Revenge, A Dish Best Not Served (Judges 16)

Samson’s lack of self-control coupled with his desire for Philistine women would literally be the death of him. One day, he casually waltzed into the territory of the Philistines to the western shore city of Gaza. There he met a prostitute and spent the night with her. When the citizens of the townsfolk of Gaza realized that they had a golden opportunity to capture the mighty Samson, they surrounded the place where he was staying and guarded the city gate all through the night. They lay in wait without making any sound and looked for an opportunity to kill Samson when he would least expect it.

But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.

Judges 16:3 (NIV)

Though Samson is driven by his lust for women, he is also well aware of the risks involved in entering the Philistine territory of Gaza. It seems like he wanted the Philistines to try and capture him so that he can show off his abilities as he effortlessly evades them. When we don’t face any consequences of the risks we have taken, we keep entering into riskier ventures. Our line in the sand keeps moving forward if we do not face the wrath of God as a crushing wave that overpowers us. We keep going deeper into sin until we are confronted by God. Sometimes people are so proud of their achievements that they actively look for opportunities to show them off even if it means going against the will of God.

Samson Meets Delilah

The Valley of Sorek lay on the border of Judah and the territory of Dan and it is here where Samson found his greatest weakness, Delilah. He fell in love with the Philistine woman (again) and this time his enemies would capture Samson by exploiting his weakness to the fullest. The leaders of the Philistines went to Delilah and convinced her to be a pawn in their grand schemes. They each offered her eleven hundred shekels of silver if she could lure Samson into revealing the secret of his strength.

So Delilah began seducing Samson and asking him to reveal the enigma that was the source of his incredible power. Samson tried to deflect her questions and even misdirected her into believing that if she used the right kind of ropes or tied the knots in a particular way, she would be able to subdue him. Yet, whenever Deliah would follow Samson’s latest instructions to bind him and call the Philistines to capture him, her lover would simply snap the ropes and ward off his captors. When this happened repeatedly, Samson, rather than learning his lesson and leaving Delilah, gave in to her seduction and revealed the vow that his parents had made with God, seemingly the source of his powers.

So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”

Judges 16:17 (NIV)

We take our commitments to God for granted and think that we can survive without him. Probably Delilah lured Samson into revealing ways to tie him up as part of some sexual foreplay. Samson had taken pride in the fact that nothing could harm him as he took his Nazirite vow for granted. Similarly, we allow our pride and ego to carry us away from the path leading to God. Our lips say that we want to trust God but we inevitably end up trusting the people around us. When we love someone we keep them even above God and start to reveal our deepest thoughts with them. Joseph shared the revelations of God with his family members who ended up persecuting him for his dreams. Likewise, Samson prioritised his affection towards Delilah and exposed everything that God had bestowed upon him.

The Philistines Finally Capture Samson

So Delilah sent word to the Philistines assuring them that she had finally gotten Samson to reveal his secret and asked the leaders to bring her the reward that she was promised. She made Samson sleep on her lap and called someone to shave off his seven braids of hair.

Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”
He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.

Judges 16:20 (NIV)

Samson’s hair had nothing to do with his strength, it was the Spirit of the LORD empowering him to perform the extraordinary feats. However, now, the LORD had left him after he had broken all the aspects of his vow. Samson truly believed that the secret of his strength was him not having his hair cut since birth. He credited this towards his righteousness ignoring all the other myriad of ways in which he had betrayed God. It is this concept of faith that eventually brings him down. Today people have created their own concepts of faith and are fooling themselves and their congregations into a false sense of righteousness. Even after being knee-deep in sin, this false sense of righteousness prevents us from approaching God for help.

The Philistines seized Samson and gouged out his eyes, a common practice in the ancient world usually to incapacitate a powerful man that they had captured. They did not want to take any chances as they bound him with bronze shackles and put him in their prison where he would grind grain, an activity which did not particularly require one’s eyesight. The rulers of the Philistines wanted to celebrate this momentous triumph and had all assembled under one roof to offer sacrifices to their god dagon. They brought out Samson before the ones gathered there and forced him to perform.

… Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “Sovereign LORD, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.

Judges 16:25-30 (NIV)

It seems like God is empowering Samson once more so that he may get back at the Philistines for gouging his eyes. God is not answering Samson’s prayer for his personal revenge but is taking revenge on the Philistines for the atrocities that they had committed against His people. God is using the pagan celebrations for his own purpose, to reveal His glory to the worshippers of dagon.

Samson was the last judge during a tumultuous period in Israel’s history but God had a plan for Israel even through these Judges. God wanted the Israelites to realise that no matter who ruled over them, He was in total control. He wanted to show that He is the only one they would need but the Israelites kept chasing after human leaders. The Israelites accepted the forefathers, Moses, the Judges, the kings, the prophets and even the Jewish temple leaders as their rulers but they never accepted God as their leader. The purpose of bringing the Israelites into this new land was for them to rejoin the fellowship with God like it had been in the garden but the people kept moving away from His presence as everyone did according to what they saw fit. Let us learn from the shortcomings of the Israelites and forego chasing after mortal leaders and rejoin our fellowships with the one true God.

Discussion Questions

• Why does Samson keep taking unnecessary risks by entering the Philistine territory? What is the lure of sin that keeps us returning to it?
• Did Samson not learn his lesson from the unsuccessful attempts made by the Philistines to capture him? What makes us expose the secrets God has revealed to our friends and family?
• Did the Spirit of the LORD depart from Samson because of his hair being cut?
• Why did the Philistines gouge out Samson’s eyes?
• Why is God empowering Samson once more, so that he may get back at the Philistines for gouging his eyes?
• Samson was the last judge during a tumultuous period in Israel’s history, What was God’s plan for Israel when He appointed these Judges? Was it accomplished?