Judges - 11
Samson (Part 2)
In this second programme about Samson we think about “His Fame and his Fall.” Against the wishes of his family and the command of God, Samson went through with his marriage to the Philistine girl who lived in Timnah, but what trouble it brought! During the wedding celebrations Samson set a riddle for his Philistine companions: “Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong something sweet.” Samson was referring to honey that he had taken from the carcass of a lion he had killed, but the young men didn’t know this. Samson promised each of them a set of new clothes if they could solve the riddle before the time of feasting was over. They could not solve it and forced Samson’s wife to find the answer for them. After much persuading, Samson told her the answer and she secretly told the Philistines.
When Samson realised what had happened he was very angry and went to Ashkelon, twenty-three miles away on the coast, and, using the strength God had given him, he killed thirty Philistine men, took their clothes and gave them to those who had cheated him. Once more we see the Spirit of God driving Samson to confront the enemies of God’s people and bring judgement on them using the physical power he had been given.
There is a lesson we can draw from this. If you or I are to wage war successfully against wickedness and error it has to be by spiritual power from God. Our spiritual enemies may be within ourselves or in the world around us or possibly in the church. If we are weak spiritually, careless or prayerless we shall not win many battles, if any at all. Our spiritual power as believers comes from the Holy Spirit of God within us as we yield to Him and allow Him to fill us.
After the events surrounding his marriage Samson, burning with anger, left his wife and returned to his father’s house. Because he thought that Samson no longer loved her, the girl’s father gave her to someone else. When Samson found out, on a subsequent visit to see his wife, there were severe consequences for the Philistines. Samson destroyed their cornfields, their vineyards and their olive groves in an act of revenge. But the situation became worse and the Philistines then killed Samson’s wife and her father in retaliation. Samson responded to this murderous act by killing many of them.
After this he moved away eastwards to the region of Judah and lived in a cave at the rock Etam. The men of Judah pleaded with him to give himself up to the Philistines in case their overlords carried out some fearful reprisals. He allowed himself to be bound with two new ropes on the promise that the men of Judah would not kill him themselves but hand him over to their enemy. This they did, but Samson was not finished yet!
We read in Judges chapter fifteen verse fourteen that as the Philistines approached him, “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax and the bindings dropped from his hands.” He was ready for battle. We read that picking up the jaw-bone of a donkey he struck down a thousand men and gained another great victory in the strength given to him by God. After such exertion he felt that he would die of thirst. He called upon the Lord who answered him by bringing water from the rock. “When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived.”
Maybe you have experienced something like that after some great spiritual battle. You were tired, exhausted and in need of spiritual renewal. The Lord our God is the same today. He is still merciful in hearing our cries for refreshment and strengthening. Time and again, as we cry to Him, He brings us refreshment through his Word and as we pray.
Sadly, now we must turn to the fall of Samson. You will find this in chapter sixteen of Judges. Tragic Samson, so strong yet so weak, had not learned his lesson and returned yet again to Philistine territory. While in the city of Gaza he denied what he should have been as a Nazirite, dedicated to the Lord, by sleeping with a prostitute. His folly nearly cost him his life with the men of Gaza waiting to capture him. But the wily Samson slipped way in the middle of the night, lifting the city gates from their mountings. He carried them on his shoulders some thirty miles away to the east near the city of Hebron.
This further step of disobedience, involving himself with the enemies of God’s people, marked the beginning of Samson’s downfall. The pattern of his life had changed and he was disobeying God with greater ease as the time went by. Soon he would involve himself with Delilah, the woman who would destroy his character and cause him to lose his physical strength. By constant nagging, and in collusion with his Philistine enemies, Delilah got from Samson the secret of his God-given strength.
Even before he was born the Lord had said to Samson’s mother, “No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” This does not mean that it was his long hair that gave him superhuman strength. It was simply a sign, a reminder to Samson of his dedication to God. While he walked in obedience his Lord would be with him and he would experience the power of God’s Spirit upon him. But now Samson would become the victim of his own folly and disobedience. His enemies came and with Delilah’s help they cut of his hair and his strength was gone.
Again, we can draw a spiritual lesson from these events. Like Samson we can be easily led astray. One sin, one act of disobedience is followed by another. Soon a pattern is established it becomes easy to ignore the voice of conscience which grows quieter and quieter with each act of rebellion against God’s Word. Tragically Samson wasted all the blessings and power he had known and suffered the bitter consequences of his actions.
Have you ever had the sorrowful experience of putting your trust and affections elsewhere than in the Lord? Like Samson you have been betrayed, realising only too late that your spiritual strength was nearly gone. Keep close to the Lord Jesus for He has said that He is like a shepherd and his people are his sheep. They are to listen to Him and be led by Him and He will feed them by his Word. You can read about this in the Gospel of John chapter ten.
The tragic moment came for Samson when his enemies managed to cut off his hair while he slept. When he tried to resist capture later he found that he was helpless. Judges chapter sixteen verse twenty records the awful fact, “But he did not know that the Lord had left him.” How terrible to be without God or his power. How tragic for any servant of the Lord today to have lost spiritual power and go blithely on in ignorance. David, repentant of his sinfulness, declared his need of God’s Holy Spirit in his life. In Psalm fifty-one verse eleven he cries: “Do not take your Holy Spirit from me.” He had lost the fellowship and nearness and joy of the Lord because of his sin. The Spirit of the Lord never departs from any true child of God for He is in us, but that sense of his closeness and the realisation of his power is lost when we walk in disobedience as Samson did.
For Samson his failure meant capture, being blinded by the Philistines and being brought down to Gaza to grind corn in the prison house. In the process of time, however, Samson’s hair began to grow again. No doubt this reminded him of former days when God’s power came upon him and he won great victories over the enemy. Do you look back on times in your life when you knew more of God’s power and strength in your life? Was there a time when you lived victoriously for your Saviour? Are you now. Perhaps, like Samson, feeling that God is far away because of wrong things in your life that have not been repented of and forgiven? If so note carefully now what happened to Samson.
His enemies brought him into the temple of Dagon, their god. The crowds mocked and jeered at Samson who was now their humiliated victim. But as he experienced this torment Samson offered up to God one final, desperate cry for help: “O sovereign Lord, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more …” The wonder of it is that God heard and answered him!
New strength was given him and he caused the collapse of the temple, and Samson died along with all those in the house of Dagon the false god of the Philistines. Judgement fell on many who were God’s enemies that day. Yet how much more might have been accomplished if Samson had been true to God all through his life. He was the last of the judges and had ruled Israel for twenty years. He is a tragic warning of the dangers of playing fast and loose with God.
The way to victory for the people of God is by godly, faithful living. As it says in First Peter chapter two, verse nine, by our life we are to “proclaim the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.” Ask the Lord to help you to live consistently like that.