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David Guzik · Citado em PreceptAustin
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Guzik - Samson was in obvious sin here. This is a clear example of how a man so used of God can also sin and sin blatantly.. Samson wanted to be used by God, but he also yielded to the deceitfulness of sin. He kept the external features of his Nazirite vow zealously, while at the same time sinning blatantly with a prostitute.. Samson did what we nearly all do when deceived by sin. He put his life into categories, and figured that some categories God cared about, and some categories God did not care about. Understanding that Jesus has claim over our entire life is a radical change of perspective." (Judges 16 Commentary) Went in to her - The life of Samson illustrates the ancient truth that a good beginning doesn’t guarantee a good ending. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote that "Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending. (cp Heb 12:1, 2+, Php 3:14+, 1Ti 1:18, 6:20, 1Pe 1:13+) As Solomon wrote "The end of a matter is better than its beginning (Eccl 7:8) Samson’s morality had fallen to a low point with his visit to the prostitute at Gaza, and he soon was paying the consequences of ignoring God. It’s possible for one's character to deteriorate so much that they don’t have to be tempted in order to sin. All they need is the opportunity to sin, and they will tempt themselves (cp Jas 1:14, 15+)! What a frightening state in which to be! Illicit sex may taste sweet as honey (Pr 5:3+), but always ends up as bitter as wormwood (Pr 5:1-14+). Samson the man had become Samson the animal as the prostitute led him to the slaughter (Pr 7:6-23+). Gaza was an important seaport town located about forty miles from Samson’s hometown of Zorah. We aren’t told why Samson went there, but it’s not likely he was looking for sensual pleasure. Once again the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh (cp 1Jn 2:15-17+, Jas 1:14+) combined to grip Samson and make him a slave to his passions. It seems incredible to us that a servant of God (Jdg 15:18+), who did great works in the power of the Spirit, would visit a prostitute, but the record is here for all to read. This story reminds one of the exploits of Jimmy Swaggart caught visiting ladies of the night. It’s possible for people’s character to deteriorate so much that they don’t have to be tempted in order to sin. All they need is the opportunity to sin, and they’ll tempt themselves. -- Warren Wiersbe Warren
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Guzik - Despite his sin, God still gave Samson supernatural strength to escape from the Philistines. God did this because God’s purpose was bigger than Samson himself, and because God used Samson despite Samson’s sin, not because of it. (ED: SO NOTE THAT WHILE HE HAS SPIRIT ENABLED PHYSICAL STRENGTH, HE HAS NO SPIRIT ENABLED SELF-CONTROL). Clearly this feat of strength was another manifestation of the Spirit's provision of supernatural strength. The first mention in Jdg 13:25 of the Spirit is like a preview of his future "power encounters." There are at least Seven "power encounters" - (1) Jdg 14:6, (2) Jdg 14:19, (3) Jdg 15:4-5 (power implied), (4) Jdg 15:8 (power implied), (5) Jdg 15:14-15, (6) Jdg 16:3 (power implied) and (7) Jdg 16:30 (power implied). Seven is the number of completion (just wondering!) Ray Pritchard on Samson's unhinging the city gate - There are two things you need to know about this. First, when it says he ripped up doors of the city gate, it doesn’t mean a hollow core door. It means it was a thick wooden door anchored by iron posts on either side and held in place with iron hinges. To rip out a door like that would take enormous strength. To pick it up and carry it even one foot would be a tremendous feat. The door would have weighed almost 700 pounds. Second, by carrying off the doors of the city gate, Samson was humiliating the Philistines once again. Nearly all the ancient cities were surrounded by a thick wall, which meant the gate was the main entrance. The gate symbolized the safety and security of the city. And for Samson to take the city gate and to put it on his shoulders and to carry it away like that—not only was it a feat of incredible strength—it was also his way of humiliating the Philistines and saying, “See, not only can you not catch me, I’m going to destroy the symbol of your security.” He carried the doors and put them on top of the hill which faces Hebron. Hebron was in the land of Judah. That was where the people of God were. He put them up there as if to say, “See, you can’t stop me. You can’t catch me. I can do anything I want.” You may wonder why this little episode is in the Bible. How does this story of Samson and the prostitute fit in with Samson and Delilah? The answer is transparent. Samson had a problem with women. He never liked the Philistines. He hated them all his life. But he could never stay away from the Philistine women. He hated the Philistines, but he could never stay away from their women. What Samson wanted, by going down to the prostitute in Gaza, was sex without commitment. He wanted love without any strings attached. But there’s no such thing as sex without commitment or love with no strings attached. He thought he was going to get it by going to a prostitute and getting his physical needs satisfied. Then he would slip out during the night, rip off the gate, set it down on the hill, pay his own price to the Philistines, and go back home, wash his hands and nobody would be the wiser. But let me tell you what’s really going on in Samson’s heart and mind. Do you remember what happened way back there when he was 19 years old? He went down to that woman in Timnah and he made an engagement with her and he liked her and he wanted her. Do you remember what she said to