J
U D G E S
CHAP. XVI.
Samson's
name (we have observed before) signifies a little sun (sol parvus); we have
seen this sun rising very bright, and his morning ray strong and clear; and,
nothing appearing to the contrary, we take it for granted that the middle of
the day was proportionably illustrious, while he judged Israel twenty years;
but the melancholy story of this chapter gives us such an account of his
evening as did not commend his day. This little sun set under a cloud, and
yet, just in the setting, darted forth one such strong and glorious beam as
made him even then a type of Christ, conquering by death. Here is, I. Samson
greatly endangered by his familiarity with one harlot, and hardly escaping,
ver. 1-3. II. Samson quite ruined by his familiarity with another harlot,
Delilah. Observe, 1. How he was betrayed to her by his own lusts, ver. 4. 2.
How he was betrayed by her to his sworn enemies, the Philistines, who, (1.) By
her means got it out of him at last where his great strength lay, ver. 5-17.
(2.) Then robbed him of his strength, by taking from his head the crown of his
separation, ver. 18-20. (3.) Then seized him, blinded him, imprisoned him,
abused him, and, at a solemn festival, made a show of him, ver. 21-25. But,
lastly, he avenged himself of them by pulling down the theatre upon their
heads, and so dying with them, ver. 26-31.
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Samson's
Escape from Gaza.
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B.
C. 1120.
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1 Then went Samson to
Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her. 2 And it
was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him
in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet
all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill
him. 3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and
took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with
them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up
to the top of a hill that is before Hebron.
Here is, 1. Samson's sin, v. 1. His taking a Philistine to wife, in the
beginning of his time, was in some degree excusable, but to join himself to a
harlot that he accidentally saw among them was such a profanation of his
honour as an Israelite, as a Nazarite, that we cannot but blush to read it. Tell
it not in Gath. This vile impurity makes the graceful visage of this
Nazarite blacker than a coal, Lam. iv. 7, 8. We find not that Samson
had any business in Gaza; if he went thither in quest of a harlot it would
make one willing to hope that, as bad as things were otherwise, there were no
prostitutes among the daughters of Israel. Some think he went thither to
observe what posture the Philistines were in, that he might get some
advantages against them; if so, he forgot his business, neglected that, and so
fell into this snare. His sin began in his eye, with which he should have made
a covenant; he saw there one in the attire of a harlot, and the lust
which conceived brought forth sin: he went in unto her. 2. Samson's
danger. Notice was sent to the magistrates of Gaza, perhaps by the treacherous
harlot herself, that Samson was in the town, v. 2. Probably he came in
a disguise, or in the dusk of the evening, and went into an inn or
public-house, which happened to be kept by this harlot. The gates of the city
were hereupon shut, guards set, all kept quiet, that Samson might suspect no
danger. Now they thought they had him in a prison, and doubted not but to be
the death of him the next morning. O that all those who indulge their sensual
appetites in drunkenness, uncleanness, or any fleshly lusts, would see
themselves thus surrounded, waylaid, and marked for ruin, by their spiritual
enemies! The faster they sleep, and the more secure they are, the greater is
their danger. 3. Samson's escape, v. 3. He rose at midnight, perhaps
roused by a dream, in slumberings upon the bed (Job xxxiii. 15), by his
guardian angel, or rather by the checks of his own conscience. He arose with a
penitent abhorrence (we hope) of the sin he was now committing, and of himself
because of it, and with a pious resolution not to return to it,--rose under an
apprehension of the danger he was in, that he was as one that slept upon the
top of a mast,--rose with such thoughts as these: "Is this a bed fit for
a Nazarite to sleep in? Shall a temple of the living God be thus polluted? Can
I be safe under this guilt?" It was bad that he lay down without such
checks; but it would have been worse if he had lain still under them. He makes
immediately towards the gate of the city, probably finds the guards asleep,
else he would have made them sleep their last, stays not to break open the
gates, but plucks up the posts, takes them, gates and bar and all, all very
large and strong and a vast weight, yet he carries them on his back several
miles, up to the top of a hill, in disdain of their attempt to secure
him with gates and bars, designing thus to render himself more formidable to
the Philistines and more acceptable to his people, thus to give a proof of the
great strength God had given him and a type of Christ's victory over death and
the grave. He not only rolled away the stone from the door of the sepulchre,
and so came forth himself, but carried away the gates of the grave, bar and
all, and so left it, ever after, an open prison to all that are his; it shall
not, it cannot, always detain them. O death! where is thy sting? Where
are thy gates? Thanks be to him that not only gained a victory for himself,
but giveth us the victory!
