Transcript

Major-General James Wolfe was Britain’s most celebrated military hero of the 18th century. After distinguishing himself in battle, at the age of 32, he was placed in command of Britain’s Quebec expedition against the French in 1759.

After laying siege to Quebec City for three months, a stronghold for the French, Wolfe led his men in carrying out a daring plan. Using flat-bottomed landing craft, he took his 4,500 troops up the St. Lawrence River and landed them southwest of the city.

They then scaled the cliffs near the city to surprise the French and draw them out and into battle exactly where Wolfe wanted to fight. It was a bold plan and it worked.

The French battalions advanced to the attack outside the city. The French soldiers, however, fired ineffectually at too great a distance.

The British soldiers marched and calmly withheld their fire until the range was 35 yards. And their two volleys destroyed the French line.

The British infantry then advanced and drove the French from the field. But when Wolfe began to move forward, he was shot three times, once in the arm, once in the shoulder, and finally in the chest.

As he lay dying, and hearing of the impending victory, he said, “Now God be praised, I die contented.” In Westminster Abbey is the tomb of James Wolfe, and on his tomb are carved the words: “Slain in the moment of victory.”

Samson was slain in the moment of victory when he destroyed the temple of Dagon by pushing those pillars over and bringing victory over Israel’s enemies, the Philistines.

And these words can also be said of the Lord Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. As our Savior too was slain in the moment of victory over our greatest enemy, sin.

Judges 16:4-6: “And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

“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. And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.”

The name, Samson, brings to mind a man of great strength or the strongest man in the Bible. Samson was a judge and deliverer of Israel.

Because of his superhuman exploits, such as killing 1000 Philistines with a donkey’s jawbone, Samson is perhaps the best known of all Israel’s judges.

Samson was different than Israel’s other judges in that he did not lead an army, but carried out his campaign against Israel’s enemies, the Philistines, single-handedly. He was a one-man army.

Samson’s mother was barren and had no children. But an angel appeared to her and foretold his birth, and just like it was promised her, he was born miraculously.

And an angel foretelling his birth and being miraculously born immediately brings to mind the Lord Jesus Christ, whose birth was also foretold to Mary by an angel and He was miraculously born of a virgin.

The angel told Samson’s mother also that he was to be “a Nazarite unto God from the womb” (Judges 13:5). According to Numbers 6, the Nazarite vow had three restrictions: 1) He was not to drink wine. 2) His hair was to be uncut and untouched by a razor. 3) He must not go near a dead body.

This vow of consecration wasn’t something that had to be done for one’s whole life, but was done willingly just for a period of time in order to separate oneself to the Lord and draw closer to Him. But in Samson’s case, it was from the womb and his whole life was lived as a Nazarite and under the Nazarite vow.

After Samson was born, Judges 13:24-25 tells us, “and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times…”

Early in Samson’s life, the Spirit began working powerfully in his life, and the Spirit was the true source of his strength and might throughout his whole life.

Few men in the Bible demonstrate such a stark contrast between strength and weakness. We typically think of Samson’s mighty feats of physical strength, but his character weaknesses are very apparent in his life, such as his weakness with immoral and ungodly women. And we see this weakness here in Judges 16, first with a harlot in Gaza.

Then in Judges 16:4 we learn that Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah who lived in the valley of Sorek, which was situated on the border of Judah and Philistia.

When this became known, the lords of the Philistines offered Delilah a great reward if she would lure Samson into revealing the secret of his great strength.

Their offer for this information was, “we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.” The Word always points us to Jesus Christ, and don’t let it escape your notice that a bribe of “silver” was offered to Delilah by Samson’s enemies to betray him. And that reminds us of Judas, who was bribed with silver by Christ’s enemies to betray Him.

These lords of the Philistines desired to know his strength so that “we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him.”

At first, they didn’t want to kill Samson, but instead, after neutralizing his power, they wanted to capture and torture him, insult and humiliate him, and exult in their triumph.

After the lords of the Philistines bribed her, Delilah in her greed, rather bluntly “said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.”

She asked Samson where his strength came from so he could be bound and subdued. As you read verses 7-14, you find three fruitless attempts to learn Samson’s secret, as he deceived her each time by false statements.

On her first attempt, Samson said that if he were bound with seven fresh bowstrings, he would become as weak as any other man and unable to break free.

So the Philistine lords brought her seven fresh bowstrings and she tied him with them. Now, one would think that Samson could have easily seen Delilah’s heart by the fact that she immediately tried to bind him with what he deceptively said he could be bound with!

But sometimes love makes one blind! The Philistines were lying in wait in the house ready to ambush him. Feigning concern, and giving a signal to the Philistines in the house, Delilah said to him, “The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.”