him in order to get him to tell her the riddle? She said to him, “You don’t really love me.” As a matter of fact, that happened to be exactly true. He didn’t love her. And that struck Samson in his ego and that’s why he gave up the secret. Samson is now trying to prove that he is capable of real love. But he can’t do that by going to a prostitute. It seems at first as if Samson has gotten away with it. It seems that the man of God has gone into a prostitute, has ripped off the doors of the city gate, has gone back home and now he’s back there laughing with the boys. It looks like Samson has really gotten away with one here. When Samson went into that prostitute the real price he paid was the price on the inside. Not on the outside, but the price on the inside, because the woman had said, “You don’t really love me.” And in just a few moments Delilah is going to say, “How can you say, ‘I love you.’” It’s the same old cycle repeating itself over and over again. Try as you might, you can’t prove that you love somebody by going down to a prostitute, because that’s just sex for money. And strangely enough, when Samson did that, it drove him into the arms of Delilah. Do you understand what I’m saying? By going to a prostitute, not only did his real needs go unmet, he just inflamed his passions and drove himself into Delilah’s arms. That’s why this story is in the Bible. Society tells us, Go ahead, you can have a one night stand, you can have your fun, you can walk away from it, and you can just move on. The world says, “You can say it was just for fun.” But it’s not true. It’s never just for fun. There’s no such thing as sex without commitment. There’s no such thing as love with no strings attached. That’s what Samson is about to find out. Samson’s done two things that are going to get him into trouble. First, he has enraged the Philistines by ripping off their city gate. Second, he has inflamed his old passion for women and for illicit sex. He has inflamed it now, and there is going to be nothing but trouble ahead. This is the little fall on the way to the big fall. (Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places) George Bush-- Took the doors of the gate. Heb. יאחז yeehōz, laid hold of, seized. Not the great gate itself, but the two smaller doors or leaves, constructed within the large gate, and which alone were opened on ordinary occasions. The posts, bar, &c., of these were different from the more solid and massy fixtures of the great gate, which of course he could not think of removing. It was indeed an instance of divine forbearance at which Samson had occasion to wonder that his supernatural strength was yet continued to him, notwithstanding his aggravated offence. We should have thought that his very convictions of conscience would have unnerved his arm, and rendered him all but absolutely powerless. But God may have wise reasons for deferring the punishment of those sins which yet do by no means pass with impunity. Samson is reprieved but not pardoned. (resource) Keil and Delitzsch - at midnight Samson got up, and “laying hold of the folding wings of the city, gate, as well as the two posts, tore them out of the ground with his herculean strength, together with the bar that fastened them, and carried them up to the top of the mountain which stands opposite to Hebron.” עַל־פְּנֵי merely means in the direction towards, as in Gen. 18:16, and does not signify that the mountain was in the front of Hebron or in the immediate neighbourhood (see Deut. 32:49, where Mount Nebo, which was on the other side of the Jordan, and at least four geographical miles from Jericho, is said to have been over against, it, and the same expression is employed). The distance from Gaza to Hebron was about nine geographical miles. To the east of Gaza there is a range of hills which runs from north to south. The highest of them all is one which stands somewhat isolated, about half an hour to the south-east of the town, and is called el Montar from a wely which is found upon the top of it. From this hill there is a splendid prospect over the whole of the surrounding country. Hebron itself is not visible from this hill, but the mountains of Hebron are. According to an ancient tradition, it was to the summit of this hill that Samson carried the city gates; and both Robinson (Pal. ii. 377) and V. de Velde regard this tradition as by no means improbable, although the people of Gaza are not acquainted with it. “The city gate of the Gaza of that time was probably not less than three-quarters of an hour from the hill el Montar; and to climb this peak with the heavy gates and their posts and bar upon his shoulders through the deep sand upon the road, was a feat which only a Samson could perform” (V. de Velde) (Commentary) Judges 16:4 After this it came about that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. Judges 16 Resources Related Passages: Proverbs 6:27 Can a man take fire in his bosom And his clothes not be burned? Proverbs 6:28 Or can a man walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched? See Valley of Sorek just above "JUDAH" on map (ESV Study Bible) SAMSON LOVED A WOMAN NAMED DELILAH After this it came about that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah - Delilah is the only woman actually named in the sad saga of Samson. Loved (ahab) has a wide range of meanings like its English counterpart, ranging from mere physical attraction to loyal devotion. In the present context it refers primarily to physical-emotional attraction. Samson "loved" Delilah, but as shown in the next verse, Delilah loved money (not Samson)! Samson had a penchant for "strange" (non-Israelite) women and Delilah was his third (at least in Jdg 13-16, cf Jdg 14:1,16:1) and like the saying goes "Three strikes and you're out!" Actually it took her four "pitches" (to uncover his secret) to "strike Samson out!"
