look at the misery to which he was reduced–blinded, deluded, destroyed.

IV. Samsons history shows that one man, through God, can accomplish great things. (Homilist)

The fall and rise of a great man

I. The fall of a great man.

1. The whence and the whither of the fall.

(1) From special connection with God.

(2) Into the hands of his enemies.

(a) They put out his eyes. When a man falls from God, he sinks into darkness; he is like a planet cut off from its centre, rolling in a starless, moonless midnight. Hell is outer darkness.

(b) They bound him in fetters of brass. Emblem of the fettering power of sin. Evil prejudices and habits–how they manacle the limbs of the soul!

(c) He did grind in the prison house. The little liberty of limb he had was only allowed that he might feel his bondage more. Servants of sin are slaves of the devil. The corn the sinner grinds is not for himself.

2. The wherefore and the how of this mans fall.

(1) The cause was in himself. He did it, and did it freely. The devil himself cannot push a man down against his will.

(2) His fall was very gradual, and even imperceptible to himself. He had been pampering his appetite, and gratifying his animal desires; and thus gradually sliding away from the virtuous and the true, he lost his power before he was aware of it. Remember that the losing of Divine power is a gradual and an imperceptible process. No outward event will announce its loss; no great convulsion within will signify it. He will only know it when the time comes that he requires it; when, like Samson, he is reduced to an emergency, requires Divine power, makes an effort, and finds it is gone.

II. The rise of a great man.

1. The demonstrations of his recovered strength.

(1) Miraculous achievement.

(2) Self-sacrificing heroism.

2. The means of his recovered power.

(1) Practical obedience. He who does the will, gets the power of God.

(2) Earnest prayer.

Lessons:

1. A solemn warning to men of signal ability. There are many intellectual giants every day being stripped of their power, and lying eyeless and crippled in the dungeon.

2. A special encouragement to great men who have fallen. (Homilist)

Lost grace unrealised

He knew not that the Lord was departed from him. No wonder; he felt not the smarting effect of it as yet: he fared as he who is robbed in the night of all his treasure or wares of his storehouse; but till the light of the day he misseth nothing. But then, oh what an inventory makes he of his several losses! And so did this poor self-robber in this place. When the Philistines came upon him there was no power to resist; then it appeared indeed that he was robbed to purpose. It is woeful to lose grace, but more to feel no such loss. (R. Rogers.)

He did grind in the prison house.–

Ignominious tasks

Look at the ignoble task to which Samson is put by the Philistines, a type of the ignominious uses to which the hero may be doomed by the crowd. The multitude cannot be trusted with a great man. In the prison at Gaza the fallen chief was set to grind corn, to do the work of slaves. To him, indeed, work was a blessing. From the bitter thoughts that would have eaten out his heart he was somewhat delivered by the irksome labour. In reality, as we now perceive, no work degrades; but a man of Samsons type and period thought differently. The Philistine purpose was to degrade him; and the Hebrew captive would feel in the depths of his hot brooding nature the humiliating doom. Look, then, at the parallels. Think of a great statesman placed at the head of a nation to guide its policy in the line of righteousness, to bring its laws into harmony with the principles of human freedom and Divine justice–think of such an one, while labouring at his sacred task with all the ardour of a noble heart, called to account by those whose only desire is for better trade, the means of beating their rivals in some market or bolstering up their failing speculations. Or see him at another time pursued by the cry of a class that feels its prescriptive rights invaded or its position threatened. Take again a poet, an artist, a writer, a preacher intent on great themes, eagerly following after the ideal to which he has devoted himself, but exposed every moment to the criticism of men who have no soul–held up to ridicule and reprobation because he does not accept vulgar models and repeat the catchwords of this or that party. Philistinism is always in this way asserting its claim, and ever and anon it succeeds in dragging some ardent soul into the dungeon to grind thenceforth at the mill. With the very highest, too, it is not afraid to intermeddle. Christ Himself is not safe. The Philistines of to-day are doing their utmost to make His name inglorious. For what else is the modern cry that Christianity should be chiefly about the business of making life comfortable in this world and providing not only bread but amusement for the crowd? The ideas of the Church are not practical enough for this generation. To get rid of sin–that is a dream; to make men fearers of God, soldiers of truth, doers of righteousness at all hazards–that is in the air. Let it be given up; let us seek what we can reach; bind the name of Christ and the Spirit of Christ in chains to the work of a practical secularism and let us turn churches into pleasant lounging-places and picture galleries. Why should the soul have the benefit of so great a name as that of the Son of God? Is not the body more? Is not the main business to have houses and railways, news and enjoyment? The policy of undeifying Christ is having too much success. If it makes way there will soon be need for a fresh departure into the wilderness. (R. A. Watson, M. A.)

A grist from the prison mill of Gaza

I. In Samsons history we see the wonderful forbearance of God, notwithstanding his misuse of great mercies and of supernatural strength.

II. Samson lost his great strength in an unconscious manner. His frame was not convulsed when the barber removed his locks. No sobs revealed the fact that he had become as another man. He slept on just as other men sleep.

III. Samsons history is pictorial of the progressive downward tendencies of sinning. Glorious were the hopes of his infancy.

IV. Once more, the downward course of the Hebrew judge illustrates our reluctance to give up the last badge of our Nazarite consecration. We find him disgustingly in dalliance with sin, and yet keeping, as it were, to the very last moment the outward sign of his covenant relation to God. His vows were for life. But in those cases where the Nazarite covenant was for a limited period of life, the expiration of that period was signalised by shaving the head. When Samson, therefore, told his religious secret, he took the formal step to separate himself wholly from his God. The substance of his covenant he had long since lost, but the seal of it he now throws to the devil. I do not wonder, children of pious parents, that you are uneasy if living in sin under such vows as rest upon you. Nor do I wonder that you are reluctant to part with the last locks that bind you to the God of your fathers. (W. A. Scott, D. D.)

The hair of his head began to grow.–

Strength lost and restored

I. The right relation of man to God is the condition of his real strength. There were many remarkable circumstances connected with the birth of Samson; and the angel who appeared to his mother gave her most minute directions about the training of the child, that thus he might be fitted for the great work to which he was designated. Where there is a right relation to God there is personal dedication, and as the result there will be separateness and sanctity. The consecrated man was to be temperate and chaste, to avoid everything that would defile him. You are not to suffer the flesh to overshadow the spirit. You are to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; to mortify your members which are upon the earth; and to keep your body under and bring it into subjection. The Divine presence will be recognised by the man who stands in a right relation to God–the true strength of the man is in God. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson–moving him at times, rousing him to activity–stirring up his whole nature to great and heroic deeds, and giving him strength to do them. You realise the Divine presence. You can say, I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. God is with you in all events and circumstances–in all conflicts and victories–in life and in death.

II. This relation to God may be weakened and broken, and then the strength of the man departs.

1. This may be the result of an unhallowed alliance. This was the first wrong step on the part of Samson. Marriage is the oldest human institute, and the one that has been most perverted and abused. In many instances the two never become one–and never can become one–but must remain in awful separateness and loneliness. Their souls never touch each other at any point. In many instances there are no true affinities–no real, abiding love. Marriage is sometimes created by mere excitement or passion–it is based on prudential or mercenary motives. Where there are no mental or moral fitnesses, these ill-assorted matches become the pregnant source of the miseries and wretchedness that abound in the world.

2. This relation may be broken through the indulgence of unrestrained passions. The strong man is a child when governed by his passions; he has no self-mastery or control–his affections are misplaced; they have degenerated into passions. His weakness is known–not the secret of his strength–but men take advantage of his weakness to find out where his strength lies, that they may thus deprive him of it. Our weaknesses lead to the loss of strength.

3. A man may lose his strength and yet live in the experiences of the past. The mans strength was gone, but he wist not that the Lord had departed from him.

4. When a man departs from the Lord, it is certain the Lord will depart from him.

5. When God departs from a man, the consequence will be that the man loses his strength. He cannot retain his strength and lose God. When he falls into the hands of his enemies, then comes the fearful consciousness of his loss. What a contrast between strength and weakness–light and darkness–liberty and captivity!

III. This relation may be renewed, and the strength restored. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow after he was shaven. The man turns to God. This is true repentance. In the parable, the son when he has spent all–when he has nothing left–when a mighty famine comes, and he begins to be in want–when his servitude is the most degrading–comes to himself, and says, I will arise, etc. So the captivity and wretchedness of this man may have awakened reflection, and led to repentance.

IV. Strength may be restored, but there are some things that are lost for ever. There is the return of strength, but not of sight. Sin does fearful injury. You may return after your backslidings–God may forgive you. There are some things you have lost–freshness, purity, peace, wholeness, light, joy. You know you are pardoned, but the light is gone. You walk softly. There are the traces and scars of the past. The lightning has scathed you–has blinded you. Never think lightly of sin; it is an evil and a bitter thing–darkness follows it. (H. J. Bevis.)

Shaven and shorn, but not beyond hope

I. What this growing of the hair pictures. I think that this pictures the gradual restoration of certain among us who have backslidden from God.

II. What it specifically symbolises. Samsons strength lay in his consecration. His hair was the token of his dedication to God. I know Christian people who used to spend an hour a day in prayer. The hour has dwindled into five minutes. They used to be constant at week-night services. They very seldom gladden us with their presence now; and they are not as happy as they once were. I can read this riddle. If a man were to reduce his meals to eating once a week, we could not warrant his health. So I do not think that people who neglect the means of grace, and give up their consecration, can expect to be lively, happy, or vigorous.

III. What it prophesied when Samsons hair began to grow again. I wonder why these Philistines did not care to keep his hair from growing to any length. But wicked men are not in all matters wise men; indeed, they so conspicuously fail in one point or another that Scripture calls them fools. The devil himself is a fool after all. He thinks that he is wonderfully cunning, but there is always a place where he breaks down. Satan is very cunning in getting hold of backsliders, but he generally manages to let them slip by his over-confidence in their wilfulness. When Samsons hair began to grow, what did it prophesy?

1. Well, it prophesied hope for Samson. Now, if any of you have signs of restoring grace in your hearts, and you are coming back to your God and Saviour, be glad, be thankful. Do not hesitate to let your renewed devotion to God be seen by those round about you. If the grace of God is moving you at all, be hopeful and quicken your steps, and come to Jesus.

2. Joy for Samson, but also hope for Israel. Oh, if any of the Israelites did get in to see him in prison, how they must have been cheered by the sight of his returning hair! Oh, you do not know the joy that you backsliders will give to the hearts of Gods people if you do but return! There is joy not only with the Great Shepherd, but with His friends and His neighbours when the lost sheep is restored to the fold.

3. Well, it prophesied mischief for the Philistines. They did not know it, but if they could have read the writing in Samsons heart, they would have understood that he meant to shave their nation quite as closely as they had shaven him. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Call for Samson, that he may make us sport.–

The influence of amusements on character and destiny

The best men that the world ever knew have had their sports. William Wilberforce trundled hoop with his children. Martin Luther helped dress the Christmas-tree. Show me a man who never lights up with sportfulness and has no sympathy with the recreations of others, and I will show you a man who is a stumbling-block to the kingdom of God. Such men are caricatures of religion. I have no confidence in a man who makes a religion of his gloomy looks. God means you to be happy. But, when there are so many sources of innocent pleasure, why tamper with anything that is dangerous and polluting?

1. You may judge of any amusement by its healthful result or by its baleful reaction. If an amusement sends you home at night nervous so you cannot sleep, you have been where you ought not to have been. There are amusements that send a man next day to his work bloodshot, yawning, stupid, nauseated, and they are wrong kinds of amusements. There are entertainments that give a man disgust with the drudgery of life. Our recreations are intended to build us up, and if they pull us down as to our moral or as to our physical strength, you may come to the conclusion that they are obnoxious.

2. Those amusements are wrong which lead into expenditure beyond your means.

3. You may judge of amusements by their effect upon physical health.

4. Again, judge of the places of amusement by the companionship into which they put you.

5. Again, any amusement that gives you a distaste for domestic life is bad. How many bright domestic circles have been broken up by sinful amusements! (T. De Witt Talmage.)

Only this once.–

How not to pray

We have heard these words until we are heartsick of them. It seems as if such words could not be done without in the history of human experience. Samson would gather himself up for a grand final effort; he said in effect, O Lord, the Philistines have taken away mine eyes, I am no longer what I was, I am no longer a prophet and servant of Thine, I am a poor fool; I gave up my secret; Lord, this once, only this once; I pray Thee let the old strength come back, and I will be avenged for my two eyes. It was very natural, it was most human, it was just what we would have done under similar circumstances, and therefore do not let us laugh at the dismantled giant. Let us accommodate the passage, so that it may become a lamp which we can hold over various points of life. Only this once: forgive me, I will never ask it again, this is the very last time; I have no excuse, I did the evil deed, I spoke the false word, but I am getting old, and I shall not trouble my family much longer; give me the final pardon; I seem as if I could not do without it; it seems as if I had it I would die easily and triumphantly; I do not deserve it, but add one more to your forbearances; I will never ask again, but pardon me this one time. You know that speech; it is now a stale speech in your ears; you have pardoned seventy times seven, and another pardon is requested with the promise that it shall be the last. This is the very thing we have done in the case of the Divine Creator and Redeemer of the worlds; we have told Him that we would never repeat the sin. It is not of our necessity we go again, but for the very selfsame sin we did last week, and we will do to-morrow. Life is critical. I am sure I thought I would never do it again; I said this shall not occur again; then I told a blacker lie than ever, and put myself more thoroughly into the devils service. And then we have it again in the daily cry from familiar voices: Deliver me out of this perplexity only this once, no more; I will never ask for deliverance again, I will take the literal consequences; nay, I will pray to go to hell rather than come back to be delivered. And the fool means it; he thinks he will be brave next time. You know this in your own family, in your own soul, in your own son, daughter, fastest friend. Only this once, this other ten pounds; this once screen me, and I will never, never return. You know the cry. Which of us has not in his desk a hundred promises that this shall be the last solicitation of love? We say again and again, Lord, let Thy providence help me in this case, only this once; this is really the final perplexity of my life; I am very ill, and I am afraid of the other world; I have suffered much on account of it in a dream but yesternight; I heard the groanings of the lost, I heard the cry for water, and the water had fled away. I do not want to die just now; if Thou wilt give the doctor great success and turn the herbal medicines of the field into sacramental wine, I will never grieve Thee more; only this once! and I promised God many things; I said I would love His Church, I would support His altar, I would vindicate the Cross; I would take up a new line and become a new man. He did, and the devil has never had a sturdier soldier. Oh, the pity of it! the utter, utter sadness of it! Now let us note three things about this prayer.

1. First of all, the prayer was to the true God. It was not offered to an idol. Know, then, that we may be praying to the right God; that is no guarantee that we shall get the answer which we desire. You may read the right book and get nothing out of it. Not every man who reads the Bible receives a revelation, or has the slightest idea that there is a revelation of a spiritual and effective kind in the whole range of Holy Scripture. The right God does not make the right prayer; the prayer is in the spirit, in the will; it is in the temper or disposition of the heart; it is in the self-crucifixion of the soul: not a cry, but a sacrifice.

2. What ailed this poor prayer? what was its mortal disease? The mortal disease of this prayer uttered by Samson was that it was offered in the wrong spirit. It is the spirit that determines the quality. That I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. It was a prayer for vengeance. That prayer comes easily to the natural spirit. We love to magnify the individual, and to think that individualism is personality. What grave mistakes we make in our verbal definitions! A man will say that he stands up for personality, when he knows nothing about it. He is standing up for individuality, his own little miserable self. Here is a man who comes forward to avenge his personal or individual or physical loss; in that spirit a man cannot pray. What he says may have the form of prayer, so to say the likeness of prayer, and yet the man may not be praying; he may be in reality simply and deeply cursing. A curse is not a prayer; an imprecation is not part of the great liturgy in which all redeemed souls ought to take part. Prayer is self-renunciation; prayer says, Lord, Thy will be done, not mine. Thus the Divine will is done by consent, human and Divine, and is the law, in its own degree, of the universe; the soul then falls into the rhythmic movement of the creation, and the man is translated out of individuality into personality in its broadest definitions, and he is part and parcel of the great unity which swings like a censer round the altar Divine.

3. In the third place this prayer was answered, but answered in judgment. Samson had his way, but his way killed him. God has many ways of answering prayer. One sad case is recorded which will at once occur to your memory: He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul. They had their way, and lost it; they got what they wanted, and it poisoned them. How marvellous it is in all this process that Samson still had within him what I may call a spark of vital faith. He knew he had lost his opportunities, and forfeited his privileges, and betrayed his trust; yet he knew something higher than all this, namely, that God lives, and that God is a God of judgment, and that the way of God shall yet prevail upon the earth, be human circumstances and conditions what they may. He made the most of that vital spark. But Samson might have said, Do not upbraid me; I have played the fool before God; I yielded up my secret, I parted with my strength, I ceased at once to be a judge in Israel and to be a child of God; but there is one last lingering flash of faith, and I want to turn that last lingering flash into works, into actions, into palpable and crushing results. Samson was then at the very height of his will; he then touched the sublimest personality of his own consciousness, and he was dealing not only with his enemies, but with the enemies of the Lord. This we may say; for the eternal comfort of the race it is written according to the blessing pronounced by father Jacob, Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. So we come upon the familiar thought of intermediate and final victories. Gad, my poor, poor son, a troop shall overcome him, but he, my son Gad, shall overcome at the last. When they think he is dead he will spring to his feet; when they report it in pagan, uncircumcised cities that Gad is dead, Gad will rise and whet his sword and challenge the enemy to a deadlier combat. Do not pronounce upon intermediate failures; there may be many of them, and yet there may be conquest at the last. So it shall be with our poor hearts. Yes, we were caught in all the sins, the devil was triumphing over us, but we overcame at the last. All these sins are ours, and we repent them, who can tell whether God will be gracious unto us, and give us a nail in His tabernacle, and one small place in His great providential plan? As a nation we have sinned; I do not see that our cup of iniquity could hold one drop more; it is not for us to fall back upon a history we have dishonoured, it is for us to go forward to a throne that is still a throne of mercy. (J. Parker, D. D.)

Let me die with the Philistines.–

The death of Samson

I. Humiliation and weakness are sure to follow the failure to keep covenant with God. He lacks the highest motive and the holiest hope who has not consciously agreed to fulfil the conditions on which the exceeding great and precious promises of God are given.

II. The discipline of humiliation is the only way to a restoration of strength. All great endowments bring with them also especial weaknesses. This big burly body carried great passions with it. This giant strength led easily to over-confidence. But a sudden gleam of light seems to show him the opportunity to complete his mission as the champion of Israel. Blind and alone, he may yet gain a victory for God and for His people over their oppressors. Now he confesses that his strength is in Jehovah. To Him he cries for help. His hair has grown again, but he does not put his trust in that. Perhaps he feels the vigour of his returning power, but in his blindness he needs God, however strong he may be. And as soon as he can pray again he is the hero again.

III. While one who has broken covenant with God can never come back and be what he was before, God may sometimes accomplish more through a fallen man restored than if he had not fallen. Poor Samson never could get back his eyes. No penitence or prayer could restore the lost faculty. Even though his strength came back, his eyesight did not. He must beg the aid of a boy to find his way. It is thus with all who fall from God and fail from duty, who turn their back upon the Lord and neglect the conditions of His blessing. The scars remain though the man is healed. One who has fallen into gross sin may be restored, but he is weakened. Do not let us think too lightly of the peril of sin, and especially of the sin of one who is pledged to God. The disability which comes from the violation of a conscious obligation is more severe and more lasting than any other. (G. M. Boynton.)

Lessons from the life of Samson

His character is unlike that of the other heroes of Hebrew story. Alone in the Old Testament he overflows with joyfulness. His very name is probably associated with the sunshine–sunlike. He is light of heart, and his courage rises in the hour of danger. He has a sportive wit which sparkles in rhythmic couplets, flashes in epigrams, plays upon words. It will not be forgotten that the great child of daring and genius is brought up a Neziyr-Elohim with his vow of abstinence. Unquestionably, he derived an inward strength of a certain kind from the conviction that he was indeed Gods own, consecrated to Him from his mothers womb. Certainly, also, the circumstances which called him to be a judge must have had a strengthening and ennobling influence. We must remember that in Israel Gods Spirit takes the place which in human history is ascribed to natural genius. But this influence of the Spirit was a gift and not necessarily a sanctifying grace. Now, such measure of spiritual strength as may have been given to Samson by his being a Neziyr-Elohim was, so to speak, artificial. No chain is stronger than its weakest link; no vow is stronger than the will behind it. Add to this, that the vow only covers an isolated fragment of the world of moral duty. Unnatural strictness in one direction sometimes compensates itself by unnatural laxity in another. Samson was a rigid total abstainer. I mean no unworthy sneer at a cause to which I wish well. But if Samson was a rigid total abstainer, so I believe is the Mormon, and so I know is the Moslem. At all events, Samsons strictness in one direction was compensated for by laxity in another. A fiercer passion than that for wine coursed through the heros veins, and set his blood on fire. The unrivalled bodily strength co-exists with abject moral weakness. Why will so many novelists and poets speak as if strength and passion were almost convertible terms? What we call the strength of passion is really its weakness. It is not passion, but the repression of passion, which is really strong. And the strongest character is that in which what are called the strongest passions are held in leash by the sternest will. Lessons:

1. Flee from every sin that has light in its eye, and honey upon its tongue. Flee from the touch that wins, but blisters as it touches, and fills the vein with fire.

2. A second lesson derived from the fallen Nazarite is the weakness of our will; the helplessness of our resolutions; their imperfect and partial action upon our moral nature. How, then, is the will to be emancipated and strengthened? I am not now speaking of prudential rules, and humble efforts, indispensable though they are–I am not just yet speaking of a sacramental means of grace–but of ultimate Divine principles.

(1) The strengthening of our will comes from the sympathy of Christ. In this we have a law of our human nature perfected. When our will needs an accession of strength, we find such accession by bringing it to a higher will. And the higher and purer that other will may be, with the stronger grasp shall it lay hold upon our sinking resolutions.

(2) The strengthening of our will further comes from the inward gift of the Spirit. The great gift of the new covenant is (Jer 31:33). In those whose will Christ emancipates there is a supernatural power, conforming the man to the law, not dispensing him from it.

3. And now we are led to see from all this the fitness and reasonableness of the view entertained by the Church of the reality of grace in sacraments and ordinances. (Abp. Wm. Alexander.)

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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

CHAPTER XVI

Samson comes to Gaza; they lay wait for him; he rises by night,

and carries away the city gates, 1-3.

Falls in love with Delilah, 4.

The lords of the Philistines promise her money if she will

obtain from Samson the secret in which his strength lay, 5.

By various artifices she at last obtains this; and

communicates it to the Philistines, who seize and bind him, put

out his eyes, and cause him to grind in the prison-house, 6-21.

At a public festival to Dagon he is brought out to make sport;

when, being weary, he requests to be placed between the two

pillars which supported the roof of the house, on which three

thousand men and women were stationed to see him make sport,

22-27.

He prays to God to strengthen him, and pulls down the pillars;

by which (the house falling) both himself, the lords of the

Philistines, and a vast multitude of the people, are slain,

28-30.

His relatives come and take away his body, and bury it, 31.

NOTES ON CHAP. XVI

Verse 1. Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there a harlot] The Chaldee, as in the former case, renders the clause thus: Samson saw there a woman, an inn-keeper. Perhaps the word zonah is to be taken here in its double sense; one who keeps a house for the entertainment of travellers, and who also prostitutes her person.

Gaza was situated near the Mediterranean Sea, and was one of the most southern cities of Palestine. It has been supposed by some to have derived its name from the treasures deposited there by Cambyses, king of the Persians; because they say Gaza, in Persian, signifies treasure; so Pomponius Mela and others. But it is more likely to be a Hebrew word, and that this city derived its name, azzah, from azaz, to be strong, it being a strong or well fortified place.

The Hebrew ain in this word is, by the Septuagint, the Arabic, and the Vulgate, rendered G; hence instead of azzah, with a strong guttural breathing, we have Gaza, a name by which this town could not be recognized by an ancient Hebrew.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Samson went to Gaza, a chief city, to make some new attempt upon the Philistines, whom he feared not either in their cities or in their camps, having had such large experience of his own strength, and of Gods assistance; possibly he came in thither by night, unknown and unobserved till afterwards.

Saw there an harlot; going into a house of public entertainment to refresh himself, as the manner was, Jos 2:1. He there saw this harlot; which implies that he did not go thither upon so evil a design, but accidentally saw her there, and by giving way to lustful looks upon her, was ensnared by her.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

1, 2. Gazanow Guzzah, thecapital of the largest of the five Philistine principal cities, aboutfifteen miles southwest of Ashkelon. The object of this visit to thiscity is not recorded, and unless he had gone in disguise, it was aperilous exposure of his life in one of the enemy’s strongholds. Itsoon became known that he was there; and it was immediately resolvedto secure him. But deeming themselves certain of their prey, theGazites deferred the execution of their measure till the morning.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Then went Samson to Gaza,…. One of the five principalities of the Philistines, which was ten miles from Ashkelon, as Sandys q says; who also describes r it as standing upon an hill environed with valleys, and these again well nigh enclosed with hills, most of them planted with all sorts of delicate fruits; and, according to Bunting s, forty two miles from Ramathlehi, the place where we last hear of him, [See comments on Am 1:6] [See comments on Zep 2:4] what he went hither for is not easy to say; it showed great boldness and courage, after he had made such a slaughter of the Philistines, to venture himself in one of their strongest cities, where he must expect to be exposed to danger; though it is highly probable this was a long time after his last encounter with them:

and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her; the Targum renders it an innkeeper, one that kept a victualling house; so Kimchi, Ben Gersom, and Ben Melech interpret it; into whose house he went for entertainment and lodging, and very probably in the dusk of the evening; and the woman that kept this house might herself be an harlot, or, however, Samson saw one in her house, with whom he was captivated, and went in unto her, or had criminal conversation with her; it seems as if he did not turn in thither with any such wicked design, but on sight of the person was ensnared to commit lewdness with her; and, as Lyra says, there were many hostesses in some places, and so here, who too easily prostituted themselves to their guests.

q Travels, l. 3. p. 118. r Travels, l. 3. p. 116. s Ut supra. (Travels, l. 3. p. 118.)

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

His Heroic Deed at Gaza. – Samson went to Gaza in the full consciousness of his superiority in strength to the Philistines, and there went in unto a harlot whom he saw. For Gaza, see Jos 13:3. is used in the same sense as in Gen 6:4 and Gen 38:16. It is not stated in this instance, as in Jdg 14:4, that it was of the Lord.

Jdg 16:2

When this was told to the Gazites, they surrounded him (the object to the verb is to be supplied from the following word ) and laid wait for him all night at the city gate, but they kept themselves quiet during the night, saying, “ Till the dawning ( , infin.) of the morning,” sc., we can wait, “ then will we kill him.” For this construction, see 1Sa 1:22. The verb , “it was told” (according to the lxx and Chald.: cf. Gen 22:20), or , “they said,” is wanting before , and must have fallen out through a copyist’s error. The verb has evidently the subordinate idea of giving themselves up to careless repose; for if the watchmen who were posted at the city gate had but watched in a regular manner, Samson could not have lifted out the closed gates and carried them away. But as they supposed that he would not leave the harlot before daybreak, they relied upon the fact that the gate was shut, and probably feel asleep.

Jdg 16:3

But at midnight Samson got up, and “laying hold of the folding wings of the city, gate, as well as the two posts, tore them out of the ground with his herculean strength, together with the bar that fastened them, and carried them up to the top of the mountain which stands opposite to Hebron.” merely means in the direction towards, as in Gen 18:16, and does not signify that the mountain was in the front of Hebron or in the immediate neighbourhood (see Deu 32:49, where Mount Nebo, which was on the other side of the Jordan, and at least four geographical miles from Jericho, is said to have been over against, it, and the same expression is employed). The distance from Gaza to Hebron was about nine geographical miles. To the east of Gaza there is a range of hills which runs from north to south. The highest of them all is one which stands somewhat isolated, about half an hour to the south-east of the town, and is called el Montar from a wely which is found upon the top of it. From this hill there is a splendid prospect over the whole of the surrounding country. Hebron itself is not visible from this hill, but the mountains of Hebron are. According to an ancient tradition, it was to the summit of this hill that Samson carried the city gates; and both Robinson (Pal. ii. 377) and V. de Velde regard this tradition as by no means improbable, although the people of Gaza are not acquainted with it. “The city gate of the Gaza of that time was probably not less than three-quarters of an hour from the hill el Montar; and to climb this peak with the heavy gates and their posts and bar upon his shoulders through the deep sand upon the road, was a feat which only a Samson could perform” ( V. de Velde).

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Samson’s Escape from Gaza.

B. C. 1120.

      1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her.   2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.   3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of a hill that is before Hebron.

      Here is, 1. Samson’s sin, v. 1. His taking a Philistine to wife, in the beginning of his time, was in some degree excusable, but to join himself to a harlot that he accidentally saw among them was such a profanation of his honour as an Israelite, as a Nazarite, that we cannot but blush to read it. Tell it not in Gath. This vile impurity makes the graceful visage of this Nazarite blacker than a coal,Lam 4:7; Lam 4:8. We find not that Samson had any business in Gaza; if he went thither in quest of a harlot it would make one willing to hope that, as bad as things were otherwise, there were no prostitutes among the daughters of Israel. Some think he went thither to observe what posture the Philistines were in, that he might get some advantages against them; if so, he forgot his business, neglected that, and so fell into this snare. His sin began in his eye, with which he should have made a covenant; he saw there one in the attire of a harlot, and the lust which conceived brought forth sin: he went in unto her. 2. Samson’s danger. Notice was sent to the magistrates of Gaza, perhaps by the treacherous harlot herself, that Samson was in the town, v. 2. Probably he came in a disguise, or in the dusk of the evening, and went into an inn or public-house, which happened to be kept by this harlot. The gates of the city were hereupon shut, guards set, all kept quiet, that Samson might suspect no danger. Now they thought they had him in a prison, and doubted not but to be the death of him the next morning. O that all those who indulge their sensual appetites in drunkenness, uncleanness, or any fleshly lusts, would see themselves thus surrounded, waylaid, and marked for ruin, by their spiritual enemies! The faster they sleep, and the more secure they are, the greater is their danger. 3. Samson’s escape, v. 3. He rose at midnight, perhaps roused by a dream, in slumberings upon the bed (Job xxxiii. 15), by his guardian angel, or rather by the checks of his own conscience. He arose with a penitent abhorrence (we hope) of the sin he was now committing, and of himself because of it, and with a pious resolution not to return to it,–rose under an apprehension of the danger he was in, that he was as one that slept upon the top of a mast,–rose with such thoughts as these: “Is this a bed fit for a Nazarite to sleep in? Shall a temple of the living God be thus polluted? Can I be safe under this guilt?” It was bad that he lay down without such checks; but it would have been worse if he had lain still under them. He makes immediately towards the gate of the city, probably finds the guards asleep, else he would have made them sleep their last, stays not to break open the gates, but plucks up the posts, takes them, gates and bar and all, all very large and strong and a vast weight, yet he carries them on his back several miles, up to the top of a hill, in disdain of their attempt to secure him with gates and bars, designing thus to render himself more formidable to the Philistines and more acceptable to his people, thus to give a proof of the great strength God had given him and a type of Christ’s victory over death and the grave. He not only rolled away the stone from the door of the sepulchre, and so came forth himself, but carried away the gates of the grave, bar and all, and so left it, ever after, an open prison to all that are his; it shall not, it cannot, always detain them. O death! where is thy sting? Where are thy gates? Thanks be to him that not only gained a victory for himself, but giveth us the victory!

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Judges – Chapter 16

Samson at Gaza, vs. 1-3

Samson seems to have moved boldly at will among the Philistines, entering their cities and leaving without being captured. By this time his miraculous power was doubtless well know far and wide. In this incident, however, Samson is seen slipping into sin of the kind which would finally defeat him. Gaza was the southernmost of the chief Philistine cities, on the coastal plain, near the cities in the allotment of the tribe of Judah which had been later assigned to the tribe of Simeon.

Samson on a visit to Gaza became enamored with a harlot of the place, and was spending a night with her. His presence was known to the men of the city, who thinking they had him trapped, barred the gates, intending to kill him in the morning. Why they felt it necessary to wait until morning is not noted. No doubt they were afraid of him and, perhaps, were trying to find out a way they could handle him.

Somehow Samson learned that they planned to take him the following morning, so arose at midnight to leave. Finding the doors of the gates shut and barred he simply pulled up the posts on which the doors were set and carried the whole thing off with him. Samson carried these across country to Hebron, the chief city of the tribe of Judah, and there deposited them on top of a hill visible from the city gates. The doors were transported a distance of about forty airline miles. This feat of Samson’s served two purposes: 1) it embarrassed the Philistines and frustrated them even more in their determination to destroy Samson; 2) it put the Judahites to shame because it showed the mighty power available through the Lord to overthrow the Philistine oppression if they would respond with repentance, (1Co 15:34).

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

THE BOOK OF JUDGES

Judges 1-21.

THE Book of Judges continues the Book of Joshua. There are some Books of the Bible, the proper location of which require careful study, but Judges follows Joshua in chronological order. The Book opens almost identically with the Book of Joshua. In the latter the reading is, Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua. In the Book of Judges, Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the Children of Israel asked thd Lord, saying Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up. God always has His man chosen and His ministry mapped out. We may worry about our successors and wonder whether we shall be worthily followed, but as a matter of fact that is a question beyond us and does not belong to us. It is not given to man to choose prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors and teachers. That prerogative belongs to the ascended Lord, and He is not derelict in His duty nor indifferent to the interests of Israel. Before one falls, He chooses another. The breach in time that bothers men is not a breach to Him at all. It is only an hour given to the people for the expression of bereavement. It is only a day in which to calm the public mind and call out public sympathy and centralize and cement public interest.

