Samson Duped and Avenged
Judges 16
June 6, 2004

I. Interlude, vv. 1-3

            This is the interlude between great slaughter and Samson's defeat.

1.      Quiet before the storm

(1)   Samson's weakness - great gifts call for great attention to the heart; self-restraint requires more might than muscle and brawn.

(a)    Did he know and understand his weakness?

(b)   Had he admitted it to anyone?

(c)    Was there any accountability in his life?

(d)   Did he presume that his exceptional gifts made him an exception to God's law?

(2)   Plotting of the Philistines - intends, in the midst of Samson's follies, to show the inherent dumbness of the Philistines.  Text in Hebrews has indications that they waited for him in daylight but assumed he would be "detained" by his nighttime activities.

2.      Foiled again

Massive gate, likely covered with metal to aid against fire, carried nearly 40 miles to the heart of the land of Judah.

(1)   God was defeating the Philistines in spite of Judah's apathy.

(2)   God would irritate the Philistines even if Judah would not.

(3)   In spite of Samson's moral failures, God's work continued.  We are hamstrung by our sin, but not the Sovereign Lord.

II. Into the Enemy's Snare

1.      The road most traveled, v. 4

(1)   Neglecting God's call upon the life; e.g., "At the times that kings go out to battle, David sent Joab...But David stayed at Jerusalem" (II Samuel 11:1).

(2)   Inattentive to responsibilities and duties.

(3)   Giving way to uncontrolled desires - "Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness" (I Timothy 4:7).

(4)   Giving opportunity to the enemy - unequal yoke, II Corinthians 6:14-18; remember Solomon.

2.      Lured into the web

Proverbs 6:25-28, The song that states, "How can it be so wrong when it feels so right," might describe Samson's position.  Catchy words, but bad theology.

(1)   Samson mistook smiles for love.  He so wanted this relationship to be right.  But it had no foundation for being right.

(2)   Philistine lords must have sought out this chance since none of their duties were in the Valley of Sorek.

(3)   Delilah set her sights on the "mother lode" of silver (compare - Abraham paid 400 shekels for burial plot; David paid 50 shekels for threshing floor of Araunah).

(4)   The enemy is unprincipled.  The moment that we think "rules of engagement" operate, we will be easily snared.  Consider Peter being "sifted as wheat" in the denial of Luke 22.

(5)   Delilah's accusations of Samson deceiving her as a cover-up of her own deception.

(6)   Though he initially knew to guard his "secret," he folded under manipulative words.  Either he was so dulled that he could not see the trap laid for him, or he was so presumptuous that he thought he could never fall.  Both these things happen too often in Christian circles.

(7)   Samson's personal defense against the enemy grew weaker with his continual indulgence and flirtation with the unprincipled Delilah.  The fact that he hesitated long and hard over revealing the reason for his strength shows that he initially had some sense of his purpose and some measure of restraint.  But the company he kept and atmosphere in which he dwelled weakened his resolves. 

This is a major warning signal for all of us!

(a)    Separation from the world in conduct, affection, admiration, and attitude can never be minimized.  Obviously, we are in the world but we are not to be of the world. 

(b)   This calls for evaluating our own habits, relationships, and practices in a realistic way to discern creeping into a "Delilah snare."

(c)    We must also realize that the adversary has laid plenty of traps for us.  Do we seek to sharpen our senses to recognize this and flee?

III. Prayer in the Darkness, vv. 15-31

1.      A costly haircut

Delilah knew that Samson had leveled with her.  With the Sorek Valley being so close to Israel's borders, surely she had heard of the Nazirite vow.  If so, then how telling it was on Israel that she had no fear of God before her eyes.  The nation had so compromised that she had no qualms about betraying Samson.

Samson spoke of his unusual consecration but she saw no evidence of it in his life or in Israel's actions.  Samson's use of the generic Elohim in v. 17 might be somewhat telling of how weakened he had become. 

How he remained asleep while having his haircut, we can only imagine.  Perhaps God gave him over to his dullness so that he remained in a stupor.  If we knowingly parley with evil and continually compromise, do not be surprised at what the world can do to you without notice.

2.      Judges' saddest statement, v. 20

Samson thought himself to be invincible.  He had been able to overcome all other bad situations; this would be no different, or so he thought.

(1)   Presumed upon the Lord's mercies.

(2)   Presumed upon his own strength.

(3)   Failed to be alert to the spiritual dangers brought on by his actions.

(4)   Ironically, Samson's practice and words offer a vivid picture of Israel's own condition.

(5)   The Lord's departure came after much patience and longsuffering.

(6)   Samson was so spiritually dulled that he didn't even recognize that the Lord had left.

(7)   How many churches have had "Ichabod - the glory has departed" written across their threshold, but have failed to see this?

(8)   Samson's humiliation follows.

3.      Where praise doesn't belong

The Philistines praised their god, Dagon, for the victory.  Dagon was a Canaanite deity, probably an agricultural god, though some say a fish-god that had nothing to do with Samson's demise. 

The Lord's name was further blasphemed by Samson's failure to live according to his divine calling.

Their celebration, probably accompanied with drinking and debauchery, led to calls for Samson to put on a show.  He became nothing more than a circus strong man to them.  The fear of Samson had left their imaginations as a little boy had to lead the mighty man around.

Did it cross his mind that his behavior had given the Lord's enemies occasion to blaspheme?

(1)              Samson's chief error was his failure to live in such a way that he might bring glory to the Lord.  God's glory was far from his eyes as long as self-gratification consumed his sights. 

(2)              The glory of God provides a good benchmark for us in maintaining the kind of lives that please God.

4.      Prayer of vengeance

The return in using the title, "O Sovereign Lord" ("Adonai Yahweh") shows that to some degree, Samson had turned from his ways to the Lord.  It was an acknowledgement that the Judge of Israel was now a prisoner of the Philistines because the Sovereign Lord had departed. 

(1)   Samson believed in God's mercy.

(2)   His hair began to grow, v. 22, as a sign that God was not finished with him.

(3)   There's much more we would have liked to hear in his prayer but the mighty Samson was spiritually anemic.  Even his prayer took on a self-focused tone, with no thought for God's glory identified.

(4)   Yet, Samson may have considered that God's purpose was still on his life and he needed to finish what he was called to do.

(5)   His prayer had 3 petitions:

-         "Remember me" - since the Lord had left; not a call for divine knowledge, but relationship.

-         "Strengthen me" - he understood that his strength was God's gift, which he had squandered.

-         "Let me die with the Philistines" - and God answered all three prayers.

 

Concluding lessons:

1.      God's call upon our life and subsequent gifting for service must be accompanied with serious devotion and discipline.

2.      The self-centeredness of unrestrained living always lands us in a snare.

3.      A dulled spiritual walk leaves us with an undiscerning mind that willingly swallows the enemy's bait.

4.      God's gifts and calling upon our lives will not be trampled upon with immunity.

5.      There's mercy with the Lord.  His name will be honored even in the face of a thousand Dagons being praised for what they could never do.

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