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Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
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Wiersbe - 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. The Lord certainly didn’t approve of such behavior, especially on the part of a Nazirite; and the experience was for Samson one more step down into darkness and destruction. In recent years, there have been enough ministerial scandals in the United States alone to put all of us on guard. “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1Co 10:12NKJV+). We can’t help it when Satan and his demons tempt us; but when we tempt ourselves, we become our own enemy. God doesn’t tempt us (Jas 1:12–15+). When we pray, “Lead us not into temptation” (Mt 6:13+), we’re asking that we not tempt ourselves or put ourselves into such a position that we tempt God (ED: ONE OTHER INTERPRETATION IS THAT WE ARE ASKING HIM NOT TO ALLOW A TEMPTATION THAT IS TOO STRONG FOR US TO HANDLE). We tempt Him either by forcing Him to intervene and rescue us or by daring Him to stop us. 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. Illicit sexual experience may begin as sweet as honey, but it 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+). (See context The Bible Exposition Commentary) George Bush - Then went Samson to Gaza. This place was the capital and the most important of the five Philistine principalities, and was situated about fifteen miles south of Ascalon, sixty miles southwest from Jerusalem, and between two and three miles from the sea. It was a very ancient city, and is always spoken of in the Old Testament as a place of great importance. In more modern times it has undergone a great variety of changes occasioned by the fortunes of war, till at present it has declined to a trading village of some three or four thousand inhabitants. It stands upon a hill of about two miles circumference at the base, surrounded by valleys, and overlooking a prospect of much beauty. Environed by and interspersed with gardens and plantations of olive and date trees, the town has a picturesque appearance to which its numerous elegant minarets not a little contribute. The buildings being mostly of stone, and the streets moderately broad, the interior answers expectation better than most other towns of Syria, and affords accommodations far superior to most places in Egypt. The suburbs, however, are composed of miserable mud huts; but all travellers concur with Sandys in admiring the variety and richness of the vegetable productions, both wild and cultivated, of the environs. The inhabitants have manufactures of cotton and soap, but derive their principal support from the commerce between Egypt and Syria, which must all pass this way. Scarcely any of its ancient remains are now to be found. Those of which travellers gave an account a century or two ago, have nearly all disappeared.—The real motive by which Samson was prompted in this visit to Gaza, it is vain to attempt to discover. We can scarcely, however, from the sequel resist the impression that his spiritual affections had suffered a serious decline, that he had relaxed the vigilance and circumspection of his walk as a Nazarite, and that he ventured uncalled among the uncircumcised. Considering the relation in which he stood to the Philistines, and the light in which he was regarded by them, it was certainly a step full of personal danger, provided he went thither openly and without disguise. But from the context it would rather appear, that he entered the gates without the citizens being at first apprised of the fact. His being there, however, was soon noised abroad, and his enemies were at once on the alert with their machinations to get him in their power, and what security for safety have they who wander unbidden from the path of duty? (resource) George Bush And saw there an harlot, &c. The seeing this lewd woman was not perhaps the moving cause of his going to Gaza, but being there he accidentally fell in with her, and was unhappily ensnared by the sight of his eyes. How have the strongest in grace occasion to pray, Lead us not into temptation! (resource) R C
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Wiersbe - From Jdg 16:20 on, Samson does nothing but lose. He loses his hair, the symbol of his Nazarite dedication; for that dedication had long since been abandoned. Then he loses his strength, but he is ignorant of it until he is overpowered. How futile it is for the servant of God to try to serve the Lord when out of His will. Next Samson loses the light, for the Philistines put out his eyes. He loses his liberty, for they bind him with fetters of brass. He loses his usefulness to the Lord, for he ends up grinding corn instead of fighting God's battles....Samson also lost his testimony, for he was the laughingstock of the Philistines. Their fish-god Dagon, not the God of Israel, was given all the glory. (See context in Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament or borrow Wiersbe's expository outlines on the Old Testament) Dale Ralph Davis draws a powerful application from the story of Samson - Samson is a paradigm of Israel: one raised up out of nothing, richly gifted, who panders around with other loves and yet, apparently, always expects to ‘have’ Yahweh. So Israel has received grace on top of grace yet persistently carries her affairs with Baal (see 2:11ff.), utterly ignorant of her true condition (cf. Hos. 7:9), blithely assuming that all is well (Jer. 2:34b–35a) and that Yahweh is always at her disposal (Jer. 2:27b). She is a people who does not know that Yahweh may depart from her—just as a church may believe that God would never write ‘Ichabod’ over its denominational