Samson's Demise at the Hands of Worldiness

Intro - Samson the Judge.. of what?

Judges 16:1 “Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her.”

Judges 14:1 “Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines.”

Not only is Samson back where he started, not growing in character, but the author wants to tell us something with it- End of chapter 15 says he judged Israel for 20 years. That phrase generally signifies the end or summary of a persons life. Chapter 16 is that final chapter in Samson’s life, the last sequence of bizarre happenings. Samson’s end, begins with his fall back into unrepentant sin.

Samson is a sufferer of what we call worldliness. Worldliness in the bible is defined as adopting the values, desires, priorities, and lifestyle of the fallen world in opposition to God’s calling or will your life.

We see with Samson, he is a man called by God, appointed by God and equipped by God- but it is his unrepentant sin that leads to his fall. It is his love for the world, that will be his demise.

If you walk away with one thing today from my message, I’d love for it to be this: it doesn’t matter what you have in terms of skill or experience, what you can bring in terms of how you serve or how much you serve and how generous you can possibly be, it doesn’t even matter if you’ve been in vocational ministry- worldliness is a sin that seeks to bring God’s people, His heroes down low. It seeks to unravel ministries, diminish legaices and tarnish character. However, even when we don’t finish well- God’s grace is sufficient for us. Ultimately, it never is and never was about what we can do for God- but what God has done for us- securing a victory in the life and death of His son Jesus Christ.

We still need to be aware of how a love for the world can distract us from God’s calling, and we will see that in this passage today: Samson’s unrepentant sin leads to his fall.

Samson’s Unrepentant Sin Leads to His Fall

Before that, we have this final feat of Samson recorded in verse 3.

Judges 16:3 “But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.”

Samson removes the gates of the city of Gaza. It was one of the Philistines most prominent cities and as such was well fortified. The gates of a city allowed people to enter or leave at the permission of it’s guards and rulers. They were usually two large wooden doors that swung on hinges and had a heavy bar that held it shut at night and during a siege.

For the history buffs, we are talking- two doors, roughly 2-3 meters tall, 1 meter wide, reinforced with bronze or iron bands to strengthen them. Plus, two massive posts that would have had to be strong enough for these doors to hinge on, and, a heavy, thick draw bar which was also likely wooden and bound in thick armoured plate. Historical estimates vary but we are talking 5-10 tonne. That’s better than a RAM truck! Need towing capacity, get a Samson!

Samson just rips the doors off and pulls the posts up, somehow balances them on his shoulders hikes these gates about 45 minutes away to a hill toward Hebron. and I’m going to use creative license and say I imagine he set them up on the hill for everyone to see the humiliation of Gaza. That’s what this is, it is humiliating to Gaza, the walled city is now vulnerable. In ancient times, a city’s destruction or ruin is usually desribed by the state of it’s gates.

Lamentations 2:9 “Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has ruined and broken her bars; her king and princes are among the nations; the law is no more, and her prophets find no vision from the Lord.” There is a connection between the state of the gates and fortifications and the well being of both it’s rulers- both legal and spiritual.

Why did he do it? I think the short answer is because he is Samson and it is a very Samson thing to do. They tried to get him and he put distance between himself and that possibility. The true significance of the gates though, is God working to bring about His promises to God’s people.

Genesis 22:17 “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,”

Samson’s removal of the gates of Gaza puts in motion the endgame of his story, where he will bring judgement upon Gaza’s leaders and tople is spiritual power- but that’s next week’s story. First we read of Samson’s fall, and it begins right here in verse 4.

Judges 16:4 “After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.”

In the English, it’s just a sentence. But take note- Samson’s sotry has been one of adultery and womanising. Delilah is the only one who is named- and it is for a purpose.

Samson = “Little Sun” (also a play on words which I suspect you might see), Delilah = “weak, lowly or fading”. What is interesting is that the name Delilah is spelt very similar and sounds just like the Hebrew word Laylah. Which means “night”. So, in other words, “The Little Sun was brought low, or made weak, by the night”. Which is fitting, given Delilah would bring the darkness of blindness to Samson.

And what caused Samson to fall? It was his unresolved compromise. He flirted with danger and sin, disregarded his holy calling and slow walked himself into disaster. His arrogance and disregard for God blinded him to not just his calling, but the fall he was about to endure.

Samson’s Unrepentant Sin Blinds Him to His Fall

Judges 16:5 “And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.””

The word “Seduce” is the same hebrew word that is translated “entice” in chapter 14 where we have a very similar scenario with the women in Tinmah. And that’ll be true for this whole account- Samson is in a very similar situation as before but still doesn’t avoid it or its consequences, and it’ll point us to a truth about Samson- though he was called by God, he has not found his identity in God. It creates this environment where he is just pursuing things to find that identity. And he will be exploited. Let’s walk through this account.

Judges 16:6-14 - Three failed attempts. And each attempt follows the same sequence: 1. Delilah requests that Samson reveal the secret of his strength (Judg. 16:6, 10, 13). 2. Samson provides an incorrect answer (vv. 7, 11, 13). 3. Delilah carries out the incorrect procedure (vv. 8, 12, 14). The bowstrings, the ropes and the loom. 4. Delilah alerts Samson to the Philistine ambush (vv. 9, 12, 14). 5. Samson frees himself from the trap of Delilah (vv. 9, 12, 14).