Men may choose their co-laborers as Judah chose Simeon; leaders may pick out their captains as Moses did, and as did Joshua; but God makes the first choice, and when men leave that choice to Him, He never makes a mistake.

Whenever a captain of the hosts of the Lord is unworthily succeeded, misguided men have forgotten God and made the choice on the basis of their own judgment.

People sometimes complain of some indifferent or false preacher, We cant see why God sent us such a pastor. He didnt! You called him yourself. You didnt sufficiently consult God. You didnt keep your ears open to the still, small voice. You didnt wait on bended knees until He said, Behold your leader; follow him!

When God appoints Judah, he also delivers the Canaanites and the Perizzites into his hands. Adoni-bezek, the brutal, will be humbled by him; the capital city will fall before him; the southland will succumb, also the north and the east and the west, and the mountains will capitulate before the Lord of Hosts.

But the Book of Judges doesnt present a series of victories. There is no Book in the Bible that so clearly typifies the successes and reverses, the ups and downs, the victories and defeats of the church, as the history of Israel here illustrates. It naturally divides itself under The Seven Apostasies, The Successive Judges, and The Civil War.

THE SEVEN APOSTASIES

The first chapter is not finished before failure finds expression. Of Judah it was said he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had chariots of iron (Jdg 1:19). Of the children of Benjamin it was said, They did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem (Jdg 1:21). Of Manasseh it was said, They did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-Shean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land (Jdg 1:27). Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer, (Jdg 1:29); neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron (Jdg 1:30), nor the inhabitants of Mahalol. Neither did Asher (Jdg 1:31) drive out the inhabitants of Acho nor of Zidon; neither did Naphthali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh (Jdg 1:33), and this failure to clear the field results in an aggressive attack before the first chapter finishes, and the Amorites force the children of Dan into the mountain (Jdg 1:34).

If one study these seven apostasies that follow one another in rapid succession, he will be impressed by two or three truths. They resulted from the failure to execute the command of the Lord. The command of the Lord to Joshua was that he should expel the people from before him and drive them from out of his sight, and possess their land (Jos 23:5). He was not to leave any among them nor to make mention of any of their gods (Jos 23:7). He was promised that one of his men should chase a thousand. He was even told that if any were left and marriage was made with them that they should know for a certainty that the Lord God would no more drive out any of these nations from before them; that they should be snares and traps and scourges and thorns, until Israel perished from off the good land that God had given them (Jos 23:13). How strangely the conduct of Israel, once in the land, comports with this counsel given them before they entered it; and there is a typology in all of this.

The Christian life has its enemiessocial enemies, domestic enemies, national enemies! Ones companionship will determine ones conduct; ones marriage relation will eventuate religiously or irreligiously. The character of ones nation is more or less influential upon life.

The ordinance of baptism, the initial rite into the church, looks to an absolute separation from the world, and is expressed by the Apostle Paul as a death unto sin, the clear intent being that no evil customs are to be kept, nor companions retained, nor entangling alliances maintained. The word now is as the word then, Come out from among them, and be ye separate (2Co 6:17).

They imperiled their souls by this forbidden social intercourse. It is very difficult to live with a people and not become like them. It is very difficult to dwell side by side with nations and not intermarry. Intermarriage between believers and unbelievers is almost certain to drag down the life of the former to the level of the latter. False worship, like other forms of sin, has its subtle appeal; and human nature being what it is, false gods rise easily to exalted place in corrupted affections.

If there is one thing God tried to do for ancient Israel, and one thing God tries to do for the new Israel, the Church, it was, and is, to get His people to disfellowship the world.

There are men who think God is a Moloch because He so severely punished Israels compromises. They cant forget that when Joshua went over Jordan and Israel lay encamped on the skirts of the mountains of Moab, her people visited a high place near the camp whereon a festival of Midian, idolatrous, licentious in the extreme, was in process, and they went after this putrid paganism and polluted their own souls with the idolatrous orgy. Then it was that Moses, speaking for the Lord, said, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, and while that hideous row of dead ones was still before their eyes, the plague fell on the camp and 24,000 of the transgressors perished! But severe as it was, Israel soon forgot, showing that it was not too severe, and raising the question as to whether it was severe enough to impress the truth concerning idolatry and all its infamous effects.

Solomon is commonly reputed to have been the wisest of men, and yet it was his love alliances with the strange women of Moab, Ammon, Zidon and the Hittites, these very people, that brought the Lords anger against him and compelled God to charge him with having turned from the Lord God of Israel and in consequence of which God said, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant (1Ki 11:11).

Again and again the kingdom has been lost after the same manner. The present peril of the church is at this point, and by its alliance with the world, the kingdom of our Lord is delayed, and Satan, the prince of this world, remains in power, and instead of 24,000 people perishing in judgment, tens of thousands and millions of people perish through this compromise, and swallowed up in sin, rush into hell.

But to follow the text further is to find their restoration to Gods favor rested with genuine repentance. There are recorded in Judges seven apostasies; they largely result from one sin. There are seven judgments, increasing in severity, revealing Gods determined purpose to correct and save; and there are seven recoveries, each of them in turn the result of repentance. God never looks upon a penitent man, a penitent people, a penitent church, a penitent nation, without compassion and without turning from His purposes of judgment. When the publican went up into the temple to pray, his was a leprous soul, but when he smote upon his breast and cried, God be merciful to me a sinner, his was the instant experience of mercy. When at Pentecost, 2500 sincere souls fell at the feet of Peter and the other Apostles, and cried, Men and brethren, what shall we do, the response was, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and the promise was, Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

When David, who was a child of God, guilty of murder and adultery combined, poured out his soul as expressed in the Fifty-first Psalm, God heard that prayer, pardoned those iniquities, restored him to the Divine favor, and showered him with proofs of the Divine love.

When Nineveh went down in humility, a city of 600,000 souls, every one of whom from Sardana-palus, the king on the throne, to the humblest peasant within the walls, proving his repentance by sitting in sackcloth and ashes, God turned at once from the evil He had thought to do unto them and He did it not, and Nineveh was saved.

The simple truth is, God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He never punishes from preference, but only for our profit; and, even then, like a father, He suffers more deeply than the children upon whom His strokes of judgment fall.

What a contrast to that statement of Scripture, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, is that other sentence, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. The reason is not far to seek. In the first case it is death indeed; death fearful, death eternal. In the second case, death is a birth, a release from the flesh that held to a larger, richer, fuller life. In that God takes pleasure.

There is then for the sinner no royal road to the recovery of Gods favor. It is the thorny path of repentance instead. It is through Bochim, the Vale of Tears; but it were just as well that the prodigal, returning home, should not travel by a flowery path. He will be the less tempted to go away again if his back-coming is with agony, and home itself will seem the more sweet when reached if there his weary feet find rest for the first time, and from their bleeding soles the thorns are picked; if there his nakedness is clothed, his hunger is fed and his sense of guilt is kissed away. Oh, the grace of God to wicked men the moment repentance makes possible their forgiveness!

The court in Minneapolis yesterday illustrated this very point. When a young man, who had been wayward indeed, who had turned highway-robber, saw his error, sobbed his way to Christ and voluntarily appeared in court and asked to have sentence passed, newspapers expressed surprise that the heart of the judge should have been so strangely moved, and that the sentence the law absolutely required to be passed upon him, should have been, by the judge, suspended, and the young man returned to his home and wife and babe. But our Judge, even God, is so compassionate that such conduct on His part excites no surprise. It is His custom! Were it not so, every soul of us would stand under sentence of death. The law which is just and holy and good has passed that sentence already, and it is by the grace of God we have our reprieve. Seven apostasies? Yes! Seven judgments? Yes! But seven salvations! Set that down to the honor and glory of our God! It is by grace we are saved!

THE SUCCESSIVE JUDGES

Evidently God has no special regard for some of our modern superstitions, for in this period of conquest He deliberately chooses thirteen judges and sets them over Israel in turn, beginning with Othniel, the son of Kenaz, and nephew of Caleb, and concluding with Samson, the son of Manoah.

They represented varied stations of Israelitish society. A careful review of their personal history brings a fresh illustration of the fact that God is no respector of persons; and it also illustrates the New Testament statement that Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. With few exceptions these judges had not been heard of until their appointment rendered necessary some slight personal history. That is the Divine method until this hour. How seldom the children of the great are themselves great. How often, when God needs a ruler in society, He seeks a log cabin and chooses an angular ladAbe Lincoln. The difference between the inspired Scriptures and yesterdays newspaper is in the circumstance that the Scriptures tell the truth about men and leave God to do the gilding and impart the glory, instead of trying to establish the same through some noble family tree. There is a story to the effect that a young artist, working under his master in the production of a memorial window that represented the greatest and best that art ever knew, picked up, at the close of the day, the fragments of glass flung aside, and finally wrought from them a window more glorious still. Whether this is historically correct or not, we know what God has done with the refuse of society again and again. Truly

God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

That no flesh should glory in His presence * * * * He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord (1Co 1:27-29; 1Co 1:31).

Out of these un-named ones some were made to be immortalGideon, Jephthae, Samson, Deborah.

Gideon, the son of Joash, became such because he dared to trust God. The average Captain of hosts wants men increased that the probabilities of victory may grow proportionately. At the word of the Lord Gideon has his hundreds of thousands and tens of thousands reduced to a handful. What are three hundred men against the multitude that compassed him about? And what are pitchers, with lights in them, against swords and spears and stones; and yet his faith failed not! He believed that, God with him, no man could be against him. When Paul comes to write his Epistle to the Hebrews and devotes a long chapter of forty verses to a list of names made forever notable through faith, Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthaethese all appear, and they are put there properly, reason confirming revelation. Barak had faced the hundreds of iron chariots of the enemy, and yet at the word of the Lord, had dared to brave and battle them. Samson, with no better equipment than the jaw-bone of an ass, had slain his heaps. Jephthae, when he had made a vow to the Lord, though it cost him that which was dearer than life, would keep it. Such characters are safe in history. Whatever changes may come over the face of the world, however notable may eventually be names; whatever changes may occur in the conceptions of men as to what makes for immortality, those who believe in God will abide, and childrens children will call their names blessed. Gideon will forever stand for a combination of faith and courage. Barak will forever represent the man who, at the word of the Lord, will go against great odds. Jephthae will forever be an encouragement to men who, having sincerely made vows, will solemnly keep the same; and Samson will forever represent, not his prowess, but the strength of the Lord, which, though it may express itself in the person of a man, knows no limitations so long as that man remains loyal to his vows, and the spirit of the Lord rests upon him.

Before passing from this study, however, permit me to call your attention to the fact that there was made a political exception in the matter of sex. We supposed that the putting of woman into mans place is altogether a modern invention. Not so; it is not only a fact in English language but in human history, that all rules have their exceptions. Gods rule for prophets is men, and yet the daughters of Philip were prophetesses. Gods rule for kings is men, and yet one of the greatest of rulers was Queen Victoria. Gods rule for judges is men, and yet Deborah was long since made an exception. Let it be understood that the exception to the rule is not intended to supplant the rule. The domestic circle is Gods choice for womankind, and her wisdom, tact and energy are not only needed there, but find there their finest employment. And yet there are times when through the indifference of men, or through their deadness to the exigencies of the day, God can do nothing else than raise up a Deborah, speak to a Joan of Arc, put on the throne a Victoria.

I noticed in a paper recently a discussion as to whether women prominent in politics proved good mothers, and one minister at least insisted that they did. We doubt it! The text speaks of Deborah as a mother in Israel, but we find no mention of her children. Our judgment is that had there been born to her a dozen of her own Israel might never have known her leadership. The unmarried woman, or the barren wife, may have time and opportunity for social and political concern; but the mother of children commonly finds her home sphere sufficient for all talents, and an opportunity to reach society, cleanse politics, aid the church, help the world, as large an office as ever came to man. However, let it be understood that all our fixed customs, all our standard opinions, give place when God speaks. If it is His will that a woman judge, then she is best fitted for that office; if He exalts her to lead armies, then victory will perch upon her banners; if He calls her to the place of power on the throne, then ruling wisdom is with her.

In the language of the Apostle Paul, And what shall I say more, for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Samson and of Barak and of Jepkthae. They are all great characters and worthy extended discussion. It would equally fail me to rehearse the confusion, civil and religious, that follows from the seventeenth chapter of this Book to the end, but in chapters nineteen to twenty-one there is recorded an incident that cannot in justice to an outline study, be overlooked, for it results in

THE CIVIL WAR

Tracing that war to its source, we find it was the fruit of the adoption of false religions. We have already seen some of the evil effects of this intermingling with heathen faiths, but we need not expect an end of such effects so long as the compromise obtains. There is no peace in compromise; no peace with your enemies. A compromise is never satisfactory to either side. Heathen men do not want half of their polytheism combined with half of your monotheism. They are not content to give up a portion of their idolatry and take in its place praises to the one and only God. The folly of this thing was shown when a few years since the leaders of the International Sunday School Association attempted to temporarily affiliate Christianity with Buddhism. The native Christians in Japan, in proportion to their sincere belief in the Bible arid in Christ, rejected the suggestion as an insult to their new faith, and the followers of Buddha and the devotees of Shintoism would not be content with Christian conduct unless the Emperor was made an object of worship and Christian knees bowed before him. It must be said, to the shame of certain Sunday School leaders, that they advocated that policy and prostrated themselves in the presence of His Majesty to the utter disgust of their more uncompromising fellows. The consequence was, no Convention of the International Association has been so unsatisfactory and produced such poor spiritual results as Tokios.

Confusion is always the consequence of compromise, and discontent is the fruit of it, and fights and battles and wars are the common issue.

Idolatry is deadly; graven images cannot be harmonized with the true God. The first and second commandments cannot be ignored and the remainder of the Decalog kept. It is God or nothing! It is the Bible or nothing! It is the faith once delivered or infidelity!

The perfidy of Benjamin brought on the battle. We have already seen that men grow like those with whom they intimately associate. This behavior on the part of the Benjamites is just what you would have expected. The best of men still have to battle with the bad streak that belongs to the flesh incident to the fall; and, when by evil associations that streak is strengthened, no man can tell what may eventually occur. Had this conduct been recorded against the heathen, it would not have amazed us at all. We speedily forget that as between men there is no essential difference. Circumstances and Divine aidthese make a difference that is apparent indeed; but it is not so much because one is better than the other, but rather because one has been better situated, less tempted, more often strengthened; or else because he has found God and stands not in himself but in a Saviour.

Pick up your paper tomorrow morning and there will be a record of deeds as dark as could be recorded against the natives of Africa, or those of East India or China, Siberia or the South Sea Islands. The conduct of these men toward the concubine was little worse than that of one of our own citizens in a land of civilization and Christianity, who lately snatched a twelve-year-old girl and kept her for days as his captive, and when at last she eluded him, it was only to wander back to her home, despoiled and demented. Do you wonder that God is no respecter of persons? Do you wonder that the Bible teaches there is no difference? Do you doubt it is all of grace?

The issues of that war proved the presence and power of God. There are men who doubt if God is ever in battle; but history reveals the fact that few battles take place without His presence. The field of conflict is commonly the place of judgment, and justice is seldom or never omitted. We may be amazed to see Israel defeated twice, and over 40,000 of her people fall, when as a matter of fact she went up animated by the purpose of executing vengeance against an awful sin. Some would imagine that God would go with them and not a man would fall, and so He might have done had Israel, including Judah and all loyal tribes, been themselves guiltless. But such was not the truth! They had sins that demanded judgment as surely as Benjamins sin, and God would not show Himself partial to either side, but mete out judgment according to their deserts. That is why 40,000 of the Israelites had to fall. They were facing then their own faithlessness. They were paying the price of their own perfidy. They were getting unto themselves proofs that their fellowship with the heathen and their adoption of heathen customs was not acceptable with God.

Many people could not understand why England and France and Belgium and Canada and Australia and America should have lost so heavily in the late war, 19141918, believing as we did believe that their cause was absolutely just. Why should God have permitted them to so suffer in its defense? Millions upon millions of them dying, enormous wealth destroyed, women widowed, children orphaned, lands sacked, cities burned, cathedrals ruined, sanctuaries desecrated. The world around, there went up a universal cry, Why? And yet the answer is not far to seek. England was not guiltless; France was not guiltless; Belgium was not guiltless.

Poor Belgium! All the world has turned to her with pity and we are still planning aid for the Belgians and to preach to them and their children the Gospel of grace, and this we should do; but God had not forgotten that just a few years ago Belgium was blackening her soul by her conduct in the Belgian Congo. Natives by the score and hundreds were beaten brutally, their hands cut off because they did not carry to the Belgian king as much rubber and ivory as Belgian avarice demanded. American slavery, in its darkest hour, never knew anything akin to the oppression and persecution to which Belgium subjected the blacks in the Congo. Significant, indeed, is the circumstance that when the Germans came into Belgium, many Belgian hands were cut off; hapless and helpless children were found in this mangled state. Frightful as it was, it must have reminded Belgian authorities of their sins in Africa and of the certainty and exactitude of final judgment.

We have an illustration of this truth in the Book of Judges. When Judah went up against the Canaanites and the Lord delivered them into his hands, they slew in Bezek 10,000 men. They found Adoni-Bezek, the king, and fought against him, and caught him and cut off his thumbs and great toes. We cry Horror! and wonder that Gods own people could so behave; but, complete the sentence, and you begin to see justice, And Adoni-bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table. As I have done, so God hath requited me (Jdg 1:7).

Think of England in her infamous opium traffic, forcing it upon natives at the mouths of guns, enriching her own exchecquer at the cost of thousands and tens of thousands of hapless natives of East India and China!

Think of France, with her infidelity, having denied God, desecrated His sabbath, rejected His Son and given themselves over to absinthe and sensuality!

Think of the United States with her infamous liquor traffic, shipping barrels upon barrels to black men and yellow men, and cursing the whole world to fill her own coffers.

Tell me whether judgment was due the nations, and whether they had to see their sin in the lurid light of Belgian and French battlefields; but do not overlook the fact that when the war finally ends, Benjamin, the worst offender, the greater sinner, goes down in the greatest judgment, and one day Benjamins soldiers are almost wiped from the earth! Out of 26,700, 25,000 and more perish. Tell us now whether judgment falls where judgment belongs!

Take the late war. Again and again Germany was triumphant, but when the Allies had suffered sufficiently and had learned to lean not to themselves but upon the Lord; when, like Israel, they turned from hope in self and trusted in God, then God bared His arm in their behalf and Germany went down in defeat, a defeat that made their come-back impossible; a defeat that fastened upon them the tribute of years; a defeat that proved to them that, great as might have been the sins of the allied nations, greater still, in the sight of God, was their own sin; for final judgment is just judgment.

God is not only in history; God has to do with the making of history. If men without a king behave every one as is right in his own eyes, the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords, will do that which will eventually seem right in the eyes of all angels and of all good men. That is GOD!

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

THE FALL OF SAMSON

Judges 14-16.

THE eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews is an epitome of history employed in illustration of faith. Many of the great names of the Old Testament are called; and each, in turn, is held before the reader as a hero of trust in God.

A week since we found Jephthah to be in this company. The same Scriptures that include the name of Jephthah hold that of Samson also. And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets This name, then, is in a goodly galaxy. If one wanted to preach a series of sermons on great Old Testament characters he could do no better than to take them in the order of their appearance in the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews.

That Samson should be found in the list indicates that he was something more than a big bully, famed for his brute force. He was that! We have no doubt there are fans of the prize fight who seriously wish that Samson had been a twentieth century product, and that they might have seen him take an evening to bowl over John Sullivan, Corbett, Fitzsimmons, Johnson, Dempsey, Carpenter and Tunney in turn; and then perhaps line them all up and make a clean job of the septette; for, to the superficial reader and thinker Samson was nothing more than the worlds champion of the fighting ring for all centuries.

But a more intelligent study of this Scripture will

illustrate the fact that the history is not recorded to that circumstance at all, but rather to illustrate great and fundamental facts of life. Permit me to lead your study under three statements: Feats of Strength, Folly of Sin, Facts of Salvation.

FEATS OF STRENGTH

Two or three things are made clear in the record of Samsons feats of strength.

He surpasses all his fellows. Until that time the world had not produced his physical equal; since that time it has just as signally failed to present his peer. Immortality inheres in the incomparable. The moment a man is something his fellows have never been, or does something his fellows have never accomplished, he forces himself into the hall of fame. Witness Charles Lindbergh! The whole human race is tired of the humdrum of every-day life, and every-day experiences. The same race is delighted with novelties, and utterly infatuated with the altogether unusual! The trouble with the average man is that he has no more ingenuity than the beasts of the field or the birds of the air! He has seen the behavior of his father and mother and he proceeds after the same manner, or else falls short of even their accomplishments. He creates for himself no occasion of praise. The world recognizes him as he passes, but forgets him the moment he is gone.

The unusual man is the man whose name will live, and it does not require the mastery of the unthinkable to make it so; it only requires a splendid superiority in something, a point at which he will outclass all competitors. The Colgate family is famed in all America. Success in business and the accumulation of a fortune have made it so. When William Colgate, the founder of this house, was met on the towpath (traveling toward New York City) by an old boat captain who said to him, William, if you know how to make soap, remember that a few years hence some man will be the best soap maker in America, and that man might be you, the boy saw the meaning of the words, and shortly put them into practice and founded a great business and secured a great fortune. Emerson may have been a mystic in many ways, but he shows himself sensible and practical when he writes, If a man write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mouse-trap than his neighbor, though he build his house in the wilderness, the world will make a beaten path to his door.

What is the lesson? Do not roll along in the rut of life! Whatever you do, do it better than your neighbors and be the one individual of your community; do it better than anybody else has ever done it, and the world will never forget you.

He even surprised himself. I have an idea that when the young lion roared against Samson, and Samson rent him as he would rend a kid, though he had nothing in his hands, it so astonished him as to account for his silence, for the text says, He told not his father or his mother what he had done. There are some events in life that so far surpass what one ever expected to accomplish that he feels ashamed to tell them. There are some experiences that we do not think others would believe, because we know no one ever had them. When I was a lad in Kentucky I saw in the afternoon, just before the sun went down, a shining meteor traveling across the sky in a southerly direction! The roar of it was like a passing train; the blaze following it was yards in length even to my vision, and doubtless hundreds of miles in fact. The smoke that came from it formed a little cloud that held its position in the skies long after the meteor had gone. I had never seen anything like it; I had never heard of anything like it. I went home and maintained an utter silence simply because I feared I would be laughed at and be accounted a Baron Munchausen if I told. But when the next mornings newspaper came, and with great headlines reported that the meteor had been seen by thousands upon thousands, I went then into detail in telling that upon which I had looked.

Samsons strength was such a surprise to him that he kept silent about it, lest he should not be believed. But he made note of it, and from that hour he knew what he could do, and woe to man or beast that challenged him to conflict. He moved to the battle absolutely confident of victory and knew no fear. The trouble with many a young man is that he never discovers himself. He never puts his strength to any sufficient test. He never undertakes a big enough problem, or lays his hand to a hard enough task to learn what his powers are. He kills kids, but does not know that he could throttle a lion. He takes a bath and dresses himself in decent clothes, but never dreams that he could cleanse himself of a bad habit if he tried, and throttle the devil himself if he set himself to the task.

Is it not a profound pity for one to be possessed of splendid talents and never make discovery of them? Leslie M. Shaw, at one time Secretary of the Treasury, once made use of Axtellthe famous race horseto illustrate his point. He reminded his auditors of how Axtell came from a long line of blooded stock, and how his owner was very careful to see that he had the best attention possible. His limbs were rubbed daily that his muscles might be kept in good shape; he was not allowed to run with horses of ordinary breed, but only with blooded and swift ones. The time came for his training, and a man was secured who worked with him for a time and declared there was no speed in him. He was dismissed, and a second trainer secured, with a like result. A third did no better with him. Then the owner himself determined to try what he could do. For weeks he coaxed, and tried every possible way in kindness to get the colt to trot; then he lost patience, and taking the whip in hand, he lashed him again and again. As the keen crack cut into the sensitive flesh of the colt it aroused him. He picked up his feet as he had never picked them up before. He began to trot, and with additional strokes from the whip he went faster and faster Axtell had discovered himself. And from that moment he was master of the ring.

There are too many subjects of a soft and relaxing civilization. The land is filled with too many sleepy lads and lassies, awkwardly gadding their way about the most common tasks. Hardships and even cruelties have roused the worlds greatest men to conscious strength, as the appearance of the lion stirred Samson to the realization of the same. If your lines have fallen to you in pleasant places, pray God to either send His Spirit upon you for inspiration, or to sweep from you every luxury and comfort, that adverse circumstances might accomplish for you what the lash accomplished for Axtell, and the lion accomplished for Samson. No man ever succeeded until he said, I can do it.

He strangled his enemies. We are told of the lion that he rent him as a kid. The men of Ash-kelon he slew and took their spoil; the Philistines he slaughtered with the jaw bone of an ass, and there fell a thousand of them.

You say, Does God approve this? In the study of life do not stumble over difficult incidents. I do not know that God did approve it. That is really not the problem. The question is another one, a far greater one. How shall a man treat his enemies? What attitude shall a man take toward a lion that is in full leap, a lion that has sprung for the throat and will suck his blood? How shall a man behave toward enemies that have first secured his blinding, and then have set upon him to destroy him?

I hold before you Samson as an ensample of proper conduct. There is nothing to do with the furious lion but to rend him if you have the ability. There is nothing to do with furious enemies but to strike them down. To play with the first is to fall under his power and be destroyed; to parley with the second is to have your eyes put out and be flung into prison and made to grind for the sport of sinners.

There is a better way and Samson revealed it slay them! There is the lion of strong drink. What will you do with him? Play with him and he will break your bones. There is a tiger of lust; play with him and he will suck your blood. There are the Philistines of gambling; play with them and they will wrap green withes about your wrists and new ropes about your feet, and shear your hair, and convert you into a pitiful creature of sport, a living mockery. When John Wooley decided to have it out with the liquor business he started in to slay it. That was his only safety.

A friend tells me of a strange bird known to the mountains of the West, commonly called the roadster on account of his custom of getting into the middle of the road and running more rapidly than a horse travels, for hundreds and hundreds of yards ahead of you as you go. Now this bird is said to be the most famous enemy of the rattle snake abounding in the same community. When in his travels he happens upon one, he approaches near enough to get the snake to strike. But with dexterous movement he always escapes the blow. While the snake is still stretched out, and before he can coil again, the bird puts in his sharp bill and picks out an eye. Then he backs off and lets the snake coil and strike a second time. The moment this is done, and before he can recoil, he flies at him and picks out the second eye. Then the hapless serpent is his easy victim, and he thrusts his long beak right through the spinal cord at the base of the skull. This bird is a teacher of men! What shall we do with the enemies of body, soul and spirit? Imitate Samsonstrangle them, slay them! Let not a one that disputes your path live! That is a lesson well worth the learning, and no young man ever put it into practice but it profited him.

And yet we must pass from the feat of strength to

THE FOLLY OF SIN

Our theme as announced for the sermon was The Fall of Samson. There is only one way to fall. Sin marks that way. No man ever committed sin and escaped a fall. When Eve sinned she fell. When Adam sinned he fell. The record of Samsons behavior is a revelation of common experience.

At first his sin was in affection. His love of the woman in Timnath seems to have been a true love, and his intentions honorable, withal. He reports this affair to his father and mother. There was nothing clandestine about it. He asked the privilege of an honorable wedding, as a dutiful son should do. And when the wedding occasion occurred, the young giant stalked in the midst of thirty of the brides friends as the chief entertainer of the evening.

Once in a while you hear of a young man who is famed as a good story teller. In the ancient day they did not put forth stories as we do; they told riddles. The humor was not as good as is our modern method of story telling, but the wit was more in evidence. Arch Dean Farrar brings from Cassel a curious parallel of this instance from the annals of northern Germany. The judge promised a woman he would free her husband if she would tell him a riddle he could not guess. On her way to the courtroom she saw the carcass of a horse in which a little bird had built its nest and hatched its young, and her riddle ran after this manner:

As hither on my way I sped,

I took the living from the dead,

Six were thus of the seventh made quit,

To read my riddle, my lords tis fit.

Unable to explain the riddle, the judge failed, and the husband was set free.

But Samson combined in one a feat of the intellect and some gambling features, all of which added zest to the proposition and hinted the direction in which the lad was, perhaps unconsciously, yet certainly turning his life. Stupidity is not identical with spirituality, and saplessness is not another name for sanctity. A man does not have to be lugubrious because he belongs to the Lord. The love of innocent fun is not condemned in the kid or the lamb; we do not believe it is in the man. But it must be conceded that some features of what men call fun are inimical and dangerous, and it is only a step from them to the most grievous sin. Martin F. Black was a prosperous commission merchant in New York City; his fortune was estimated at $150,000 to $200,000. At the age of sixty-six years, broken in spirit and in health, he appeared before the magistrate Isen-Brown of that city and begged him to send him to the House of Correction, where he could find food and shelter for the winter months. In explanation of his condition, Black said, Five years ago I was one of the respected commission merchants of New York, and with a most comfortable fortune. One day a big buyer paid me a visit and asked me to go out and take a little something with him. I excused myself, saying I never touched liquor. He ridiculed the idea and said, You cannot imagine, man, that a single drink will do you any especial harm. Come along and be a good fellow. I did not want to offend him, and thought to drink with him was a mere matter of fellowship, and so I consented. But the moment the drink was down, it seemed to run through my bones like fire and excited desires I had never known. That very afternoon I went to the saloon and drank myself drunk. A young chap got hold of me, and we went forth to a gambling house. I lost the first day, $23,000. I saw the folly of it, but some smouldering lust for wine and gambling had been roused within me, and I was never able to put it down. Business soon left me and I was ruined!

Samson went from fun making to fleshly satiety. The reports of his behavior with harlots reminds one of the conduct of the prodigal son in Luke fifteen. The results of such a life are always and everywhere the same. It may land one man with the swine, and effect for him hunger and rags and disgrace. Another man it may fling into the hands of the Philistines who bind him, bore out his eyes, and send him to the mill to trample the corn as a blind horse is compelled to do! But the one thing certain is that , this sin sooner or later super induces sorrow, visits suffering, turns success into terrible defeat.

Louis Albert Banks gives us a fine illustration of that fact, drawing it from the life of Parnell, the great Irish leader. He says, It is only a short time ago that he was the astute and thoroughly trusted leader of the Irish cause in the English Parliament. He had an eloquence peculiar to himself, seemed to have an unlimited measure of common sense, and above all a masterful will, which made him a governor of others, because he first governed himself. Beginning alone, he fought his way, step by step, until such men as Gladstone believed in him, and respected him, and victory seemed certain for him and for his cause. There was a time when almost any man with a clear eye for historic perspective would have said, Here is a man who will live in history as one of its great figures. In 1882 he was great enough to offer, of his own accord, to Mr. Gladstone to retire from public life altogether, if in the great Englishmans judgment such an act would be helpful to the Irish cause. Then came his secret overthrow. The sin which destroyed Samson undermined him. It was long covered up and hidden; but like all sin, as it grew into mastery and control of the mans nature, it became bold and defiant. In the autumn of 1890 his shame was uncovered before all the world. Then he was asked to retire; he was shown his cause would certainly fail unless he relieved it of his burden. But his sin seemed to have changed his whole nature, and he no longer had the power to be self-denying, or to do great and generous deeds. Justin McCarthy, who had been his dearest friend, says, He seems suddenly to have changed his whole nature and his very ways of speech. We knew him before as a man of superb self-restraint, cool, calculating, never carried from the moorings of his keen intellect by any waves of passion around hima man with the eye and the foresight of a born commander-in-chief. That was the man before he had sold himself to the devil, before secret sin had eaten out his manhood and drugged his conscience and palsied his will; but what kind of a man was he afterward? Hear McCarthy again: We had now in our midst a man seemingly incapable of self-control, a man ready at any moment, and on the smallest provocation, to break into a very tempest and whirlwind of passion, a man of the most reckless and self-contradictory statements, a man who could descend to the most trivial and vulgar personalities, who could encourage and even indulge in the most ignoble and humiliating brawls. You all know the result. As Lucifer fell like a star from heaven to the deepest hell, so he fell from leadership, from the respect of mankind, and died as Samson did, brokenhearted and in shame.

The story of Samson is up-to-date! There are many men and women in Minneapolis tonight who have seen the consequences of their own sin, and to whom the meaning of this story is more plain than the words of any minister can make it to the inexperienced.

But I beg you to reflect upon this picture! It is a splendid photograph of the devils dupeblind, bound, grinding. Oh, God! can a giant be so degraded? Yes, if he sin!

Finally, the Spirit was insulted. The text of Scripture concerning this matter is plain. He awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. God is a long time in giving us up! The Holy Spirit is difficult to grieve away. Patience is a prominent feature in the Divine love, but when the Spirit of God is gone, there is no strength. The Philistines took him and put out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass, and he did grind in the prison house.

I know what you are thinking. Did Samsons strength then lay in his hair? No. There wasnt a bit of power in any one of those hairs; there wasnt a particle of ability in all of them combined, and yet, the shearing of it stripped him of strength because that hair represented the fact of his vow to God, and the cutting of it was the breaking of the vow, and the man who has broken his vows to God is a weak man, hence a defeated man; he is a devil-mastered man. The Word of the Lord is plain, When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for He hath no pleasure in fools.

