Blinded by Love (Killed by it Too)

Judges 16:1–31 (CSB)

1 Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went to bed with her. 2 When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded the place and waited in ambush for him all that night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let’s wait until dawn; then we will kill him.” 3 But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate along with the two gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.

Well, Samson is not doing well with his choice in women.

First, he wants to marry a Philistine woman and gets so mad that he runs off without his bride so her dad gives her to another man. Which leads to Samson killing 1000 men with a donkey jawbone.

Now here he is in Gaza and is interested in a prostitute and sleeps with her.

This is an interesting story but the reason for its insertion is unknown.

We know one thing for sure - Samson has a problem with women from the Philistines.

Interesting thought - the end of chapter 13 says that Spirit of the Lord began to stir him. Seemingly, this stirring is pointing Samson towards the Philistines. Much like all of creation is designed to point us to God but people look at creation instead of the Creator, Samson is feeling led to the Philistines but he turns what God is calling him to do and instead of following God he follows his own physical desires.

The people heard Samson was there and laid in wait to get him but Samson didn’t wait until morning before leaving like they thought.

In a show of strength Samson lifted the gates of the city, the post they hung on and the hanging bar and all.

It does not say the Lord provided any special strength in this situation beyond what physical strength God has blessed him with from birth.

Another interesting thought - Samson spends a lot of time using his own abilities and his own strength in situations. Even in the worse cases we do not see Samson asking God for help but God helps anyway - this can only last a while until God allows us to be humbled so we recognize our need for Him.

This story sets the stage well for what is next - Samson may be able to uproot the gates of a major city and carry them forty miles uphill, but he cannot withstand the wiles of a woman.

4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley. 5 The Philistine leaders went to her and said, “Persuade him to tell you where his great strength comes from, so we can overpower him, tie him up, and make him helpless. Each of us will then give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”

We are not sure how much time elapsed but some did between the episode in vs1-3 and the Samson & Delilah story.

Samson’s issue isn’t that he liked women but it is the type of women he chooses.

The text does not use the words but by indicating where she is from tells us that Delilah is a Philistine.

The Philistine leaders know Samson has strength that is not normal so they go to Delilah and bribe her to find out the source of his strength - they offered her a large sum of money…

6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me, where does your great strength come from? How could someone tie you up and make you helpless?” 7 Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become weak and be like any other man.” 8 The Philistine leaders brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them. 9 While the men in ambush were waiting in her room, she called out to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he snapped the bowstrings as a strand of yarn snaps when it touches fire. The secret of his strength remained unknown. 10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and told me lies! Won’t you please tell me how you can be tied up?” 11 He told her, “If they tie me up with new ropes that have never been used, I will become weak and be like any other man.” 12 Delilah took new ropes, tied him up with them, and shouted, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But while the men in ambush were waiting in her room, he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread. 13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me all along and told me lies! Tell me how you can be tied up.” He told her, “If you weave the seven braids on my head into the fabric on a loom—” 14 She fastened the braids with a pin and called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” He awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin, with the loom and the web. 15 “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ ” she told him, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and not told me what makes your strength so great!” 16 Because she nagged him day after day and pleaded with him until she wore him out, 17 he told her the whole truth and said to her, “My hair has never been cut, because I am a Nazirite to God from birth. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be like any other man.” 18 When Delilah realized that he had told her the whole truth, she sent this message to the Philistine leaders: “Come one more time, for he has told me the whole truth.” The Philistine leaders came to her and brought the silver with them. 19 Then she let him fall asleep on her lap and called a man to shave off the seven braids on his head. In this way, she made him helpless, and his strength left him. 20 Then she cried, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When he awoke from his sleep, he said, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

Obviously, Delilah accepted the bribe to help catch Samson.

Samson, cocky as ever, toys with Delilah. Three times he tells her incorrectly but each one leads her closer to the truth. One number does tie each fib together, the number 7.

To be honest - why Samson would even answer her is beyond explanation.

The first answer, is to use 7 new bowstrings. Bowstrings were made of sinew. Sinew is a piece of animal tendon or possibly animal skin cut into thin strips. The stipulation that they be fresh was another thumb to his Nazarite vow (corpse flesh). Of course this didn’t work.

The second answer is to use 7 new ropes. Ironically in chapter 15 it was new ropes they used to tie him up which already has not worked. It doesn’t this time either.