At no point is Samson’s suspicion recorded. All we know about Samson’s attitutde toward Delilah is in verse 4 where we read that he loved her. So let’s say- she was his world. Each time she asks him it seems flirtatious- “tell me how to bind you; you’re mocking me! You’re lying!”. But then we get verse 15

Judges 16:15 “And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.””

Delilah’s language shifts from this playfulness to attacking the heart. The accusation goes deep, that Samon’s love is ingenuine, that he dcoesn’t care for her- that he is fake. It’s the same accusation his wife in Tinmah also levelled.

Judges 14:16 “And Samson’s wife wept over him and said, “You only hate me; you do not love me. You have put a riddle to my people, and you have not told me what it is.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?””

Both times we see that he was “pressed hard” by his wife in Tinmah, Delilah’s hold on his heart was so strong we are told his soul was “vexed to death.” He gave the rule of his heart to these women and they were able to exploit it.

Both times it causes Samson to give in, revealing the secrets to his riddle, and the secret to his strength- his vow before God. And he is compromised.

It’s this moment for me, in the midst of the ridiculousness of Samson’s story that reminds me that he is truly just human. And by extension, just like you and me. Samson’s identity is not found in God but in the things of this world. His life of recklessness and waywardness points to a discontent heart, searching for meaning and purpose and identity. He finds insufficient fulfilment in vengeance, risk and adrenaline. He places his hopes in the laps of women and the fighting of men. And it leads to his fall.

This is a true experience for us all. As the Philistine’s and Delilah plotted for Samson’s fall, God’s enemies against God’s man, so too does sin plot and plan to tear down God’s people- His Church.

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful”, don’t be blind and don’t be complacent. We have spoken about Samson’s disregard toward obedience and this air of arrogance he had where he felt nothing he did could go wrong and bring about consequences he couldn’t handle. He was too strong to lose, too big to fail.

What about us? Are you being complacent toward sin or it’s temptations? You’re not empowered or called specifically in the same way Samson was, and he fell. He was compromised by his sin and is a failed leader. We could start a long list of biblical heroes with failed leadership: Noah who became the drunk, Abraham who slept with his servant, Moses who struck the rock, Aaron who made the golden calf, King David who took another man’s wife, King Rehoboam who divided the kingdom, Judas the betrayer and Peter the Denyer.

These leaders failed- why wouldn’t you? Why wouldn’t I? To be watchful, you are watching over yourself, so it means to be self-aware of the risks, hazards and temptations in front of us. One failed leader, which I learnt about was the NT character of Demas. Demas appears three times, once in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, listed alongside Luke, the second time in the letter to Philemon, again listed alongside Luke as well as Aristarchus and Mark- co-workers for Jesus Kingdom. Lastly, he appears in Paul’s letter to Timothy.

2 Timothy 4:10 “For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.”

Why did Demas desert Paul? Paul says Demas ‘loves’ the present world, the word love is the famous greek word agape, the highest form of love- unconditional and sacrifical- it is an intentional use by Paul to say Demas has poured himself out like Christ did for us, only Demas has poured himself out for the world and what it has to offer.

This is what sin does to us, it tempts us with promises of contentment and satisfaction, the promise is false. Sin, the world, doesn’t want your satisfaction, it wants your slavery. It’s why the Bible personifies sin, like in Genesis 4 where God says to Cain after he murders Abel “sin is crouching at your door” that it’s desire is contrary to you” and you “must rule over it”. Sin is like a hungry predator seeking to devour you, consume you. And it’s master, the Devil, is described similarly as a roaring lion, seeking to devour you. Love for this world will consume you.

Just as it consumed Samson. God’s chosen instrument of deliverance, seduced by the lure of love and pleasure and sense of his only kingliness, led to his destruction. However, God is in contol of this story, and he allows Samson’s fall to pave the way to his redemption.

Samson’s Fall Paves the Way for His Redemption

Judges 16:17–18 ESV

And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.” When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands.

There’s this repeated phrase “all of his heart” that appears three times. Repition is a literary tool used in scripture to apply emphasis. To tell “all of your heart” is to say like you’re pouring yourself out, emptying yourself. Like Demas, who poured himself out for the world instead of for Jesus, Samson pours himself out here for the one who has his heart- Delilah. Unaware that she has decieved him to his doom.

But there is redemption in these verses. Samson, for the very first time, reminds himself of his true identity- “I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb”. He remembers, in this moment, unaware of how close he is to the end, of the purpose he was made for. It’s this moment that, I begin to feel compassion for Samson. Earlier we laughed and joked at the ridiculousness of his story and this crazy journey and dumb decisions, but now we see Samson in this moment- and he is far from home, all alone, unaware of the peril he is in, confiding in the one whom he loves because he felt bad for lying and deceiving her not knowing it was her who was decieving him and plotting his death. It’s a sad moment. This isn’t how I’d envision the heroes called and appointed by God to live out their final days.

