| “Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven” (Judges 16:22). |
| “And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God … strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes” (Judges 16:28). |
| “So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life” (Judges 16:30). |
| When Samson was in prison, his hair began to grow again. This is a picture of restoration in his soul, for it appears that Samson realized that he had failed in being a true Nazarite. If you and I fail in being totally devoted to the Lord, we may suffer for it, as Samson did. But the Lord is gracious, and Samson begins to recover some of his strength. |
| Sometime later the Philistines held a big party, and sacrificed to their false god Dagon. There were thousands of them, all gathered together to honor their god. They praised him, for they said that it was Dagon who had allowed them to capture Samson, and humiliate him. Then they called for Samson to be brought into the big arena where they were gathered, so that they could make fun of him. Apparently they put Samson between two of the big pillars that supported the arena. |
| The Lord was going to show those Philistines who the true God was. It was the Lord who had allowed poor Samson to be captured, but He would not allow the Philistines to say that it was the power of their false god that had done this for them. When Samson prayed to the Lord, He strengthened Samson so that he broke the two main pillars of the place, and of course it fell down, killing thousands of people. But Samson died too. |
| Again, all this is a lesson to us. The Lord proved that He was the true God, but Samson died too, and he was probably still a young man. However, it is interesting to notice that he killed more Philistines when he died, than in the whole of his life before. His end was better than his whole life, for the Lord was gracious to him. But it was a sad way to end up. He could have led a far more victorious life if he had been obedient. |