The third answer is to weave the braids on his head into the fabric on a loom. Again, this does not work.

It should be said here that 3 times Delilah has asked the secret of his strength and 3 times she does to him what he said then calls out that the Philistines are there to get them and 3 times he sees she has lied. Fool me once - shame on you, fool me twice - shame on me, fool me three times well I deserve what I am about to get.

Yet again Samson is undone by means of emotional manipulation and persistent asking (aka - nagging).

He told her everything - “he bared his soul” - he goes as far as admitting that his strength is from God.

So, Samson is aware to some degree of his high theological and spiritual calling. He does not take this call seriously and like his strength and the people around him it is a toy to be played with not a calling to fulfill.

Delilah completes her mission and Samson’s hair is cut, she gets paid and he is taken captive.

The saddest words here are, “But he did not know the Lord had left him.”

21 The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles, and he was forced to grind grain in the prison. 22 But his hair began to grow back after it had been shaved.

I love how the New American Commentary lays out what has happened - “Overnight this man is transformed from one whose life is governed by sight and whose actions are determined by what is right in his own eyes into a blind man with eyes gouged out. Overnight a life of coming and going as he pleases turns into a life of bondage and imprisonment. Overnight the person who had spent his life insulting and humiliating others becomes the object of their humiliation. Overnight a man with the highest conceivable calling, the divinely commissioned agent of deliverance for Israel, is cast down to the lowest position imaginable: grinding flour for others in prison.”

Even in the midst of his humiliation we find a glimmer of hope in verse 22 - “But his hair began to grow back”

The sun may have set on one chapter but the sun will rise again…

23 Now the Philistine leaders gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said: Our god has handed over our enemy Samson to us. 24 When the people saw him, they praised their god and said: Our god has handed over to us our enemy who destroyed our land and who multiplied our dead. 25 When they were in good spirits, they said, “Bring Samson here to entertain us.” So they brought Samson from prison, and he entertained them. They had him stand between the pillars. 26 Samson said to the young man who was leading him by the hand, “Lead me where I can feel the pillars supporting the temple, so I can lean against them.” 27 The temple was full of men and women; all the leaders of the Philistines were there, and about three thousand men and women were on the roof watching Samson entertain them. 28 He called out to the Lord, “Lord God, please remember me. Strengthen me, God, just once more. With one act of vengeance, let me pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars supporting the temple and leaned against them, one on his right hand and the other on his left. 30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” He pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the leaders and all the people in it. And those he killed at his death were more than those he had killed in his life. 31 Then his brothers and his father’s whole family came down, carried him back, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. So he judged Israel twenty years.

The Philistines threw a party - they were not worried about Israel only Samson and now Samson is their prisoner and seemingly unable to hurt them any more.

The Philistine leaders gathered, these are the same ones who bribed Delilah. They came to worship their false god and make sport of Samson.

Take note, Delilah is no longer in the picture.

We do not know exactly how many people were there watching what was taking place. The scripture says there were 3000 on the roof and one could probably imagine at least that many were in the main area where Samson and the Philistine leaders were located.

In the end Samson does fully understand Who it is that gave him his strength and he also acknowledges his need for God’s help. Still, there is something off in his prayer.

Samson asks God for strength once more - his ask is so that he can extract vengeance for his eyes - ironically it was Samson’s eyes that got him in trouble each time as he “saw” a woman and then acted.

His final petition is to die with the Philistines - this chosen, set apart by God man wants to die with the uncircumcised Philistines - not at all what one vowed as a Nazarite should experience.

Samson reached out and pushed on the 2 columns and with one last act of strength pushed them over causing the whole place to collapse killing all those in attendance.

Take note - we again do not see the words telling us God’s Spirit was on Samson. I know we assume this because he prayed for strength and then was able to push the columns over but the Scripture does not say it… just a few verses before we are informed of his hair growing back. I believe God gave Samson the gift of strength as a sign of his Nazarite vow. I also believe that God supernaturally acted on Samson giving him MORE strength that he already had. What I am not clear on is it the first or the last which took place here.

God no doubt used Samson - sadly Samson killed more Philistines in his death than he did while alive. Through this event God did begin to deliver Isreal…

As mentioned before, Samson was judging for 20 years.