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Delilah's
Treachery.
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B.
C. 1120.
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4 And it came to pass
afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was
Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and
said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth,
and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to
afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces
of silver. 6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee,
wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound
to afflict thee. 7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with
seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as
another man. 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her
seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber.
And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he
brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So
his strength was not known. 10 And Delilah said unto Samson,
Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee,
wherewith thou mightest be bound. 11 And he said unto her, If they
bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak,
and be as another man. 12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and
bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee,
Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he
brake them from off his arms like a thread. 13 And Delilah said
unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith
thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks
of my head with the web. 14 And she fastened it with the
pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he
awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the
web. 15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee,
when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times,
and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. 16
And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him,
so that his soul was vexed unto death; 17 That he told her
all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head;
for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be
shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like
any other man.
The burnt child dreads the fire; yet Samson, that has more than the strength
of a man, in this comes short of the wisdom of a child; for, though he had
been more than once brought into the highest degree of mischief and danger by
the love of women and lusting after them, yet he would not take warning, but
is here again taken in the same snare, and this third time pays for all.
Solomon seems to refer especially to this story of Samson when, in his caution
against uncleanness, he gives this account of a whorish woman (Prov. vii. 26),
that she hath cast down many wounded, yea, many strong men have been slain
by her; and (Prov. vi. 26) that the adulteress will hunt for the
precious life. This bad woman, that brought Samson to ruin, is here named Delilah,
an infamous name, and fitly used to express the person, or thing, that by
flattery or falsehood brings mischief and destruction on those to whom
kindness is pretended. See here,
I. The affection Samson had for Delilah: he loved her, v. 4. Some think
she was his wife, but then he would have had her home to his own house; others
that he courted her to make her his wife; but there is too much reason to
suspect that it was a sinful affection he had for her, and that he lived in
uncleanness with her. Whether she was an Israelite or a Philistine is not
certain. If an Israelite, which is scarcely probable, yet she had the heart of
a Philistine.
II. The interest which the lords of the Philistines made with her to betray
Samson, v. 5. 1. That which they told her they designed was to humble
him, or afflict him; they would promise not to do him any hurt, only they
would disable him not to do them any. And so much conscience it should seem
they made of this promise that even then, when he lay ever so much at their
mercy, they would not kill him, no, not when the razor that cut his hair might
sooner and more easily have cut his throat. 2. That which they desired, in
order hereunto, was to know where his great strength lay, and by what means he
might be bound. Perhaps they imagined he had some spell or charm which he
carried about with him, by the force of which he did these great things, and
doubted not but that, if they could get this from him, he would be manageable;
and therefore, having had reason enough formerly to know which was his blind
side, hoped to find out his riddle a second time by ploughing with his heifer.
They engaged Delilah to get it out of him, telling her what a kindness it
would be to them, and perhaps assuring her it should not be improved to any
real mischief, either to him or her. 3. For this they bid high, promised to
give her each of them 1100 pieces of silver, 5500 in all. So many shekels
amounted to above 1000l. sterling; with this she was hired to betray
one she pretended to love. See what horrid wickedness the love of money is the
root of. Our blessed Saviour was thus betrayed by one whom he called friend,
and with a kiss too, for filthy lucre. No marvel if those who are unchaste, as
Delilah, be unjust; such as lose their honesty in one instance will in
another.
III. The arts by which he put her off from time to time, and kept his own
counsel a great while. She asked him where his great strength lay, and
whether it were possible for him to be bound and afflicted (v. 6),
pretending that she only desired he would satisfy her curiosity in that one
thing, and that she thought it was impossible he should be bound otherwise
than by her charms.