When she did, Samson broke the bowstrings with no effort at all, as one would snap a cord in two when it is held to and weakened by a fire.

From the account, we can see that the Philistines were in the house, but they did not make their presence known. They were there to overpower and capture Samson as soon as it became apparent that his strength was gone. But when they saw that Samson was free, they remained in hiding.

On her second attempt to get him to reveal his strength, Samson told her that if he were bound with new ropes, he would become weak like any other man. So again, Delilah got some new ropes and tried to bind him with what he said he could be bound with.

Again, Philistines were in the house and again Delilah said to him, “The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.” When she did, Samson broke the new ropes with no effort at all as if they were a strand of yarn, and the Philistines remained in hiding.

On the third attempt, you see Samson begin to weaken and he gets closer to the truth because he mentions his hair. His mass of hair as a Nazarite had been arranged in seven locks or braids. Samson told her that he would be helpless if she wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on a loom.

So Delilah wove his hair into the loom and to make it even more secure, she fastened the loom with a pin to the floor or the wall so as to keep it firm and immoveable.

Samson had fallen asleep during all this, but when she woke him up with the warning “The Philistines be upon thee, Samson,” with the strength of his neck, he yanked and tore the pin out of where the loom was securely fastened in the floor or wall, and he picked the whole contraption up and walked away.

Judges 16:16-22: “And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

“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.

“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 shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

“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.

“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.

“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. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.”

A husband once said, “I have this nagging feeling. It starts right when I wake up, but it usually stops when she goes to bed.”

Delilah really nagged and pestered Samson. It says she pressed him daily, from when he woke up until he went to bed, to reveal the secret of his strength.

Finally, after Samson’s “soul was vexed unto death,” he broke down and made the fatal decision to reveal to Delilah the true secret of his strength: his uncut hair.

His long hair was not the true source of his power, but was the outward indication of him being a Nazirite and of his separation to God. It was the Holy Spirit and his relationship to God that made him strong. But if his hair were cut off, he would be powerless because it would break that Nazarite vow of consecration and separation to God.

Delilah knew that Samson had told her the truth, so she summoned the lords of the Philistines, and they came in a rush with money in hand.

Then Delilah set a trap by lulling Samson to sleep on her knees. When he was asleep, she called in one of the Philistine men. He came in and shaved off his seven braids of hair, and his strength left him.

Waking him, she gave the same warning “The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.” When he awoke out of his sleep, he thought he would do as he had done before and shake himself free by his great strength. But he didn’t know that the Lord had departed from him.

Thus, verse 21 tells us that the powerless Samson was seized by the Philistines, and the first thing they did was to “put out his eyes” and blind him.

He was then transported to Gaza. There he was imprisoned, placed in bronze shackles, and forced to grind grain with a hand mill. The enemies of God were now in complete control of this once mighty judge of Israel.

It’s been said well that “Sin has its wages, and this was Samson’s payday. His sin left him blind, in bondage, and a slave.”

But a spark of hope flickered in the darkness of Samson’s prison cell, as verse 22 added, “Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.”

Along with his hair, Samson’s dedication to the Lord, which his hair symbolized, began to return. This was the real reason that his strength returned and that he was able to carry out one last act of judgment against the Philistines.

Judges 16:23-27: “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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.”

A time came that the lords of the Philistines gathered the people together at a temple dedicated to their god Dagon for a feast to celebrate and give glory to Dagon for delivering their great enemy into their hands and to offer a great sacrifice to him.

Dagon was the principal Philistine god and was a god of grain.

They praised Dagon believing their false god to be stronger than the God of Israel because they had conquered Israel’s great warrior, Samson. Sadly, by his sin, Samson had given the enemies of Jehovah an opportunity to blaspheme and belittle Him.

The people, who were in high spirits at this religious festival, then called for Samson to brought out to entertain them. They wanted to exult in what their god had done for them.

They desired to bring him out “that he may make us sport.” This means that they wanted him to perform and entertain them and make them laugh. And verse 25 says that after they did bring him out, “he made them sport.”

In his blindness, being led by the hand of a young boy, and his seeming harmlessness as a slave under their control, it made this large crowd laugh, and they unmercifully mocked and ridiculed him.

Making them laugh reminds me though how it has been said that Samson was the greatest comedian in the Bible, because he brought the house down!

The making sport of him was temporarily halted and Samson was then brought between the two major pillars of the temple which supported the roof.

Samson then asked the young man who was leading him around to help him “feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.”

After he had entertained the crowd, he pretended to be tired and asked to feel where the pillars were so he might rest a few minutes and lean against them. And the young man did as he asked.

Verse 27 tells us that the temple was full of men and women. The lords of the Philistines that had bribed Delilah were there. And just upon the roof alone there was “about three thousand men and women,” not to mention those who were on the ground level.