But it is how Samson’s story ends.

Judges 16:19 ESV

She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.

Samson sleeps on her knees, presumably so she could comfort him, keep him asleep whilst the man shaved his hair. She’s confident that this will work, if he wakes up now that’s it, its all over so she is all in. Then we get this odd phrase that she “began to torment him and his strength left”. No one really knows for sure what that means but the hebrew word rendered “torment” (ענה 2) here is the same hebrew word that reads “humble” in verse 5 where the Philistine leaders talk to Delilah. The difference is, the Philistine leaders talked about binding him in order to humble him, Delilah humbles him in order to bind him. This Hebrew word ענה 2 isn’t the typical understanding of humility we know, it means to bend, submit, oppress, mistreat or humiliate. A retaliation for how Samson has treated them.

Judges 16:20–21 ESV

And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.

He did not know that the Lord had left him. Perhaps this suggests his lack of intimacy with the Lord, and was unaware that his presence had left. His hair wasn’t magical, and the Lord’s presence, seen in Samson’s strength didn’t leave immediately at the cutting of the hair but as Delilah began to torment him. Perhaps God’s leaving was judgement upon Samson- we shouldn’t be too quick to draw this conclusion though as we can sometimes draw harsh conclusions whilst missing God’s grace. Perhaps though, this was according to God’s plan? Samson had led Israel as a Judge for 20 years and had accomplished very little. Samson’s capture hear led him back to Gaza where he would deliver Israel with the destruction of the Philistine leaders- perhaps God allowed his power to leave that Samson might come to the end of himself and recognise his waywardness and repent. This is what we call God’s severe mercy- it may seem harsh but it would mean Samson’s name is recorded in the Honour role found in Hebrews 11, a surprise considering his foolish behaviour and wasted life.

One conclusion I will draw, however, is that Samson’s situation is a charaterisation of the life and position of God’s people. As Samson was seduced by the enemy, Delilah, who presented herself as a safe, sensual escape- but the cause for his enslavement. So too are God’s people seduced by the world and what it has to offer. Just as Pastor Brad taught us last week- the Israelites were willing to hand over Samson, God’s appointed judge, for the hopes of a comfortable and quiet life. But it isn’t just a characterisation os the Israelites at a specific time in history, but it proves true of God’s people throughout history.

Our modern church is in decline, Christian influence in the west has retracted and waned- and we are surprised? Why?

In the eyes of the world, what have we to offer? Modern culture has borrowed our moral compass- though they lack the True North (that is Christ) they have the basics in their view to determine right from wrong. What the early church providede society that shocked the world, was it’s love for the poor, the marginalised, the orphan and the widow. What the church once provided is now a government program. Community? Sports clubs and online chat rooms fill the gap. Generosity? Many non christians give them time and resources to local community groups too.

The harsh truth, in my opinion, is that we too have been seduced and enticed by the gods of our age- wealth, money, comfort, pleasure, gratification, career- the instragrammable life. What is so different about our lives and lifestyles from a non-christian? We are supposed to salt, light and like a city on a hill- a beacon of hope in the darkness. Yet when we live our lives pursuing the treasures of this world we flirt with danger like Samson did, and risk being consumed by it like Demas did.

1 John 2:15–17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Lot’s wife turned back to Sodom, the rich young ruler turned away from Jesus, Demas turned towards the world and its desires. Samson turned away from his role as a judge and toward the enticing allure of finding himself in the arms of a lover. The world and a love for its desires consumed them all and turned them away from the godly callings.

We too face the same threat, like Cain, sin crouches at our door seeking to rule over you. Satan is like a lion, searching for the lost sheep to devour. His favourite type of christian is a passive, wordly christian.

Yet, Christ died for us to set us free. The communion helpers are going to bring the elements as we share in communion together.

Galatians 6:14 “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

The threat of worldiness to us, is that it distracts us from Christ and His calling, dulls our spiritual hunger and binds us to things which are passing away. Instead, for the Christian, life is found in Jesus. We, like Paul, are set free from the clutches of the world and its idols by Jesus’ death on the cross. The calling for the chritian life is now to live for Him, and not for ourselves. To serve Jesus in our love to others, by contribtuing where we can to the work of the church. He invites us to find life and calling by readin his word, through prayer and communion with our borthers and sisters, to whom we now belong as one family.

Let’s finish our reading for today.

Judges 16:22 ESV

But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Hope emerges, will Samson’s strength return with his hair? Samson emptied himself out, was betrayed and found himself hollow and alone in a prison cell. Seduced by the world and now enslaved to it. I wonder, in the quiet what he thought about- who he turned to. For me, it is an image. The hairs on his head represent the kindling embers of his faith, returning to his heart.

Samson’s name means “little sun” and in many ways he was like a little Jesus. The son of God. Samson is an imperfect deliverer. A blemished Judge. Like Jesus he was to set his people free, set an example for them. Like Jesus he was betrayed by a close friend for a sum of silver. Like Jesus he would give himself over to God and his life up for his people.

Where Samson’s life is an example of what not to do in many ways, we catch a kinding flame in the hearts of God’s people for their ultimate deliverer.