To be sure there is a difference between outward strength and inward strength. And yet, let it never be forgotten that there is also a kinship between them. This beautiful hair of Samsons had been the visible symbol of a spiritual strength. The strength, however, had begun to fail before the hair was cut. Samson lost a part of it in gambling; Samson lost a part of it in brawls; Samson lost much of it in lust. Truly, sooner or later the outer man and the inner man will get together. The shorn hair and the lost spirit will speak of the collapse of the entire man, external and internal. When I look on a man whose hair is uncombed, whose face is unwashed, I am compelled to believe that this outward appearance is an indication of the spirit within him. External appearances have always been, and will forever remain, indicators. The Nazarite who has no interest whatever in the keeping of his hair has lost his holiness. And when the spirit is removed, no strength remains.

If God be for us, who can be against us? Ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Oh, I know that these are days when the new theologians tell us that God is never angry, and when Christian Scientists harp upon a single string, lulling to sleep with the statement, God is love. What superficial thinking, as if anger of a certain sort was inconsistent with the greatest love. Indeed, writes the great Dr. Dale, the measure of our love for others is often the measure of our anger against them. A comparative stranger may tell us a lie and we may feel nothing but contempt and indifference, but if our own child, whom we love, tells us a lie, there is often intense anger as well as grief. That God is often angry with us is only proof that he intensely loves us. Truly, as Dale continues, To deny that God will be hostile to man on account of sin is to degrade our conception of Him. He is not a mere good-natured God; His righteousness as well as His love is infinite.

THE FACT OF SALVATION

The end of Samsons history is not yet. The blind eyes, the brass manacles, the bolting stonethese are not the end of Samson. There is another day of victory for him, and although it is the day of his death, it is the day of his conquest also. He comes back into favor with the Lord; he comes back into fullness of power; he comes back to the overthrow of his enemies; he comes back in the estimation of his brethren and father.

The fallen man, then, is not necessarily lost! The reason for that is not far to seek. The fallen man is not necessarily a fully abandoned man. The man who grieves away the Spirit of God is not necessarily an utter degenerate. There were great things about this giant of the early centuries. There were features of his life that must have been pleasing to God Himself. One phrase finally suggests it: And he judged Israel twenty years. Joseph Parker, the great preacher, speaking to this fact in The Peoples Bible, urges us not to forget the twenty years of service, the consideration of the necessities of the people, the frown which made the enemy afraid, the smile which encouraged struggling virtue, the recognition which came very near to being an inspiration, and asks, Who knows what heartaches the man had in prosecuting and completing the judgeship? Who can be twenty full years at any one service without amassing in that time, features, folly, all of which ought to be taken into account before pronouncing final judgment? And blessed be GodHe takes them all into account. That is why the prodigal was received when he came home. The father reflected not on his failure only. The father had never forgotten the jubilant spirit he used to see in that child; the father had never forgotten the generosity of heart; the father had never forgotten the depths of soul into which he had seen as nobody else; and so, when with lifted eyes he saw him facing homeward, the very sorrow of his countenance, the very shame of his rags, the very dejection of his spirit, stirred the very soul of his father.

Oh, I wish I could get men to believe in the God of the Bible. I wish I could open their blind eyes to behold the compassion of His face and understand the depths of His affection, His forgiving love; then penitence would follow.

The penitent man is storing up power. The record tells us nothing of the emotions of Samson as he sat at that mill stone, blind, bound, brutalized. But God does not need to write down the last word! We should be able to read between the lines. How would he feel? How would you feel? How would I feel? Had you dallied with sin, had you fallen under the betrayal of some Delilah, had you come into the power of the hosts of the Philistines, had you been blind, bound and set to bolting corn to feed others on bread that you could not touchhow would it affect you? A man would be degraded indeed who did not repent. And the man who does repent is storing up power. He may not be conscious of it. When David was writing the Fifty-first Psalm he little intended it, but as the water streamed from his eyes, strength was coming; and as he poured out his heart in grief, God was coming to him in power. And of Samson it is plainly written as he prayed, O Lord God, remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this once, O God, his strength came and those limp hands laying hold upon the two middle pillars, compelled them to totter at the touch, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

Can the conquered man come back to power? Yes! Can the man conquered today be himself self conquered tomorrow? Yes! Can the man who was wrecked be more than a match for them all? Yes! How? By penitence and prayer. It is a thousand fold better to be conqueror before you come to death, but is it not gracious that the man who has been defeated may even conquer in death? The poor thief hanging at the side of Christ conquered in death, but he came to his conquest by the same way that Samson did; he was compelled to cry unto Him for help. If this will make a man victorious in death, why should any man be defeated in life, for God is the God, not of the dead, but of the living!

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

(Jdg. 16:1-31.)

SAMSONS FALL, CAPTIVITY AND DEATH

CRITICAL NOTES. Jdg. 16:1. Then.] Andwithout fixing the time. A long gap stands between the events of the two previous chapters and those of the present one. Those refer to the early public life of the hero, afterwards many stirring events may have taken place which are not recorded, and now we have (certainly from Jdg. 16:4) in this chapter an account of the closing scene. We are to understand him as reappearing after a term of silence, but not inactivity, as Israels saviour, the same in his strength and in his weakness, and more than ever the terror of the Philistines, and a check on their oppression of Israel. Went to Gaza] It is not said he went by a call from God (comp. Jdg. 14:4). Nor does it appear to have been on account of any previous relations he had to Gaza, for his being there was something of a novelty, being the town farthest removed of any from his usual home at Zorah. Probably, his reason for going was the same with that which took him to Timnath namely to discharge his duty as a scourge of the Philistines, by mingling with them and waiting opportunities to do as God might direct him. The word Gaza, or Azzah, means the strong, fortified city. It was the most powerful border-city, and the capital of the Philistines; one of the few places where some of the giants remained (Jos. 11:22). The hero was not afraid to go into this stronghold of the enemy. Already they had often measured swords, and it was clear that his single arm was more than a match for the whole uncircumcised race around him.

We wish we could draw a veil over what follows, both in Jdg. 16:1 and Jdg. 16:4-20, where we find flagrant breaches of Gods holy commandment, as given in the seventh word of the Decalogue. But we must accept the record. Scripture is faithful in drawing the exact character as it stands, and we must take what is given without attempting either to soften or to magnify the features. The word zonah, here translated harlot, some would interpret to mean a female innkeeper, the keeper of a general lodging house where strangers might be accommodated, and so they render it in Rahabs case (Jos. 2:1), for the spies simply wished accommodation for the night. But the truth is, the zonah in those corrupt communities, acted both in the one character and the other; and in the present case it is the evil sense that must be taken from the last lause of the verse. What a pity that this unsuspecting Israelite had not Jobs example before him! (Job. 31:1).

Two things are to be noticed

(1.) He did not come to Gaza to see this person. He did not know of her existence until he entered the city, but seeing her, he was attracted.
(2.) He does not seem to have been habitually licentious, but being impulsive and ardent in temperament, he the more readily fell before temptation.

Jdg. 16:2. They compassed him in.] By patrols, and liers in wait. They were afraid to attack him directly, and they felt they must all do it together with united strength. The gates especially were securely locked and barred, while sentinels were placed over them, and then they remained quiet all the night, purposing in the morning to kill him. Why this purpose was not carried out at once is strange, for it was as easy to do so at night as in the morning. But they were nervous about the task, and put it off till morning should dawn.

Jdg. 16:3. Samson arose at midnight, etc.] He had come to know what was going on without, probably from his hostess, or as the poet suggests

He heard a whispering, and the trampling feet
Of people passing in the silent street.

Impulsive and high spirited as he always was, he felt indignant that an attempt should be made to confine him within either walls or gates. He therefore resolved to show the futility of such schemes. Proceeding to the gate, where the watchers were either asleep or glad to skulk out of the way as they saw him approach, he firmly grasped the doors, or folding wings of the city gate along with the two posts, tore them out of the ground with his herculean strength, with the cross-bar on them, put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a mountain that is before Hebron. Instead of forcing the door open he tore up the posts by the roots, with the barred doors attached to them (comp. the shutting of the gate, the town wall, etc., in Jos. 2:5; Jos. 2:7; Jos. 2:15). Gaza was then a walled townit is not so now. He put the whole mass on his back and carried it up to the top of a hill that is before Hebron. Some read it, to a hill in the chain that runs up to Hebron. For Hebron was at a distance of ten miles or more from Gaza, and much too far to carry such a load. It might be renderedthat looketh towards Hebronand not a few name El Montar as the place in question, which is only forty minutes distance from Gaza on the road to Hebron.

Hebron is mentioned for the special reason, that it was a centre or rallying point in the tribe of Judah. Samsons practical jest meant much more than the assertion of his own personal liberty. It implied the greatest dishonour that could be inflicted on any town of the enemy, for its mastery was symbolised by its gates (Gen. 22:17; Gen. 24:60), and on this occasion to have the gates of the chief city of the Philistines brought even within sight of the central town of Judah was to imply the humiliation of subjection to Judah.

Jdg. 16:4. He loved a woman in the valley of Sorek.] A place supposed to be near to Zorah or Eshtaol, but in the land of the Philistines. It is a pity he had not got married into one of the families of Israel, for thereby much temptation would have been removed, his character stood high, many miseries been avoided, and his days been prolonged. He was still young, or scarcely up to middle life, and had time and strength to complete the redemption of his people but for his sin and folly, which brought him to an untimely end. Delilah] the weak or languishing one; but some make it the weakening, or debilitating one. In either case the name is appropriate, as names in those times were intended to be. Sorek, for example, signifies vineyard, for that was the character of the whole district. And it is called the valley (Heb. nachal) of Sorek, for valleys were noted for their fertility.

Jdg. 16:5. Entio him and see wherein his great strength lies.] They knew already where his weakness lay, though not his strength. Such strength had never been heard of, not even in the country of giants. Yet Samson was no Cyclops. He was not a man of preternatural size, of towering height, and abnormal strength of bone and muscle; or, if to some extent so, it was not such in appearance as to account for the extraordinary feats which he performed. This led them to suppose, that he carried about with him some amulet or charm, and that if that could be taken from him, he would then become weak and be as another man. Hence these princes consulted together, and agreed to offer a large bribe to the woman who had acquired a great influence over him, that she might find out the secret of his power. The sum mentioned was eleven hundred pieces of silver (shekels probably) amounting in all to over 600a much greater sum then than the same amount would be now. The person who gained it might be said to be affluent.

Jdg. 16:7. If they bind me with seven green withs, etc.] Allured by the prospect of so much wealth, this false-hearted woman begins to try her arts. Her request in Jdg. 16:6 probably states only the object she had in view, but not the actual manner in which she addressed her friend. She would bring it before him in the way of playful toying, as if she never meant to be serious, and yet as if she wished her womans curiosity to be gratified. And he seems to have responded in the same half serious, half jocular mood. The withs refer to strings, perhaps bow-strings, or strings made of catgut (Psa. 11:2). It might be tendrils, the tough fibres of trees, or pliable twisted rods. These are stronger than common ropes. It is common in some places to tie the legs of wild elephants and buffaloes newly caught with bonds of this sort. But the Septuagint supposes these bonds to be made of the sinews of cattle.

Jdg. 16:9. Men lying in wait, etc.] Spies; men ready to fall on Samson, the moment that his weakness was discovered. Not in the same chamber, but in an inner chamber, hidden there. He snapped the strings as one would snap a cord of tow when it smells fire.

Jdg. 16:11. Bind my feet with new ropes.] In her playful dalliance, she accuses him of telling her untruths, and again urges the question as to where his strength lies, with al the brazen effrontery characteristic of women, whose charms are great and whose hearts are bad. He still feels that he must not tell her the real secret, and so gives an evasive answer as before. These ropes were probably twisted twigs but thick and strong.

Jdg. 16:13. If thou weavest the seven locks, etc.] Braids, or plaits. He wore his hair plaited into seven tresses. In these suggestions, at each step he approaches nearer the point of divulging his secret. The bow-strings which he first mentions are further away from the mark. The new cords with which no work has ever been done were the image of his strength, and so a step nearer the truth. But now he speaks of the locks of his hair, which come dangerously near, the point of revealing his Nazarite character. His infatuation was like that of the moth approaching gradually nearer and nearer to the flame, which at last destroys it.

Jdg. 16:14. And she fastened it with the pin.] It would appear that Delilah was a weaver, and had a loom in her apartment at which she wrought. It was an upright, after the Egyptian model, and the woof was inserted not from below upward, but from above downward. There was a web on the loom at the time, and Samson asked the woman to weave his locks into the web as woof. This she did, but as an additional security she fastened the web (with the hair woven into it) with a tent pin to the floor, or to the wall. The locks were, no doubt, strong enough to make a perfect web, and he must have laid himself down close to the loom, that the process might be properly gone through. But it was of no avail. The word Philistines, acted as an alarm bell. He awoke in a moment, and with one wrench tore up the web, unloosed the pin, and shook his locks free of all encumbrances. Several days probably elapsed while this endeavour was being made to ensnare the too heedless victim, and it might well be asked, why one that was usually so shrewd did not discern at once that there were evil designs meditated against him. The proverb says, love is blind. That probably is the principal explanation to be given. But it is also to be noticed that Samson thought his temptress was all the while in sport, and that had to do with his allowing her to go on so long pestering him with the subject. To this it must be added that love is not only a blindness, it is also a slavery, so that when one does see a course to be wrong he still pursues it. When it reaches this length, it becomes illegitimate, for reason should never be made captive to feeling, far less should conscience. Affection for the creature should never overrule our sacred obligations of duty to our God. But this is only one aspect of the case. Samsons whole conduct in having such interviews with one that was not his wife was flagrantly wrong, and leaves a deep stain on his name.

Jdg. 16:16. His soul was vexed unto death.] Her reproaches now became sharp and incessant. The bribe of over 600, which had been floating before her eyes seemed to be vanishing out of sight; so with all the earnestness of one who was expecting to gain a fortune for life, she devoted herself to the use of every art and blandishment to gain her purpose. She was mocked, his heart was not given to her, he had not told her that which she was so desirous to know. Every day she returned to the charge, and with cutting, stinging words continued the persecuting ordeal. It was a vexation unto death. And yet he had but to break off the fellowship, and he should be free. This, however, he would not do. At last he gave up the battle. Probably, under some hypocritical promise on her part, that she would not make any improper use of the knowledge communicated, he told her all his hearthe let her into the secret. In doing this, he was tampering with that which was sacred, and he was selling away a power which God had especially given him for accomplishing, a work that was to be for the honour of His great name in the world. The only palliating feature in this act of great wickedness was, that there was much struggling of conscience before he capitulated.

Jdg. 16:19. And his strength went from him.] The traitress, with true Philistine nature, now cast every promise she may have made to the winds, and, without scruple, at once proceeded to the execution of her diabolical purpose. She calls to the princes to come, for at last she had entrapped the bird in her snare; and, when they made their appearance with the money in their hands, she gets him to sleep on her knees, and calls for a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. Then, we are told, she begun to afflict him. His strength began to fail as he began to lose his locks. His real strength indeed did not lie in his hair, but his hair was the sign of his consecration to God, so that when it was gone, it was a proof that God no longer was with him to acknowledge him as His servant.

Jdg. 16:20. He wist not that the Lord was departed from him.] He had said (Jdg. 16:17) if my hair is taken, my strength is taken; but now that his hair is cut off, it is said, the Lord had departed from him. The fact that Jehovah was specially with him constituted his great strength, and that depended on his keeping the sign sacred, namely, his hair. That gone, his vow as a Nazarite was broken.

He wist not], perceived not, or was not conscious of it. The whole of these days of sin, for such we believe is the fair intepretation of the record, were to him as a troubled dream (Isa. 29:8). It was as if he were under the influence of an intoxicating draught. His sense of the evil of sin was like that of a man who was looking through a mist. The god of this world blinds the minds of his dupes, that he may the more easily make them his prey. But the future shows that Samson was only for a time suffered to be his prey.

Jdg. 16:21. Took him] in a savage manneras when Job said mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. He was made prisoner, and then began the tempest of his miseries. Sin when it is finished (full grownhas gone its natural length) bringeth forth death. He found he could no longer defend himself, and so he was laid hold of.

Put out his eyes.] The most cowardly and the most cruel of ancient customs, and sorry we are to add, the most common. There are not many instances in scripture history (2Ki. 25:7; Num. 16:14), but it was very common in Eastern countries, especially when an enemy or rival was to be deprived of all power to do harm. Herodotus says, the Scythians put out the eyes of all their slaves. In many countries rivals to the throne had their eyes put out. In Persia, it is not uncommon for the king to punish a rebellions district by exacting so many pounds of eyes, and the executioners go and scoop out the eyes of those they met till they have the weight required. Sometimes the eyes were pulled or cut out; sometimes a red-hot iron was drawn before them. At other times the pupils were pierced, or destroyed, or they were taken out whole with the point of a dagger, and carried to the king in a basin. In some cases, when unskilful hands are employed, the mutilation is so great that the victim dies [Burden]. Here, the phrase put out means bored out.

The word nechushtaim (Heb.) here used implies double brass because both hands and feet were fettered. In ordinary cases leather was used.

He did grind in the prison house] i.e. grind corn with mill-stones worked by the handsthe employment of menials at which slaves were usually set to work. Women were also so employed (Luk. 17:35), but it implied the lowest state of degradation (Isa. 47:2). It was fatiguing as well as servile toil.

Jdg. 16:22. Began to grow again, etc.] This is important, as it implied that God had not finally left him. There was still hope. The hair was more important to a Nazarite than thews and sinews. He repented and his hair grew.

Jdg. 16:23. The lords gathered together to offer sacrifice unto Dagon.] The Philistines regarded the fish-shaped god-Dagon, as the god of the cities on the sea-coast, while the God of Israel was the god that had won the mainland. They regarded this decisive victory over Israel as the action of their deity, and therefore they wished to do sacrifice to Dagon, and to offer thanks. At Ashdod, and at Gaza, were great temples built to Dagon, Ekron and another sort of god (2Ki. 1:2; 2Ki. 1:16), and at Ashkelon was the far-famed temple of Ashtaroth, the Syrian Venus The word Dagon, according to some means the Fish-god, as the symbol of water, an all pervading element in nature; while others make it mean growth, as if the idol represented the fertility and productiveness of nature.

Jdg. 16:24. Our god hath delivered, etc.] All the contest is now twixt God and DagonHe, be sure, will not connive or linger, thus provoked, but will arise and His great name assert.

Jdg. 16:25. Call for Samson that he may make us sport.] He is brought in like a chained bear to be made the object of ridicule, and to be baited by the populace, to be reviled, buffeted and jeered at, as well as to dance to the sound of music (1Sa. 18:7; 1Ch. 13:8; 1Ch. 15:29.) The Numidian warrior, Jugurtha, was dragged in Rome in the triumph of Marius, and became insane under his inhuman treatment. Bajazet, the Turkish Sultan, being enclosed by Tamerlane like a wild beast in an iron cage, dashed out his brains againt the sides of the cage. But the blind lion of Israel walks calmly on, in the consciousness that his sins are forgiven, and that his God is still with him after all that has happened.

And they set him between the pillars.] Without the slightest thought that he could do any harm there, or indeed anywhere, wherever they might place him. The pillars referred to were those on which the house rests, so that when they were removed, the whole structure must necessarily come down. If, for example, we suppose that the two pillars were placed in the centre (for it is likely Sampson would be put in the centre, so as to be visible to all) of the building, that from these pillars beams went out like the spokes of a wheel on to the sides of the building all round resting on smaller pillars there, and that on these beams all round the sides the galleries were placed, it is manifest that the removal of these two pillars in the centre would mean that all the beams would lose their support at the one end and fall to the ground, and involve the fall also of the galleries all round. The beams might be strong without being thick, so that the view would be little obscured. But however constructed, the fact is stated that the house rested on the two pillars. Samson came to know this.

Jdg. 16:28. Samson called unto the Lord.] The prayer would extend over more than a single sentence as spoken by him, but in the scripture record everything is extremely abbreviated, so that all we have here is the substance of what he prayed put into a single sentence; and it contains much. It implies

(1) He has faith in the God of Israel to the last. Though Dagon seems to triumph, though the many thousands around him are, to a man, worshippers of Dagon, and he alone is left the solitary worshipper of Jehovah, and though Jehovah seems to have left him uncared for, the sport of cruel enemiesstill his faith is unshaken in the God of Israel.

(2.) He lays claim to God as his own God. He says, O my Lord God. As if neither had he on his side given up Israels God, nor had he been ceased to be acknowledged by Him. It is like Jonah Jdg. 2:3-4. It was really a fight to own God as his God in such circumstances. Yet he acknowledges Him by his three namesAdonai, Jehovah, and Elohim. This last has the articlethe true God.

(3.) He still has hope in Gods mercy. He does not give way to despair. Though he has sinned and grievously sinned he yet hopes to be remembered by his God, for His mercies are great. That mercy is his trust in the dark hour. If it but act, it will set Divine power in action. It is like the prayer of the penitent thief (Luk. 23:42).

(4.) He prays for the accomplishment of his lifes objectthe destruction of Gods enemies. They had deprived him of sight, and so rendered him unfit to accomplish that object. He prays to be remembered as to what he was in the past, the scourge of the oppressors of Gods Israel, specially raised up for that purpose, but now made unable to fulfil his vocation. He means, let my strength return once more that I may avenge the injury done to me as thy servant.

Jdg. 16:29. Samson took hold of the middle pillars.] Though blind he had got from others a knowledge of what the consequence would be. The very conception of his deed is extraordinary.

Jdg. 16:30. Let me die with the Philistines.] Not that he wished to commit suicide, but since it cannot happen otherwise than with the loss of my own life, I shall yield up that, to get the great end of my mission accomplished. It is the language of a brave soldier in the thick of battle. His prayer is answered. He feels his strength return as before. He grasps the massy pillars, as when he tore up the gate of Gaza. He drags them with all his force from their position. They bendtotterfall! The roof with its vast load of spectators comes down with a mighty crash. In a moment the whole building becomes a pile of ruins. When laughter, and shout, and drunken revel are at their highest, sudden destruction overtakes the entire mass of spectators. The sounds of revelry are exchanged for dying groans and agonizing shrieksSamson himself falls, with traitors, tormentors, tyrants, and enemies all at his feet, or heaped up over him as his grave mound.

Jdg. 16:31. His brethrencame down.] The Philistines were too terrified to hinder them. His father was dead, for his burying place is spoken of; but the relatives of the family, and many of the men of Dan to which tribe he belonged came down, and without any opposition took up the dead body of their leader and gave it an honourable burial. God takes care of the dust of His people; for precious in His sight is the death of His saints.

HOMILETICAL REMARKS

Jdg. 16:1-31

LESSONS ON THE GUILT AND DANGER OF WILFUL SIN

I. It is dangerous for one in Gods service to take the shaping of his course into his own hand.

It is singular that in the case of a mission at once so important and dangerous as that with which Samson was entrusted, we never hear of any prayer he offered up for Divine guidance. In Davids case we often hear of inquiry made for Divine direction (1Sa. 23:4; 1Sa. 23:10-12; 1Sa. 30:8; 2Sa. 1:1; 2Sa. 5:23; Psa. 5:8; Psa. 25:4; Psa. 119:4-5; Psa. 143:8). Samsons case was pre-eminently one where a similar course should have been taken. He ought in all his visits to have asked counsel of God, Jer. 10:23; Act. 9:6; Psa. 32:8; Pro. 3:6. To take the matter into ones own hand is to fail in giving to God the glory which is due. We cannot expect Gods presence to direct us, when His presence is not asked. The dangers in such a case are manifold, and we do not wonder if, when there was no prayer, there should be much turning aside into forbidden paths. When the Israelites were about to leave Egypt, God took them by the hand (Heb. 8:9). He led them shepherd-like (Isa. 63:11-13) more tenderly still, as a nurse (Hos. 11:3-4). He judged for them what was best (Exo. 13:17; Psa. 107:7). All Gods children are led by the good Spirit (Rom. 8:14). Not a step should be taken without asking our heavenly Fatherwhere next? His hand in ours and ours in Hisso shall we avoid the snares of the enemy.

II. Constant exposure to temptation naturally leads to sin.

(Comp. p. 167, &c.) We constantly hear of Samson as being among the Philistines, and scarcely at all of his being with the Israelites. It is most unsafe to be always breathing an atmosphere that is full of contagion. The temptation has got a friend in our own bosom. Temptation itself is but a spark, and if the spark fall upon ice, or snow, or water, no harm is done. But if it fall on powder, there is an explosion at once. He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Sin is a contagious disease, and every man is more or less liable to catch the infection. The most difficult part of Samsons work was to avoid temptation while doing his duty. Where a man can, it is much safer to flee from temptation than to fight it. The best way to conquer sin is by Parthian warto run away. [Adams]. All exposure to sin is perilous. More than if they had the plague or fever, avoid the company of the infected. Abjure every scene, abstain from every pleasure, abandon every pursuit which tends to sin, dulls the fine edge of conscience, unfits for religious duties, indisposes for religious enjoyments, sends you prayerless to bed, or drowsy to prayer. Give these a wide berth, and hold straight away under a press of canvas in your course to heaven. [Guthrie].

III. Gods people are liable to fall into the greatest sins when left to themselves.

The native state of the heart of every good man in this world is to be corrupt. Even Paul made the admission, in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. All that is good has to be imported, and whatever seeds are put in require time to grow, so that the old weeds still take away much of the strength of the soil, and do occasionally show very noxious fruit. Whatever good a man has he owes it to the grace of God, so that if that grace were but a little withdrawn, he is liable to be thrown over, as a child would be before a strong wind, when out of the grasp of his fathers hand. Thus it was with Noah, Lot, Jacob, Aaron, Judah, David, Solomon, and many others. So it was with Samson, when, as too often, he was off his guard (see Notes on p. 322, etc.) The enemies of the Lord have but too often reason to blaspheme, owing to the heinous sins of Gods professedly holy people.

IV. The unseen dangers which surround those who are guilty of great sins.

Here was Samson all alone in the very stronghold of his bitter enemies. A whole city was arrayed against him; he could not count on a single friend within its walls, and as one man they all compassed him in to effect his ruin. His soul was among lions. Heavy iron gates closed him in, and every man inside the walls breathed vengeance against him. Yet all the while, the object of so much danger was guilty of gross sins, and was turning God Himself to be his enemy. Could anything be conceived more widely opposite to all true wisdom of conduct, or a more daring provocation of the divine wrath, than for a professedly holy man to be indulging in sinful abominations at the moment when he was in the greatest peril of his life all round? If at first sight he did not know his danger, sin itself, through his conscience, might have awakened many a dark whisper of evil, and suggested that the very air all over was full of the mutterings of offended justice. The conscience of every man guilty of daring sin, is as a Urim and Thummim set in the heart, to give warning that a thousand dangers might burst on the soul at any moment.
Unseen dangers were around Lot all the time that he clung tenaciously to Sodom for the sake of gain, notwithstanding of its outrageous sins against God and man. What whispers of evil must have long been heard in the home of Ahab and Jezebel, because they banished the worship of Jehovah out of His own land, and set up a hideous system of idol-worship in its stead! A dreadful sound of present, as well as coming danger, must have ever been in the ear of the unhappy Saul, who was so often transgressing the commandment of the Lord. And thus it is with all who are guilty of known and wilful sin, where there is no penitence.

V. The error of misinterpreting Gods forbearance.

Samson was not robbed of his strength through his sin, but on the contrary he was enabled to perform a feat such as even he was not supposed to be able to accomplish. But it would be fatally wrong to conclude from that, that God was indifferent to his sin. It is His manner to give time and place for repentance. Nor is it consistent with the ever calm majesty of all His movements in Nature and Providence, to rush forward the moment that any sin is committed, and execute summary vengeance. Especially is it His glory to be slow to wrath, and to make it clear, that Fury is not in Himthat judgment is His strange act (something foreign to Him to do spontaneously, or for its own sake)that his instinctive tendency is to show mercy. Yet being essentially holy, all sin must be accounted for under his perfect moral government; all the sins a man commits stand before him in greater or less accumulation, until the proper time comes for His dealing with them. And this sin of which Samson was now guilty, might be said to be a serious addition to the mass already existing. A few more additions, as in the case of his intercourse with Delilah, brought round the day of reckoning.
Samson comes off from his sin with safety. He runs away lightly with a heavier weight than the gates of Azzah, the burden of an ill act. Present impunity argues not an abatement of the wickedness of his sin, or of the dislike of God. Nothing is so worthy of pity as a sinners peace. Good is not therefore good because it prospers, but because it is commanded; evil is not evil because it is punished, but because it is forbidden. [Hall.]

VI. The heinous offence given by adding sin to sin.

The sin at Gaza not being repented of leads to the sin at Sorek; for sin unrepented of always leads to deeper sin. The tendency of sin is to grow, to develop itself, or wax stronger if it is not checked; and in this case there is no evidence of any check. If it is wrong to sin at all, it is more than doubly wrong to commit sin a second time. For it is not only to commit two sins in place of one, but it is to sin in the face of warning, remonstrance, and the mercy shown in forbearing with the first sin, so that the wonder of the Divine forbearance with it increases not so much in arithmetical as in geometrical progression. In the same progression does the guilt increase.
One sin makes way for more; it keeps up the devils interest in the soul; it is like a nest egg left there to draw a new temptation. [Manton] We are not to give place to the devil. The little wimble once entered, we can then drive a great nail. If one thief be allowed to get into the house he will let in others. Every degree of entrance is a degree of possession. These two evils arise when sin is not checked at once by penitence. Sin itself multiplies, and its guilt increases. (See Rom. 2:5-6; 1Ki. 16:31-33? 2Ch. 33:2-10; 2Ch. 28:22-25). (Comp. pp. 311317).

VII. The infatuation of sin.

By infatuation we mean, a wilful blinding of the reason, and rushing on without thought or concern to indulge in sin. The cause of this is a certain power of fascination in the object beloved. Was there ever more brazen effrontery shown to any man than in the question put in Jdg. 16:6? Any sane man, or one who was not spell-bound, would have resented it in a moment. To put such a question, was to tamper with his life and with the great mission he had in life. But he was enslaved. Sins of presumption waste the conscience more than any other sins. Guilt upon the conscience, like rust upon iron, both defile and consumes it. The tenderness of the conscience becomes lost, and its faculty of moral vision becomes blind. Its sensibility is destroyed, and by and bye it is past feeling, so that seeing, a man does not see, and hearing he does not hearneither does his heart understand.

Though he saw so apparent treachery, he yet wilfully betrays his life by this woman to his enemies. All sins and passions have power to infatuate a man, but lust most of all. Many a one loses his life, but this casts it away. We wonder that a man could become so sottish. Sinful pleasures, like a common Delilah lodge in our bosoms; we know they aim at nothing but the death of our souls, yet we yield to them and die. Every willing sinner is a Samson. Nothing is so gross and unreasonable to a well-disposed mind, that temptation will not represent as fit and plausible. Thrice had Samson seen the Philistines in the chamber ready to surprise him, and yet he will needs be a slave to his traitor. What man not infatuated would play thus with his own ruin. This harlot binds him, and calls in executioners to cut his throat. Where is his courage, by which he slew 1,000 of them in the field, but now suffers them to seize him in his chamber unrevenged? His hands were strong, but he is fettered with the invisible bonds of a harlots love, and finds it more easy to yield, though it is the height of being unreasonable. [Hall].

VIII. The utter worthlessness of those who lead an impure life.

They are said to be abandonedBecause

(1.) They have abandoned all fear of God. They live in open opposition to His holy commandments (Exo. 20:14; Gal. 5:19, etc.; 1Co. 6:9; 1Co. 6:18; Rom. 13:12-14; Eph. 5:3, etc.; 1Pe. 2:11). They care not for His authority. They make light of provoking Him to anger. They pollute the body which He at first made to be His temple. They present a spectacle of moral loathsomeness and corrupting example to all around them.

(2.) They have abandoned all sense of shame. Shame is vitally associated with respect for ones own character, so that to lose shame, is to trample character in the dust, and to become reckless. She forgetteth the covenant of her God.

(3) They have abandoned respect for human society. They wear the brazen face, and affect the regardless attitude of those who despise the ban which society puts upon them.

(4.) They have abandoned all regard for moral principle in the general actions of life. Sin is steep and slippery, and they who have fallen deeply on one side of the hill, have come to the bottom on every side. The conscience is vitiated for the whole conduct. She who lies can steal; one who is a thief can kill; a cruel man can be a traitor; a drunkard can falsify; and an impure woman can be perfidious, as Delilahs conduct to Samson emphatically proves. That character is to be trusted in nothing that leaves out conscience in everything.

But while that class occupies so low a place in the scale, those who come next in degree are the persons of either sex, who care little, and do nothing for their reformation; who gather up their robes to free themselves from the contaminating touch; who, instead of using prayers and exertions for their recovery, are only anxious how orthodoxly they can speak of the evil of such conduct, and with what infallible certitude they can consign that portion of their fellow creatures to hopeless perdition. It is no wonder, if such persons, not satisfied with denouncing the openly vicious, should turn their attention to tale-bearing and evil-speaking, criminating those who may be purer than themselves, and imputing to them thoughts which exist only in their own imagination.

IX. Severe chastisement ever follows high-handed sin, sooner or later.

Delilah was but the instrument of Samsons punishment, just as she was the instrument that ministered to his unlawful pleasures. The unmitigated perfidy of that wicked woman, and her heartless betrayal of a confiding nature into the hands of relentless enemies for the purpose of torture and death, will cover her name with execration to all future ages.

But looking at Gods dealings with Samsons sin, we see Him fulfilling His own threatening, or rather His promise, for His threatenings are in some sense promises to His own people, being always intended to have a merciful issue (Psa. 89:30-32). For his sin, the hero who had never lost a battle for 20 years, though his single arm was pitted against a whole nation, was at last delivered up into the hands of his enemies, just as a wounded lion succumbs to a pack of yelping hounds. Not only is he fettered heavily, but as the most cruel thing which the body can suffer, his eyes were gouged out, and he was made hopelessly blind. Yet now when he had lost his eyesight he saw more clearly than ever these things:

(1.) The greatness of his folly; in having broken his Nazarite vow of consecration to the Lord; in having fraternised with the people whom he was sent to destroy; and in having repeatedly been guilty of flagrant sin like the heathen, notwithstanding his sacred position as the appointed saviour of Israel.