1. When she urged him very much, he told her, (1.) That he might be bound with
seven green withs, v. 7. The experiment was tried (v. 8),
but it would not do: he broke the withs as easily as a thread of tow
is broken when it toucheth the fire, v. 9. (2.) When she still
continued her importunity (v. 10) he told her that with two new ropes
he might be so cramped and hampered that he might be as easily dealt with as
any other man, v. 11. This experiment was tried too, but it failed: the
new ropes broke from off his arm like a thread, v. 12.
(3.) When she still pressed him to communicate the secret, and upbraided him
with it as an unkindness that he had bantered her so long, he then told her
that the weaving of the seven locks of his head would make a great alteration
in him, v. 13. This came nearer the matter than any thing he had yet
said, but it would not do: his strength appeared to be very much in his hair,
when, upon the trial of this, purely by the strength of his hair, he carried
away the pin of the beam and the web.
2. In the making of all these experiments, it is hard to say whether there
appears more of Samson's weakness or Delilah's wickedness. (1.) Could any
thing be more wicked than her restless and unreasonable importunity with him
to discover a secret which she knew would endanger his life if ever it were
lodged any where but in his own breast? What could be more base and
disingenuous, more false and treacherous, than to lay his head in her lap, as
one whom she loved, and at the same time to design the betraying of him to
those by whom he was mortally hated? (2.) Could any thing be more weak than
for him to continue a parley with one who, he so plainly saw, was aiming to do
him a mischief,--that he should lend an ear so long to such an impudent
request, that she might know how to do him a mischief,--that when he perceived
liers in wait for him in the chamber, and that they were ready to apprehend
him if they had been able, he did not immediately quit the chamber, with a
resolution never to come into it any more,--nay, that he should again lay his
head in that lap out of which he had been so often roused with that alarm, The
Philistines are upon thee, Samson? One can hardly imagine a man so
perfectly besotted, and void of all consideration, as Samson now was; but
whoredom is one of those things that take away the heart. It is hard to
say what Samson meant in suffering her to try so often whether she could
weaken and afflict him; some think he did not certainly know himself where his
strength lay, but, it should seem, he did know, for, when he told her that
which would disable him indeed, it is said, He told her all his heart.
It seems, he designed to banter her, and to try if he could turn it off with a
jest, and to baffle the liers in wait, and make fools of them; but it
was very unwise in him that he did not quit the field as soon as ever he
perceived that he was not able to keep the ground.
IV. The disclosure he at last made of this great secret; and, if the
disclosure proved fatal to him, he must thank himself, who had not power to
keep his own counsel from one that manifestly sought his ruin. Surely in
vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird, but in Samson's sight is
the net spread, and yet he is taken in it. If he had not been blind before the
Philistines put out his eyes, he might have seen himself betrayed. Delilah
signifies a consumer; she was so to him. Observe, 1. How she teazed
him, telling him she would not believe he loved her, unless he would gratify
her in this matter (v. 15): How canst thou say, I love thee, when
they heart is not with me? That is, "when thou canst not trust me
with the counsels of they heart?" Passionate lovers cannot bear to have
their love called in question; they would do any thing rather than their
sincerity should be suspected. Here therefore Delilah had this fond fool
(excuse me that I call him so) at an advantage. This expostulation is indeed
grounded upon a great truth, that those only have our love, not that have our
good words or our good wishes, but that have our hearts. That is love without
dissimulation; but it is falsehood and flattery in the highest degree to say
we love those with whom our hearts are not. How can we say we love either our
brother, whom we have seen, or God, whom we have not seen, if our hearts be
not with him? She continued many days vexatious to him with her importunity,
so that he had no pleasure of his life with her (v. 16); why then did
he not leave her? It was because he was captivated to her by the power of
love, falsely so called, but truly lust. This bewitched and perfectly
intoxicated him, and by the force of it see, 2. How she conquered him (v.
17): He told her all his heart. God left him to himself to do this
foolish thing, to punish him for indulging himself in the lusts of
uncleanness. The angel that foretold his birth said nothing of his great
strength, but only that he should be a Nazarite, and particularly that no
razor should come upon his head, ch. xiii. 5. His consecration to
God was to be his strength, for he was to be strengthened according to the
glorious power of that Spirit which wrought in him mightily, that his
strength, by promise, not by nature, might be a type and figure of the
spiritual strength of believers, Col. i. 11, 29. Therefore the badge of his
consecration was the pledge of his strength; if he lose the former, he knows
he forfeits the latter. "If I be shaven, I shall no longer be a Nazarite,
and then my strength will be lost." The making of his bodily strength to
depend so much on his hair, which could have no natural influence upon it
either one way or other, teaches us to magnify divine institutions, and to
expect God's grace, and the continuance of it, only the use of those means of
grace wherein he has appointed us to attend upon him, the word, sacraments,
and prayer. In these earthen vessels is this treasure.
