Chapter 99. Judges 16:1-211Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. 2And 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. 3And 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. 4And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5And 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. 6And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. 7And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. 8Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. 10And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound. 11And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. 12Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread. 13And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. 14And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. 15And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. 16And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; 17That 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. 18And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath showed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. 19And 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. 20And 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. 21But 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. (Judges 16:1‑21). Samson Taken.
ONE DAY, Samson went down to Gaza, a city of the Philistines, to spend the night. As soon as the inhabitants heard of it, they laid in wait for him thinking they would kill him on his going out in the morning. But Samson arose at midnight, and went out to the gate of the city, took the doors with the two posts and went away with them, bars and all, and carried them to the top of Mount Hebron. What wonderful strength God had given him! What power over his enemies! And yet not greater than that which is given to those who have faith in the Lord Jesus. He, Himself, said to His disciples: “Verily, I say unto you. If ye have faith, and doubt not, . . . . ye shall say to this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” (Matt. 21:2121Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. (Matthew 21:21).) So that the smallest child, with no strength of his own, if he goes to the Lord in prayer, believing that he shall receive, with all his needs, his troubles and his cares, the Lord will hear and answer him.
There was a woman of the Philistines whom Samson loved. To her, the Philistines went, and told her to find out from him whence his great strength came. If she succeeded in finding out, and would tell them, so that they could take him, they would give her eleven hundred pieces of silver. Delilah, who loved money better than Samson, said to him, “Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee?” Samson answered, “If they bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, then I shall be weak, and be as another man.” The woman then told the Philistines, who brought her the seven cords, and she bound him with them. In the meantime, some men had hidden themselves in the room, awaiting to take Samson. When Delilah thought she ‘had made him secure, she said, “The Philistines are upon thee, Samson.” Immediately he broke the cords as if they had been touched with fire. But Delilah said: “Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound?” Samson told her if they were to bind him with new ropes which had never been used, then he would become as weak as another man. Delilah quickly followed the suggestion, and taking the ropes she bound him with them, and said: “The Philistines are upon thee, Samson,” but he broke the ropes like little threads and escaped again from those who, as before, were hiding and waiting for him.
A third time, Delilah, begged him to tell her his secret, “Samson, hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound?” He answered, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with a web.” When Samson was asleep, Delilah wove his hair and fastened it with a pin; then she told him the Philistines were coming, and he awoke directly, and went away with the pin, the beam and the web.
Poor Samson thought that being so strong, put him beyond danger. He had forgotten that the path of disobedience is a dangerous one. He was not the man separate from evil, the Nazarite, that the angel had said he should be. He was the associate of a bad Philistine woman, contrary to God’s Word. We all think he might have seen that she was seeking his hurt, but God allowed him to be blind to it, because of his sin. It reminds us of that verse in 1 John 2:1111But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. (1 John 2:11), which tells us that those who walk in darkness, that is, in a path away from God, have their eyes blinded by darkness. It was the way with Samson, and so, when Delilah begged him until it grieved his soul, and told him he did not love her, else he would not have deceived her so, he told her, finally, that he was a Nazarite, and he was never to shave his head, or he should be like any other man. Delilah saw he had told her the truth this time, so she sent word to the lords of the Philistines and said, “Come once more: Samson has told me the truth.” The lords of the Philistines were glad to think that they should soon have their enemy in their hands, and came directly. The cruel woman, when Samson was asleep, called a man to shave off all Samson’s hair; when he had finished, she cried, “The Philistines are upon thee, Samson.” Samson arose and thought to do as at other times, but his strength was gone; God had taken it away. He could not defend himself now; his enemies came, and took him, put out his eyes and bound him in copper chains. They carried him to Gaza where they set him to grind at the wheel in prison. What a lesson is in this for us. If we go on with the world, making friends of those who do not love Jesus, we shall have no strength to resist evil, and Satan will lead us further and further away from God, to our eternal loss. We know, of course, that we have to meet dairy with those who are not saved, and often have to do with them in business, at school, etc. But it is finding our pleasures in them and with them, that is contrary to God’s will, for He says, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers ... Come out from among them, and be ye separate.” Read 2 Cor. 6:14-1814Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:14‑18).
ML 10/27/1912