(2.) The depth of his fall. Great Samson fell! O what a fall was there! From what strength to what weakness! From the hill-top to the deepest valley! From freedom to slavery! From glory to humiliation! From the brightest prospects to the darkest gloom! Tell it not in Gath, etc. The man who gave liberty to Israel now himself grinds at the mill. As he passes along the street every boy can throw stones at him, every woman can laugh and shout, and anyone of either sex can lash him at pleasure.

(3). He saw also the abiding mercy of his God. Quickly He made the hair of his head begin to grow again, which was the first streak of dawn appearing after a dark and tempestuous night. God was not like the men of Israel. He did not forsake His erring servant; He did not allow the waters to overflow, nor were the flames permitted to kindle on his person. Never is the correcting discipline permitted to destroy.

X. There is a point in the sinners course when the Lord departs from him.

(Chap Jdg. 16:20; 1Sa. 16:14; Eze. 10:18; Eze. 11:23.)

XI. Gods departure from a man is the signal for his ruin.

(Jdg. 16:21-22.)

What a difference that departure makes! He might in some respects say with the poet

My days are in the yellow leaf,

The flowers, the fruits of love are gone,

The worm, the canker, and the grief

Are mine alone.

It was a most touching sight to see him saying, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself, and then to hear it added, he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. He now found that Pro. 29:1. I was but too true. He bad ruined himself beyond repair for this life; he could never be the man he was; in that dark prison his remorseful thoughts were his companions, his own past life his only view. He saw his ruinous folly, his betrayal of the trust his God had reposed in him, how out of the best material for a life of glory he had wrought for himself a life of shame and a degrading end. The strong man was crushed, and like the weakest sinner he cried to God for the light and joy of His own presence, and to be remembered with the old love. And he prayed not in vain.

XII. None of Gods people are ever lost.

(Joh. 10:28-29; Joh. 6:39; Isa. 54:8-10; Psa. 34:19-20; Psa. 66:12; 2Ti. 4:18.)

XIII. Mens sins are seen in their punishment.

His eyes were the first offenders in Samsons case, and there especially he suffers. Thus it was with Adonibezek (Jud. 1:7). Lots sin was worldly mindedness, and he lost all in the end. Eve listened to the serpent, and her lot was that there should be perpetual war between the serpents seed, and her seed. Jacob deceived Esau, and was deceived in turn by Laban. There was polygamy in the households even of the good in early times, and the chastising rod was seen in the strifes that were ever breaking out in their family circles.

XIV. The mischievous effects of the sins of Gods people.

The world judges of the character of Christs religion, not as he explains it, but as Christs people show it in their lives. They are the worlds Bible; so that their inconsistencies are as so many blots in that Bible. Pre-eminently is this the case with a man high in place as Samson was, so that his fall gave large occasion to the enemies, both to think evil, and to speak evil of Gods cause. Thus with David, the Lords anointed, as in 2 Samuel 11, 12. Thus with Moses in Num. 20:12, and Deu. 3:26. And the evil done in Samsons case, as given in Jdg. 16:23-24, was to show to both Philistines and Israelites that Gods servant was not protected by Him who sent him, and as the result the enemy triumphed over the God of Israel.

XV. Genuine repentance and believing prayer may restore the greatest sinner.
XV. Death brings out a mans real character.
XVII. The man who prays is stronger than those who scoff.

The prayers of Samson had a far greater effect on his enemies, than all the power which they wielded had against him.

XVIII. The wicked are sometimes signally defeated in the moment of their supposed triumph.

Col. 2:15; Act. 12:18-19; Dan. 6:22-24; 1Sa. 17:49; Esther 7. The Philistines regarded Samson as now hopelessly disabled from doing them any harm. Yet he, at that moment, was taking steps to secure a greater destruction among them than ever before.

N.B.Was Samson a type of Christ?

We believe that to some extent all the judges were types of Christ, generally for the reason, that the whole history of Israel was in a proper sense symbolical. The people were brought into existence in a special manner, to serve the purpose of prefiguring Christ in many ways. There can be no doubt at all from the testimony of the New Testament, that the spirit of the Old Testament was a foreshadowing of Christ (Joh. 5:39; Joh. 5:46; Luk. 24:27). The smitten Rock is expressly said to mean Christ (1Co. 10:4). The lifting up of the serpent on the pole, is also expressly mentioned as an emblem of Christ being lifted up on the cross (Joh. 3:14-15). Christ also intimates that He is the true bread which came down from heaven, of which the manna of old was but an emblem. Much of the language which David applies to himself in the Psalms, is applied by the inspired men of the New Testament to Christ.

We hold then that the whole history is full of the shadow of Christ, as our Saviour. The very name of judge is in the original, a saviour. Samson is supposed to have been typical of Christ in such respects as these:

1.

The birth of both was miraculous. Jesus was born of a virgin, Samson of a barren woman.

2.

Both were specially given to act the part of Saviours.

3.

Both were consecrated to their work by the Divine Spirit.

4.

All their work was done through the influence of that Spirit

5.

The great need of the age in which each appeared was penitence

6.

Both did their work alone, without an army, and even without arms.

7.

It was Gods gracious thought to raise up such a Deliverer in either case.

8.

Each appeared at first as a little child.

9.

Each in death slew more than in their life.

10.

Each had an encounter with a lion, at the beginning of their course.

11.

Each was received with indifference by his own people.

12.

Each was betrayed by his own people into the hands of enemies.

13.

Each was faithful to the interests of his own people.

14.

Each submitted to be bound without a murmur.

15.

Each came a Light into the world, to reveal character.

16.

The men of Judah preferred to continue under the Philistine yoke, rather than follow Samson to liberty. So the Jews cried aloud, We have no king but Csar.

17.

Both were uniformly successful in every combat they had with their enemies, though they fought all alone.

18.

Both endured much mockery from the world, while fulfilling their commission received from heaven.

19.

Each proved himself able to destroy the gates of the enemy.

20.

From first to last each stood faithful to his God amid surrounding treason.

EXPLANATION

With the death of Samson, the Book of Judges proper terminates. Eli and Samuel did both, indeed, act as judges, but the proper position of the former was to be the high priest, and that of the latter to be a prophet and a priest. Their public service was a sort of interregnum, between the period of the judges and that of the kings. What follows now is not a continuation of the history, but consists rather of two appendices, the first in Judges 17, 18, and the second in Judges 19-21. These are not composed of general materials loosely attached to the book, but form part of its organic structure, and are needed to illustrate the private life of Israel in a degenerate age.
They point out the true cause of the declensions of Israel, referred to in the history throughout, in the strong tendency of the human heart to go away from its God. This underlies the whole course of the history, and is set forth in these remaining chapters in two dark pictures. We see:

I. The lapse into error of belief and worship.

We see in the case of Micah, how quickly and easily a family, and in the case of Dan, a tribe, may fall into the practice of image-worship. The time must have been shortly after Joshuas days, for Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, was still alive (Jdg. 20:28), the tribe of Dan had not yet got its full inheritance mapped out, and it was only idolatry in its incipient form that Micah dared to indulge. Yet modified as this false worship was, that Micah should dare in his professed worship of Jehovah to make use of images, notwithstanding that the stern voice of Joshua still rung in his ears, as it must have done in the ears of many generations to come; notwithstanding, too, the solemn appeals of Moses, the express messenger of Jehovah, in revealing His character and will, and especially, notwithstanding the great voice that issued from amidst the thunders of Sinai, saying, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven imageshows the strong bent of the human heart to get away from the idea of a spiritual God, and to think of Him under some form of sense. A graven image implied the germ of idolatry, and was therefore not to be tolerated. Though it might begin, as in Micahs case, merely as a form of worshipping the true God, it always ended in the worship of the image itself, under the name of some false god. Even while the true God was professedly worshipped, to conceive of Him as set forth by an image of any kind was infinitely degrading to His character, and already implied a great descent in the mind of the worshipper (Rom. 1:21-23).

Thus, the case of Micah illustrates how easily and naturally, a man, whose heart was not right with God, might slide down into idolatry, deluded with the thought that He was worshipping Jehovah, and Him alone. The remembrance of the mighty God of Israel was too fresh in peoples mind at this time, for them to put Him aside as the One legitimate Object of Worship. Conscience, also, was too strong to allow a man peacefully to set aside all idea of religious worship whatsoever. It was therefore found to be a convenient compromise, to profess to worship the spiritual Jehovah under a material form.
The other picture brought before us is:

II. The lapse into flagrant wickedness of conduct.

See chaps. 1921. Here we have an exhibition of the extent to which the flood of immorality overflowed some parts of the land, when all check on the outburst of evil passions was removed. The proof is made out that were all restraint taken away, and the heart left free to follow its own inclinations, in place of becoming virtuous and good, it would soon become the opposite of all that God would have it to be, and present the spectacle of falling from the greatest heights to the very lowest depths. It is most instructive too that this picture comes in alongside of the other, as if to show, how a loose morality and loose belief go hand in hand together, and that until there be a correct conception established in mens minds of the sin-hating character of God, there cannot be any pure and high-toned excellence of conduct prevalent upon the earth. It is a conveniently-worded motto to say

For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight,
He cant be wrong whose life is in the right.

But the argument is slender as a gossamer thread. Who ever knew of a man having his life steadily in the right, while his faith was in the wrong? When put to the test, he is uniformly found wanting. The evidence here is clear that the human heart, when released from all restraint, would go by leaps and bounds into the commission of the foulest sins. The inference is, that checks of a stringent character must be applied to it meantime, until the period arrive when the only effective check can be brought forward (Heb. 8:10).

To account for the serious errors in Divine Worship, and the enormities of sinful conduct, which characterised that age, we are repeatedly told of

III. The great want of those times.

In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. four times this statement is repeated, and in such a way as to lead us to believe that, if there had been such a functionary, we should not have had such melancholy accounts to read. (See Jdg. 17:6; Jdg. 18:1; Jdg. 19:1; Jdg. 21:25.)

There was none to take the helm. While Moses lived, there was always a finger lifted up to point out the path of duty, and a voice heard, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it. While Joshua lived, the privilege was still continued, and Israel wanted not for counsel to direct, and for authority to enforce what was good and right. But now there was no longer a public guide to lead the nation on, nor any power to act as a national conscience to cause the Divine laws to be observed.

Not that there was any absence of plan in their being thus left without a head, or that there was any defect in the arrangement. Nothing was more marked than definiteness of plan, in all Gods course of dealings with His people throughout their history. But now they had come to a new stage of their history. They had had a course of instruction under Moses and Joshua, coupled with Gods own direct teaching by the wonderful acts of His power and grace wrought on their behalf, that might by this time have enabled them to judge for themselves, without being taught by a leader, that it was their wisdom and their solemn obligation alike, to fear their God under all circumstances, and with all good conscience to keep His commandments. A pause, therefore, takes place to try them on this point, and ascertain how they would act when left to themselves; without a King, a Father, a Guide; or, at first, even a Judge, or temporary Saviour. Had they, or had they not, really profited by the enjoyment of all this Divine care-taking and wonder-working. If there had been the least disposition in their heart to obey, nothing could have been more easy and grateful than to obey. The very dimmest mental eye could see what a magnificent privilege it was, for them to be at liberty to say, that the God that had wrought all these wonders was their God. Now, therefore, was the solemn moment when the heart of Israel was called on to sayAccept or reject Jehovah! God waited for a reply.

That reply was not long in being given. It soon appeared that the tendency of the Israelitish heart was to depart from the living God, and, when left to itself, to prefer rather those substitutes for the true God, which the heathen around them set up as objects of worship. The proof was fully made out, that they were not in a fit state to be left to themselves. They had indeed a law, a most complicate and comprehensive law, adapted to all the varieties of human experience and human conduct, and this law was laid down by God himself (Gal. 3:19). But it was one thing to know what the law required, and another thing to be disposed to keep it. Hence there required to be some authority established, by which obedience to Jehovah would be enforced. The lack of a disposition to observe the holy, just, and good laws of the Great Supreme, has been sorrowfully acknowledged in all ages. Even a heathen could say

I see the good, but I follow the evil.

Israel then required a king, or ruling authority, to enforce the carrying out of the laws and commandments appointed by its covenant God. There was no such ruling authority now in the land. Hence the people were fast turning to idolatry in worship, and to immorality in practice.

But the idea in this descriptive text, is not so much, that there was no supreme civil authority in Israel, or principle of law recognised, as opposed to a state of anarchy and chaos. If there had been that, some good result would have followed. For law, viewed simply as a chart defining the lines of right and wrong, is a great blessing to a community, when justly and wisely framed and impartially administered, when violence and evil passion are repressed, and when order and righteous dealing between man and man are duly upheld. Something more important, however, is meant here. The king of Israel was not an ordinary king. As king he held a sacred office. God Himself was the real King of Israel, and every legitimate occupant of the throne was his vicegerent. The nation itself was a holy nation. They were a church, the only church of God on the earth, and to be a king to Gods church was to hold a sacred office. Hence his duties covered the whole area of religion, and it was his special duty to see that Gods existence, and Gods authority were universally acknowledged, that the laws He appointed for His worship should be faithfully adhered to, and that the rules He had laid down for daily life should be reverently observed.

The ordinary office of king was confined to things civil, and he became a usurper when he intruded into the sacred ground of conscience (Mat. 22:21). But the King of Israel was only about his proper work, when jealously seeing to it, that all the laws and ordinances of God were duly observed by his subjects. The whole history of the kings goes on the assumption, that the king was responsible for the Divine laws being respected by his people. Accordingly, in so far as was necessary, express instructions were given to him for the guidance of the people, and he ever acted by Divine direction. Even rules for guidance in civil and social life, which are permitted among other nations to be carried out according to the judgments of men were, in the case of the peculiar people, all directly laid down by God himself. Hence the great significance of the statement, there was no king, as applied to Israel.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Samson at Gaza Jdg. 16:1-3

Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her.
2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.
3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of a hill that is before Hebron.

1.

Where was Gaza? Jdg. 16:1

Gaza was in Philistine territory west of Israel. It was one of the most ancient towns of the world. Modern Gaza serves as the capital of the Gaza strip, that elongated piece of land which was controlled by Egypt along the seacoast of the modern state of Israel. The land was taken by the Israelis in the six-day war of June, 1967. Gaza is a rather modern community and is southernmost of the cities which made up the Philistine Pentapolis. The ancient city was situated on the Mediterranean seacoast.

2.

How did Samson escape? Jdg. 16:2

The men of Gaza thought that Samson would stay all night in the house of the harlot, but he escaped by arising in the middle of the night. The Philistine men of Gaza had taken too much for granted. They had supposed that Samson would spend the entire night in the house of the Philistine harlot. As a result, they did not take the precaution of setting a guard at the house during the middle of the night. It was their false conclusion that they would be able to fall upon Samson after daybreak. Because of the carelessness of the Philistines, Samson left Gaza unharmed.

3.

What kind of gate was this? Jdg. 16:3

According to Keil and Delitzsch, Samson took hold of the folding wings of the city gate, as well as the two posts and tore them out of the ground (p. 418). Most gates were entranceways through which carriages might enter but the fortified cities in ancient times had not only the large they also had smaller gates which might be opened to admit people on foot. It was evidently the two smaller doors of the city gate along with the two bars or posts which went with them which Samson carried away from the city.

4.

How far did Samson carry the doors? Jdg. 16:3 b

Samson carried the doors of the city gate to the top of a hill which was on the road from Gaza to Hebron. The Scripture does not say that he carried the doors all the way to Hebron. He simply took them up the road to the top of the hill which was on the direct route to Hebron. This is the meaning of this verse which says he carried the doors to the top of the hill before Hebron.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(1) Then went Samson to Gaza.Rather, And Samson, &c. The narrative is brief and detached. Gaza is near the sea, and was the chief town of the Philistines, in the very heart of their country. It is useless to inquire how Samson could venture there in safety, or whether he went in disguise, or what was his object in going there; to such side-questions the narrative gives us no reply.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

SAMSON’S EXPLOIT AT GAZA, Jdg 16:1-3.

1. Gaza A very ancient city, mentioned as early as Gen 10:19, and situated in the extreme southern portion of the Philistine plain. It stood upon a low round hill that rises some fifty or sixty feet above the surrounding plain. Its modern name is Ghuzzeh. It was the most celebrated city of the Philistine pentarchy, and was the scene of Samson’s last triumph and death.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Chapter 16. Samson’s Decline, Downfall and Final Triumph.

By including Jdg 15:20 the writer deliberately divided his story into two halves. The first part was, as we have seen, a story mainly of triumph against the odds, the second will be one of triumph in the face of disaster. The first began with him going in to a respectable Philistine woman with a view to responding to the Spirit of Yahweh (Jdg 14:1 with Jdg 13:25), and constantly speaks of His activity by the Spirit. The second begins with him going in to a prostitute with a view to following the lusts of the flesh (Jdg 16:1). There is no mention of the Spirit of Yahweh in this section, only of the final departure from him of Yahweh (Jdg 16:20). But in the end it is ‘Yahweh’ Who acts through him for he is partially restored to his vow.

Furthermore Jdg 16:1 can be seen as parallel to previous times when ‘Israel went a-whoring after strange gods’ (Jdg 2:17) and ‘did evil in the sight of Yahweh’ with the Baalim and Ashtaroth (Jdg 2:11; Jdg 3:7). This would then signify good times followed by bad. But Samson’s gods were women. Samson had lost his effectiveness.

The account begins with his going in to a harlot in Gaza, and his subsequent removal of the gates of Gaza, followed by his dalliance with Delilah who tempts him to divulge the secret of his strength. This is followed by his subsequent arrest and blinding, and his being committed to hard labour in the prison mill. But the regrowth of his hair strengthens his faith and he finally destroys a packed Philistine Temple killing many of the enemy hierarchy.

Jdg 16:1

‘ And Samson went to Gaza and there he saw a prostitute and went in to her.’

Gaza was the southernmost of the five major cities of the Philistine confederacy, near the coast to the south. Some years had possibly passed since the previous incidents, and many Israelites would visit the city, so that he was not necessarily expecting problems, although it was always going to be risky. Again he ‘saw a woman’. But this time she was a prostitute and he went in to her.

Perhaps he was now a disillusioned man as far as women were concerned so that all that they meant to him now was sex. It was a sign that his dedication to Yahweh had dimmed and that he now felt that he could do as he wished, although his strong sexual desires may have been overruling his will. But if so, that could only happen because of the dimming of his dedication. This time it would appear that the wrong spirit was moving him. He was no longer the man he was. Possibly it was the middle-age syndrome.

It may be that he used the woman in order to gain information about the city, or his intention may from the start have been to destroy the gates about which he needed knowledge, but there was no excuse for his behaviour, which was contrary to his vow. On the other hand any who have known strong sexual desire will understand the temptation, and appreciate her drawing power to him if she was very desirable. Even Nazirites were men, and the constant nagging of sexual desire has led many good men astray. But he knew his own weaknesses and it was something that he should have guarded against, as should we.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jdg 16:1-31 Samson’s Captivity and Death Jdg 16:1-31 records the tragic story Samson’s capture at the hands of Deliah, and his death. One minister gave this outline of Chapter 16:

1. Forsakening (Jdg 16:1-19)

2. Awakening (Jdg 16:20-22)

3. Shakening (Jdg 16:23-31)

Jdg 16:1  Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.

Jdg 16:1 Comments – In Jdg 16:1 Samson went into a harlot. This is the last of four chapters on Samson; thus, the end of his ministry has begun (Pro 9:13-18).

Pro 9:18, “But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.”

Jdg 16:2  And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.

Jdg 16:3  And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.

Jdg 16:4  And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

Jdg 16:4 Comments – The New Testament warns us against friendship with the world (Jas 4:4).

Jas 4:4, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

Jdg 16:5  And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

Jdg 16:5 “Entice him” Comments – Note Jas 1:14, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed .”

Jdg 16:5 “that we may bind him to afflict him” Comments – Friendship with the world brings bondage and affliction.

Jdg 16:5 “and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver” Comments – Many stories in the Bible show how the love of money causes people to sin (1Ti 6:10).

1Ti 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

Jdg 16:6  And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

Jdg 16:6 “Delilah said to Samson” Comments – The seductive and clever words of Deliah led to Samson’s downfall (Pro 6:26; Pro 7:21; Pro 22:14, Jer 9:2-5).

Pro 6:26, “For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.”

Pro 7:21, “With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.”

Pro 22:14, “The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.”

Jer 9:2-5, “Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD. Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders. And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.”

Jdg 16:6 Comments – Delilah was both a “traitor” and “a lover of money” (2Ti 3:2-3).

2Ti 3:2-3, “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors , heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;”

Jdg 16:6 Comments – The world may look good, but it wants to bring you into bondage and afflict you.

Jdg 16:6 Comments – Leonard Ravenhill made the following statements: [29]

[29] Leonard Ravenhill, Sermon, SouthCliff Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday night service, April 17, 1983.

A woman of the world was asking a man of God the secret of his strength. The early church was unpredictable. It had poverty, persecution and prison. Today the church has posterity, popularity, and personality. Samson was an example of the early church. No man is greater than his prayer life. A person may be good at organizing, but poor at agonizing, having a good supper room, but no upper room.

Sweat was a sign of the curse. Man sweated only after the curse. Samson was a type of man who pulls down strong holds. Samson was a type of spirit-anointed man. The lion is a type of the devil.

The Nazarite:

No touching of dead represents dead in sin.

No wine represents no worldly by pleasure.

No cutting of hair represents being like a woman.

If he had stayed on his knees, he would not have been on hers.

Less joy in Lord, more entertainment. More joy in Lord, less entertainment.

If no trust and obey, you will rust and decay.

Backsliding begins with prayerlessness.

After Samson’s capture, they bound him, blinded him and tied to the grinder.

Jdg 16:16  And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

Jdg 16:16 “vexed” Comments – Lot was also vexed with this world (2Pe 2:7-8).

2Pe 2:7-8, “And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)”

Jdg 16:17  That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

Jdg 16:17 “for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb” – Comments – According to Psa 22:10, we also belong to God. He has a divine plan for each of our lives, too.

Psa 22:10, “I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.”

Jdg 16:17 “if I be shaven” Comments – Why was this the key to Samson’s strength? Because then he would break a vow to God. “Disobedience” is a key word. Note:

Num 6:1-7, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head .”

Note the NIV, “The symbol of his separation to God is on his head.”

Jdg 16:16-17 Comments Samson Yields to Deliah – The method of persistence that Delilah used is well illustrated in Luk 18:1-8:

Luk 18:1-8, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

Samson had been also enticed with the tears of his first wife before (Jdg 14:15-17).

Jdg 14:15-17, ‘And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson’s wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so? And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee?  And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.”

A Christian will stumble if he follows worldly desires. Samson was strong, but he had a will, and he chose to sin.

Jdg 16:19  And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

Jdg 16:19 “And she made him sleep upon her knees” – Comments – Oh, how much craftiness she must have devised and deceptive talk to cause Samson to sleep on her knees, all as a result of a greedy heart for gold (Jdg 16:5). We do not know the time spent and effort involved in planning this clever scheme.

Jdg 16:20  And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.

Jdg 16:20 “I will go out as at other times before” Scripture References – Note:

2Co 3:5, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;”

Jdg 16:20 “And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him” Comments – Leonard Ravenhill calls Jdg 16:20 the saddest verse in the entire Bible. [30]

[30] Leonard Ravenhill, Sermon, SouthCliff Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday night service, April 17, 1983.

“the Lord was departed” – Scripture References – Note:

Isa 59:1-2, “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

Jdg 16:21  But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

Jdg 16:21 “he did grind” – Comments – Sweat is a sign of the curse placed upon Adam (Gen 3:19).

Gen 3:19, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

Jdg 16:21 Comments – This world and Satan will blind your minds (2Co 4:4).

2Co 4:4, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

Jdg 16:23  Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.

Jdg 16:23 Comments – This idol Dagon was half man and half fish ( ISBE). [31]

[31] Max L. Margolis, “Dagon,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).

Jdg 16:24  And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.

Jdg 16:25  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 made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.

Jdg 16:25 Comments – The Philistines were scoffers (2Pe 3:3).

2Pe 3:3, “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,”

Jdg 16:30  And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

Jdg 16:30 “the house fell” Scripture References – Note:

Heb 12:25-29, “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain . Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.”

Isa 2:12-19, “For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth .”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Samson at Gaza

v. 1. Then went Samson to Gaza, on the Mediterranean, in Southwestern Philistia, one of the chief strongholds of his enemies, and saw there an harlot, a public prostitute, and went in unto her, thus becoming guilty of fornication. Samson is a type of the entire Israelitish nation at that time; for as long as he clung to the Lord and followed His direction, He was a hero and champion against the enemies of Israel, but when he forsook Jehovah’s commandments and indulged in sensuality, the disapproval of the Lord rested upon him, just as it did upon the spiritual adultery, the idolatry, of his people.

v. 2. And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, setting watchmen all about the harlot’s house, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, men charged with taking him as soon as he should attempt to leave, and were quiet all the night, lest they should reveal their plans to Samson, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. With the coming of the dawn, when it would become light outside, they would have the courage to attack their enemy.

v. 3. And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, the watchmen apparently having settled down so quietly that they did not notice his coming, and took the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, wrenching them from their foundations, and went away with them, bar and all, as it had been locked in place to prevent his escape, and put them, the heavy gates with the posts, upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron, calmly making that trip to the mountains toward the east with the immense load resting upon him. The humiliation inflicted upon the Philistines was all the greater since the gates of a city symbolized its civic and national strength. It is not stated here that the Spirit of the Lord urged Samson to perform this deed, but he followed his own idea, making a show of his great physical strength. It is the beginning of severe transgression for a believer to put his trust in his own ability; for pride cometh before a fall.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

Jdg 16:1

Then. It should be and. There is nothing to show when the incident occurred. It may have been many years after his victory at hal-Lechi, towards the latter part of his twenty years’ judgeship. Gaza, now Ghuzzeh, one of the five chief cities of the Philistines, once a strong place, but now a large open town. It was the last town in South-West Palestine on the road from Jerusalem to Egypt (Act 8:26, Act 8:27). It played an important part in history in all agesin the times, of the Pharaohs, the Seleucidae, the Maccabees, the Romans, the Khalifs, and the Crusaders. It was within the limits of the tribe of Judah (Jos 15:47). It is first mentioned in Gen 10:19, as the south-west border of the Canaanites. Its real transliteration from the Hebrew is Azzah, as it is actually expressed in the A.V. of Deu 2:23, and 1Ki 4:24. Gaza is the Greek form.

Jdg 16:2

And it was told. These words have no doubt accidentally fallen out of the Hebrew text, but they are necessary to the sense, and are expressed in all the ancient versions. We have no clue as to the motive of Samson’s visit to Gaza, whether he was meditating its conquest, or an assault upon its inhabitants, or whether he came merely in the wild spirit of adventure, or upon civil business. We only know that he came there, that, with his usual weakness, he fell into the snare of female blandishments, that the Philistines thought to have caught him and killed him, but that he escaped by his supernatural strength. Gaza is about thirteen hours’ march from Thimnathah. They compassed him in. The Hebrew does not express this idea, nor is it what the Gazites did. It should be rendered, They went about and lay in wait for him. Instead of attacking him directly, they took a round-about course, and set an ambush for him in the city gates, probably in the guard-room by the side of the gate, intending when he came forth unsuspectingly in the morning, at the hour of opening the gates, to rush upon him and kill him.

Jdg 16:3

Samson arose at midnight. Possibly the woman had learnt the plot, and gave Samson warning, after the manner of Rahab; or she may have been his betrayer, and reckoned upon retaining him till the morning; anyhow he arose at midnight, when the liers in wait were sleeping securely, and tearing up the two gate-pests, with the gates and the cross-bar attached to them, walked off with them “as far as the top of the hill that is before Hebron.” Took the doors, etc. Rather, laid hold of. For went away with them, translate plucked them up. It is the technical word for plucking up the tent pins. Bar and all, or, with the bar. The bar was probably a strong iron or wooden crossbar, which was attached to the posts by a lock, and could only be removed by one that had the key. Samson tore up the posts with the barred gates attached to them, and, putting the whole mass upon his back ,walked off with it. The hill that is before Hebron. Hebron “was about nine geographical, or between ten and eleven English, miles from Gaza, situated in a deep, narrow valley, with high hills on either side.” It is approached from Gaza over a high ridge, from the top of which Hebron becomes visible, lying in the valley below at fifty minutes’ distance. This spot would suit very well the description, “the hill that is before Hebron.” Some, however, think that the hill called el Montar, about three-quarters of an hour from Gaza, on the road to Hebron, is here meant, and that the plain before Hebron merely means towards, as in Gen 18:16; Deu 32:49.

Jdg 16:4

Sorek. See Jdg 14:5, note. The name has not yet been discovered as applied to any existing spot; but Eusebius in the ‘Onomasticon’ speaks of a village Caphar-sorek as still existing near Zorah. The term valley (nachal) describes a wady, i.e. a narrow valley with a stream.

Jdg 16:5

Lords. See Jdg 3:3, note,’ His great strength liethliterally, wherein (or by what means) his strength is great. They guessed that it was through some charm or secret amulet that his Herculean might was nourished. Eleven hundred pieces, or shekels, of silver. The whole sum promised by the five lords would be no less than 5500 shekels, equal to about 620 of our money. The curious notation, eleven hundred pieces, occurs again Jdg 17:2. The reason of it is unknown.

Jdg 16:7

As another manliterally, as one of men, i.e. of mankind, not different from other men. As regards the word rendered withs, it is not certain whether strings of cat-gut are not meant In Psa 11:2 the same word is used of a bow-string. The word rendered green means fresh or new, and might be equally applied to catgut strings or withs.

Jdg 16:9

There were men lying in waitliterally, and the liers in wait were abiding for her in the chamber. She had hid some three or four men in the chamber unknown to Samson, that they might be ready to fall upon him should his strength really have departed from him. The word for liers in wait is in the singular number, but is to be taken collectively, as in Jdg 20:33, Jdg 20:36-38. In Jdg 20:37 it is joined to a plural verb. It is to be presumed that through some concerted signal the liers in wait did not discover themselves.

Jdg 16:10

Wherewith, or rather, as in Jdg 16:8, by what means.

Jdg 16:11

Ropesliterally, twisted things; hence cords or ropes, as Psa 2:3; Isa 5:18. Occupiedan old obsolete phrase, for which we should now say used.

Jdg 16:12

Took new ropes. She had them by her, apparently, or could easily procure them, as it is not said that the lords brought them to her. And there were liers. Rather, as before, and the liers in wait were abiding, etc. Each time she had persuaded the lords that Samson had divulged his secret, and that she would deliver him into the hands of the men whom they sent.

Jdg 16:13

The seven locks, by which we learn that his mass of hair as a Nazarite was arranged in seven locks or plaits. His resistance was becoming weaker, and he now approached the dangerous ground of his unshorn hair. With the web. This must mean the warp, which was already fastened in the loom, and across which Samson s locks were to be woven as the woof.

Jdg 16:14

And she fastened it with the pin. The Septuagint and many commentators understand that she used the pin (it is the common word for a tent pin) to fasten the loom or frame to the ground, or to the wall. But a good sense comes out if we understand the phrase to mean, So she struck with the shuttle, i.e. she did what Samson told her to do, viz; wove his locks into the warp which was already prepared. This was done by successive strokes of the shuttle, to which the hair was fastened. To strike with the peg or shuttle may have been the technical phrase for throwing the shuttle with the woof into the warp; and it is a strong argument in favour of this interpretation that it makes her action the simple fulfilment of his directions. He said, “Weave my locks into the warp. So she struck with the shuttle.” With the pin of the beam, and with the web. The Hebrew word ‘ereg cannot mean the beam, as it is here translated; it is the substantive of the verb to weave in Jdg 16:13. Its obvious meaning, therefore, is the woof. The pin of the woof, therefore, is the shuttle ,with the woof attached to it, i.e. Samson’s hair, which was firmly woven into the warp. He went away with. This is the same word as was applied in Jdg 16:3 to his plucking up the gateposts. Now, with the strength of his neck, he tore up the shuttle which fastened his hair to the warp, and so dragged the whole solid frame along with it. However, as we do not know the technical term of the art of the weaving among the Hebrews and Philistines, nor the precise construction of their looms, some obscurity necessarily attaches to this description.

Jdg 16:15

Thy great strength liethas before, Jdg 16:6, thy strength is great.

Jdg 16:16

So that. Omit so. The meaning is, that in consequence of her daily solicitation his soul was vexed (Jdg 10:16) to deathliterally, was so short, so impatient, as to be at the point to die.

Jdg 16:17

That he told her. This begins a new sentence. Read, And he told her. Any other man. Rather, like all men. Man, though singular in the Hebrew, is collective as in Jdg 16:7, and as the lier in wait in Jdg 16:9 and Jdg 16:12, and is properly rendered men in English.

Jdg 16:18

He hath showed me. So the Keri; but the written text has her instead of me, which is favoured by the tense of the verb came up. If her is the true reading, these words would be the addition of the messenger, explaining why she told them to come up once more, or of the narrator, for the same purpose. Brought money. It should be the money, the stipulated bribe (Jdg 16:5).

Jdg 16:19

She called for a man. It is she called to the manthe man whom she had secreted in the chamber before she put Samson to sleep, that he might cut off the locks. She caused him to shave. In the Hebrew it is she shaved, but it probably means that she did so by his instrumentality. She began to afflict, or humble, him. His strength began to wane immediately his locks began to be shorn, and it was all gone by the time his hair was all cut off.