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Samson
Betrayed.
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B.
C. 1120.
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18 And when Delilah saw
that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the
Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath showed me all his heart.
Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their
hand. 19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for
a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she
began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. 20 And she
said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his
sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And
he wist not that the LORD
was departed from him. 21 But the Philistines took him, and put
out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of
brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
We have here the fatal consequences of Samson's folly in betraying his own
strength; he soon paid dearly for it. A whore is a deep ditch; he that is
abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein. In that pit Samson sinks.
Observe, 1. What care Delilah took to make sure of the money for herself. She
now perceived, by the manner of his speaking, that he had told her all his
heart, and the lords of the Philistines that hired her to do this base
thing are sent for; but they must be sure to bring the money in their
hands, v. 18. The wages of unrighteousness are accordingly
produced, unknown to Samson. It would have grieved one's heart to have seen
one of the bravest men then in the world sold and bought, as a sheep for
the slaughter; how does this instance sully all the glory of man, and
forbid the strong man ever to boast of his strength! 2. What course she took
to deliver him up to them according to the bargain. Many in the world would,
for the hundredth part of what was here given Delilah, sell those that they
pretend the greatest respect for. Trust not in a friend then, put no
confidence in a guide. See what a treacherous method she took (v.
19): She made him sleep upon her knees. Josephus says, She gave him
some intoxicating liquor, which laid him to sleep. What opiates she might
steal into his cup we know not, but we cannot suppose that he knowingly drank
wine or strong drink, for that would have been a forfeiture of his
Nazariteship as much as the cutting off of his hair. She pretended the
greatest kindness even when she designed the greatest mischief, which yet she
could not have compassed if she had not made him sleep. See the fatal
consequences of security. Satan ruins men by rocking them asleep, flattering
them into a good opinion of their own safety, and so bringing them to mind
nothing and fear nothing, and then he robs them of their strength and honour
and leads them captive at his will. When we sleep our spiritual enemies do
not. When he was asleep she had a person ready to cut off his hair, which he
did so silently and so quickly that it did not awake him, but plainly
afflicted him; even in his sleep, his spirit manifestly sunk upon it. I think
we may suppose that if this ill turn had been done to him in his sleep by some
spiteful body, without his being himself accessory to it, as he was here, it
would not have had this strange effect upon him; but it was his own wickedness
that corrected him. It was his iniquity, else it would not have been so much
his infelicity. 3. What little concern he himself was in at it, v. 20.
He could not but miss his hair as soon as he awoke, and yet said, "I
will shake myself as at other times after sleep," or, "as at
other times when the Philistines were upon me, to make my part good against
them." Perhaps he thought to shake himself the more easily, and that his
head would feel the lighter, now that his hair was cut, little thinking how
much heavier the burden of guilt was than that of hair. He soon found in
himself some change, we have reason to think so, and yet wist not that the
Lord had departed from him: he did not consider that this was the reason
of the change. Note, Many have lost the favourable presence of God and are not
aware of it; they have provoked God to withdraw from them, but are not
sensible of their loss, nor ever complain of it. Their souls languish and grow
weak, their gifts wither, every thing goes cross with them; and yet they
impute not this to the right cause: they are not aware that God has
departed from them, nor are they in any care to reconcile themselves to
him or to recover his favour. When God has departed we cannot do as at other
times. 4. What improvement the Philistines soon made of their advantages
against him, v. 21. The Philistines took him when God had departed from
him. Those that have thrown themselves out of God's protection become an easy
prey to their enemies. If we sleep in the lap of our lusts, we shall certainly
wake in the hands of the Philistines. It is probable they had promised Delilah
not to kill him, but they took an effectual course to disable him. The first
thing they did, when they had him in their hands and found they could manage
him, was to put out his eyes, by applying fire to them, says the
Arabic version. They considered that his eyes would never come again, as
perhaps his hair might, and that the strongest arms could do little without
eyes to guide the, and therefore, if now they blind him, they for ever blind
him. His eyes were the inlets of his sin: he saw the harlot at Gaza, and went
in unto her (v. 1), and now his punishment began there. Now that the
Philistines had blinded him he had time to remember how his own lust had
blinded him. The best preservative of the eyes is to turn them away from
beholding vanity. They brought him down to Gaza, that there he might
appear in weakness where he had lately given such proofs of his strength (v.
