Samson’s Downfall
16:1 Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and went in to have sex with her.
Gaza means "strength", but it was an evil place which tempted the weakness of men to enter into sexual sin. Gaza was a Philistine city which was deep in Philistine territory. Samson should have been no where near this city. This would be like a pastor today taking a vacation to the prostitution streets of Las Vegas.
Samson saw a prostitte. Samson, like many men, had a problem with his eye gate. Jesus said that "if a man looks at a woman with lust in his eye, then he has already fallen into adultery. Many biblical men, such as Judah, David, and Solomon, fell into sin by the weakness of their eye gate. Men must guard their eyes at all time.
Samson was in the wrong place at the wrong time and looking for the wrong thing. The devil did not make Solomon commit this sin. Solomon sinned, because the gave in to the lust of his flesh. Solomon was strong physically, but he has a weak mind. A weak mind is devoid of Bible doctrine. A strong mind fills himself with a daily dose of Bible doctrine.
If Samson would have stayed in Israel, then he could have escaped this sin. Man cannot hang around wicked people and escape sin. The Mosaic Law was created to keep the Israelites away from the Gentiles. Instead of serving God in Israel, Solomon traveled to the sin city of Gaza.
It was against the Nazarite vow to have sex with a prostitute. Fornication and adultery were also against the Mosaic Law. This woman was most likely a temple prostitute of the fish god Dagon. Often, beautiful young girls were either forced into the king's harem or forced into the prostitution temples of pagan gods. The priests often kept their prostitution harem addicted to drugs. Demonic priests made a lot of money on temple prostitution.
The most deadly prostitute of modern America is the Hollywood star who bares her breast for fame and money. The Hollywood whore is usually not trapped into prostitution. She bares her breasts for profit. This is why many Hollywood stars are anti-biblical and liberal in their politics.
Many liberals reject Christianity, because they think that it is too strict. There is no wiggle room for their sin. This is a satanic deception. Liberals are in bondage to sin. They cannot see the trap which is sprung against them. Sin is patient. It waits until just the right time to spring the trap. Then, all pleasure is lost.
The only way to acquire pleasure in this life is to study and apply Bible doctrine at the deepest level. Either sin will keep one out of the Bible, or the Bible will keep one out of sin.
The time to escape sin is now. One must escape while they still can. One cannot escape sin without the assistance of God. Those trapped in sin need to pray and ask God to deliver them from this trap.
The advertisers on television will tell one that having that alcohol drink is pleasurable and fun. They will not tell you about how alcohol can ruin the person, the marriage, and family. If one takes that first drink or that first step into sin, then he must be willing to suffer the end result.
16:2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave. They relaxed all night, thinking, “He will not leave until morning comes; then we will kill him!”
The Gazite Philistines were not sure which house that Samson had entered. Therefore, they were going to kill him in the morning as he exited the city gate. Solomon was an anointed judge of God. This murder attempt upon Solomon was a violation of the Abrahamic Covenant.
The Philistines wanted to murder Solomon. The end result of sin is death. Samson's violation of the Mosaic Law would lead to his physical death.
Sin is a killer. It kills everything that it touches. No one escapes sin without injury or death.
The sting of death is sin. Victory over sin comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ can deliver one from sin and death. The sin effects the physical life. The death effects the eternal life. The Lord Jesus Christ is Master over both the physical and the after life.
Those who sin need to confess 1 John 1:9. See the teachings on this verse in this study Bible to learn how to master sin.
Learn to say "no" to sin, so that sin will not lead to "the sin unto death".
16:3 Samson spent half the night with the prostitute; then he got up in the middle of the night and left. He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron.
The Philistines did not expect Samson to leave at midnight. Their city gates were locked for the night with no possible way of escape. Samson tore the gates out of the ground and carried them to the top of a hill which was east of Hebron. Hebron was on top of a mountain. This means that Samson carried the gates for about forty miles, all uphill, from sea level, to an altitude of about 2,500 feet.
Samson had no problem fraternizing with the enemy, even if the enemy was a prostitute. Samson now had all five Gaza cities ready to go to war against him. Gaza was a long way from Samson’s hometown.
Samson deserved to be caught and killed that night. However, he was saved by the grace of God which saved him. It was no accident that he woke up at midnight.
God also showed grace to the Philistines. This miracle was a witness to the Philistines that Jehovah was the one true God. The Philistines should have quit worshipping Dagon. They should have worshipped Jehovah.
Samson was not yet judged at this time. God is slow and patient. Judgement is his strange work. Grace is his major and preferred work. Samson's cup of iniquity was not yet full. He had not yet committed the "sin unto death".