Jdg 16:20

And shake myself, i.e. shake off the Philistines who encompass me; but when he said so he knew not that the Lord had departed from him, and that he was indeed become weak like other men (see a fine sermon of Robert Hall’s from this text).

Jdg 16:21

Put out his eyes. One of the cruel punishments of those times (see Num 16:14; 2Ki 25:7), and still, or till quite lately, practised by Oriental despots to make their rivals incapable of reigning. So King John, in Shakespeare, ordered Arthur s eyes to be put out with a hot iron (King John, Act IV. scene 1.). Herodotus says that the Scythians used to put out the eyes of all their slaves. He did grindthe most degrading form of labour, the punishment of slaves among the Greeks and Romans (see too Isa 47:2).

HOMILETICS

Jdg 16:1-22

Presumption leading to a fall.

One of the most instructive observations we can make with a view to our own guidance is that of the extreme danger of self-confidence. Humility is of the very essence of the Christian character, and the moment that presumption takes the place of humility the danger to the soul commences. Now humility is not necessarily an underrating of our own powers or our own gifts. Our powers are just what they are, and our gifts are of a certain value, neither more nor less, and there is no reason why we should not appraise them at their true value. Samson did not overrate his strength when he submitted to be bound by the men of Judah, nor when he put the gates of Gath upon his shoulders, and carried them to the hill over against Hebron. But the transition to presumption commences as soon as we forget that we have nothing which we have not received, and begin to use what we have for our own purposes, and not for God’s glory, and reckon upon its continuance, whatever use we make of it. When a gift or power generates self-conceit, as if it originated with ourselves, presumption has begun; the use of it for our own glorification is the next step; security in its continuance, however much we abuse it, is the third stage of presumption. We seem to see this in the history of Samson. He was the child of prayer, and of great expectations. From his mother’s womb he was consecrated to God in the bonds of a special covenant. From his birth he had the special blessing of God resting upon him. From his youth he was moved in an extraordinary manner by the Spirit of the Lord. Before his birth he was announced as the deliverer of Israel. To enable him to fulfil his grand destiny, he was endowed with supernatural strength; and to mark how entirely that strength was God’s gift, it was tied to the outward sign of his Nazarite vow, his unshorn locks. But very early he began to show a certain unfitness for his great task. His marriage with the Timnathite was a distinct downward step from the platform of heroic self-consecration to the service of God. That God designed to make use of that act in forwarding his own purposes does not in the least affect its nature as a subordination of high spiritual resolves to self-will and carnal lusts. Again, in his assaults upon the Philistines we see much more of a wayward resentment of personal injuries than of enlightened patriotic efforts to deliver his country from a degrading foreign yoke. His wife betrays his secret, so the Philistines of Ashkelon are slaughtered and plundered; his wife is given to another man by her father, so the whole country is wasted with fire to avenge the wrong; she is put to death, and he avenges her death by a great slaughter of her countrymen. His visit to Gaza, and the extraordinary feat of carrying away the gates upon his shoulders, savoured more of the wanton display of great powers for self-glorification than of a sanctified use of them for God’s glory. But it is in the painful transaction with Delilah that we chiefly see that presumptuous abuse of great gifts which precedes a great fall. Unwarned by the previous treachery of Philistine women, unmindful of previous deliverances from imminent peril by the mercy of God, he gave himself up to the wantonness of self-confidence. Either not seeing or despising her designs for his destruction, he went on step by step toward his ruin, as an ox goeth to the slaughter; he tampered with his solemn vow as a Nazarite, which hitherto he had respected, and placed it at the mercy of a heathen harlot, and never woke from his delusion and presumption till he found himself a helpless captive in the hands of his enemies, deprived of his eyesight and of his liberty, an object of scorn, and, still worse, an occasion of blasphemy against God. The lesson is a striking one in every way, and it is one much needed; for nothing is more common, or more fruitful in falls and failures, than a selfish misuse of God’s gifts, and a presumptuous confidence in the possession of them. We see it in men like Napoleon Buonaparte. A giant in abilities, but those abilities were used only for self-exaltation. Success led him on to blind self-confidence. He thought his power was his own, and could never be taken from him. He fell at last into the wantonness and fatuity of presumption, acting with incredible folly, and bringing upon himself an utter ruin. But we see the same thing with regard to spiritual gifts. The possession of spiritual discernment, or of eloquence in expounding the word of God, or of influence over men, begets conceit. The sense of having only what God has given us, and of being tenants at will of his mercies, becomes weakened, and spiritual pride is permitted to grow. Then men begin to use their gifts unfaithfully, i.e. not with a single eye to the glory of God and the good of men’s souls, but for themselves. They use them and display them to feed their own vanity, to increase their own consequence and importance. They use them to gather parties around themselves of which they may be the heads and leaders. Sometimes they use them for gain. for filthy lucre, seeking the advancement of their own worldly interests, while they are ostensibly working for God. Every kind and degree of such a spirit needs to be carefully guarded against and nipped in the very bud. That simplicity of aim and purpose which was so sublimely apparent in the words and works of the Lord Jesus should be the mark which his disciples should constantly strive to attain. The work which is done partly for a man’s self is only half done. The work which is done entirely for God is done wholly. The thorough practical feeling that all our gifts and powers, be they great or small, are given to us by God for his service is a great help towards such pure and righteous use of them. But we must not forget that there is a further stage of this abuse of spiritual gifts which can only end in a grievous fall. God is very patient and long-suffering, and puts up, maybe, with our lesser offences in this respect, only gently rebuking us, and giving us significant warnings of our danger. But if these warnings are neglected, the state of presumption may grow till there is no remedy. In this state of mind men rush into temptation as if there could be no danger for them. They repudiate or neglect prayer, as if prayer was not needful for them. They lose all the marks of a gracious soul, and yet they are not frightened at their absence. And then comes a fall, maybe into the gross darkness of unbelief, maybe into the abyss of sensual sin, which to the world seems sudden, but which had really been steadily advancing through the successive stages of presumption and self-confidence. The Spirit of the Lord departs from them, and Satan enters into them. Gifts without grace unprofitable. But we cannot dismiss the sad history of Samson without the reflection that gifts, however splendid, and powers, however eminent, are useless without the grace to use them aright. What might not Samson have effected for his country and his generation if his extraordinary strength had been used humbly, wisely, and consistently in the service of God and for the good of Israel! If his own passions of lust, and anger, and revenge had been under the control of that Holy Spirit which so wondrously strengthened his body, and his single aim had been to walk with God and do good to man, what a career his would have been! But as it was all went to waste. Desultory actions leading to no lasting result, mighty efforts followed by shameful weakness, and heroic courage defeated by his own imbecility of purpose, made a life all marred and blotted, aimless and purposelessa brilliant disappointment, a splendid failure, a glorious shame. But it has left this further lesson to be weighed and pondered by us all, and especially by those who are most richly endowed with intellectual or spiritual gifts, that while God can accomplish his own designs through our abuse as well as our use of his good gifts, and through our failures as well as through our successes, it rests with ourselves to improve each talent committed to us, and so to use them that they may be found unto our own honour and praise and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR

Jdg 16:1-3

God redeeming the error of his servant.

The visit to the “harlot” is not to be explained away. The character of Samson explains its nature. This was the side where he was weak, the love of women. His sensuality betrays him into a great danger. God shows his affection for his servant, and for Israel whom he had delivered: by granting strength for a signal and unexpected escape which was marked by trophies covering his enemies with shame.

I. WE OUGHT TO BEWARE OF A ONE–SIDED MORALITY. External morality, like Samson the Nazarite’s, is almost certain to be of this kind. The saint should leave no unguarded place. Only the indwelling of the Holy Ghost can deliver from besetting sins. The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth from all sin.

II. A SINGLE SIN MAY UNDO THE FAME AND SUCCESS OF A LIFETIME.

III. WHEN SAINTS FALL INTO SIN THE WICKED TRIUMPH AND ARE CONFIDENT OF THEIR RUIN. The conception which the world has of sainthood is one of perfect external blamelessness, the least infraction of which is hailed as utter failure. When one failing like this is discovered, many more are imagined. How sure are these cowards of the capture of their foe! Or do they only seem to be so, using words of confidence and procrastination to conceal their inward fear? Is there not an unsounded mystery, etc; that cannot be calculated upon, in the defections of God’s people? What and if Peter be restored again? The awaking of him whom God rouses from fleshly slumbers will ever take the wicked by surprise. The evil is that the Church too often shares the world’s view about the irrecoverableness of backsliders. How often have God’s saints been able to shout, “Rejoice not over me, O mine enemy!”

IV. THE GRACE OF GOD SOMETIMES DELIVERS HIS SERVANTS FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR OWN FOLLY AND SIN. Sometimes, but not always. Frequently enough for hope, but not for presumption. But the victory will be wholly his own. The trophy of deliverance will reflect no credit upon the delivered one. He would rather deliver us from our sin itself. He has promised that he will heal our backslidings.

V. THE TEMPORARY TRIUMPHS OF SIN ARE SWALLOWED UP IN THE ETERNAL REDEMPTIONS OF GOD. The gates of Gaza, the chief city of Philistia, are lifted off and carried to the top of the hill beside Hebron, the chief city of Judah. Every Israelite could see them in their exalted place of exhibition. So shall it be with the victories of the Lamb. He in whom was no sin, but who was made sin for us, shall deliver from all sin, and make us “more than conquerors.” The seed of Abraham was to “possess the gate of its enemies” (Gen 22:17; cf. Gen 24:60). The gates of hell shall not prevail against the kingdom of Christ.M.

Jdg 16:4-21

Samson’s betrayal and fall.

The long-suffering of God, which the saints are exhorted (2Pe 2:15) to account salvation, is in Samson s case presumed upon, and the besetting sin at last finds him out. The sin is single, but it is not the first of its kind, nor is it isolated. The years of self-indulgence were preparing for thisa mad revel of voluptuousness and a deliberate denial of Jehovah. The scenes of this tragedy have a typical interest, and they are sketched lightly but indelibly by a master hand. In the gradual but deliberate breaking of his vow we have a parallel to Peter’s threefold denial of his Lord.

I. SENSUALITY LULLS THE SOUL INTO A FATAL SLUMBER, AND DESTROYS ITS SENSE OF DUTY AND ITS CAPACITY FOR USEFULNESS.

II. COMPANIONS IN GUILT MAY DO US MORE HARM THAN OUR WORST ENEMIES. Here the serviceableness of Delilah is at once perceived by her fellow-countrymen, and they hasten to make use of her. The bribe offered, not necessarily ever paid, not only shows the importance of Samson in their eyes, but the value they set upon the influence of this lustful woman. How much mischief can a single transgressor do, not only directly, but through influence! Here it was not only a man betrayed to his enemies, but a soul undone. “What shall a man give,” etc. “He knoweth not that the dead are there, and that her guests are in the depths of hell” (Pro 9:15-18). The harlot’s house, and what it introduces to.

III. THE UNGODLY MISAPPREHEND THE SECRET AND NATURE OF SPIRITUAL STRENGTH. The Philistines evidently thought Samson’s power lay in the efficacy of some charm. It is this they seek to obtain. They are incapable of thinking of a higher influence. Samson accordingly plays with this superstitious fancy, giving at the same time in each of his answers a parabolic or riddle-like shadowing forth of the true secret. So Satan and his servants tempt the Christian by altering the outward circumstances of life, associations, habits, etc; through which the life works, but of which it is independent. Until the saint yields it up, the secret of his life with God is safe.

IV. EVEN IN THE MOMENT AND CRISIS OF SPIRITUAL DOWNFALL THERE ARE DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS, RETARDATIONS, AND OCCASIONS FOR REPENTANCE. The Spirit of God was evidently working through the mind of Samson, and suggesting the evasive riddles, parables, etc; that seeing they might not see, etc. The question of his downfall is thereby brought several times before himself ere it actually takes place. So Peter and the cock-crow. In how many lives is this providential method illustrated! Temptation is played with until, constrictor-like, it springs upon its prey. Recollections of childhood’s lessons, early scenes, etc. are very potent at such times.

V. WHEN THE SAINT‘S VOW TO GOD IS BROKEN, ALL IS LOST. The secret is out, and the charmed life is helpless. A wreck of a man. Nothing left but the memory of an irreparable past and the burden of self-wrought helplessness. There are no ruins so pitiful as those of men who once were saints and Christian workers, Sunday-school teachers, ministers, etc. How dark is the world and life when the soul’s light has gone out! With God the weakest is strong, without him the strongest is weak. “His eyes, blinded by sensuality, saw not the treason; soon, blinded by the enemy, he should see neither sun, nor men, but only God. That done, he turned back, and God came back to him” (Lange).M.

Jdg 16:20

And he wist not that the Lord (Jehovah)was departed from him.

A common state with many in Christ’s Church. They are useless, helpless, and miserable, and they do not realise its significance. They try the customary methods, duties, etc; but fail to produce the looked-for results. They “go out as at other times before,” but still is the spirit bound. Hitherto the Philistines knew not the secret of his strength, now he does not realise the secret of his weakness.

I. SPIRITUAL IGNORANCE RESULTS FROM SPIRITUAL DOWNFALL. This is a partial converse of “he that doeth the word shall know of the doctrine.” A mark of those in whom the truth is not, is that they deceive themselves; they fancy they are still the same as formerly. How subtle yet infinite is this distinctionwith God, without God!

II. THE LOSS SUSTAINED BY THE FALLEN SOUL IS GREATER THAN IT REALISES. Only gradually does the experience work itself out, in a Judas’s remorse or a Peter’s repentance. Samson thought his strength merely had goneit was God, the Giver of his strength. “Whoever has God knows it; whomsoever he has left knows it not” (Lange).M.

HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY

Jdg 16:15-17

Samson’s weariness.

Samson’s weakness is twofold. Through lack of moral strength he reveals the secret of his physical strength, and is thus betrayed into the loss of this also.

I. SAMSON‘S MORAL WEAKNESS. This is the man’s great failing, apparent throughout his history, but reaching a climax in the present incident. Physical endowments are no guarantees for spiritual graces. Must not some of our young athletic barbarians of the aristocracy, adored by the multitude for chest and muscle, be condemned by true standards of judgment for contemptible weakness of character? Such weakness is far more deplorable than the bodily weakness of palsy and paralysis. St. Paul was considered miserably deficient an physical power and presence (2Co 10:10), yet his strength of soul exalts the apostle immeasurably above Samson. The moral weakness of Samson is illustrated by the circumstances of his great defeat.

1. Sin. Samson was neglecting his duty and degrading himself with those evil communications which corrupt good manners. There is nothing so enervating as the conscious pursuit of a guilty course.

2. Pleasure. Instead of toiling, fighting, and sacrificing himself for his country, Samson was wasting his hours in pleasure. Apart from the wrongness of this conduct, the lax, self-indulgent spirit it engendered was weakening. In seasons of pleasure we are off our guard.

3. The allurements of false affection. Samson can resist a host of Philistine warriors, but he cannot resist one Philistine woman. Strong against rude violence, he is weak before soft persuasion. Pure love is the loftiest inspiration for self-sacrificing devotion; but love degraded and corrupted is the deadliest poison to purity of character and vigour and independence of action. How many saints and heroes have found their humiliation in the same snares which caught the strong Samson and the famous St. Antony!

4. The self-confidence of strength. Samson plays with the curiosity of Delilah, sure of the power which will come to his aid in the moment of danger, till by degrees he is persuaded to betray the secret of that very power. Had he been less strong, he would have been less rash. Presumption is more dangerous than conscious weakness (1Co 10:12).

II. SAMSON‘S PHYSICAL WEAKNESS. This resulted from his moral weakness. In the end the faults of the inner life will bear fruit in trouble to the outer life.

1. Samson’s strength was a Divine gift. He had not attained it by self-discipline nor merited it by service. It was a talent intrusted to his care to be used for God. What God gives God can withhold.

2. Samson’s strength was derived from spiritual sources. Samson was not a mere prodigy of brute force. He was one of God’s heroes, and the glory of his strength lay in this fact, that it was the outcome of an inspiration. The most exalted powers we have for earthly work are derived from spiritual sources. If these sources are cut off, the energies which issue from them will be exhausted. Samson grows weak through the departure of the Spirit of the Lord.

3. Samson’s strength depended on his observance of the Nazarite‘s vow. When the vow was broken the strength fled. God has a covenant with his people. He is always true to his side, but if we fail on ours the covenant is void and the blessings dependent on it cease.

(1) The vow of the Nazarite implied consecration to God. God bestows graces on us so long as we live to him, but our departure from him necessitates the just withholding of those graces.

(2) The vow required obedience to certain regulations. These were trivial in themselves; but the obligation of obedience is determined not by the importance of the commands given, but by the authority of the person giving them. Disobedience is shown not to the law, but to the authority. A small test may be sufficient to reveal this. Disobedience to God is the fundamental element of all sin, and, as in Samson’ s case, it will be the sure cause of our ruin.A.

Jdg 16:20

God’s departure from the soul unrecognised.

“He wist not that the Lord was departed from him.”

I. THE FACT.

1. There are men whom God has forsaken. No man is utterly forsaken by God; our continued existence is an evidence of the continued presence of him in whom we live and move and have our being. But the fuller presence of God, that which secures strength and blessing, may depart.

2. His departure is the greatest curse which can fall upon a man. The consequences of it are weakness, shame, ruin. The conscious realisation of it is hell.

3. The cause of this departure of God is in the conduct of men, not in the will of God. Samson forsook God before God forsook him. God does not visit his people casually, and only for seasons; he abides, and will never leave them (Isa 41:17) till they wilfully depart from him.

4. A past enjoyment of God’s presence is no guarantee against his future departure. God is not only absent from those who never knew him, he departs from some in whose hearts he has once dwelt. If the Christian has left his first love, he will find that all his previous experience of God’s blessings will not secure him against the dreary night of a godless life.

II. THE IGNORANCE OF THE FACT. Samson was unconscious of the fearful loss he had sustained. So there are men who retain their honoured position in Christian society and in the Church while, even unknown to themselves, the source of the life which gave it them is ebbing away. The causes of this ignorance should be traced.

1. The presence of God is spiritual, inward, silent, secret, and his departure makes no outward sign.

2. Old habits continue for a season after the impetus behind them has ceased, as the train runs for a while after the steam has been shut off.

3. God may leave us gradually as we forsake him by degrees. The fall is not sudden and violent, rather it is a quiet gliding back; and the loss of Divine grace is not often (as in the case of Samson) sudden, but little by little it leaves us.

4. One of the worst effects of God’ s departure is that it leaves us in a state of spiritual indifference. As with the death which follows extreme cold, the very fatality lies in the fact that the more dangerous our condition is, the more numbed are our faculties to any feeling of distress. The man from whom God has departed has neither the keenness of con- science to discern the fact, nor the feeling of concern to take any notice of Jdg 2:5. The tests of God’s absence are not always immediately applied. The rotten tree stands till the storm strikes it; the corpse mocks sleep till corruption ensues; Samson does not know of God’s departure till the Philistines are on him. But though postponed for a season, the revelation must come in the end. How much better to discover the evil first by self-examination! (2Co 13:5).A.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

CHAP. XVI.

Samson carries away the gates of Gaza: falls in love with Delilah, to whom he confesses that his strength would leave him if his head should be shaven. His hair being shaven off while he is asleep, he is taken by the Philistines; his eyes are put out, and he grinds in the prison-house. The manner of his death.

Before Christ 1135.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Samson visits Gaza. The Philistines meditate his destruction; but he escapes at midnight, carrying the gate of the city away with him.

Jdg 16:1-3.

1Then went Samson [And Samson went] to Gaza [Azzah], and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.1 2And it was told2 the Gazites [Azzites], saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him3 in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning when it is day we shall kill him.4 3And Samson lay till midnight, and [he] arose at midnight, and took [laid hold of] the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them [pulled them up], bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an [the] hill that is before Hebron.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL

[1 Jdg 16:1. . Dr. Cassel, in accordance with his exposition (see below), renders, und kam zu ihr and came (went) to her. This rendering is certainly possible (cf. Gen 6:20; Psa 51:1, etc.); but as the expression is a standing euphemism, the writer of Judges would scarcely have employed it in its more proper sense here, where the context would inevitably suggest the least favorable interpretation.Tr.]

[2 Jdg 16:2. (cf. Gen 22:20) or , has doubtless been dropped out of the text by some oversight of transcribers. The Sept., Targum, and other ancient versions, supply the deficiency, if indeed it existed in their day.Tr.]

[3 Jdg 16:2.: the accusative (cf. Ecc 9:14) object of this verb is to be disengaged from , the object of the immediately following verb. So Bertheau and Keil. Dr. Cassel takes the word in the sense to go about, to patrol, which would require the object (Isa 23:16) or (Son 3:3) to be expressed.Tr.]

[4 Jdg 16:2. : literally, Until morning light! then we kill him. That is, Wait (or, with reference to the preceding : Be quiet) until morning light, etc. Cf. 1Sa 1:22 is the infinitive construct, cf. Ges. Lex. s. v. , B, 2, b.Tr.]

EXEGETICAL AND DOCTRINAL

Jdg 16:1. And Samson went toAzzah. The heroic deeds of Samson have driven the Philistines back within their old boundary-lines. They no longer venture to come anywhere near him. He, however, with the fearlessness of genius, undertakes to visit them in their own fortified chief city. Azzah, the Gaza of the Greeks, was the most powerful border-city and capital of the Philistines. There, as in Gath and Ashdod, remnants of the Anakim are said to have remained (Jos 11:22). Concerning the etymology of the name (Azzah), different opinions have been expressed. Hitzigs derivation from , she-goat, has been justly called in question by Stark (Gaza und die philist. Kste , p. 46). But by the side of the view which, after the older authorities (from Jerome down) he adoptswhich makes to be the strong, fortified city, in contrast with the open country, and appeals to such names as Rome and Valentia as analogousI would place another, perhaps more accordant with the national spirit of the Philistines. The origin of the name must probably be sought in the worship of Mars-Typhon, the warlike Death-god. Movers has compared , the Trzenian name of Persephone, with (Phnizer, i. 367). Strong, in the true sense of the word, may be appropriately predicated of death; accordingly it is said in the Song of Solomon (Jdg 8:6): Strong () as death is love. To the name (Azesia) not only el-Asa, the idol of the ancient Arabians (Mars-Asiz) would correspond, but also and especially (Azazel), to whom the Mosaic law sent the goat laden with the sins of the people. The name Azzah had its origin in the service of subterranean, typhonic deities, peculiar to the coasts of the Mediterranean sea. Although the Greeks called the city Gaza, it is nevertheless clear that the Indo-Germanic etymology of this word (), which signifies public treasure, is not to be brought into comparison.

Samson comes not, alas! like the tribe of Judah (Jdg 1:18), to conquer the city. But it is a question whether the sensuality which at other times lulled his heroism to sleep, was also the occasion of his present visit to Gaza. The cultus of the Canaanitish nations, and the beauty of the Philistine women, were favorable to voluptuousness. Ancient expositors explained to mean a female inn-keeper, a hostess. They were so far right, that the houses of harlots were those that stood open to all comers, including such strangers as had no relations of acquaintance and mutual hospitality with any one in the city. (Compare, in Latin, the transition into each other of caupo and leno, caupona and lena.) Hence, the Targum has everywhere (including Jdg 11:1) translated by , i. e., female innkeeper, . On this account, the spies, also, whom Joshua sent out, and who were influenced by no sensual impulses, could quarter themselves nowhere in Jericho but in the house of a zonah (Jos 2:1). Samson did not come to Gaza for the purpose of visiting a harlot: for it is said that he went thither, and saw there a zonah. But when he wished to remain there over night, there was nothing for him, the national enemy, but to abide with the zonah. This time the narrative gives no occasion to tax him with sensuality. We do not read, as in Jdg 16:4, and he loved her. His stay is spoken of in language not different from that employed with reference to the abode of the spies in the house of Rahab. The words, he saw her, only indicate that when he saw a woman of her class, he knew where he could find shelter for the night. The purpose of his coming was to give the Philistines a new proof of his fearlessness, which was such that he did not shun to meet them in their own chief city.

Jdg 16:2. And when the Azzites were told, that Samson was come thither. He had been seen. It was probably towards evening when he entered the city. The houses in which the trade of a zonah was carried on, lay anciently and still lie on the walls of the city (Jos 2:15), not far from the gates. Although it is not stated whether the inhabitants knew where he was, it must be assumed that they did; for, being in the city, he had no choice as to his place of abode. The king of Jericho commands Rahab to deliver up the spies; but the description here given of the way in which the Azzites set to work to catch the dreaded foe, is highly amusing and characteristic. The most direct way would have been to have attacked him in the house of the zonah; but that course they avoid. They propose to lie in wait for him when he comes out. Our authors use of the imperfects and is peculiar and interesting. That of which they speak, and say it must be done, as: patrols must go about, and bands must lie in wait all night at the gate, the graphic narrator relates as if it were actually done. They did nothing of the kind, however, but instead of patrolling and watching all night, they were afraid, and kept quiet all night (, used twice in order to hint at the contrast between counsel and action which they exhibited). They should doubtless have been on their legs throughout the night, but in fact they , kept themselves still, made no noise, and heard nothing, just as a timid householder, who is afraid of the burglar, feigns to be fast asleep, so as not to be obliged to hear the robbery going on. The gate, they say to each other, is firmly fastened, so that he cannot get out of the city, and to-morrow, at sunrise, we have certainly killed him (the narrator again represents the thing talked about as done, ). Ah yes, to-morrow! To-morrow, to-morrow, only not to-day, is the language of all lazy peopleand of the timorous as well.5

Jdg 16:3. But Samson slept till midnight. He had been told that his presence in Gaza was known. How little fear he felt, appears from the fact that he slept till midnight. Then he arose, went calmly to the gate, and (as it was closed and barred) lifted out its posts, placed the doors on his shoulders, and tranquilly proceeded on his way home. Humor and strength characterized all his deeds. On this occasion, however, the mighty jest which he played off on the inhabitants of Gaza, was also the worst humiliation which he could inflict upon them. The gates of a place symbolized its civic and national strength, inasmuch as they represented ingress into it. Samson enacted literally, as it were, the promise made to Abraham: Thy seed shall possess the gate of its enemies (Gen 22:17). The fact that Rebecca is dismissed with the same blessing (Gen 24:60); May thy seed possess the gate of those who hate it! indicates the popular diffusion of the idea that to take possession of an enemys gate is to obtain a complete victory over him. Hence, in the East victorious princes have frequently literally carried away the gates of conquered cities (cf. Hammer, Gesch. des Osman. Reichs, i. 267). For the same reason, Almansor, when he took Compostella, caused the doors of the St. James Church to be lifted out, and to be carried on the shoulders of Christians, to Cordova, in sign of his victory (Ferreras, Gesch. von Spanien, iii. 145). The same idea presents itself in North-German legends, when giants are represented as carrying away churches from their places, in order to show their hostility against Christianity (Schambach and Mller, Nieders. Sagen, pp. 150, 151).

But precisely because the removal of the gate of Gaza was expressive of the national humiliation of the Philistines before IsraelIsrael having, as it were, in the person of its representative, taken their chief city by stormit is necessary to take the statement that Samson carried the gate up to the top of the mountain before () Hebron, in a more literal sense than Keil feels himself bound to do. Hebron was the centre and chief seat of the tribe of Judah. It was probably the abode of Samson also during the twenty years of his judgeship. Israels triumph and the Philistines ignominy were both most plainly expressed when the gate of Gaza was lying before Hebron; for it was found appropriate to carry the gates of the chief city of the enemy to the chief city of the conqueror, otherwise Hebron would not have been mentioned at all. As to the difficulty of carrying the gate so far as Hebron, it is unnecessary to waste a word upon it. He who wrenched the gate from its firm security, could also carry it to Hebron. Besides, as soon as he was in Juda, he had time enough. In Hebron the evidences of the great heros triumph and the Philistines humiliation were probably exhibited long after the event took place. Even when nations seem least capable of doing great things, it is yet a cheering sign, promissory of better days, if they take pleasure in the great deeds of former times. Israel was in servitude for the very reason that it no longer knew the greatness of its ancestors (Jdg 2:10). Whoever takes pleasure in Samson, affords some ground to hope for freedom.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

The ancient church used the gate of Gaza, as a type of the gates of hell destroyed by Christ. A modern art-critic, it is true, has remarked that most of the pictures which were supposed to be representations of Samson, carrying away the gates of Gaza, are not such, but represent the paralytic of the gospels, who took up his bed and walked (Martigny, Dictionnaire, p. 599). But the essential matter is, not the pictures, but the spirit. Gaza is, as it were, the stronghold of the enemy. Samson, who enters it, resembles Christ, who is laid in the grave. But the enemy cannot bind the living Word. He not only rises from the dead, but He deprives the fortress of its gates, so that it can no longer detain any who would be free. Only he remains a captive, in whom sin reigns, and passion is supremewho would be free from Christ.

Footnotes:

[1][Jdg 16:1. . Dr. Cassel, in accordance with his exposition (see below), renders, und kam zu ihr and came (went) to her. This rendering is certainly possible (cf. Gen 6:20; Psa 51:1, etc.); but as the expression is a standing euphemism, the writer of Judges would scarcely have employed it in its more proper sense here, where the context would inevitably suggest the least favorable interpretation.Tr.]

[2][Jdg 16:2. (cf. Gen 22:20) or , has doubtless been dropped out of the text by some oversight of transcribers. The Sept., Targum, and other ancient versions, supply the deficiency, if indeed it existed in their day.Tr.]

[3][Jdg 16:2.: the accusative (cf. Ecc 9:14) object of this verb is to be disengaged from , the object of the immediately following verb. So Bertheau and Keil. Dr. Cassel takes the word in the sense to go about, to patrol, which would require the object (Isa 23:16) or (Son 3:3) to be expressed.Tr.]

[4][Jdg 16:2. : literally, Until morning light! then we kill him. That is, Wait (or, with reference to the preceding : Be quiet) until morning light, etc. Cf. 1Sa 1:22 is the infinitive construct, cf. Ges. Lex. s. v. , B, 2, b.Tr.]

[5][The above explanation of Jdg 16:2 is more ingenious than satisfactory. The text does not speak of what the Philistines said ought to be done, but of what was done. It is true, that this view meets with the difficulty of explaining how Samson could carry off the gate, and the watchers be apparently none the wiser. The answer is probably that after the guards and liers-in-wait were posted, these rendered sleepy by inaction (), and confident that Samson would not leave the zonah until morning, became quiet in a sense beyond that intended by the instructions they had receivedin other words, allowed themselves to fall asleep. Cf. Bertheau and KeilTr.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

The close of Samson’s history forms the subject of this Chapter. We have in it a melancholy proof of our fallen nature, in the renewed breakings out of lustful passions in Samson, and the sad consequence of them, in the loss of his eyes, when, after repeated disappointments, the Philistines got him into their hands. His recovery by grace, and the Lord’s merciful answer to his prayer, with his death: these are among the relations in this chapter.

Jdg 16:1

What awful departures from God, we behold in men. Who should conceive, that a man so wonderfully distinguished of God, his birth so introduced, his life so singular, and in many points becoming so lively a type of Him whose whole nature was harmless, holy, undefiled, and separate from sinners; who should have thought that he should thus have fallen! Reader! let not such views stagger thee, nor for a moment tend to shake thy faith. Many characters the Holy Ghost gives us in his sacred word, who prove the stock of corrupt nature from whence they sprung, and yet, in certain features of their lives, were appointed to shadow forth somewhat to represent the blessed Jesus. Indeed had not this been the case, there never could have been any type of the Lord Jesus at all. But as the apostle saith, Every high Priest taken from among men is to be such as can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way, for that he himself is compassed with infirmities. And yet we know that all these high Priests, with all their ministrations, and all their sacrifices, had no other design, or meaning, but to typify the blessed Jesus. Heb 5:1-2 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

The Element of Unconsciousness in Character

Jdg 16:20

Moses wist not, he did not know, that the skin of his face shone after he had been with God. Samson wist not, he did not know, that the strength which he had with God had departed from him until he arose and wished to shake himself as at other times, and then he found, and it was a sad discovery, that all his strength was gone, that the Lord had gone away from him. Now why was this? Why were they both unconscious, one that his appearance was so glorified and the other that he had become so weak? In both cases this unconsciousness was due to their former way of life.

I. Think of Moses. You cannot read the story in the early books of the Bible without having the truth brought very closely home that Moses was a man of prayer. He never forgot the need of supplication, of asking God to help him in every hour of his difficulties as he led the children of Israel through the many trials of the wilderness. He was a man who trusted in God. He never forgot that he was in God’s hands, and he thought all the time of the honour and glory of God. He did not think of how he himself could gain honour and glorify himself, but he remembered the great truth that every one who loves God must learn, that we must seek first the honour and glory of God. And so throughout his life he was one who spent much time in God’s presence, and all this had an effect upon his character. It brought him more and more into union with God Almighty, and he became more humble, maybe. He remembered all the time that God was his loving Father, and that his life was safe in the keeping of God, and that all the people who were trusted to his care would be safe, because they were in God’s hands. But here is the remarkable fact, he does not seem to have been conscious of it. He does not seem to have recognized his own power and his own greatness; he thought of the glory of God. And this was the most marked and most evident when he was in the mount with God. He met God face to face. He had the letters written upon the tables of stone, and he brought them down and gave them to the children of Israel, and when he came down from the mountain a wonderful thing happened: his very countenance shone so that he was compelled to veil his face before the people could look upon him and he could speak to them. Yes, so it was with Moses in some marvellous way, because he lived so near to God there was beauty in his life and in his character. He came down from the mountain, and he was a different man from what he was when he went up.