3), and be a jest to those to whom he had been a terror. They bound him
with fetters of brass who had before been held in the cords of his own
iniquity, and he did grind in the prison, work in their bridewell,
either for their profit or his punishment, or for both. The devil does thus by
sinners, blinds the minds of those who believe not, and so enslaves
them, and secures them in his interests. Poor Samson, how hast thou fallen!
How is thy honour laid in the dust! How has the glory and defence of Israel
become the drudge and triumph of the Philistines! The crown has fallen from
his head; woe unto him, for he hath sinned. Let all take warning by his
fall carefully to preserve their purity, and to watch against all fleshly
lusts; for all our glory has gone, and our defence departed form us, when the
covenant of our separation to God, as spiritual Nazarites, is profaned.
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The
Death of Samson; Samson's Triumph in Death.
B. C.
1120.
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22 Howbeit the hair of
his head began to grow again after he was shaven. 23 Then the
lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice
unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered
Samson our enemy into our hand. 24 And when the people saw him,
they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands
our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.
25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for
Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the
prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the
pillars. 26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the
hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that
I may lean upon them. 27 Now the house was full of men and women;
and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were
upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson
made sport. 28 And Samson called unto the LORD,
and said, O Lord GOD,
remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O
God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood,
and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other
with his left. 30 And Samson said, Let me die with the
Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house
fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the
dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in
his life. 31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father
came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between
Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged
Israel twenty years.
Though the last stage of Samson's life was inglorious, and one could wish
there were a veil drawn over it, yet this account here given of his death may
be allowed to lessen, though it does not quite roll away, the reproach of it;
for there was honour in his death. No doubt he greatly repented of his sin,
the dishonour he had by it done to God and his forfeiture of the honour God
had put upon him; for that God was reconciled to him appears, 1. By the return
of the sign of his Nazariteship (v. 22): His hair began to grow
again, as when he was shaven, that is, to be as thick and as long as when
it was cut off. It is probable that their general thanksgiving to Dagon was
not long deferred, before which Samson's hair had thus grown, by which, and
the particular notice taken of it, it seems to have been extraordinary, and
designed for a special indication of the return of God's favour to him upon
his repentance. For the growth of his hair was neither the cause nor the sign
of the return of his strength further than as it was the badge of his
consecration, and a token that God accepted him as a Nazarite again, after the
interruption, without those ceremonies which were appointed for the
restoration of a lapsed Nazarite, which he had not now the opportunity of
performing, Num. vi. 9. It is strange that the Philistines in whose hands he
was were not jealous of the growth of his hair again, and did not cut it; but
perhaps they were willing his great strength should return to him, that they
might have so much the more work out of him, and now that he was blind they
were in no fear of any hurt from him. 2. By the use God made of him for the
destruction of the enemies of his people, and that at a time when it would be
most for the vindication of the honour of God, and not immediately for the
defence and deliverance of Israel. Observe,
I. How insolently the Philistines affronted the God of Israel, 1. By the
sacrifices they offered to Dagon, his rival. This Dagon they call their god,
a god of their own making, represented by an image, the upper part of which
was in the shape of a man, the lower part of a fish, purely the creature of
fancy; yet it served them to set up in opposition to the true and living God.
