16 Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” 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.
After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 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.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”
Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound.” And he said to her, “If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.
Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.
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.” And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 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. 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. 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. But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.” And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.” And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.
Then Samson called to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.
(ESV)
In Judges 16, Samson visits Gaza and sleeps with a prostitute. The Philistines plan to ambush him, but Samson escapes by tearing out the city gates and carrying them to the top of a mountain. Later, Samson falls in love with Delilah, who is bribed by the Philistine leaders to discover the secret of his strength. After several attempts, Samson eventually reveals that his strength lies in his unshaven hair, as he is a Nazarite dedicated to God.
Delilah betrays him by cutting his hair while he sleeps and his strength departs. The Philistines capture him, gouge out his eyes, and imprison him. While in prison, his hair begins to grow back. The Philistines celebrate their victory over Samson and their god Dagon, using him as entertainment. Samson prays to God for strength and, with one final act of vengeance, pulls down the temple killing more Philistines in his death than during his life. Samson is later buried by his family.
Remember, the book of Judges is about themes. The purpose of the book is to reveal spiritual truth to us through Israel’s story, and there are so many metaphors to unpack here in Judges 16.
It is interesting that the name Delilah means “longing.” Samson’s downfall came from his repeated entanglement with the desires of the flesh. He loved to flirt with sin. Notice how much he loves the cat and mouse game. He loves spending time in Philistine country. He loves spending time with foreign women. He loves riddles and elaborate stunts (tying the fox tails together with torches to burn the crops). His curiosity always leads him to compromise.
Samson reminds me of a child testing the limits at every turn. His life is a reminder for believers today that our spiritual strength will fail when we allow ourselves to repeatedly cross boundaries. What begins as a rush of rebellious excitement ends with the humiliating loss of God’s power.
Samson’s downfall parallels the church at Laodicea (Rev 3:17). That church was blind to its true spiritual condition. Just as Samson unknowingly lost his strength due to a compromise with Delilah, Laodicea falsely believes it is rich and strong while being naked, poor, and blind.
Samson’s repeated flirting with danger reflects how the church can gradually compromise with the world, losing its separation and spiritual power. As Samson was ultimately shaved, captured, and blinded, the church that conforms to the world ultimately loses its spiritual discernment and becomes ineffective.
Samson did not have a fear for God, therefore, he did not value God’s wisdom. This caused him to gradually drift from God’s purpose while simultaneously attaching himself to the enemies of God. When Samson visits a prostitute at the beginning of Judges 16, it reminds me of how the unfaithful church is described as a harlot in Revelation 17.
Afterward, he climbs atop a hill (opposite Hebron) with the city gate on his shoulders. Hebron was the leading city in Judah. Remember, the men of Judah were the guys who bound him and handed him over to the Philistines in Judges 15. Could it be that he was going up to the hill to gloat over the men of Judah? We do not know with certainty. The folly of this act is that it was not done to the glory of God, but to the glory of Samson who was essentially escaping the consequences of his sin. This is what happens when we disregard God’s wisdom.
The beauty of the Samson story is found at the end, literally and metaphorically. The beauty for Samson is the end of himself. It is in this moment he realizes all he has lost as a consequence of his own choices. Though Samson is physically blind, he gains something he struggled with his entire life – spiritual sight. Throughout his story, victory led Samson to forget God but in his humiliation, he now remembers God.
However, this scene is less about Samson and more about God. It illustrates that no matter how far one falls, God can restore and use anyone who returns to Him. Incredibly, this story that features a highly flawed and conflicted man concludes by shining God’s grace front and center.
“As said, Samson called to God twice, and both times his prayer is linked to the secret of his strength. Judges 15 is about the strength of life (Jdg 15:18-19), here it is about the strength of death. This is what Paul learned: “For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake” (2Co 4:11). We must also learn this. The moment I accept my death, God’s secret strength starts working in me and I become a useful instrument that God can use.”
Ger de Koning