II. There are many People today, and there have been many people in every age in the world’s history, who are also very anxious to know what they are like in the sight of God. It may be that they have so often drawn near God that they have humbled themselves, that they think themselves the greatest sinners of all (like Saint Paul, who, we know, was such a holy man and yet thought he was the least of all saints), and they are disappointed, it may be, and cast down; but here is a great encouragement which I would bring to you, that if you feel your sin is so great you can yet feel that the power of the Saviour is greater, that if you are conscious of your terrible state in God’s sight, that there is One Who has taken the sin upon Himself, and all is well. It may be that the work of these people for God, though it seems so unimportant, will one day be recognized, and their faces will shine.

III. Look at Samson. He was entrusted with a great gift, he was a very strong man; but that great physical strength given him by God was given to him for a special purpose. He, like Moses, had work to do for his God. He was a chosen vessel, he was to be used of God. He was set apart to bring salvation to the people, and yet he seems to have thought of his own strength, and not of the honour and glory of God. He tampered with temptation. He went into the very stronghold of the Philistines, into Gaza, and then all through his life forgot the work he had been called to do. The years passed by, and Samson forgot God. The life of Samson seems so sad when we think of his great opportunities, what he might have been, and how he failed. And why was it? It surely was that great reason that he had forgotten God. If he had remembered that he was set apart, if he had understood that from his earliest years his work in life was to free the people from the burden of the Philistines and from the trouble that was in the country, he would have looked up to God and trusted Him and been able to do great things for God.

IV. We need to Live very near the Lord Jesus Christ if our life is to be a life of usefulness and bring honour and glory to God. We need to sink ourselves, to be very humble, not to trust in our own strength, but to put all our trust in our God. Then our life, like Moses’ life, will be a life of usefulness. We shall not get into the bad habits which bind so many people as Samson was bound, but we shall be able to help others on the heavenly road.

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

Jdg 16:4

In the preface to The Character of the Happy Warrior, Wordsworth notes that ‘the cause of the great war with the French naturally fixed one’s attention upon the military character, and, to the honour of our country, there were many illustrious instances of the qualities that constitute its highest excellence. Lord Nelson carried most of these virtues that the trials he was exposed to in his department of the service necessarily call forth and sustain, if they do not produce the contrary vices. But his public life was stained with one great crime, so that, though many passages of these lines were suggested by what was generally known as excellent in his conduct, I have not been able to connect his name with the poem as I could wish, or even to think of him with satisfaction in reference to the idea of what a warrior ought to be.’

Jdg 16:14

Methinks I see in my mind a noble and puissant nation rousing herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks: methinks I see her as an eagle renewing her mighty youth, and kindling her undazzled eyes at the full midday beam; purging and unscaling her long-abused sight at the fountain itself of heavenly radiance; while the whole noise of timorous and flocking birds, with those also that love the twilight, flutter about, amazed at what she means, and in their envious gabble would prognosticate a year of sects and schisms.

Milton, Areopagitica.

To the history of Samson, one of his favourite Scriptures, Milton returns in his Reasons of Church Government, where he frequently compares the Hebrew champion’s career and character to the rulers. ‘I cannot better liken the state and person of a king than to that mighty Nazarite, Samson; who, being disciplined from his birth in the precepts and the practice of temperance and sobriety, grows up to a noble strength and perfection, with those his illustrious locks, the Laws, waving and curly about his godlike shoulders. And, while he keeps them un-diminished and unshorn, he may with the jawbone of an ass, that is, with the word of his meanest officer, suppress and put to confusion thousands of those that rise against his just power. But laying down his head amongst the strumpet flatteries of prelates, while he sleeps and thinks no harm, they, wickedly shaving off all those bright and weighty tresses of his laws and just prerogatives, which were his ornament and strength, deliver him over to indirect and violent counsels, which, as those Philistines, put out the fair and far-sighted eyes of his natural mind, and make him grind in the prison house of their sinister ends, and practise upon him; till he, knowing this prelatical razor to have bereft him of his wonted might, nourish again his puissant hair, the golden beams of law and right, and they, sternly shook, thunder with ruin upon the heads of those his evil counsellors, but not without great affliction to himself.’

References. XVI. 17. H. P. Liddon, Penny Pulpit, No. 1111. XVI. 20. R. J. Campbell, Sermons Addressed to Individuals, p. 73. G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 413. W. J. Bach, A Book of Lay Sermons, p. 247. S. Baring-Gould, One Hundred Sermon Sketches, p. 121. XVI. 20, 21. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iv. No. 224.

A Forfeited Gift

Jdg 16:20

I. The fall and the death of Samson are illustrative of a recurrent human experience. Unfaithfulness to a Divine gift results in its withdrawal. In a sense all men are divinely gifted, though their gifts differ both in quality and in degree, which is precisely what we ought to expect. Suppose Samson had lived and died like the great lawgiver of Israel who can think about Moses without believing his estimate of manhood is better for that life? Joshua, who, inspired by a greater than himself, hearing his Divine call, ‘Moses my servant is dead, now therefore arise,’ rose captain of Israel, faithful to the call, was faithful to the last, in his dying hour calling Israel before him. ‘Choose you this day whom ye will serve.’ Elijah, the most picturesque of them all, a solitary figure in a decadent age, defying all the untoward tendencies of his time, witnessing for God and in the sublimity of his death impressing Israel for good like Samson, but oh, in what a different fashion! Suppose that Samson’s life and death had been as these for he was called to the first place just as these were? He had his opportunity and he put it away.

II. Vocation may be forfeited, and there is no tragedy so sad, no end so melancholy, as that in which a man discovers that he has been living for long without God and without the gift that ought to have led him to great things. You have had your gracious opportunity, your season of vision, and whatever kind of man you are it will be of no use to you in the great day of reckoning for you to deny the moment when the opportunity came. Do we know the opportunity when it comes? Are we clear as to the moment when we stop our ears and close our eyes and turn our feet from the pathway of duty? You know perfectly well if this gift that is in you is debased, and when you know it you have rightly judged in the day of dread discovery that the Spirit of the Lord has departed.

III. It is sometimes said that the word of the prophet has no hearing in these days. Men are indifferent to the claims of the Christ. God has but little place in their lives. Now, is it true of the men who reject God and Christ, and the Bible, and with it all the ideals and associations that belong of right thereto is it true that they are living the life of the highest they can see? When you exchanged something else for Christ, did you choose a higher or did you choose a lower? If you choose a lower, putting from you the higher, on whatever hypocritical pretext your choice was made, you did it knowingly, and you forfeited a great opportunity and you thrust from you the Divine gift. Recognize that the Divine gift rests upon you for just what you are and where you are, and that it can be withdrawn, and it may be so. You are not living to your highest, and yet you could in the strength of the Lord God.

R. J. Campbell, Sermons Addressed to Individuals, p. 73.

Jdg 16:21

His eyes were the first offenders, which betrayed him to lust; and now they are first pulled out…. It is better for Samson to be blind in prison than to abuse his eyes in Sorek: yea I may safely say, he was more blind when he saw licentiously, than now that he sees not; he was a greater slave when he served his affections, than now in grinding for the Philistines. The loss of his eyes shows him his sin; neither could he see how ill he had done, till he saw not.

Bishop Hall.

Jdg 16:21-22

Samson’s hair grew again, but not his eyes. Time may restore some losses, others are never to be repaired.

Thomas Fuller.

In his fifth lecture on Heroes, Carlyle applies this incident to Benthamism, which, he avers, ‘you may call heroic, though a Heroism with its eyes put out. It is the culminating point, and fearless ultimatum, of what lay in the half-and-half state, pervading man’s whole existence in that eighteenth century. It seems to me, all deniers of Godhood, and all lip-believers of it, are bound to be Benthamites, if they have courage and honesty. Benthamism is an eyeless Heroism: the Human species, like a hapless, blinded Samson, grinding in the Philistine Mill, clasps convulsively the pillars of its Mind; brings huge ruin down, but ultimately deliverance withal.’

Those who would take away the use of our reason in spiritual things would deal with us as the Philistines did with Samson first, put out our eyes, and then make us grind in their mill.

John Owen.

Ruskin, in the fifth volume of Modern Painters, asks, How did the art of the Venetians ‘so swiftly pass away? How become, what it became unquestionably, one of the chief causes of the corruption of the mind of Italy, and of her subsequent decline in moral and political power? By reason of one great, one fatal fault recklessness in aim. Wholly noble in its sources, it was wholly unworthy in its purposes. Separate and strong, like Samson, chosen from its youth, and with the Spirit of God visibly resting on it, like him, it warred in careless strength, and wantoned in untimely pleasure.’

In his essay on Old Mortality, Stevenson describes the career of a brilliant, soulless, fellow-undergraduate, ‘most beautiful in person, most serene and genial by disposition… a noble figure of youth, but following vanity and incredulous of good; and sure enough, somewhere on the high seas of life, with his health, his hopes, his patrimony, and his self-respect, he miserably went down…. Thus was our old comrade, like Samson, careless in the days of his strength.’

References. XVI. 21. J. Aspinall, Parish Sermons (2nd Series), p. 89. XVI. 21-31. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Judges, p. 250. XVI. 22. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxiii. No. 1939.

Jdg 16:25

Compare Carlyle’s grim description of British opera. ‘One singer in particular, called Coletti or some such name, seemed to me, by the cast of his face, by the tones of his voice, by his general bearing, so far as I could read it, to be a man of deep and ardent sensibilities, of delicate intuitions, just sympathies; originally an almost poetic soul, or man of genius, as we term it; stamped by Nature as capable of far other work than squalling here, like a blind Samson, to make the Philistines sport.’

How Not to Pray

Jdg 16:28

We have heard these words until we are heartsick of them. There are some words we cannot do without; we know they are lies, we mean them at the time, or at least we think we mean them; and lo, in a little while the remembrance utterly fades, and we come back upon the old spot with the old hammer, with a false repercussion, with a smiting that we promised should never be renewed.

Samson would gather himself up for a grand final effort; he said in effect, O Lord, the Philistines have taken away mine eyes, I am no longer what I was, I am no longer a prophet and servant of Thine, I am no longer a judge in the country, I am a poor fool; I gave up my secret, I was fallen upon by cruel wretches, they are laughing at me and mocking me with a most bitter sarcasm; Lord, remember the old days, direct my hands, some of you, to the pillars on which this house stands, and now, Lord, this once, the last time, give me back the old Samson, and I will tear these Philistines down as a palace might be torn down by an earthquake: Lord, this once, only this once; I pray Thee let the old strength come back, and I will be avenged for my two eyes. It was very natural, it was most human, it was just what we would have done under similar circumstances, and therefore do not let us laugh at the dismantled giant.

Let us accommodate the passage, so that it may become a lamp which we can hold over various points of life.

I. Now let us note three things about this prayer. First of all, the prayer was to the true God. It was not offered to an idol or to a graven image of any kind or to a mere filmy ideality, a shadowy half-something that was wraith-like, apparitional, but not nameable or not approachable in any suitable and substantial way. This prayer went up directly in the line of the true throne. It was the Lord God of Israel, it was the cry of necessity to the Giver of all good. Know then that we may be praying to the right God; that is no guarantee that we shall get the answer which we desire.

II. What ailed this poor prayer? what was its mortal disease? The mortal disease of this prayer uttered by Samson was that it was offered in the wrong spirit. It is the spirit that determines the quality. ‘That I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.’ It was a prayer for vengeance. That prayer comes easily to the natural spirit. We love to magnify the individual, and to think that individualism is personality. Prayer is self-slaughter, in so far as the will and the supreme desire of the heart may be concerned. Prayer is self-renunciation; prayer says, Lord, Thy will be done, not mine. Thus the Divine will is done by consent human and Divine, and is the law, in its own degree of the universe; the soul then falls into the rhythmic movement of the creation, and the man is translated out of individuality into personality in its broadest definitions, and he is part and parcel of the great unity which swings like a censer round the altar Divine.

III. In the third place this prayer was answered, but answered in judgment. Samson had his way, but his way killed him. We will not say anything about Samson’s character, we have too much to say about our own; it does not do to stretch our hands across the centuries that we may smite some downtrodden man, but we must begin at the house of God. The judgment must begin in every man’s own secret soul. But this we may say; for the eternal comfort of the race it is written according to the blessing pronounced by father Jacob, ‘Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last’. So we come upon the familiar thought of intermediate and final victories. We were caught in all the sins; the decalogue was flying round us in splintered, shattered pieces, the devil was triumphing over us, but we overcame at the last. It was a long time in coming, but the purpose of God cannot be set aside, and if we diligently, humbly, and reverently entreat the Divine presence, and if we be heartily ashamed of our sins, and name them one by one in the face of the noonday sun, and smite upon our hearts and say, ‘All these sins are ours, and we repent them,’ who can tell whether God will be gracious unto us, and give us a nail in His tabernacle, and one small place in His great providential plan?

Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. III. p. 32.

Jdg 16:29-30

In his introduction to Woolman’s Journal Whittier has occasion to speak of the magnitude of that evil which Woolman set himself to grapple. The slave-trade had rooted itself in all departments of American life. ‘Yet he seems never to have doubted for a moment the power of simple truth to eradicate it, nor to have hesitated as to his own duty in regard to it. There was no groping like Samson in the gloom; no feeling in blind wrath and impatience for the pillars of the temple of Dagon…. He believed in the goodness of the Lord that leadeth to repentance; and that love could reach the witness for itself in the hearts of all men, through all entanglements of custom and every barrier of pride and selfishness.’

Death is no such terrible enemie, when a man hath so many attendants about him, than can winne the combat of him. Revenge triumphs over Death; Love slights it; Honour aspireth to it; Grief flieth to it.

Bacon.

References. XVI. 30. Phillips Brooks, The Law of Growth, p. 253. A. P. Stanley, Sermons on Special Occasions, p. 274. J. M. Neale, Sermons Preached in Sackville College Chapel, vol. iii. p. 388.

Jdg 16:31

A man’s life is his whole life, not the last glimmering snuff of the candle…. It is neither the first nor last hour of our existence, but the space that parts these two not our exit nor our entrance upon the stage, but what we do, feel, and think, while here that we are to attend to, in pronouncing sentence upon it.

Hazlitt.

‘Silent was that house of many chambers,’ writes Mr. Meredith of Lassalle. ‘That mass of humanity, profusely mixed of good and evil, of generous ire and mutinous, of the passion for the future of mankind and vanity of person, magnanimity and sensualism, high judgment, reckless indiscipline, chivalry, savagery, solidity, fragmentariness, was dust. He perished of his weakness, but it was a strong man that fell. His end was a derision because the animal in him ran him unchained and bounding to it. A stormy blood made wreck of a splendid intelligence.’

References. XVI. 31. Bishop Alexander, The Great Question, p. 145. XVII. 3. G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 261.

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

Samson Light and Shadow

Judges 14-16

IT would be unjust to consider this as a finished picture of the man of strength. In all that we have said we have endeavoured to establish by good reasoning and clear reference. But it would be unjust to pronounce upon any life after merely looking at a few incidental points in its course. That is a danger to which all criticism is exposed. We are prone to look upon vivid incidents, and to omit all the great breadths and spaces of the daily life, and to found our judgment of one another upon peculiarities, eccentricities, and very vivid displays of strength, or very pitiful exhibitions of weakness. This is wrong; this is unjust. Samson has indeed done many things that have startled us. We have been inclined to say now and again in the course of our study, This is the man the whole man; in this point, or in that, we have the key of his character. Now the reality is that Samson is a greater man than the mere outline of the romantic part of his history would suggest. There was another man than that which we have just seen pass before us the great giant, the man who played with things that were burdens to other men, the man who was infantile in mental weakness on many occasions; there is another man within that outer man, and until we understand somewhat of that interior personality we cannot grasp the whole character of Samson. We must judge men by the mass of their character. Who would not resent the idea of being tested by the incidents of a few months, rather than being judged by the level and the general tone and the average of a lifetime? Man does not reveal himself in little points, except incidentally and illustratively: hence we must live with the man, and so far as history will allow us to do so we must become identified with him: when we get to understand his motives we shall begin to comprehend his conduct, and when we put together the night and the day, the summer and the winter, the fair youth and the white old age, then we may be in some degree prepared to say what the man in reality was. When this rule of judgment obtains we shall get rid of all pettish ness of criticism, all vain remark upon one another: before pronouncing the final judgment, and especially a harsh verdict, we shall say: We do not know enough about him; we have only seen a few points in the man; he seems to be a greater and fuller man than he disclosed himself to be on the occasions when we saw him; had we seen more of him, and known more of him, we should have come probably to a more generous conclusion. That is the rule of Christian charity, and whoso violates it is no friend of Christ. He may show a certain kind of critical ability, and the very malice of hell in the power of sneering, but he knows nothing about the agony and the love of the Cross.

Is the life of Samson, then, comprehended within these few incidents which have just passed before us? The incidents upon which we have remarked might all have occurred within a few months. What was the exact position of Samson in Israel? He judged Israel twenty years. How often is that fact over” looked! we speak of the great strong man, the elephantine child, the huge monstrosity, but who thinks of twenty years’ service the consideration of all the necessities of the people, the frown which made the enemy afraid, the smile which encouraged struggling virtue, the recognition which came very near to being an inspiration? Who knows what headache and heartache the man had in prosecuting and completing the judgeship? Who can be twenty full years at any one service without amassing in that time features, actions, exhibitions of strength and weakness, sagacity, folly, all of which ought to be taken into account before pronouncing final judgment? Thus may it be with us, or it will go hard with us in the day of partial and prejudiced criticism. Who will condemn you for one little month in your life? Then you were in very deed a fool; you know it; you own it: you broke through the sacred law; you did things you dare not name; you reeled and stumbled and fell, but were up again in a moment. Shall he be judge of your life who saw the reeling and the falling? or shall he be judge who knows that for ten years, twenty, or more, you walked right steadily, a brave soul, charged with generous thoughts, and often doing good with both hands? So it must be with all men. But we are prone to break that rule. How small we are, and unjust, herein; we will turn off a friend who has served us twenty years because of one petulant word which he spoke! Who has the justice, not to say generosity, to take in a whole lifetime, and let little incidents or great incidents fall into their proper perspective? Until we do this we cannot ply the craft of criticism: we are ill judges, and we shall do one another grievous injury.

Some physical constitutions are to be pitied. Samson’s was particularly such a constitution. He seemed to be all body. He appeared to have run altogether into bone and muscle. He was obviously only a giant. How seldom we see more than one aspect of a man! call up any great name in Biblical history, and you will find how often one little, or great, characteristic is supposed to sum up and express the man. We call up the name of Moses, and think of nothing but his meekness: whereas, there was no man in all the ancient gallery of portraits that could burn with a fiercer anger; he brake stones upon stones, and shattered the very tablets written by the finger of God. We say, Characterise Jeremiah, and instantly we think of his tears, and call him the weeping prophet: whereas who concealed an eloquence equal to his? a marvellous, many-coloured eloquence, now so strong, and now so pathetic: now all lightning, and now all tears. We must beware of the sophism that a life can be summed up in one little characteristic. Herein God will be Judge. Some men cannot be radiant. They may think they are, but they are only making sport for the Philistines when they are trying the trick of cheerfulness which they cannot learn. Other men cannot be wise. If they have conceived some plan of so-called wisdom, and submit it to you, and take it back again, they set it upside down, and forget exactly where it began and where it ended. They are to be pitied. Weakness is written right across the main line of the face; weakness characterises every tone of the voice. They are not to be judged harshly. Blessed be God, the judgment is with himself, and what if the first be last, and the last be first?

Is there hope of renewal for overthrown men? One would hope so: “Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven” ( Jdg 16:22 ). Is this real renewal or only apparent? It was not the hair that was in fault, but the soul. We have seen that the strength lay not in the hair, but in the vow which that hair represented and confirmed. If the matter had been one purely of person adornment, the hair might have grown again on the strong and noble head, and covered it as luxuriantly as before; but it was the soul that was shorn of its honour; it was the spirit that parted with its oath. How difficult to renew a broken character! Thank God, it is not impossible. It cannot be done mechanically, that is to say from the outside, by skilful manipulation, by obedience to tabulated rules and orders, “Ye must be born again:” it is not enough to renew the profession, to rehabilitate the reputation, to seem to be just as you were before, “Ye must be born again.” Samson’s hair comes, the locks are as raven-like as ever, but has the soul been renewed; has the strong man cried mightily unto God for the restoration of his character? That is the vital point, and to trifle with it, pass over it hurriedly, is to lose the wisdom and the music of the occasion. Looking at men outwardly, we say, They seem to be as before; all the outer semblances are excellent, but who are we that we should judge what has taken place within? Outwardly the circumstances may be as before, but the man himself should take care as to what has happened within his soul. He should hold himself in severe and close monologue upon this matter, saying, These people form a good opinion of me; they think now I am a sober, upright, reliable man; I am regular in my church attendances, I keep up with the foremost in the public race, and the general impression seems to be that I have recovered myself, but have I done so? I will not look at the outer man, but at the heart. Is that steadfast toward God constant in holy love, burning with pure zeal for righteousness and truth? Man must not judge me in these matters I must therefore judge myself the more austerely and exhaustively. Blessed are we if we can apply such criticism to ourselves; and blessed if outward appearances dimly typify a spiritual life, an unseen and undying probity of mind.

Samson died a curious death. He prayed in his blindness that he might yet show himself a strong man. The Philistines would have sport: Samson would that the occasion of sport might be turned into an occasion of what appeared to him to be just vengeance. Said he: Let me touch the pillars of the house; lay my poor hands on the pillars of this unholy place. And the giant’s hands were lifted and put upon the pillars, and Samson cried mightily towards the heavens and shook the pillars, and the house fell, and he himself died with innumerable others. It was a poor way out of the world. But judge nothing by the death scene. In many instances the death scene amounts to nothing. Many a man has gone to heaven straight from the act of suicide. Many a man has died into heaven about whom we are prudently silent, because of some little or great incident which has disturbed our judgment of his character. It is not enough to leave the last transaction to be completed in a few moments of words without sacrifice, of profession without possible realisation. And some may have died and gone to heaven about whom we have our secret fears. Let us entertain no such apprehensions about any man whose twenty years of life lies open for public judgment. Nothing was said at the last; nay, more, the poor man got wrong within the last year of his life: he slipped, he fell, he was laid up a long time; what happened then between him and his Lord we cannot tell; but we have before us an instance or two of such secret and unreported interviews. The man who saw his Lord and plunged into the water, and came to him, had a talk with Christ all alone, and after that he became the most fervent of the apostles. The man is not to be judged by what he did in the last week of his life. It is the life that God will judge the tone, the purpose, the main idea of the life. What is life indeed but a main idea a grand central thought and aspiration? We shall delude ourselves and do injustice to others by thinking of collateral circumstances, things on the surface, things that come and go. Many a man has stolen who is no thief. Many a man has been overcome by strong drink who is no drunkard. Many a man has been guilty of innumerable weaknesses who is a strong man in the soul and heart of him. That these generous constructions may be perverted is perfectly possible; but I would rather that wicked men should pervert them than that the men who need such encouragement should go away in despair. We cannot tell what the dogs will do, but the children must nevertheless be fed. If any man should leave this study of Samson saying that licence has been given to do this or that which is wrong, he but aggravates his profanity by a final falsehood. On the other hand, many a man must be cheered, or he will be overwhelmed in despair, and we shall never hear of him any more. What is the central purpose of your life? what is the main idea? Answer that in the right way, and God will be merciful to you.

We have still to notice the most important point of all, which, in the mere matter of literal sequence, ought to have come earlier. Samson said he would go out and shake himself as at other times “and he wist not that the Lord was departed from him “( Jdg 16:20 ). All the outer man was there, but it was a temple without a God. The giant was as grand to look at as ever, but his soul was as a banqueting-hall deserted. And Samson knew it not! that is the painful point the unknown losses of life, the unconscious losses of life: power gone, and the man not aware of it, is there any irony so humbling, so awful to contemplate? We may be walking skeletons: we may be men without manliness; we may be houses untenanted: yet the eyes are where they always were, and just as bright, the voice is as vibrant as in olden time; and yet the divinity is dead. And for a man not to know it! We have had experience of this in other than merely religious directions. The writer that used to charm thinks he writes as well as ever, and only the readers are conscious that the genius is extinct: the right hand has forgotten its cunning; the writer does not know it; having filled his page, he says, That is as bright as ever: I never wrote with greater facility: in my old age I have become young again; he wist not that the spirit of genius had departed from him. So with the preacher. He supposes he preaches as energetically and as happily and usefully as ever; he says he longs for his work more than he ever did; and only the hearers are conscious that the man has been outworn by all-claiming, all-dominating time. The statesman, too, has lost his wizardry: he cannot see afar off; yet he supposes himself to be as great as in his most lustrous prime. All these are common incidents, and are referred to simply to show that they point towards the most disastrous effect of all that a man may have lost the Spirit of God, and not be aware of his loss. Others look on, and pity him. The prayer has lost its pleading tone; the tears which stream from his eyes are but common water; the upward look sees nothing but cloud; the universe has become a great blank space: the stars glitter, but say nothing; the summer comes, but creates no garden in his soul; and the man does not know it. Who dare tell him? This points towards a possible ghastly condition of affairs. The Church is as large as ever, but Ichabod is written upon its door. The old words are all said, one by one with formal pomp and accuracy, but they are only words no longer bushes that burn and are not consumed. Again and again remember that the point is that the man did not know it. Had he known it, he would have been a better man; had he really felt that the Lord had gone out from him, he might have begun to cry at last like a child, if he could not pray like a priest How is it with us? Put the question right into the very centre of the soul. We may have more words, more dogmas, more points of controversy, more little orthodox idols; but what are we in the heart, the spirit, the purpose of the mind? Seeing that this great danger is before us, there is one sweet prayer which every day should carry to heaven from our pleading soul. A child can pray it; an angel cannot add to it. That deep, high, grand, all-inclusive prayer is “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me,” take health, take friends, take happiness, take all the world values as good and necessary, but take not thy Holy Spirit from me! “Holy Spirit, dwell with me.”

Prayer

Almighty God, our hope is in thy Son; other hope in very deed we have none. We have hewn out unto ourselves cisterns, but we have found them to be cisterns that could hold no water. So by this experience, so sad and deep, we have come to know that there is no help for man but in the living God, the Saviour of all, who will have all men to be saved. We lay down our arms of rebellion, we renounce our various inventions, and we now come to thee, empty-handed, full of sin in the heart, conscious of great and aggravated wickedness, and casting ourselves upon the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, we say each for himself, God be merciful to me a sinner! We know thine answer; it is a reply of love: where sin abounds, grace shall much more abound; wherein we have grieved thee, we shall be mightily brought back again to thy side, to take part in thy praise, and to be active in thy service. May the time that is past more than suffice; may our inquiry be about the few days that remain; with earnestness, simplicity, fidelity, may we gird ourselves to the work that lies before us, and with all-burning zeal, most constant love, may we do thy will gladly, hoping only for a reward in thine own heaven. Help us in all our life. Its necessities are as numerous as its moments. Our life is one crying want. Let our life be turned into a sacred prayer, by being lifted upwards towards the all-hospitable heavens, and no longer left to grope in the earth for that which can never be found there. As for our burdens, we shall forget them if thou dost increase our strength; our sins shall be cast behind thee, our duty shall be our delight, and our whole life a glowing and acceptable sacrifice. Guide men who are in perplexity; soothe the hearts that are overborne by daily distress; save from despair those who think they have tried every gate and beaten upon every door without success or reply: save such from the agony and blackness of despair; at the very last do thou appear, a shining light, a delivering day, wherein men can see what lies about them, and address themselves to their tasks with the help of the sun. Be round about us in business; save us amid a thousand temptations; direct us along a road that is sown with traps, and gins, and snares; take hold of our hand every step of the journey, and in thine own good time bring us to rest, to death to life. Amen.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

XXX

SAMSON

Judges 13-16

Contrast the history of Samson with that of the other judges.

Ans. (1) It is every way more minute and circumstantial in its details and more extensive.

(2) It resembles the cases of Ehud and Shamgar as a record of individual exploits, but seems to have even less national significance.

(3) Othniel, Barak, Gideon, and Jephthah led armies, fought pitched battles, conducted great campaigns and achieved results of national and lasting importance. They were men differing, indeed, in character from one another, but all men of a high order of intelligence and administrative capacity, but Samson not only manifests no such intelligence and capacity in a general way, but is weak in judgment and weak in character. He is merely an individual champion in the direction of physical strength, and like the prize fighters of all ages, susceptible to temptations which appeal to flesh passions.

(4) Unlike all others he was a Nazarite.

(5) Unlike the others his history commences with his father and mother and, like Isaac, Samuel, and John the Baptist, his very birth was the result of a miraculous power.

(6) His history is a history of miracles and prodigies, more than all the others.

2. What legendary hero of the classics most resembles Samson, indeed whose mystical story is supposed by some to be a heathen outgrowth of the Bible story?

Ans. Hercules.

3. How do you account for the marvelous hold of Samson upon the imagination of all succeeding ages?

Ans. The personal hero, the man of individual exploits, always impresses the popular mind more than the ripest statesmanship or the greatest generalship. More of the common people have ever gone to witness the feats of a gladiator, a bullfighter, or a prizefighter than would assemble to hear an orator, poet, statesman, scholar, or inventor. With the exception of the orator perhaps, the fame of the others will most likely be posthumous instead of contemporaneous.

4. In the case of men like Moses, Samuel, and John the Baptist it is easy to account for the Spirit’s circumstantial record of their birth and youth, so largely do their lives and influence affect all succeeding generations, but how do you account for the minute prologue concerning Samson all of Jdg 13 and the relative extent and circumstantial detail of his history?

Ans. We may not be able to philosophize profitably concerning the matter, but we suggest:

(1) The infinite variety of the Scriptures as a whole is designed to present something circumstantial about all phases of individual life. We need the circumstantial record of Moses the law-giver, Samuel the founder of the school of the prophets, David the psalmist, Job the patient, Jonah the reluctant foreign missionary, Peter the impulsive, John the meditative theologian, Paul the world moulder in doctrine and aggressive propagandism, and so we need one circumstantial record, the power of physical prowess, as a special gift of God. A child’s mind easily takes hold of the simple catechism: Who was the first man, the oldest man, the meekest man, the strongest man, the wisest man, etc.?

(2) There are lessons to be learned from the history of Samson of invaluable use to all ages, lessons far more significant than his exploits in themselves considered, and this is the governing thought in the fulness and variety of the Holy Scriptures. (See 2Ti 3:16-17 .)

5. According to Oliver Wendell Holmes, where does the education of a child commence?

Ans. “With his grandmother,” Timothy’s grandmother a case in point. (2Ti 1:5 ; 2Ti 1:3-15 .)

6. In this case show how Samson’s education commences with his mother.

Ans. “Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: for lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come upon his head; for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of Philistines.” “And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass; what shall be the ordering of the child and how shall we do unto him? And the angel of Jehovah said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. She may not eat of anything that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe,” (Jdg 13:4-5 ; Jdg 13:12-14 ).

7. What is a Nazarite, and the token of one?

Ans. (1) The law of the voluntary Nazarite is found in Num 6:1-21 . The dominant idea is consecration or devotedness to Jehovah for a limited period or for life. The token is the unshaved hair. The requirements are total abstinence from intoxicating liquors and even the fruit of the vine and from contact with any defilement, and holiness of life.

(2) But in the case of some either the parents or God himself decreed them Nazarites for life from the womb, as Samson (Jdg 16:17 ), Samuel (1Sa 1:11 ), John the Baptist (Luk 1:15 ), and the Rechabites (Jer 35 ).

(3) A passage in Lam 4:4 , shows the requirements of holiness and the beneficial effect of an abstemious life.

8. In what other scriptures is abstinence from intoxicating drink required of consecrated men?

Ans. “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes to say, Where is strong drink? Lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the justice due to any that is afflicted,” Pro 31:4-5 , and in I Timothy pastors and deacons should be “not given to much wine.”

9. Unto what nation was Israel subject in the days of Samson?

Ans. See Jdg 14:4 – The Philistines.

10. From whom do all Samson’s troubles come?

Ans. From two Philistine women Jdg 14:15-17 ; Jdg 16:20 .

11. Did these women entice him to evil of their own thought or were they used as tools by the Philistines?

Ans. In both cases the Philistines brought pressure to bear on the women.

12. Distinguish between the pressure on the one who was his wife and the one who was a harlot.

Ans. On the wife by a threat of burning her and her father’s family, on the harlot by bribery.

13. Did the wife and her father escape the burning by her yielding to the threat?

Ans. No.

14. Describe the character and power of the temptation in each case.

Ans. See Jdg 14:16-17 ; Jdg 16:15-16 . It was in both cases persistent from day to day; in both cases they asked the secret as a proof of love. In the first case with persistent tears, in the second case with accusation of mocking and lies, nagging, nagging until his soul was vexed unto death; a woman’s seven days’ weeping; a woman’s seven days’ nagging; tears and nagging.

15. What proverbial question have the French when a man goes to the bad?

Ans. “Who was the woman?”

16. What secrets should a man withhold from his wife?

Ans. That depends on the nature of the case, and the disposition of the wife.

17. Who, perhaps, was the only man known to history that fully and fairly answered all the hard questions put to him by a woman?

Ans. Solomon.

18. What infamous and notorious chief of police used a woman to trap men, and what great novelist devoted a section of a romance to a description of the method?

Ans. Fouche, the chief of the Parisian police, and Balzac is the romance writer in that book of his, Les Chouans. Now, he has a section of that book headed with these words: “The Notion of Fouche,” showing how he wanted to get hold of the enemy that he could not capture on the field.

19. What chapter of the Bible is devoted to warning against women like Delilah, and quote its last two verses. Cite another passage to prove that the author of this chapter had ample experimental qualifications for the warning.

Ans. Pro 7 . See Pro 7:26-27 . 1Ki 11:1-8 proves that Solomon, the author of Pro 7 , had the experimental qualifications for this warning.