16:4 After this Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley.
Delilah means either “flirtatious” or “devotee.” Her name could be linked to the fertility goddess Ishtar. This name might also mean that she was a temple prostitute. Many of the most beautiful women of ancient cultures were forced either into the king's harem or prostitiuion temples. Delilah lived in the Sorek Valley, which was near the hometown of Samson.
According to the Mosaic Law, Jewish men were not to marry pagan women, unless they came into the Jewish community as a believing proselyte. The Apostle Paul also warns the modern Christian not to marry an unbeliever. The problem with a mixed-spiritual marriage is that the believing spouse will have the devil as a father-in-law. One spouse will be working for God, while the other spouse will be working for the satanic world system. This type of spiritual conflict will cause problems in a marriage.
Samson was getting to close to the Philistines. Samson loved Delilah, but Delilah loved wealth. If Samson would have loved God, he would have kept the Mosaic Law and stayed distant from the Philistines.
16:5 The rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her and said to her, “Trick him! Find out what makes him so strong and how we can subdue him and humiliate him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred silver pieces.”
The Hebrew word for “rulers” is סְרָנִים (sarnaim), meaning the five kings of the five Philistine cities. They were very powerful and very wealthy. They joined together and offered Delilah 1100 silver pieces each to bring down Samson. This bounty price would total to 5500 silver pieces. They could afford to pay this price very easily. Jesus was only betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. They wanted to find out the secret of Samson’s power. Stepped in pagan superstition, the Philistines assumed that the strength of Samson came from magical charms or superstion.
Eleven hundred pieces of silver was a large bribe, equality about $750,000 in modern currency. Satan will often use large sums of money to tempt others to do his bidding, Money is not the root of all evil. IT is "the love" of money which is the root of all evil. Money can be earned to serve God or serve the satanic world system. Only those with strong Bible doctrine can resist the temptation of bribery.
16:6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me what makes you so strong and how you can be subdued and humiliated.”
Delilah used her sexual charm on Samson in an attempt to find out his magical secrets. A pretty girl with a pretty smile can influence many men who possess weak Bible doctrine.
16:7 Samson said to her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become weak and be just like any other man.”
Samson most likely did not trust Delilah. He was so confident of his abilities, that he toyed with her. He viewed Delilah to be a weak woman who he could easily play with and master.
The seven fresh bowstrings were made of animal intestines meaning that they were unclean. Samson was violating his Nazarite vow again. However, he did give her a slight clue to his power. He mentioned seven bowstrings. Samson’s hair was tied in seven locks, so this was a slight clue to his strength.
16:8 So the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings which had not been dried and they tied him up with them.
The Philistines were very superstitious. Delilah bound Samson with the seven fresh bowstrings.
16:9 They hid in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here, Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. The secret of his strength was not discovered.
Delilah’s first attempt at deceit failed. Samson broke the bow strings equally. Samson was guilty of playing with sin. He was playing with fire. He was playing dangerously with sin. Many modern believers think that they can play with sin and escape. Immature believers underestimate the power of sin. The camal Christian cannot control sin, but he thinks that he can. This is the danger of sin.
16:10 Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you deceived me and told me lies! Now tell me how you can be subdued.”
Delilah attempted a second deception to find Samson’s magic secret.
16:11 He said to her, “If they tie me tightly with brand new ropes that have never been used, I will become weak and be just like any other man.”
The new ropes must not have contacted anything unclean. Again, Samson was playing with his Nazarite vow.
16:12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are here, Samson!” (The Philistines were hiding in the bedroom.) But he tore the ropes from his arms as if they were a piece of thread.
Samson broke the new ropes like sewing threads. This show of supernatural strengths was a powerful witness to the Philistines that Jehovah was the one true God.
16:13 Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you can be subdued.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair into the fabric on the loom and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.”
Samson thought that he was smarted than Delilah. He continued to toy with her and with sin The seven braids of hair was very close to the truth. There was no mention of the men hiding, so apparently, these men had given up and left the premises.
16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom, fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are here, Samson!” He woke up and tore away the pin of the loom and the fabric.
Delilah’s third attempt of deception failed.
16:15 She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you will not share your secret with me? Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.”
Delilah tried the “if you love me” argument.
16:16 She nagged him every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it.
The purpose of nagging is to control the man. Delilah kept the nagging pressure on Samson until it almost drove him to a nervous breakdown.
16:17 Finally he told her his secret. He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, for I have been dedicated to God from the time I was conceived. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.”