To this pretended deity they ascribe their success (v. 23, 24): Our
god has delivered Samson our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, into our
hands. So they dreamed, though he could do neither good nor evil. They
knew Delilah had betrayed him, and they had paid her for doing it, yet they
attribute it to their god, and are confirmed by it in their belief of his
power to protect them. All people will thus walk in the name of their gods:
they will give them the praise of their achievements; and shall not we pay
this tribute to our God whose kingdom ruleth over all? Yet, considering what
wicked arts they used to get Samson into their hands, it must be confessed it
was only such a dunghill-deity as Dagon that was fit to be made a patron of
the villany. Sacrifices were offered, and songs of praise sung, on the general
thanksgiving day, for this victory obtained over one man; there were great
expressions of joy, and all to the honour of Dagon. Much more reason have we
to give the praise of all our successes to our God. Thanks be to him who
causeth us to triumph in Christ Jesus! 2. By the sport they made with
Samson, God's champion, they reflected on God himself. When they were merry
with wine, to make them more merry Samson must be fetched to make sport for
them (v. 25, 27), that is, for them to make sport with. Having
sacrificed to their god, and eaten and drunk upon the sacrifice, they rose up
to play, according to the usage of idolaters (1 Cor. x. 7), and Samson must be
the fool in the play. They made themselves and one another laugh to see how,
being blind, he stumbled and blundered. It is likely they smote this judge
of Israel upon the cheek (Mic. v. 1), and said, Prophesy who smote
thee. It was an instance of their barbarity to trample thus upon a man in
misery, at the sight of whom awhile ago they would have trembled. It put
Samson into the depth of misery, and as a sword in his bones were their
reproaches, when they said, Where is now they God? Nothing could be
more grievous to so great a spirit; yet, being a penitent, his godly sorrow
makes him patient, and he accepts the indignity as the punishment of his
iniquity. How unrighteous soever the Philistines were, he could not but own
that God was righteous. He had sported himself in his own deceivings and with
his own deceivers, and justly are the Philistines let loose upon him to make
sport with him. Uncleanness is a sin that makes men vile, and exposes them to
contempt. A wound and dishonour shall he get whose heart is deceived by
a woman, and his reproach shall not be wiped away. Everlasting shame
and contempt will be the portion of those that are blinded and bound by their
own lusts. The devil that deceived them will insult over them.
II. How justly the God of Israel brought sudden destruction upon them by the
hands of Samson. Thousands of the Philistines had got together, to attend
their lords in the sacrifices and joys of this day, and to be the spectators
of this comedy; but it proved to them a fatal tragedy, for they were all
slain, and buried in the ruins of the house: whether it was a temple or a
theatre, or whether it was some slight building run up for the purpose, is
uncertain. Observe,
1. Who were destroyed: All the lords of the Philistines (v. 27),
who had by bribes corrupted Delilah to betray Samson to them. Evil pursued
those sinners. Many of the people likewise, to the number of 3000, and among
them a great many women, one of whom, it is likely, was that harlot of Gaza
mentioned, v. 1. Samson had been drawn into sin by the Philistine
women, and now a great slaughter is made among them, as was by Moses's order
among the women of Midian, because it was they that caused the children of
Israel to trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, Num. xxxi. 16.
2. When they were destroyed. (1.) When they were merry, secure, and jovial,
and far from apprehending themselves in any danger. When they saw Samson lay
hold of the pillars, we may suppose, his doing so served them for a jest, and
they made sport with that too: What will this feeble Jew do? How are
sinners brought to desolation in a moment! They are lifted up in pride and
mirth, that their fall may be the more dreadful. Let us never envy the mirth
of wicked people, but infer from this instance that their triumphing is short
and their joy but for a moment. (2.) It was when they were praising Dagon
their god, and giving that honour to him which is due to God only, which is no
less than treason against the King of kings, his crown and dignity. Justly
therefore is the blood of these traitors mingled with their sacrifices.
Belshazzar was cut off when he was praising his man-made gods, Dan. v. 4. (3.)
It was when they were making sport with an Israelite, a Nazarite, and
insulting over him, persecuting him whom God had smitten. Nothing fills the
measure of the iniquity of any person or people faster than mocking and
misusing the servants of God, yea, though it is by their own folly that they
are brought low. Those know not what they do, nor whom they affront, that make
sport with a good man.