20. Cite in order the exploits of Samson.

Ans. (1) Slaying the lion, Jdg 14:5-6 .

(2) Slaying the thirty Philistines, Jdg 14:19 , to get the changes of raiment to pay his wager.

(3) The use of foxes in burning the harvest fields of the Philistines for giving his wife to another, Jdg 15:4-5 .

(4) The great slaughter to avenge the burning, Jdg 15:7-8 .

(5) The slaying of a thousand with the jawbone of an ass, Jdg 15:14-15 .

(6) Carrying off the gates of Gaza, Jdg 16:1-3 .

(7) The breaking of the seven green withes, of a new rope, and the carrying away of the pin and web in which his hair had been woven, Jdg 16:7-14 .

(8) The pulling down of the Philistine temple and his consequent destruction, Jdg 16:29-31 .

21. In what power were all these achievements wrought?

Ans. “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him.”

22. In a noted book, Types of Mankind, by Drs. Nott and Gliddon of Mobile, what different rendering is given of Jdg 15:4-5 , and what do you say of the merits of their rendering?

Ans. Turn to Jdg 15:4-5 . This is the way they translate this passage: “And Samson went and took three hundred sheaves of grain and took firebrands and turned them end to end and put a firebrand in the midst between the two ends. And when he had set the brands on fire, he threw them into the standing grain of the Philistines, . . .” What is the merit of this translation? I say, none at all. It is just one of those ways by which men try to evade the marvelous features of scripture.

23. Hither to we have considered Samson as only an embodiment of physical strength, but what proof in the record of his much higher endowments?

Ans. The feats of physical strength make the most vivid impressions on the mind, but there is evidence sufficient in history to show his higher endowments. It is said, without giving details, “he judged Israel twenty years.” The exercise of this function called for knowledge, judgment, and fidelity to God’s law.

His propounding a riddle shows training in Oriental wisdom and his proverbial reply to his enemies who treacherously found its solution shows not only quick discernment but racy humor. His readiness to locate the source of all the hidden assaults upon him indicates a shrewd knowledge of human nature.

We may not assume his inability to lead armies and conduct great campaigns because through the abject spirit of his people there were not only no armies to lead, but there was even that despicable meanness on the part of the people to surrender their own deliverer in bonds to the enemy at their demand. There was no material for an army in a people who thought it necessary to take 3,000 men to arrest one man, and then were afraid to arrest him without his consent. The national cowardice of both Israel and Philistia forms the dark outline of his sublime and solitary courage.

He seems to have been the only brave, absolutely fearless man in the two nations, and stalks among them like a Titan among quail bugging the covert or ready to take flight at the mere sight of him. His life deserves its prologue to which reference has been made. His sin of going unto harlots was the sin of his age characterizing great men of his nation before and after him. He never led Israel into sin like Gideon, nor offered human burnt offerings like Jephthah. He never went into idolatry. It is true that like other and even greater men he could not withstand the persistent tears or continual nagging of a woman, yet he never himself wronged a woman.

His sense of the stern justice of the lex talionis taught in his law and his logical mind are both evident in his reply to his own abject countrymen who rebuked his heavy strokes against the common enemy: “As they did unto me, so I have done unto them.”

For his one great sin against Jehovah he patiently bore the penalty, and, in penitence and prayer, found forgiveness. He wag truly a great man, deserving no help from contemporaries and stands like a solitary mountain on the dead level of a plain.

This, with the pathetic tragedy of his death, gives him his place in human memory and appeals to the imagination of succeeding ages. A mere gladiator or prizefighter would never have awakened the muse of Milton. Therefore we greatly misjudge him if we count him simply a prodigy of physical strength. He stands in the New Testament roll of the heroes of Old Testament faith.

That he was a man of prayer as well as of faith appears from Jdg 15:18 , and Jdg 16:28 . His celebration of his great victory, Jdg 15:16 , his riddle, Jdg 14:14 , and his poem Jdg 16:18 , show him a poet, and his reticence about killing a lion with his naked hands show that he was no braggart even in his own family. You may contrast this with the publicity given to Roosevelt’s lion killing, armed with weapons so deadly that at a distance the lions had no chance.

24. What Old Testament riddles precede Samson’s?

Ans. None.

25. Was Samson a wilful violator of the Mosaic law of marriage in insisting on taking a Philistine wife against the protest of his father and mother, Jdg 14:3 ?

Ans. No, God can make his own exceptions, and this marriage was of the Lord to furnish occasion for smiting the enemy under their own provocation, Jdg 14:4 .

26. What do you learn of the methods and customs of courtship and marriage at that time from Jdg 14:1-18 ?

Ans. (1) The son selects the wife “she pleased his sight.”

(2) The father and mother conduct negotiations.

(3) The son does his own courting “she pleased him in conversation.”

(4) The prospective bridegroom gives a seven-days’ feast in the bride’s city to which her family invites thirty young men.

(5) At the entertainment there is the feast of reason and flow of soul in which riddles are propounded, wagers made, and racy humor employed.

27. What the great sin of Samson?

Ans. In yielding through weariness to the nagging of a bad woman in the disclosure of the secret of his strength after she had thrice demonstrated her purpose of using it to his destruction, and then putting himself in her power. It was telling the Lord’s secret to a harlot, fulfilling the words of Jeremiah:

“Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk;

They were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was as of sapphire.

Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets:

Their skin cleave to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.” (Lam 4:7-8 .)

28. Did Samson’s strength reside in his hair?

Ans. No, but in keeping his Nazarite vow, of which the unshaved head was the token.

29. What the pathetic elements of the tragedy which followed?

Ans. (1) “He wist not that the Lord had departed from him,” and that he was as any other man. This time, though he shook himself as before, he could not break the bonds.

(2) The enemy took him and put out his eyes.

(3) Bound him in fetters of brass.

(4) Made him grind in the prison house.

(5) On the day of their sacrifice claimed him as the captive of their gods.

(6) Caused him to be exhibited in sport.

30. What indication of God’s mercy appeared in prison?

Ans. His hair began to grow.

31. Cite his possible reflections.

Ans. I preached a sermon on that once, a sermon to backsliders, that Spirit power is given for the good of others, for the deliverance of others, and this man through sin had lost the Spirit power, lost spiritual sight. He was becoming a slave to the enemies of God. While he is grinding in the mill, he hears coming from the valley the cry of a young woman as the Philistines snatched her and she cries out, “O Samson, appointed of God to deliver Israel, help me.” And Samson is blind, powerless. Another story comes from the mountains from an old gray-haired woman, a grandmother, whose old age is put to shame. In a quivering voice she cries, “O Samson, appointed of God as our deliverer, come, help us.” I draw this picture for you as his possible reflection and the way any preacher will feel who loses hi? Spirit power and becomes like other men.

32. What proof of his penitence?

Ans. His humble prayer to God.

33. What evidence of his unselfishness?

Ans. “Let me die with the Philistines; I don’t ask to live and be tried again; I have proven myself unworthy. Just forgive me and deliver these people who have put out my eyes to vengeance and let me die with them.”

34. How may he illustrate the backslider and the final preservation of the saints?

Ans. That is exactly what he was, a backslider. You have to kill them sometimes to bring them back. They get so far off that they grow indifferent and have to be killed to be brought back.

35. Cite Milton’s words in his great poem “Samson Agoites,” illustrating the answer to his last prayer.

Ans. After Samson’s prayer, Milton says in his poem this:

This uttered, straining all his nerves he bowed:

As with the force of winds and waters pent,

When mountains tremble, those two massy pillars’

With horrible convulsion to and fro.

Now you are prepared to understand the place of Samson with the other judges. It is the object of this chapter to show that he was a great man and a good man; that he was a man of intelligence; that he was a poet; and on wonder the whole world from that time until now thinks about Samson.

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

Jdg 16:1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.

Ver. 1. Then went Samson to Gaza. ] Not by a call from God, but of his own mind, as some think, presuming upon his strength, and therefore justly deserted and foiled. Or if by some weighty occasion, as others hold, yet not purposely to see and have this harlot; for that had been to “make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof,” Rom 13:14 which scarce befalleth a godly man to do. But accidentally casting his eyes upon this Circe, he was enchanted by her, finding her fair face to be like a glass, wherein, while larks gaze, they are taken in a day-net.

“ Quid facies faciem Veneris cum veneris ante!

Non sedeas, sed eas: non pereas per eas. ”

And went in unto her. ] Carried away by human infirmity, forgetting God and his high calling, this Iudex et Senex falleth into the foul sin of fornication.

“ Laenam non potuit, potuit superare leaenam:

Quem fera non potuit vincere, vicit hera. ”

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Then = and.

Gaza. About thirty-five miles south of his native place.

an harlot. He could rend a lion, but not his lusts. He could break his bonds, but not his habits. He could conquer the Philistines, but not his passions. Now Ghuzzeh.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Chapter 16

Now his second encounter, going down again to the Philistines. And this time to the city of Gaza, which is on the south coast of the territory of the Philistines, south from Ashdod and Ashkelon. And the purpose of going to Gaza was actually to go in unto a prostitute. And the people in Gaza, the men, were told that Samson was there in town.

So they circled him and they set an ambush for him and they locked the gates of the city and they said, “We’ll wait until morning and when he goes to leave town we’ll pounce on him and we’ll kill him.” Samson stayed with this gal until midnight and decided to go home. In coming to the gates of the city he found them locked and barred.

So he picked up the doors of the gate of the city, with two posts, and he went away with them, bars and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of a hill that is before Hebron ( Jdg 16:3 ).

Now Hebron’s about twenty-five miles from Gaza. So he carried these gates all the way to Hebron or to a hill before Hebron twenty miles away, tossed them over. And of course, in the morning the men from Gaza had to send out a regimen to get their gates back. And again, going into the territory of the enemy, setting himself up.

You can play with fire but ultimately you’re gonna get burned. Sometimes when a person is successful, in a sense, and playing around with his passions, he thinks he can master the situation. He thinks he’s getting by with it, but ultimately it’s gonna catch you.

Thus, it came to pass, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came to her, and they said unto her, Entice him, find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we might prevail against him, and we’ll give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver ( Jdg 16:4-5 ).

So they, all of them, offered this enormous bribe to her if she would discover the secret of this fella’s strength. So Delilah said plain up to him, “Hey, what is the secret? Where is it that your great strength lies?”

Samson said, “Well, if they would bind me with green vines that have never been dried, then I will be weak just like any other man.” So she began to, you know, run her fingers through his hair, that kind of stuff. Pretty soon he fell off to sleep and she commanded the Philistines to come in with green vines, never dried and they bound him up.

She said, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you.” And he jumped up and these things snapped off like they were threads that were burned in a fire and he cracked the skulls of the Philistines.

And she said, “You lied to me. That isn’t really true. You weren’t weak like other men. Tell me. Don’t lie to me. Tell me, what is the secret of your strength. Where does your great strength lie?”

And he said, “Well, the mistake people have made is they never bound me with new ropes. Now if you would bind me with new ropes then I will be weak just like any other man.”

So again she soothes him off to sleep and ordered the Philistines to bind him with these new ropes never been used for any other purpose. Then she said, “Samson, the Philistines be upon thee.” And he jumped up and these ropes snapped off and again busted their skulls.

She said, “Oh, you lied to me again. Tell me Samson, come on, I want the truth this time. What is the secret of your strength?”

Samson said, “Well, if you would braid my hair in seven braids then I’ll be weak just like anybody else.”

Now, at this point you may be thinking “Good Samson, you’re not revealing the truth. Keep her guessing.” But in reality, Samson is guilty of a compromise, which is always dangerous. When she said, “What is the secret of your strength?” He should have said, “It’s none of your business. I’ll never tell.” But he’s playing games thinking that he is cleaver. But notice he’s getting closer to the truth. He’s wearing down. He’s talking now about his hair.

There are times when people have made a special commitment of their life to God. Maybe at a retreat, maybe just at a time where God has really spoken to their heart and they responded and they’ve made their determination, “I’m gonna really live my life now for God.” And the phone rings and it’s one of their friends and they say, “Come on over tonight. We’re gonna have a party. Someone’s got a keg,” you know and “we’re gonna have a good time.”

Now this is the life you say, “Hey, I’m not gonna do that anymore. I know that that life is a life of folly. I’m not gonna enter that anymore and I’m gonna live for Christ.” You’ve made that commitment within your heart but now here’s the invitation and you say, “Ah, thanks. I really appreciate you calling me but I don’t feel so good tonight. I think I’m gonna go to bed early.”

And they say, “Oh, that’s too bad. We’re really gonna have a blast, you know.” You think “Wow. All right, chalk one up for victory,” you know “I didn’t go.” But wait a minute. You weren’t totally honest either and what you have actually done is left the door open for another invitation.

Now, if when they called and said, “Come on over tonight. We got a keg. We’re gonna have a great time”, if you had said “I appreciate you calling but I’ve committed my life to Jesus Christ and I’m not gonna be doing any of that stuff anymore. I’m gonna just be living for the Lord because that’s the only way to live. Man, the time of the end is close and I’m gonna just really get it on for the Lord. None, no more of that stuff for me.” They’d never call you again.

You see, now you’re being honest, you’re being true. You’re closing the door, which we need to do on evil. We need to close the door on evil. We’re not always doing that. A lot of times we’re leaving the door open, little excuses so that the door is still open. This was Samson’s problem. He was leaving the door open but he is weakening. He’s breaking down.

And so again she caused him to go to sleep and she braided his hair into seven locks and for good measure they took spikes and pinned them to the planks of the floor. And then she said, “Samson, The Philistines are upon you.” And he jumped up and pulled the planks of the floor up with him and went out and took care of them. Now women know when everything else fails, try the tear route. And so Delilah began to turn on the tears. “You’ve been deceiving me. You don’t really love me. You’ve just been playing games with me. You don’t really love me.” You know, “You’re just making a fool out of me. Tell me Samson,” and she began to press him daily making it miserable for him.

So finally Samson said, “Look, all my life I’ve been a Nazarite unto God.” There it is; that was the secret of his strength. The word Nazarite is “separated.” “All of my life I’ve been separated unto God.”

The strength of Samson lay in his commitment in his life to God, which was done really before his birth. For before Samson was ever born, the angel of the Lord, in announcing to his mother that she was to have a son, told her never to bring a razor to his head, never to allow him to have anything from the vine, wine or whatever because he was to be a Nazarite from his birth unto God; separated unto God from his birth.

Now in Numbers, the sixth chapter, you have the law for the Nazarite. There were many times when a person wanted to have a special dedication of his life to God for a period of time. It’s more or less as the traditional lent period today where people, you know, make sort of a commitment prior to Easter and sacrifice or give up something for the lent period.

Well, in Israel they did the same kind of thing in a period, and usually before their feast days, the holy days of their feast, they would take a vow and separate their lives unto God. And according to the sixth chapter of Numbers, if you wanted to separate your life and take the vows of a Nazarite you were to bring no razor to your head and you were not to drink any wine, any vinegar made from grapes in a strong drink coming from grapes. You were not to drink any nectar or grape juice nor were you to eat any grapes themselves nor raisins nor anything that came from the grapevine.

Now the reason for that I don’t know but it was just kind of a self-denial. Raisins were one of the real delicacies in those days. They did not have canning processes or freezing of food in all in those days, so in the summer time they would dry their fruits and all winter long they would eat dried fruits, or you know they could take and cook up the apricots with some water and they’d have apricots. But they did not have any canning processes so the preserving process was always that of drying the fruit. So raisins were really a delicacy. It’s something they-it was something that they always had and enjoyed. And so it’s sort of a denial in order to make this consecration unto God for a period of time.

And then when you came to the end of that time that you have set for your consecration, then you shave all of your hair and then you bring it and offer it as a burnt offering unto God. It was just a sacrifice thing and you, you know, it was just the sacrifice. In Numbers, in the sixth chapter, tells of the vows of the Nazarite.

Now his was not to be a separation for a period of time. It was to be lifelong commitment and separation of his life to God, a lifelong type of consecration or commitment. And that was the secret of his strength. “I have been a Nazarite unto God.” I’ve been separated unto God. And therein his great strength did lie, that separation unto God or that Nazarite vow was indicated by his hair having never been cut.

And so he tells her, “I’ve been a Nazarite unto God. There’s never been a razor come to my head. If I would break that vow, if I would shave my head the vow would be broken. It would be over. Then I would be just like any other man.” He told her all that was in his heart. He laid his heart open before her. And it said that Delilah knew that this time he actually laid his heart open. He told her the truth.

And so she went out to the lords of the Philistines, she said, “We’ve got him.”

And so they all gathered together and again she relaxed him so he could go to sleep. You think “Oh, that poor stupid oaf.” You’d think that the guy would know better. You know, after all she’s done everything she said so far. He said tie me with new green vines, tie me with new ropes, braid my hair; she’s done the whole thing. He ought to know that she’s gonna do it. You’d think that he’d get out of there.

Paul said to Timothy, “To flee youthful lust which damned men’s soul in perdition.” Samson, sort of bolstered by the victories of the past, having become self-confident over the past power, went to sleep. Now you hear so often that Delilah cut off his hair. No she didn’t, she called a barber and while he was sleeping there on her lap the barber shaved his head.

And so she woke him up she said, Samson, the Philistines are upon you. And he jumped up, and he said, I’ll shake myself as times before. And he knew not that the LORD had departed from him ( Jdg 16:20 ).

As we move on in the Old Testament we’re gonna come upon an interesting king by the name of Asa, who at the beginning of his reign was facing a huge invading army of Ethiopians and Nubians. And he called upon the Lord and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel. And as he was coming back from victory over this huge army, the prophet of God came out to Asa and said, “The LORD is with you while you’ll be with Him, but if you forsake Him he will forsake you.” The Lord was with Samson as long as he kept that vow, even though he wasn’t always doing the right thing. Even though there was tremendous weakness in his own moral character, even though he was guilty of doing foolish things yet the Lord didn’t desert him until he deserted the Lord, until the vow was broken. But at this point he had strayed so far that he didn’t even know that the Lord had departed from him.

Now there is a spiritual kind of a blindness that afflicts people especially if you are fooling around in the enemy’s territory, trying to play around with sin, playing games on the enemy’s field. It is possible for you to stray from God and to get out, more or less, isolated and away from God, so caught up in your activities that you’re not really aware of the fact that anointing, that power of God is no longer upon your life.

Now there are many people who assume because the anointing God is still upon their life that God must be pleased with all that they are doing. That is a wrong conclusion. God does not immediately lift his anointing from a person’s life because they have failed or have faults. I heard so many people use the rational “but God still uses us” and thus, they take the fact that God is still using them as sort of God is approving what we are doing. If God wasn’t approving what we were doing then he would take his anointing and take his power from our lives. That isn’t always true. It’s a wrong rational. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance, but if you continue in that path you’re gonna get one day to the place were God’s spirit is removed from your life. You won’t know it maybe for a time. You’ll still be going on in the same old thing but you’ll not be seeing the affects and the results anymore.

He was blind to his own spiritual state. It is possible to be self-deceived about your own spiritual state. If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves; the truth isn’t in us. And there are a lot of self-diluted people as regarding to their own spiritual conditions. Samson was blind to the truth about his own spiritual condition. “He knew not that the Lord had departed from him” ( Jdg 16:20 ). But because the Lord had departed from him, he was weak just like any other man. And this man who at one time had slain a thousand of the Philistines with the unlikely weapon of a jawbone of a donkey is now held down by just a few of them as one brings a stick and gouges out his eyes while others grab him and bind him with chains of brass. And they lead him off to Gaza to put him in the prison where he is now grinding.

In those days they had their mills with a giant millstone. Some of them weighing several hundred pounds. And they would take these stones and lay them and carve into the stones little grooves around in a circle. And they would have a stone in the center of the circle with a whole that they had made in the top that would pivot around and around. And then they would have the giant round millstone that rolled around in this groove all the way around and a post going through it. And they would take an ox, as a rule, or a donkey and they would harness it to this post so that ox or donkey would just continue walking round and round in the circle as it would pull this millstone. And then the ladies would come and pour out their corn or their wheat or their barley into the little groove and as the millstone would roll over it, it would grind their wheat into flour. And this was usually the work of an ox or a donkey pushing this pole around to push the millstone around to grind the flour. It now became the occupation of Samson.

In my lifetime I’ve had some very boring jobs. One summer on the Irvine Ranch I piled beans. You ever pile beans all day? It has to be one of the most boring jobs in the world. You just walk up this row of beans and you know, you take your pitch fork and just go along and then you make a pile and you know you just go, and it is boring. And you wait for lunchtime but lunch is so far coming and then you wait for evening so you can get off work.

I picked tomatoes for Tewinkle over here in Costa Mesa on the bluffs when the whole area of Dover Shores used to be tomato fields and picking tomatoes is a boring job. You know you get a bunch of guys and of course you end up usually in tomato fights and time goes a little faster but it is just a boring job. There’s no challenge to it. Days seem like months.

Can you imagine how boring it would be if all day long you were just pushing this pole around in a circle? That would have to be a miserable life. No longer can you even see. You’re now forced totally within yourself and you have really nothing to look forward to. This was the condition of Samson.

And so they put out his eyes, they bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house ( Jdg 16:21 ).

I would like to suggest that this is perhaps one of the most colorful pictures of the affect of giving yourself over to unbridled lust, living in sin. Its ultimate affect upon you is blinding you to the truths of God, to the realities of God. Secondly, its affect is binding you by its power. You find yourself in the situation, no longer able to get out; you’re bound.

You began it as a lark, you began it as an excitement, you began it for thrills, for kicks, but in time it got its hold upon you and now you continue to do it though the kicks are no longer there. But you can’t get rid of it, you can’t quit it, you find yourself bound by the power of sin. And then it becomes a grind. You begin to hate yourself, you begin to hate what you’re doing but you have no way out, you can’t escape from it and you get into that grind and your life becomes miserable, your life becomes hopeless, you see no sense in trying to go on. You’re living in misery as it’s beginning now to grind away.

So Samson, an apt picture of the affects of sin; unbridled lust in a person’s life.

Howbeit, [the scripture tells us] the hair of his head began to grow again after they had shaved him ( Jdg 16:22 ).

Therein I see the marvelous grace of God. Samson had blown it. He had the potentials of greatness, he had the potential of delivering God’s people out of the hands of their enemies. Samson had the potential of going down in the history book as one of the mightiest and most glorious of all the deliverers of Israel. His name could’ve been alongside of David’s and Samuel’s, the marvelous deliverers of Israel. But he could not conquer his own passions, his own lust. And thus, there he is, blinded, bound, grinding; “Howbeit the hair on his head began to grow again.” ( Jdg 16:22 )

Therein is the gospel because all of us have sinned, all of us have come short of the glory of God, all of us have failed God, all of us have found ourselves trapped thinking that there’s no way out. But God is gracious and even though we have failed Him, He will not fail us and even though we have forsaken Him, if we will just turn back unto Him, He will be merciful and gracious.

On a boring job there’s plenty of time to think and I imagine Samson did a lot of thinking as he was pushing that post around. Thinking of what a fool he had been, going back and reliving the mistakes and thinking, “If I’d only done this. If I’d only done that. If I’d stayed out of Sorek. If I’d only walked away from Delilah. If I’d only, if I’d only” and living in those reflections of the past. Man, once mighty and powerful now shuffling with uncertain gate because he can’t even see where he’s going anymore. Brought down to the bottom but many times God has to bring us to the bottom so we’ll look up and he began to look up.

And I’m certain that as his hair began to grow again he felt within his heart, “God I’m gonna renew my consecration. I’m gonna renew my vow. But God what can you do with me now. Lord, what I have and what’s left here is yours. I’m gonna give my life to you such as it is.” Never can he achieve or attain what he could have, the full potential of his being, but Lord, at least you can have what’s left, the broken shell.

So the Philistines were having a huge gala party. They had gathered in the temple of their god, the god Dagon, people were on the roof crowded around the place. Someone got the brilliant idea, “Let’s bring that guy Samson that used to give us such a bad time. Bring him into the arena so we can see him shuffling around in his blinded condition. Let him stumble around, trip him and all and just so we can have a big laugh at the clumsiness of him now that he cannot see.”

And so they hurried down into the prison and they brought Samson from the prison into the temple and as he came in the laughs and the hoorahs went up as the people began to mock him and to jeer him and to make fun of him as he tried to make his way around the room in a strange place not able to see. One would put his foot out in front of Samson and Samson would trip and fall and everybody would roar and howl with laughter. That man who was such a nemesis is now so weakened and it delighted them.

Samson said, “O God, once more, just once more God. All I ask is once more. Let the anointing of your spirit come upon my life.”

David the psalmist, messing around also lost that sense of God’s spirit. After his sin with Bathsheba and after the death of his child, David repented and his repentance is given to us in the fifty-first psalm. And one of the pertinent prayers of David in the fifty-first psalm when he is asking God to cleanse him and according to God’s mercy blot out his transgression. One of the pertinent verses there he said, “And return thy Holy Spirit unto me.” O God again let me sense your presence, let me again sense your power. This was Samson’s prayer, “Lord once more I want to know your power in my life. And Lord I don’t want to live, I have nothing to live for now. Let me die with the Philistines.” His prayer unto God.

He said to the young boy who was leading him around, “Take me over to the pillars that hold this place up.” And the little boy innocently led him over to the pillars that held up the temple. He took hold in his right arm and left arm the two key pillars holding up the building. He said, “God I want the Philistines to be avenged for the eyes that they put out.” And by faith he began to pull and the Spirit of God came upon Samson and he pulled those pillars together. The temple of the god Dagon fell with the Philistines packed into it and three thousand of them were crushed to death. And Samson laid dead under the crushed Philistines. God’s grace allowed him to once more experience the power of God and he went out in the greatest victory of his life.

Jesus, in the New Testament said something that was very interesting in regards to his disciples, he said, “Ye are the salt of the earth but if the salt has lost its savor it is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under the foot of man.” Samson probably is a good illustration of this sort of allegory of Jesus, for God had chosen Samson to be the saving salt of Israel but because of the weakness of his flesh he lost his savor and he ended up crushed beneath the Philistines.

The sad story of Samson is being repeated however over and over as we see men with wasted potentials. God has endowed people with talents, abilities and they waste them because of the weaknesses of their own flesh. They never achieve, they never attain that full glory and power that God wants their lives to be. Wasted potential is the story of so many people. The tragic biography, wasted, his life was wasted. He could have done so much for God, he could have been such a power for God’s kingdom, he could have been so influential in bringing others to the Lord but his life was wasted. He was destroyed by the weakness of his own flesh “

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Here we have the sad and awful account of Samson’s relapse and final fall. He went to Gaza. It is easy to imagine how much there must have been in Gaza which should have appealed to one acting for the fulfillment of the divine purpose. There were idolatries and evil things against which he should have flung himself in force. But he did not. He was still swayed by the strength of his animal nature, and the tragic sentence is written, “. . .

Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot.”

In the midst of his sin, his enemies attempted to imprison him. He broke through by plucking up the gates of the city and carrying them to the top of an adjacent mountain. Even then, however, he did not learn his lesson and we see him in the toils of Delilah. At last she triumphed, and the man who had long since ceased to be in any deep sense a Nazarite was at last shorn of even the outward symbols of his vow.

There is nothing perhaps in the sacred writings at once more pathetically tragic than the vision of Samson with his eyes put out, grinding in the prison house of the Philistines. It is a picture and a parable needing no enforcement of exposition to make it powerful.

At last, out of the depths of his degradation, he cried to God, and in his death struck the heaviest blow at the people from whose oppression he ought to have delivered his people.

At this point ends the history of this Book. It is taken up again in the first Book of Samuel. The remaining chapters of the Book and the Book of Ruth have their chronological place in the period already surveyed.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

Playing with the Enemy

Jdg 16:1-14

Three women, one after another, brought Samson down. If only a noble woman could have influenced him, as Deborah did Barak, how different his record would have been. Let those who are eminent in spiritual capacity guard against the swing of their nature to the opposite, sensual side.

It is clear that Samsons strength was not wholly accounted for by huge stature nor massive muscles, else Delilah would not have needed to ask his secret; and he lost his strength, not merely because the razor deprived him of his hitherto unshorn locks, which lay in glossy ringlets at the feet of his temptress, but because he had yielded to her seductive wiles. We should have supposed that one or two experiences of her shameful treachery would have sufficed to put him on his guard and lead hip to flee from the spot, as did Joseph, Gen 39:12. But Samson lingered, as the moth which seems unable to resist the fascination of the flame, although already it has singed its wings, Pro 1:10-19. There is always a way of escape, but we must take it with instant eagerness, Gen 19:17-22.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

Jdg 16:6

This has been the question of the world to the Church from the beginning. Conscious of the fact that a spiritual force is in the midst of it, perceiving its power over men, the world asks again and again wherein consists the strength of the kingdom, which, even from its seeming contradictions, it is reluctantly sensible is not of the world.

I. The strength of Christianity lies in the continued activity of the living Christ. “I am He that liveth and was dead.” This is to the believer the only sufficient explanation of the history of the last eighteen centuries.

II. A second source of the strength of the Church is the power of its doctrine over the human soul. That power lies primarily in the very nature of the doctrine. Christianity at its first promulgation by our Lord and his Apostles was an appeal to the conscience-the moral sense, the innate religiousness of man-not so much to the wonder, the awe, the reverence, as to feelings more deeply seated in him; less to his imagination than to his spiritual constitution.

And the doctrine of Christianity has also all the force which belongs to definiteness. The human soul welcomes religion as a revelation of something beyond its own discovery, as to itself, the world around, and the future which lies before it.

Bishop Woodford, Sermon Preached at the Opening of Selywn College, Cambridge, Oct. 10th, 1882.

Jdg 16:15

At the close of Samson’s history we are taught how one of God’s own servants is lost in the country of God’s foes, and how God hears him and saves him in the far country. It is the old story, man backsliding and God restoring.

I. The very words which might represent the celestial entreaty of heavenly wisdom, are those of the most fascinating sin and temptation. The salvation of none of us depends upon our perception, but upon our strength.

II. Notice the manner of Samson’s fall: it was by the extortion of his secret; therefore has it been said, “Keep thine heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues,” or, which is the same thing, within it is the secret of life. The strength of life lies in having something we will not yield; something within, over which the tempter has no power. Samson renounced his profession as a Nazarite. That was the fatal step. He revealed the secret of the Lord to the scorn of the Philistines; he surrendered his sacred vow to the foes of the Lord.

III. In the spectacle of Samson asleep we see the carelessness of the tempted soul. Strength is gone; character is gone. Israel’s hero has lost himself. He surrendered the secret of the Lord, and awoke to find the Spirit of the Lord departed from him.

E. Paxton Hood, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xix., p. 388.

Jdg 16:17

Samson is unlike any other character in Scripture. Although the sphere in which he moved was a comparatively narrow one, he seems to have made a profound impression on the men of his time. The whole active life of Samson was spent in the district which bordered on the old Philistine frontier. He lived among the men of his own little tribe of Dan, and his history seems to have been compiled from its annals. His work consisted in a series of dashing exploits calculated to raise the hopes and spirits of his down-trodden countrymen, and to strike the Philistines with apprehension and terror, and thus he prepared the way for a more systematic and successful revolt in after times.

It was the turning-point in Samson’s career when he told his secret to Delilah. It was the passage of the Rubicon which separated his life of triumphant vigour from his life of humiliation and weakness. Until he spoke these words, he was master of his destiny; after he had spoken them, nothing awaited him but disaster and death.

I. The first thing that strikes us in this account of Samson’s ruin is the possible importance of apparent trifles to the highest well-being of life and character. Samson’s unshorn hair told other Israelites what to expect of him, and rebuked in his own conscience all in his life that was not in keeping with his Nazarite vow. The great gift of physical strength was attached to this one particular of Nazarite observation which did duty for all the rest. In itself it was a trifle whether his hair was cut or allowed to grow, but it was not a trifle in the light of these associations.

II. Samson’s history suggests the incalculably great influence which belongs to woman in controlling the characters and destinies of men. Delilah is the ruin of Samson; Deborah is the making of Barak. Deborah’s song suggests what Samson might have been had Delilah been only as herself.

III. Nothing is more noteworthy in this history than the illustration it affords of the difference between physical and moral courage. Samson had physical courage; it was the natural accompaniment of his extraordinary strength. But he lacked the moral strength which lies not in nerve, nor in brain, but in a humble yet vivid sense of the presence of God.

H. P. Liddon, Penny Pulpit, No. 1111.

Reference: Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iii., p. 358.

Jdg 16:20

Of all the heroes whose exploits we read in the Book of Judges, none so keenly awakens our sympathy, or so fully arrests our attention, as that solitary hero, Samson. His life is no romance of the past, but it is a type and picture of your life and mine, with its difficulties, temptations, and dangers. From the story of Samson we learn:-

I. The absolute necessity there is of our achieving a nobler morality, a higher level of religion, than is to be found in the mere conventional standards Which are rife around us. What was it made Samson strong? He refused to accept the low degraded religious standard which his contemporaries were content with. To him nothing short of a real harmony between the promise of God and the fact of his people’s freedom would be satisfactory.

II. On no account sacrifice your convictions. The conviction of Samson was that the dominion of God was absolute and irresistible, that the promises of God were true and everlastingly faithful. The force of conviction in your mind that Christ is true, that His Holy Spirit is a real power and influence in your heart, will make you strong, nay omnipotent, against all evil in the world.

III. Temptation comes gradually. It seems like a sudden catastrophe when Samson, who had been the glory of his people, the very hero of Dan, is led a nerveless and enslaved captive into the dungeons of the Philistines. Yet the progress of sin was very gradual over his heart. Inch by inch Delilah wearied out the strength of resistance, and then came the terrible catastrophe.

IV. With every sin there comes a blunting of that moral capacity by which you detect its presence-“He wist not that the Lord was departed from him.” No man is the same after sin; no man ever can be. Sow an act and reap a habit; sow a habit and reap a destiny.