Samson trusted Delilah more than he did God. Samson finally told Delilah his secret. The cutting of his hair did not sap Samson’s power. It was the breaking of the Nazarite vow that would cause God to leave Samson on his own. The hair was the only visible sign of the Nazarite vow. If Samson broke this Nazarite vow, then God would separate from him. Samson knew this, but gave away his divine secret to a dangerous enemy.
Some theologians point out that the Aegean mighty warriors of the hellenistic culture were known for their long-hair in the Iliad. For example, the strength of Phoebus was associated with his long, uncut hair. The difference is that Samson’s strength came from the Spirit of God upon him, not from his long hair. Samson’s long hair was only a symbol of his Nazarite vow connection to God.
16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret, she sent for the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me his secret.” So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands.
As Samson’s lover, Delilah knew when Samson was telling the truth. She called the five Philistine leaders to reveal Samson’s secret.
16:19 She made him go to sleep on her lap and then called a man in to shave off the seven braids of his hair. She made him vulnerable and his strength left him.
Delilah somehow tested Samson’s strength and found it to be gone.
16:20 She said, “The Philistines are here, Samson!” He woke up and thought, “I will do as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him.
The loss of the hair was a visible sign to everyone that Samson had broken his Nazarite vow. The Spirit of God left Samson.
16:21 The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison.
The Philistines did not want to kill Samson. They wanted to humiliate him. They bore out his eyes, which was a form of mutilation. They imprisoned him in Gaza, which was deep in Philistine territory. He became a grinder in prison, which was woman’s work.
16:22 His hair began to grow back after it had been shaved off.
Samson was in prison for a long time. All he could do was think about God and restore his lost relationship. As his hair grew, his relationship with God grew as well. Samson began to reestablish his Nazarite vow with God.
Samson’s Death and Burial
16:23 The rulers of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate. They said, “Our god has handed Samson, our enemy, over to us.”
The five Philistine kings gathered to offer a sacrifice to Dagon. “Dag” means fish. The Philistines were seafaring people, so they worshiped the fish god. The fish god possessed the body of a fish, but the head and hands of a man. “Dagon” means grain. This means that Dagon was also the god of fertility. Baal was known as the son of Dagon.
16:24 When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has handed our enemy over to us, the one who ruined our land and killed so many of us!”
The five kings arrogantly assumed that Dagon had defeated Jehovah and brought Samson to them. They did not understand that Jehovah delivered Samson to them to destroy all five Philistine kings at one time. They sang a song of praise to Dagon, because he had captured Samson.
16:25 When they really started celebrating, they said, “Call for Samson so he can entertain us!” So they summoned Samson from the prison and he entertained them. They made him stand between two pillars.
The Philistines were full of alcohol. They called for Samson, so that they could mock him. When they were mocking Samson, they were also mocking Jehovah. This was a violation of the Abrahamic Covenant.
16:26 Samson said to the young man who held his hand, “Position me so I can touch the pillars that support the temple. Then I can lean on them.”
Samson was placed in the middle of the temple. There were two pillars within his reach. These two pillars supported most of the temple structure.
16:27 Now the temple was filled with men and women, and all the rulers of the Philistines were there. There were three thousand men and women on the roof watching Samson entertain.
The five Philistine kings and most of the nobles were present on the floor of the Temple of Dagan. There were 3000 other Philistines watching from the roof. All of them were mocking Samson.
16:28 Samson called to Jehovah, “O Adonai, Lord, remember me! Strengthen me just one more time, O Elohim, so I can get swift revenge against the Philistines for my two eyes!”
Samson used three names of God in his prayer. He prayed to יְהוָ֖ה (Jehovah), who was the Promise-keeping-covenant-keeping-God. He prayed to אֲדֹנָ֣י (Adonai), who was the Master. He prayed to הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים (ha-elohim), who was the Triune-Creator-God. He asked for swift revenge against the Philistines.
16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars that supported the temple and he leaned against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other.
Samson found the two pillars of the temple.
16:30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life.
Samson killed at least 1100 Philistines during his life. He killed at least 3000 during this one outing, including all five kings and all or most of the nobles. Samson died with the uncircumcised Philistines.
16:31 His brothers and all his family went down and brought him back. They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel for twenty years.
Samson’s family and members of the tribe of Dan went down and retrieved the body of Samson. Out of respect and fear of Samson and his God, the Philistines released his body. Samson was a judge of Israel for twenty years. He never freed Israel from Philistine rule, but his presence made it known to Jews and Philistines that God was not yet through with Israel.
In conclusion, Samson could defeat the strongest of men but he was defeated by the weakest of women. However, God turned his defeat into victory.