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Guzik - This was suicide, but differed from suicide in the strict sense in that his purpose really wasn't to kill himself, but to kill as many Philistines as he could. There is a sense in which Samson was like modern suicide-bombers. Suicide is clearly sin, the sin of self-murder. Yet we are wrong if we regard it as the unforgivable sin. Most all who commit suicide have given in to the lies and deceptions of Satan, whose purpose is to kill and destroy (John 10:10). (Judges 16 Commentary) MacArthur on the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it - Some Philistine temples had roofs overlooking a courtyard, above wooden columns planted on stone foundations. The central pillars were set close to furnish extra support for the roof. Here the victory celebration and taunts flung at the prisoner below drew a big crowd. The full strength of Samson, renewed by God, enabled him to buckle the columns. As a result, the roof collapsed and the victory was Israel's, not Philistia's. He died for the cause of his country and his God. He was not committing suicide, but rather bringing God's judgment on His enemies and willing to leave his own life or death to God. He was the greatest champion of all Israel, yet a man of passion capable of severe sin. Still, he is in the list of the faithful (cf. Heb 11:32).(See context in The MacArthur Bible Commentary or borrow the MacArthur study Bible) See description of archaeological findings of a Philistine city in Tel Qasile. Stone comments - Excavations of a series of Philistine temples at Tel Qasile, within the city limits of modern Tel Aviv, reveal in the stratum X level two stone column bases about six feet apart upon which would have stood massive cedar columns, of which carbonized remains were found, to support the roof (Mazar 1992:317-323; Bierling 1992:113-119). Dislodging them might indeed have compromised the structure of the building, especially if it were already burdened with spectators on the roof (cf. 16:27). No one, of course, claims this temple as the one destroyed by Samson. Tel Qasile stratum X is somewhat late for Samson and, of course, is not located in Gaza. Still, its existence confirms in the Iron I period a Philistine temple design previously known only from ch 16. The three successive temples at Tel Qasile, covering the entire period of Philistine occupation, document an impressive diversity of architecture and floor plan, suggesting scholars should not expect uniformity in Philistine cult centers. (See context in Joshua, Judges, Ruth) Pastor Lowell Johnson draws the following lessons... You need to know the difference between forgiveness and restoration. - Forgiveness focuses on the sin of the person and restoration focuses on service and trust. - Forgiveness is immediate; restoration is gradual. It took time for Samson’s hair to grow back. Another truth is this: God forgives, but very often the consequences of sin are not erased. - Samson grew new hair, but he didn’t receive new eyes. - When we finally repent of our sins, God does not automatically obliterate the past. One other lesson: God restores failures, but we are not necessarily restored to our original usefulness for the Lord. - Samson was forgiven and restored, but he was never able to do what he could have done if he had not sinned. - A person’s desire to serve the Lord may return, but opportunity to serve may not be the same. - Dedication may be restored, but the confidence of others in you may never return." - Samson traded God’s power for a carnal pursuit of pleasure. - We often do the same (The Restoration of a Failure) So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life: This final salvo by Samson was part of the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Angel of the LORD that "he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines." (Jdg 13:5+). "No one gets away with sin. Not me, not you!" -- Keith Krell speaking for Samson THOUGHT - Samson illustrates people who have power to conquer others, but who cannot conquer themselves. Does that describe your ministry dear reader? Samson could set the Philistine fields on fire, but could not control the fires of lust that flamed up in his own heart! In the power of the Spirit, he killed a lion, but by that same Spirit would not kill the lusts of His flesh (Ro 8:13+)! While he could easily break physical bonds, the spiritual shackles of seductive sin waxed ever stronger until they killed him (see deceitfulness of sin)! Instead of leading the nation, he preferred to work independently, and as a result, left no permanent victory behind. Samson is best known in history for the feats of physical strength and what he destroyed, not for spiritual strength and what he built up. Because he lacked self discipline, his strength in one sense was not well-controlled and rightly used to deliver Israel from the oppression of the Philistines. Failure to submit to the Spirit's control of his lusts for women ended in his early death some twenty years later! O beloved, how we all need to read and heed the examples of the life of Samson. "Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved." (1Cor 10:6+) (Some of this "Thought" is adapted from Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament) THOUGHT - On Samson's Death - Believers in a parallel (spiritual) way are to count their old sin nature ("flesh") as dead (Ro 6:11). When Samson died, he did more in his death than he did in his life. That is what happens in our spiritual life. When we die to our sinful nature (cf Mk 8:34, Gal 2:20) more is accomplished through our new (Spirit enabled) nature than could ever be accomplished through our old (flesh empowered) nature. Samson died physically that day, but he did not die spiritually because in Hebrews 11:32, God sees him as a man of faith. As we have alluded to earlier, it would remain for Samuel and David to finally and fully deliver Israel from the Philistines. The tragic irony is that the prophet Samuel accomplished more with one prayer than Samson did in twenty years of periodic demonstrations of physical strength (1Sa 7:9-14).