V. Notice two thoughts arising from the story: (1) True convictions can be had from Christ alone. (2) Preserve the consecration of your whole life to Him.

Bishop Boyd Carpenter, Christian World Pulpit, vol. i., p. 299.

References: Jdg 16:20.-G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 413; Homiletic Magazine, vol. xiv., p 46; Parker, vol. vi., p. 169; S. Baring-Gould, One Hundred Sermon Sketches, p. 121. Jdg 16:20-21-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iv., No. 224. Jdg 16:21.-S. Baring-Gould, One Hundred Sermon Sketches, p. 87. Jdg 16:23.-W. Meller, Village Homilies, p. 79 Jdg 16:25,-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 316.

Jdg 16:28

I. To lose our vision is the doom of losing our strength. Impaired moral perception is one of the penalties we pay for depraved action. In Samson we behold what weakness everywhere is; in him we behold what it is for the will not to be master in its own house; borne along by the vehemence of ungovernable impulses.

II. But there came an hour of triumph and recovery for Samson. He had still one resource: he had the voice of prayer; he had still power with God. The building we may conceive of as rude and frail, rough, cyclopean, in harmony with the style of the architecture of that time. It was the temple of the great Merman, or Fish-god. Possibly Samson was brought out to attempt some exhibition of his strength. It is not impossible that the Philistines intended that he should sell his life by some daring hazard, some blind gladiatorship, some display of strength in contest with beasts let loose upon him.

III. Samson’s death is not to be regarded as suicide. If so, then every death in battle is suicide; every death that looks forward to a great possibility is suicide. It is not at all clear that Samson intended to kill himself. As he thought of old times he felt within him again the pulses of spiritual strength. His spirit kindled to the height of his great prayer, and as the building fell, he bowed his head and expired like a victor in the moment of victory.

E. Paxton Hood, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xix., p. 407.

References: Jdg 16:30.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vi., p. 81; J. M. Neale, Sermons in Sackville College, vol. iii., p. 388. Jdg 17:3.-G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 261. Jdg 17:6.-Parker, vol. vi., p. 124. 13.-Ibid., p. 236. Jdg 18:9.-Homiletic Magazine, vol. viii., p. 261. Jdg 18:9, Jdg 18:10.-J. M. Neale, Sermons in Sackville College, vol. ii., p. 330. Jdg 18:24.-S. Baring-Gould, One Hundred Sermon Sketches, p. 109. Jdg 18:26.-Parker, vol. vi., p. 170. 19-Ibid, p. 144. Jdg 20:3.-Ibid., p. 170. Jdg 21:3.-Ibid., p. 151. See on Judges, Expositor, 3rd series, vol. iii., p. 115.

Fuente: The Sermon Bible

CHAPTER 16 Delilah, and Samson

1. In Gaza (Jdg 16:1-3)

2. Delilah and her victory over him (Jdg 16:4-20)

3. The captive of the Philistines (Jdg 16:21)

4. The feast of Dagon and Samsons death (Jdg 16:22-31)

Down he goes again, and this time to Gaza, the Philistine stronghold. There he unites himself with a harlot. We are here reminded of the history of the Church. The harlot typifies that system which in Revelation is called by the same name, she who seduces to commit fornication, Babylon the great, Rome. Rome is the capital of Philistinism, ritualistic Christendom, as Gaza was the capital of the Philistines. But the attempt of the Philistines to kill him fails. He carries the gates, posts and bars of the city and took them to the top of the hill before Hebron. We may see in it a little picture of the recovery from the power of the harlot in the Reformation movement. But it was not Samsons last visit and farewell to Gaza. We shall see him there again, stripped of his power, his eyes put out, a ridiculed captive. We find him first at Sorek. He is entangled with Delilah, which means exhausted. He loves her and she becomes the fearful instrument of his downfall. She is the type of the world, the fair, pleasure-loving, religious world, which aims, like Delilah, to rob the true Nazarite of his separation, the real power of the Christian life. It would take pages to describe the subtleties, the cunning ways, the wiles of the fair Delilah of the last days. And even then we would have to say not the half has been told. And how she presses upon the Nazarite! Again and again he deceives her and keeps his secret. He knows well she is after his destruction. Like a moth attracted to the light though burning awaits it, he goes back to the dangerous sport, till at last, vexed unto death, he tells her his secret. Again he sleeps upon her knees. The locks of hair fall under the razor. Then she, the fair Delilah, afflicts him. Her caresses become blows and his strength went from him. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. Alas! the sad story, how it has been repeated in the individual experiences of many believers. Flirting with the unholy principles of this present evil age is a dangerous thing. Loving the world will end, if unchecked, in disaster for the child of God. And the remedy is the close walk in heart dependence and heart devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. And thus it has happened and still more happens in our days with the Church. Stripped of her strength, her confessed weakness, lowliness, separation and utter dependence on the Lord, the Philistines have come upon her, lulled to sleep by Delilahs wiles. There is a shaking too, like Samsons shaking. Efforts are made by a powerless Church and they do not know that the power is no longer there, for the Spirit is grieved and quenched. That is the sad state of the professing Church as seen in those of Laodicea (Rev 3:14-17).

Oh, the sad picture of the Nazarite shorn of his locks, naked in this sense; eyes put out, blind, bound in fetters, grinding in the mill! What sport the Philistines had with him! And is a Church robbed of power, naked and blind, not a sadder spectacle? The end of Samson was a great victory. He had learned his lessons. Thoroughly humbled and chastised he must have repented of all his sin and folly. His hair grew again. He cries to Jehovah between the pillars, where he made sport. Then follows his prayer. O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me; I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. Then he bowed himself, and an awful catastrophe follows when the house collapsed and he and the vast multitude of Philistines were slain and buried in the ruins.

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

Gaza: Gaza, a city of great antiquity, was situated between Raphia and Askelon, twenty-two miles north of the former, and sixteen south of of the latter, according to the Antonine Itinerary; three miles from the sea, according to Arrian, and thirty-four from Ashdod or Azotus, according to Diodorus Siculus. It was a place of great strength and importance; and successively belonged to the Philistines, Hebrews, Chaldeans, and Persians; which latter defended it for two months against Alexander the great, who finally took and destroyed it. It was afterwards rebuilt, and alternately possessed by the Egyptians, Syrians, and Jews. The present town, which the Arabs call Razza, is situated on an eminence, and is rendered picturesque by the number of fine minarets which rise majestically above the buildings, with beautiful date trees interspersed. It contains upwards of 2,000 inhabitants. Gen 10:19, Jos 15:47

an harlot: Heb. a woman an harlot

and went: Gen 38:16-18, Ezr 9:1, Ezr 9:2

Reciprocal: Gen 3:6 – saw Gen 38:2 – saw Jos 10:41 – Gaza Jdg 1:18 – Gaza 1Sa 6:17 – Gaza 1Ki 4:24 – Azzah Pro 7:8 – General 1Co 6:16 – an harlot

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Samson went in to a harlot at Gaza, which the text does not say was of the Lord as had been the earlier marriage arrangement at Timnath. The Gazites surrounded the city and waited for daybreak to kill him. At midnight, he tore the gates, posts and all, out of the ground and carried them about a half mile distant to a hill facing Hebron (16:1-3).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

Jdg 16:1. And saw there a harlot Although the Hebrew word , zoneh, here rendered harlot, also means a woman that keeps an inn, it seems evident, on the face of the story, that this woman really was what our translators have taken her to have been, a harlot. Samson, it seems, going into a house of public entertainment to refresh himself, saw there this woman, and by giving way to look upon her was insnared.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Jdg 16:1. A harlot, at Gaza, one of the five strong cities of Philistia. The Hebrew is the same as Joshua 2., hostess, as some would read, but our version follows the other opinion.

Jdg 16:3. Took away the doors of the gate, and carried them about seven miles, as stated by a German traveller.

Jdg 16:4. Delilah, a woman of Philistia. Some rabbins say, she was his wife; others, only his concubine. She was a woman of strong understanding, for none else can be consummately wicked.

Jdg 16:13-14. If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. The Vulgate here supplies a defect which seems to be in the Hebrew. It adds, And wrappest them round upon a pin, and drivest the pin on which they are wrapped into the earth [or floor] I shall be weak. It is difficult to say whether there was a loom in the room or not.From this history, the fable of Nisus is thought to have been derived. He was king of the Megarians; and being allied with the Athenians, was besieged by Minos king of Crete, their enemy. But the efforts of the invader had proved abortive, had not Sylla, daughter of Nisus, fallen in love with Minos; and to accomplish her wishes, she betrayed her father and her country by cutting off from his head a purple or golden lock, on which the happiness of his kingdom depended. Ovid, lib. 8.

Jdg 16:21. Put out his eyes. His passions having done this first to his mind, God permitted it to fall on his body.

Jdg 16:23. Dagon. Eusebius, Prp. lib. 1., refers this to Zeus or Jove. Others describe the figure as a demi-woman, with the posterior of a fish; for dag signifies a fish. So Horace.

Desinit in piscem mulier formoso supern.

Jdg 16:27. The house. The temple was full of men and women, besides three thousand on the roof, so that five thousand at least must have perished, while mocking a fallen prince. They did not know that his hair had grown in prison. It is dangerous to mock a fallen professor, while suffering the visitation of God for his sins. Samson died by divine permission, about the age of forty years: his sun went down at noon.

Jdg 16:29. The two middle pillars on which the house stood. Sir Christopher Wren, our great architect, thinks that this building was an oval amphitheatre. The scene in the middle was a vast roof of cedar beams, resting round upon the walls, centered all upon one short architrave that united the cedar pillars in the middle; one pillar would not be sufficient to unite at least one hundred beams which tended to the centre.Now if Samson, by his miraculous strength pressing upon one of those pillars, moved it from its base, the whole roof must of necessity fall. Perentalia, p. 359.

REFLECTIONS.

Having surveyed the birth and life of this extraordinary man, we now come to consider his tragic death, which seems to have come as a punishment for his personal sins, and for vengeance on the Philistines, who believed not the wonders of the Lord. Our Saviour, making the distinction between miracles and grace, says, that many who have done wonderful works in his name will not be acknowledged at his coming: and whatever blindness and imprisonment might do in the regeneration of Samsons soul, we now find him far from the character of a holy man.

Having by the divine mercy and power escaped death at Gaza, instead of being warned, he presently fell into another snare from which the Lord would not deliver him. In a course of time he saw Delilah in the vale of Sorek: this Ganymede, this Astarba rather, was tutored to intrigue. According to the rabbins she was Samsons wife; having taken advantage of his passion to procure the endowments of marriage. So consummate was her character, that she had a command of tears at pleasure, and carried her countenance in her hand. On the first overture, and during the first month, she hired herself as the traitor of her amorous husband. After completing the plot, and filling an apartment of her house with guards, she persevered in importunities, which in appearance proceeded from the jealousy of love, and so ardent that she must either know the secret cause of Samsons strength or die with anguish: and while she really sought the ruin of the unsuspecting and generous hero, she affected to play with Samson to know the reality of his love, but the snare was laid for his life. Nor did she desist from the arduous contest till she saw him deprived of his locks, deprived of his sight, and led away in chains, exposed to all the insults of a triumphant foe. Thus she sold and betrayed a husband who ought to have been her greatest glory, and had nothing left but the rewards of Judas; her hire, and her conscience.

But ah, Samson, mighty Samson: is it really Samson, that the slaves and the rabble of Gaza now insult with impunity? Why breakest thou not thy bonds? Why dost thou not slay them in a moment? Why dost thou suffer the uncircumcised to insult thy God, and give all the glory to Dagon? Where is thy indignant soul which scattered armies, and made the earth to tremble at thy name? Is thy strength fled; are thy locks shorn? What, hast thou lost thy God in the house of adultery? Ah, thy strength is gone, thy glory departed. This is the fruit of despising the parents advice in marriage, of suffering thy concupiscence to lurk unmortified. Hadst thou fallen in battle for thy country, immortality would have attended thy name. But to fall by the worst of womenah tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon. Well: go in silence to the prison, grind at the mill, weep for thy sins, and thy hair shall yet grow, that God may have mercy on thy soul. Let thy sad case teach all future ages, that to conquer inordinate passions is the greatest glory which can attend the character of man.

After all, we see mercy mixed with justice. Samsons eyes were now put out, a just requital for gazing on unhallowed beauty; but that was better than the having eyes to gaze on sin. His feet were fettered in the mill; but that was safer than to deviate from the paths of purity. His soul was assailed with anguish and remorse, with the insults of the heathen, and the horrors of the prison; but these were preferable to the caresses of Delilah. Here his hair grew with time, and his strength returned by repentance. Thus heaven is often obliged to humble and afflict some who revolt against its favours and love; otherwise their salvation would be impossible.

We come now to the closing scene; and greatness in misery should never excite insult, but instruction. The fame of Samson had filled the east, and his captivity was accounted the highest favour of the gods to Philistia. Now all the lords and rulers, accompanied with a crowd of the best families in the country, assembled to give thanks to Dagon for deliverance from so great a foe. But devotion was not the real object of the day; it was derision, and wanton insult to a degraded Nazarite, and a fallen prince; it was insult to heaven, the Author of Samsons works. This was the height of crime; the scale turned with the weight of guilt. Scarcely had this profane crowd completed their applauses of Dagon, and their insults to JEHOVAH; scarcely had they consummated the whole of their derision of the captive hero, than weary of life, and unable to hear his God derided, he asked permission of heaven so to die, as to close his mission with hope to Israel. Feeling a return of all his former soul, in a moment, he shook the pillars from their base, and hurled the guilty crowd to the bar of heaven; while he himself, bursting all the fetters of Philistia and of death, enrolled his name among the patriarchs who died in faith. So also Elijah, persecuted of Jezebel, prayed saying, Let me die, for I am not better than my fathers. So more especially the Lord Jesus, extending his arms on the cross, shook the earth, vanquished death, and gave the powers of darkness a final fall. No one attempts to implicate Samson in the guilt of suicide: that would make the Lord a party in the crime. This last act was all glorious, achieved in the divine counsel, and in the divine power.

Samson was indeed a type of Christ. The primitive fathers, and the most illustrious doctors of the church, have with one consent considered him as such: not indeed in his errors, but in his divine endowments. His name and birth were announced by an angel, when his mother, like Sarah, was barren. He was a Nazarite, endowed with unlimited powers. He rent the lion, and carried away the gates of his enemies. He vanquished every foe, as Christ overcame the world. He was cruelly betrayed, was bound with bonds, was mocked and insulted at his death. He died willingly, praying to the Father; he destroyed his enemies, and broke the yoke of the oppressor. In all these views he was a figure of him that was to come.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Jdg 16:1-3. Samson Carries off the Gates of Gaza.Gaza was the last coast town on the way down to Egypt, about 30 m. from Samsons home; to-day a town of 16,000 inhabitants.

Jdg 16:2 b does not agree with Jdg 16:2 a. There would be no need to keep watch by night, when the gates were closed. The Philistines were quiet all the night, i.e. they took no precautions. Probably the words compassed . . . city are a later addition.

Jdg 16:3. The gate consisted of two wings, which were flanked by two posts and secured by a bar let into the posts. Samson pulled the posts out of the ground, put the whole framework on his shoulders, and carried it to the top of the hill that faces Hebron, 40 m. from Gaza.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

16:1 Then went Samson to {a} Gaza, and saw there an harlot, {b} and went in unto her.

(a) One of the five chief cities of the Philistines.

(b) That is, he lodged with her.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

4. Samson’s final fatal victory ch. 16

To this point in his history Samson had demonstrated some faith in God, even though "the exploits of Samson read like the actions of an uncontrollable juvenile delinquent." [Note: Cundall and Morris, p. 155.] However, his unwillingness to remain dedicated to God resulted eventually in his loss of strength, his enslavement, and his death.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Samson’s weakness and strength at Gaza 16:1-3

Gaza lay on the sunny Mediterranean coast in the heart of Philistine territory. It was probably a popular vacation site for compromising Israelites as well as the Philistines. Perhaps Samson went there to enjoy the amusements that flourish in such places and to show off his physique on the "muscle beach" of his day. As the judge assigned to destroy the Philistines, his presence there for recreational purposes was inappropriate to say the least. It also reveals his great self-confidence since after 20 years of judging Israel he was undoubtedly a wanted man in Philistia. In contrast, Samuel, who was only a few years younger than Samson, was at this time ministering as a faithful circuit-riding judge in Israel’s heartland (1Sa 7:15-17). Samson’s birth was probably close to 1123 B.C. and Samuel’s about 1121 B.C. [Note: See my notes on 1 Samuel.]

Samson’s weakness for women stands out in the record of his evening with the Gaza prostitute (Jdg 16:1). This was unquestionably inappropriate behavior for a Nazirite whom God had called to deliver Israel from the very enemy he was romancing. Any reference to the leading of the Lord is notably absent here (cf. Jdg 14:4). Samson’s weakness contrasts with his strength throughout this chapter. Here we see his moral and spiritual weakness.

Why did God continue to use Samson since he was so morally impure? Part of the answer has to be that God had chosen to use him and was patient with him. God’s patience allowed Samson the opportunity to repent and to experience God’s blessing instead of His judgment (cf. 2Pe 3:9; 1Co 11:31). Unfortunately Samson responded to God’s patience by taxing it to its limit. While the heavenly Father is patient, He is not permissive. That is, He does not allow unacceptable behavior to continue indefinitely without discipline.

Evidently the men of Gaza decided that they would capture Samson as he left the city the next morning. Consequently they slept at the gate of the city that night (Jdg 16:2). Samson left early, however, about midnight. Presumably God caused Samson’s enemies to sleep through his exit. Pulling the city gateposts out of the ground and carrying off the whole gate with its bar and frame must have caused considerable noise.

"As the gates of ancient cities were often nail-studded and covered with metal to prevent them from being burnt during an attack, the weight may have been greater than that of the timber itself." [Note: Cundall and Morris, p. 174. For a diagram of a typical city gate complex and a discussion of the difficulty of removing the gates undetected, see Block, Judges . . ., p. 450.]

It is not clear how far Samson carried the gates. The mountain "opposite Hebron" (Jdg 16:3) is the site in question. Some writers believed Samson carried the gates 40 miles to a hill opposite Hebron. [Note: E.g., Block, Judges . . ., p. 451.] Many commentators believed that the writer had in mind a hill overlooking Gaza in the direction toward Hebron. [Note: E.g., Wood, Distressing Days . . ., p. 326; and Lindsey, p. 407.] This is the traditional interpretation. Hebron stood about 38 miles east of Gaza and at a higher elevation. It occupied the highest hill in southern Canaan. While Samson may have been able to carry the gates all the way to Hebron, his purpose in transporting them seems to have been to mock the men of Gaza. He would probably have impressed them significantly enough if he had planted the gates at the top of the nearby hill that was clearly visible from Gaza. The traditional interpretation appeals to me for this reason. Here the emphasis is on Samson’s superhuman physical strength.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

PLEASURE AND PERIL IN GAZA

Jdg 16:1-3

By courage and energy Samson so distinguished himself in his own tribe and on the Philistine border that he was recognised as judge. Government of any kind was a boon, and he kept rude order, as much perhaps by overawing the restless enemy as by administering justice in Israel. Whether the period of twenty years assigned to Samsons judgeship intervened between the fight at Lehi and the visit to Gaza we cannot tell. The chronology is vague, as might be expected in a narrative based on popular tradition. Most likely the twenty years cover the whole time during which Samson was before the public as hero and acknowledged chief.

Samson went down to Gaza, which was the principal Philistine city situated near the Mediterranean coast some forty miles from Zorah. For what reason did he venture into that hostile place? It may, of course, have been that he desired to learn by personal inspection what was its strength, to consider whether it might be attacked with any hope of success; and if that was so we would be disposed to justify him. As the champion and judge of Israel he could not but feel the danger to which his people were constantly exposed from the Philistine power so near to them and in those days always becoming more formidable. He had to a certain extent secured deliverance for his country as he was expected to do; but deliverance was far from complete, could not be complete till the strength of the enemy was broken. At great risk to himself he may have gone to play the spy and devise, if possible, some plan of attack. In this case he would be an example of those who with the best and purest motives, seeking to carry the war of truth and purity into the enemys country, go down into the haunts of vice to see what men do and how best the evils that injure society may be overcome. There is risk in such adventure; but it is nobly undertaken, and even if we do not feel disposed to imitate we must admire. Bold servants of Christ may feel constrained to visit Gaza and learn for themselves what is done there. Beyond this too is a kind of adventure which the whole church justifies in proportion to its own faith and zeal. We see St. Paul and his companions in Ephesus, in Philippi, in Athens and other heathen towns, braving the perils which threaten them there, often attacked, sometimes in the jaws of death, heroic in the highest sense. And we see the modern missionary with like heroism landing on savage coasts and at the constant risk of life teaching the will of God in a sublime confidence that it shall awaken the most sunken nature; a confidence never at fault.

But we are obliged to doubt whether Samson had in view any scheme against the Philistine power; and we may he sure that he was on no mission for the good of Gaza. Of a patriotic or generous purpose there is no trace; the motive is unquestionably of a different kind. From his youth this man was restless, adventurous, ever craving some new excitement good or bad. He could do anything but quietly pursue a path of duty; and in the small towns of Dan and the valleys of Judah he had little to excite and interest him. There life went on in a dull way from year to year, without gaiety, bustle, enterprise. Had the chief been deeply interested in religion, had he been a reformer of the right kind, he would have found opportunity enough for exertion and a task into which he might have thrown all his force. There were heathen images to break in pieces, altars and high places to demolish. To banish Baal worship and the rites of Ashtoreth from the land, to bring the customs of the people under the law of Jehovah would have occupied him fully. But Samson did not incline to any such doings; he had no passion for reform. We never see in his life one such moment as Gideon and Jephthah knew of high religious daring. Dark hours he had, sombre enough, as at Lehi after the slaughter. But his was the melancholy of a life without aim sufficient to its strength, without a vision matching its energy. To suffer for Gods cause is the rarest of joys, and that Samson never knew though he was judge in Israel.

We imagine then that in default of any excitement such as he craved in the towns of his own land he turned his eyes to the Philistine cities which presented a marked contrast. There life was energetic and gay, there many pleasures were to be had. New colonists were coming in their swift ships, and the streets presented a scene of constant animation. The strong eager man, full of animal passion, found the life he craved in Gaza, where he mingled with the crowds and heard tales of strange existence. Nor was there wanting the opportunity for enjoyment which at home he could not indulge. Beyond the critical observation of the elders of Dan he could take his fill of sensual pleasure. Not without danger of course. In some brawl the Philistines might close upon him. But he trusted to his strength to escape from their hands, and the risk increased the excitement. We must suppose that, having seen the nearer and less important towns such as Ekron, Gath, and Ashkelon he now ventured to Gaza in quest of amusement, in order, as people say, to see the world.

A constant peril this of seeking excitement, especially in an age of high civilisation. The means of variety and stimulus are multiplied, and ever the craving outruns them, a craving yielded to, with little or no resistance, by many who should know better. The moral teacher must recognise the desire for variety and excitement as perhaps the chief of all the hindrances he has now to overcome. For one who desires duty there are scores who find it dull and tame and turn from it; without sense of fault, to the gaieties of civilised society in which there is “nothing wrong,” as they say, or at least so little of the positively wrong that conscience is easily appeased. The religious teacher finds the demand for “brightness” and variety before him at every turn; he is indeed often touched by it himself and follows with more or less of doubt a path that leads straight from his professed goal. “Is amusement devilish?” asks one. Most people reply with a smile that life must be lively or it is not worth having. And the Philistinism that attracts them with its dash and gaudiness is not far away nor hard to reach. It is not necessary to go across to the Continent where the brilliance of Vienna or Paris offers a contrast to the grey dulness of a country village; nor even to London where amid the lures of the midnight streets there is peril of the gravest kind. Those who are restless and foolhardy can find a Gaza and a valley of Sorek nearer home, in the next market town. Philistine life, lax in morals, full of rattle and glitter, heat and change, in gambling, in debauchery, in sheer audacity of movement and talk, presents its allurements in our streets, has its acknowledged haunts in our midst. Young people brought up to fear God in quiet homes whether of town or country are enticed by the whispered counsels of comrades half ashamed of the things they say, yet eager for more companionship in what they secretly know to be folly or worse. Young women are the prey of those who disgrace manhood and womanhood by the offers they make, the insidious lies they tell. The attraction once felt is apt to master. As the current that rushes swiftly bears them with it they exult in the rapid motion even while life is nearing the fatal cataract. Subtle is the progress of infidelity. From the persuasion that enjoyment is lawful and has no peril in it the mind quickly passes to a doubt of the old laws and warnings. Is it so certain that there is a reward for purity and unworldliness? Is not all the talk about a life to come a jangle of vain words? The present is a reality, death a certainty, life a swiftly passing possession. They who enjoy know what they are getting. The rest is dismissed as altogether in the air.

With Samson, as there was less of faith and law to fling aside, there was less hardening of heart. He was half a heathen always, more conscious of bodily than of moral strength, reliant on that which he had, indisposed to seek from God the holy vigour which he valued little. At Gaza, where moral weakness endangered life, his well knit muscles released him. We see him among the Philistines entrapped, apparently in a position from which there is no escape: The gate is closed and guarded. In the morning he is to be seized and killed. But aware of his danger, his mind not put completely off its balance as yet by the seductions of the place, he arises at midnight and, plucking the doors of the city gate from their sockets, carries them to the top of a hill which fronts Hebron.

Here is represented what may at first be quite possible to one who has gone into a place of temptation and danger. There is for a time a power of resolution and action which when the peril of the hour is felt may be brought into use. Out of the house which is like the gate of hell, out of the hands of vile tempters it is possible to burst in quick decision and regain liberty. In the valley of Sorek it may be otherwise, but here the danger is pressing and rouses the will. Yet the power of rising suddenly against temptation, of breaking from the company of the impure is not to be reckoned on. It is not of ourselves we can be strong and resolute enough, but of grace. And can a man expect divine succour in a harlots den? He thinks he may depend upon a certain self-respect, a certain disgust at vile things and dishonourable life. But vice can be made to seem beautiful, it can overcome the aversion springing from self-respect and the best education. In the history of one and another of the famous and brilliant, from the god-like youth of Macedon to the genius of yesterday, the same unutterably sad lesson is taught us; we trace the quick descent of vice. Self-respect? Surely to Goethe, to George Sand, to Musset, to Burns that should have remained, a saving salt. But it is clear that man has not the power of preserving himself. While he says in his heart, That is beneath me; I have better taste; I shall never be guilty of such a low, false, and sickening thing-he has already committed himself.

Samson heard the trampling of feet in the streets and was warned of physical danger. When midnight came he lost no time. But he was too late. The liberty he regained was not the liberty he had lost. Before he entered that house in Gaza, before he sat down in it, before he spoke to the woman there he should have fled. He did not; and in the valley of Sorek his strength of will is not equal to the need. Delilah beguiles him, tempts him, presses him with her wiles. He is infatuated; his secret is told and ruin comes.

Moral strength, needful decision in duty to self and society and God-few possess these because few have the high ideal before them, and the sense of an obligation which gathers force from the view of eternity. We live, most of us, in a very limited range of time. We think of tomorrow or the day beyond; we think of years of health and joy in this world, rarely of the boundless after life. To have a stain upon the character, a blunted moral sense, a scar that disfigures the mind seems of little account because we anticipate but a temporary reproach or inconvenience. To be defiled, blinded, maimed forever, to be incapacitated for the labour and joy of the higher world does not enter into our thought. And many who are nervously anxious to appear well in the sight of men are shameless when God only can see. Moral strength does not spring out of such imperfect views of obligation. What availed Samsons fidelity to the Nazarite vow when by another gate he let in the foe?

The common kind of religion is a vow which covers two or three points of duty only. The value and glory of the religion of the Bible are that it sets us on our guard and strengthens us against everything that is dangerous to the soul and to society. Suppose it were asked wherein our strength lies, what would be the answer? Say that one after another stood aside conscious of being without strength until one was found willing to be tested. Assume that he could say, I am temperate, I am pure; passion never masters me: so far the account is good. You hail him as a man of moral power, capable of serving society. But you have to inquire further before you can be satisfied. You have to say, Some have had too great liking for money. Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of England, notable in the first rank of philosophers, took bribes and was convicted upon twenty-three charges of corruption. Are you proof against covetousness? because if you can be tempted by the glitter of gold reliance cannot be placed upon you. And again it must be asked of the man-Is there any temptress who can wind you about her fingers, overcome your conscientious scruples, wrest from you the secret you ought to keep and make you break your covenant with God, even as Delilah overcame Samson? Because, if there is, you are weaker than a vile woman and no dependence can be placed upon you. We learn from history what this kind of temptation does. We see one after another, kings, statesmen, warriors who figure bravely upon the scene for a time, their country proud of them, the best hopes of the good centred in them, suddenly in the midst of their career falling into pitiable weakness and covering themselves with disgrace. Like Samson they have loved some woman in the valley of Sorek. In the life of today instances of the same pitiable kind occur in every rank and class. The shadow falls on men who held high places in society or stood for a time as pillars in the house of God.

Or, taking another case, one may be able to say, I am not avaricious, I have fidelity, I would not desert a friend nor speak a falsehood for any bribe; I am pure; for courage and patriotism you may rely upon me:-here are surely signs of real strength. Yet that man may be wanting, in the divine faithfulness on which every virtue ultimately depends. With all his good qualities he may have no root in the heavenly, no spiritual faith, ardour, decision. Let him have great opposition to encounter, long patience to maintain, generosity and self-denial to exercise without prospect of quick reward-and will he stand? In the final test nothing but fidelity to the Highest, tried and sure fidelity to God can give a man any right to the confidence of others. That chain alone which is welded with the fire of holy consecration, devotion of heart and strength and mind to the will of God is able to bear the strain. If we are to fight the battles of life and resist the urgency of its temptations the whole divine law as Christ has set it forth must be our Nazarite vow and we must count ourselves in respect of every obligation the bondmen of God. Duty must not be a matter of self-respect but of ardent aspiration. The way of our life may lead us into some Gaza full of enticements, into the midst of those who make light of the names we revere and the truths we count most sacred. Prosperity may come with its strong temptations to pride and vainglory. If we would be safe it must be in the constant gratitude to God of those who feel the responsibility and the hope that are kindled at the cross, as those who have died with Christ and now live with Him unto God. In this redeemed life it may be almost said there is no temptation; the earthly ceases to lure, gay shows and gauds cease to charm the soul. There still are comforts and pleasures in Gods world, but they do not enchain. A vision of the highest duty and reality overshines all that is trivial and passing. And this is life-the fulness, the charm, the infinite variety and strength of being. “How can he that is dead to the world live any longer therein?” Yet he lives as he never did before.

In the experience of Samson in the valley of Sorek we find another warning. We learn the persistence with which spiritual enemies pursue those whom they mark for their prey. It has been said that the adversaries of good are always most active in following the best men with their persecutions. This we take leave to deny. It is-when a man shows some weakness, gives an opportunity for assault that he is pressed and hunted as a wounded lion by a tribe of savages. The occasion was given to the Philistines by Samsons infatuation. Had he been a man of stern purity they would have had no point of attack. But Delilah could be bribed. The lords of the Philistines offered her a large sum to further their ends, and she, a willing instrument, pressed Samson with her entreaties. Baffled again and again, she did not rest till the reward was won.

We can easily see the madness of the man in treating lightly, as if it were a game he was sure to win, the solicitations of the adventuress. “The Philistines be upon thee, Samson”-again and again he heard that threat and laughed at it. The green withes, the new ropes with which he was bound were snapped at will. Even when his hair was woven into the web he could go away with web and beam and the pin with which they had been fixed to the ground. But if he had been aware of what he was doing how could he have failed to see that he was approaching the fatal capitulation, that wiles and blandishments were gaining upon him? When he allowed her to tamper with the sign of his vow it was the presage of the end.

So it often is. The wiles of the spirit of this world are woven very cunningly. First the “overscrupulous” observance of religious ordinances is assailed. The tempter succeeds so far that the Sabbath is made a day of pleasure: then the cry is raised, “The Philistines be upon thee.” But the man only laughs. He feels himself quite strong as yet, able for any moral task. Another lure is framed-gambling, drinking. It is yielded to moderately, a single bet by way of sport, one deep draught on some extraordinary occasion. He who is the object of persecution is still self-confident. He scorns the thought of danger. A prey to gambling, to debauchery? He is far enough from that. But his weakness is discovered. Satanic profit is to be made out of his fall; and he shall not escape.

It is true as ever it was that the friendship of the world is a snare. When the meshes of time and sense close upon us we may be sure that the end aimed at is our death. The whole world is a valley of Sorek to weak man, and at every turn he needs a higher than himself to guard and guide him. He is indeed a Samson, a child in morals, though full grown in muscle. There are some it is true who are able to help, who, if they were beside in the hour of peril, would interpose with counsel and warning and protection. But a time comes to each of us when he has to go alone through the dangerous streets. Then unless he holds straight forward, looking neither to right hand nor left, pressing towards the mark, his weakness will be quickly detected, that secret tendency scarcely known to himself by which he can be most easily assailed. Nor will it be forgotten if once it has been discovered. It is now the property of a legion. Be it vanity or avarice, ambition or sensuousness, the Philistines know how to gain their end by means of it. There is strength indeed to be had. The weakest may become strong, able to face all the tempters in the world and to pass unscathed through the streets of Gaza or the crowds of Vanity Fair. Nor is the succour far away. Yet to persuade men of their need and then to bring them to the feet of God are the most difficult of tasks in an age of self-sufficiency and spiritual unreason. Harder than ever is the struggle to rescue the victims of worldly fashion, enticement, and folly: for the false word has gone forth that here and here only is the life of man and that renouncing the temporal is renouncing all.

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary

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