3. How they were destroyed. Samson pulled the house down upon them, God no
doubt putting it into his heart, as a public person, thus to avenge God's
quarrel with them, Israel's, and his own. (1.) He gained strength to do it by
prayer, v. 28. That strength which he had lost by sin he, like a true
penitent, recovers by prayer; as David, who, when he had provoked the Spirit
of grace to withdraw, prayed (Ps. li. 12), Restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation, and uphold me with thy free Spirit. We may suppose that this
was only a mental prayer, and that his voice was not heard (for it was made in
a noisy clamorous crowd of Philistines); but, though his voice was not heard
of men, yet his prayer was heard of God and graciously answered, and though he
lived not to give an account himself of this his prayer, as Nehemiah did of
his, yet God not only accepted it in heaven, but, by revealing it to the
inspired penmen, provided for the registering of it in his church. He prayed
to God to remember him and strengthen him this once, thereby owning that his
strength for what he had already done he had from God, and begged it might be
afforded to him once more, to give them a parting blow. That it was not from a
principle of passion or personal revenge, but from a holy zeal for the glory
of God and Israel, that he desired to do this, appears from God's accepting
and answering the prayer. Samson died praying, so did our blessed Saviour; but
Samson prayed for vengeance, Christ for forgiveness. (2.) He gained
opportunity to do it by leaning on the two pillars which were the chief
supports of the building, and were, it seems, so near together that he could
take hold of them both at one time, v. 26, 29. Having hold of them, he
bore them down with all his might, crying aloud, Let me die with the
Philistines, v. 30. Animamque in vulnere ponit--While inflicting
the wound he dies. The vast concourse of people that were upon the roof
looking down through it to see the sport, we may suppose, contributed to the
fall of it. A weight so much greater than ever it was designed to carry might
perhaps have sunk of itself, at least it made the fall more fatal to those
within: and indeed few of either could escape being either stifled or crushed
to death. This was done, not by any natural strength of Samson, but by the
almighty power of God, and is not only marvellous, but miraculous, in our
eyes. Now in this, [1.] The Philistines were greatly mortified. All their
lords and great men were killed, and abundance of their people, and this in
the midst of their triumph; the temple of Dagon (as many think the house was)
was pulled down, and Dagon buried in it. This would give a great check to the
insolence of the survivors, and, if Israel had but had so much sense and
spirit left them as to improve the advantages of this juncture, they might now
have thrown off the Philistines' yoke. [2.] Samson may very well be justified,
and brought in not guilty of any sinful murder either of himself or the
Philistines. He was a public person, a declared enemy to the Philistines,
against whom he might therefore take all advantages. They were now in the most
barbarous manner making war upon him; all present were aiding and abetting,
and justly die with him. Nor was he felo de se, or a self-murderer,
in it; for it was not his own life that he aimed at, though he had too much
reason to be weary of it, but the lives of Israel's enemies, for the reaching
of which he bravely resigned his own, not counting it dear to him, so that
he might finish his course with honour. [3.] God was very much glorified
in pardoning Samson's great transgressions, of which this was an evidence. It
has been said that the prince's giving a commission to one convicted amounts
to a pardon. Yet, though he was a God that forgave him, he took vengeance
of his inventions (Ps. xcix. 8), and, by suffering his champion to die in
fetters, warned all to take heed of those lusts which war against the soul.
However, we have good reason to hope that though Samson died with the
Philistines he had not his everlasting portion with them. The Lord knows
those that are his. [4.] Christ was plainly typified. He pulled down the
devil's kingdom, as Samson did Dagon's temple; and, when he died, he obtained
the most glorious victory over the powers of darkness. Then when his arms were
stretched out upon the cross, as Samson's to the two pillars, he gave a fatal
shake to the gates of hell, and, through death, destroyed him that had the
power of death, that is, the devil (Heb. ii. 14, 15), and herein exceeded
Samson, that he not only died with the Philistines, but rose again to triumph
over them.
Lastly, The story of Samson concludes, 1. With an account of his
burial. His own relations, animated by the glories that attended his death,
came and found out his body among the slain, brought it honourably to his own
country, and buried it in the place of his fathers' sepulchres, the
Philistines being in such a consternation that they durst not oppose it. 2.
With the repetition of the account we had before of the continuance of his
government: He judged Israel twenty years; and, if they had not been as
mean and sneaking as he was brave and daring, he would have left them clear of
the Philistines' yoke. They might have been easy, safe, and happy, if they
would but have given God and their judges leave to make them so.
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