These 3000 had gone up to the roof to get a better view of Samson when he was brought out as they made a spectacle of and humiliated the once-mighty and feared Samson.

Judges 16:28-30: “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.

“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.

“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.”

As Samson felt for the pillars and stood between them, he prayed to the Lord. Because, as verse 20 says, the Lord departed from Samson, he prayed for the Lord to remember him.

And in humility, he prayed for the Lord to strengthen him for one final feat of strength, “only this once,” to judge the Philistines. This is the only time we read of Samson praying before he used his strength.

His prayer shows how the trial of the loss of his sight and the many lonely hours of darkness grinding grain in his cell had led him to rededicate himself to the Lord. And his strength was now disciplined by faith (Heb. 11:32).

Samson prayed to return to his calling as God’s deliverer of His people, and be avenged of his enemies for them robbing him of his eyes. And God graciously heard and answered His servant’s prayer.

And at that, “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. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might.”

With one arm he braced himself on the left; with the other arm he braced himself on the right. No one is looking at him, no one pays him any attention, no one dreams of the nightmare that is about to happen.

Now he begins to press outward against those massive stone pillars with all his might. For a moment nothing happens; then the foundation begins to crack. The guards rush toward him but it is too late. Already stones and timbers are crashing around them.

Screams, noise, confusion, dust, panic, the columns bulge and break, then crumble to the ground. There is a sound like a small explosion and the arena disappears in a cloud of dust. All those on the roof die, and all those beneath it are crushed, all the lords are killed, and Samson lies dead at the bottom of the whole pile of rubble.

Samson is now found with the Philistines in his death, a corpse among corpses in the rubble of Dagon’s temple.

Samson died in battle as a victor and a martyr. And he vindicated Jehovah over Dagon. He destroyed that temple to a false god. And as a judge and deliverer he killed more of Israel’s enemies than he had slain during his lifetime. Samson’s death was more effective against Israel’s enemies than his life ever was.

Now, look beyond Samson to see the shadow of a cross made by his arms stretched out between the columns.

Those on the roof above Samson picture the demonic principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness perched in their high places, who, in the unseen realm, looked down and rejoiced in the day Christ was crucified, believing they gained the victory.

They had been working behind the scenes to bring about Christ’s death since His birth, such as when Herod the Great had all the children 2 years old and under killed in Bethlehem, or when the people of Nazareth wanted to throw Him off a cliff.

But now, at the Cross, they praised “their god,” the devil and Satan, saying, “Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy” (v. 24). Satan had entered into Judas, which led to him betraying God’s Son and Christ being arrested in the Garden.

Like Samson, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is THE Strongest and mightiest of all, had been bound, “delivered into the hands of sinful men” and while not blinded, He was blindfolded. And when He was blindfolded, the Jews struck Him on the face, and asked Him, “Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?”

And like Samson was made sport of, so our Savior was as well. The Roman soldiers made sport of him and mocked him. They “put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!”

Like when Samson was brought out, when Christ was brought out to Calvary, those present that day at the Cross made sport of Him, “Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.”

And those above, on the roof as it were, the demons, rejoiced, laughed, and were merry in the mocking that was given the Lord that dark day.

Samson’s blindness also reminds us how Christ took our sins on Himself, because we are blind in our sins, and in the 3 hours of DARKNESS when He was made sin, He paid the price for our sins.

And Christ at the Cross, between the pillars with His arms outstretched, with the weight of the sins of humanity on his shoulders, forsaken by the Father, prayed, “Remember me!”

He needed strength “just this once” in the once-for-all sacrifice for sin that fully accomplished our redemption.

Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines,” and so Christ was numbered with the transgressors and died for sinners, for His enemies. As Samson shared the fate of His enemies, so the Lord shared the fate of sinners and He died.

When Samson “bowed himself,” it reminds us how our mighty Savior “bowed His head, and gave up the ghost” as He finished the payment for our sins.

And when He did, in eternal power and might, Christ moved the pillars and foundations of sin and death, and He defeated those rulers of darkness above. And it all came crashing down as Christ died in victory and crushed our enemies of sin, death, and Satan.

And He robbed death of its sting, sin of its penalty and power, and Satan of his authority.

What Satan and the demons thought was their greatest victory was actually their downfall and defeat. Colossians 2:15 tells us that by His Cross, “having spoiled principalities and powers, [Christ] made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

Samson voluntarily laid down his life in order to deliver his people from their enemies. And Christ voluntarily died in order to deliver us from our enemies of sin, death and Satan.

In death, Samson was a victor. Death was the means of his greatest victory. And likewise, death was the means of Christ’s greatest victory which has brought salvation and life to us.