headquarters (cf. 1 Sam. 4:21). How tragic when God’s professing people cannot see that they are ‘wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked’ (Rev. 3:17+). Whether to ancient Israel or contemporary church, Samson’s tragedy still speaks: watch out, lest you abandon the divine call, leave your first love, and forfeit the divine presence. (Judges: Such a Great Salvation) Bush - the Lord had departed from him. Being newly awakened out of sleep, he knew not that his head had been shaven of its locks, and therefore did not suspect that God had withdrawn his special influences from him. This circumstance may serve as a striking illustration of what often happens to those who have provoked God by their transgressions. By a righteous dereliction he leaves them; he withdraws his favorable presence; and yet, like Samson, they are not aware of the desertion. They feel not the loss they have sustained; at least till they begin to be sensible by frustrated schemes and adverse providences, that it is not with them as in days that are past. Though their souls languish and grow weak, and their gifts as well as their graces wither, and others perceive their spiritual decline, yet a strange delusion is upon them; they know not their real state; they fancy themselves in health and prosperity when the sources of both are effectually undermined within them. ‘God is departed from him’ expresses one of the most fearful forms of the divine judgments. (resource) Keil and Delitzsch - She then cried out, “Philistines upon thee, Samson!” And he awaked out of his sleep, and thought (“said,” i.e., to himself), “I will go away as time upon time (this as at other times), and shake myself loose,” sc., from the fetters or from the hands of the Philistines; “but he knew not that Jehovah had departed from him.” These last words are very important to observe in order to form a correct idea of the affair. Samson had said to Delilah, “If my hair were cut off, my strength would depart from me” (v. 17). The historian observes, on the other hand, that “Jehovah had departed from him.” The superhuman strength of Samson did not reside in his hair as hair, but in the fact that Jehovah was with or near him. But Jehovah was with him so long as he maintained his condition as a Nazarite. As soon as he broke away from this by sacrificing the hair which he wore in honour of the Lord, Jehovah departed from him, and with Jehovah went his strength. (Commentary) QUESTION - What should we learn from the account of Samson and Delilah? ANSWER - The story of Samson and Delilah, recorded in the sixteenth chapter of Judges, has been the delight of scores of writers, artists, and composers for hundreds of years. When Samson dallied with Delilah in the Sorek Valley of ancient Philistia, he never imagined that their sordid relationship would be projected on huge movie screens some 30 centuries later. A quick overview of the story of Samson and Delilah begins with the announcement of Samson’s birth by the angel of the Lord (Judges 13:1–24). In fact, Samson is one of the few in Scripture whose birth was divinely preannounced to his parents (Judges 13:3). He shares this honor with Isaac, John the Baptist, and Jesus. Samson, whose name means “sunshine,” was born sometime between 1045 BC and 1000 BC, during a dark period of Israel’s history. Seven times this nation had turned from God and now found themselves under the oppressive rule of the Philistines. Samson was born a Nazirite, meaning he was “separated” or “set aside” for God. This meant that he was not to drink wine or fruit of the vine. He couldn’t go near or touch a dead body, human or animal, nor could he cut his hair. Though he was set apart for special service to God (Judges 13:5), Samson ignored his Nazirite vow of godly devotion and relied upon his own strength and abilities rather than upon God’s. Although God empowered him with supernatural strength to begin the deliverance of the people of Israel from the Philistines (Judges 13:5), it was his weakness for the Philistine women that did him in (Judges 14:1–3, 16:1–22). His passion for women was more important to him than God’s expressed will (Deuteronomy 7:3). During his wedding to a Philistine woman, Samson was deceived and humiliated by his wife and wedding guests (Judges 14:1–15). Angered, Samson got his revenge by personally killing 1,000 men (Judges 15:1–20). But, in the end it was his passionate obsession for Delilah that led him to reveal to her the secret of his strength. His hair was shorn by Delilah, and, as a result, he was captured, blinded, and forced to grind grain for his enemies. Eventually, while in prison, Samson’s strength did return, and he died while destroying the temple of the Philistine god Dagon, killing thousands of Philistines (Judges 16:1–31). With the Spirit of God upon him (Judges 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14), Samson was a powerful man with supernatural strength. The story reveals that he was also very intelligent with an unusual sense of humor. While he had almost unlimited potential to deliver his people from the Philistines, his story ends in needless tragedy. He not only failed to deliver his people, but killed himself. Disobedience, defeat, disgrace, and destruction were his fatal cohorts. Despite his having the Spirit of the Lord upon him, his sexual yearnings of the flesh controlled his life (1 John 2:16). He was courageous before men but weak when it came to women (Proverbs 5:3; 6:32; Matthew 5:28). There are many valuable lessons we can glean from the story of Samson and Delilah. Though born with unbelievable potential, Samson forfeit his life because of sin. The lesson for us is that, the deeper we allow ourselves to be influenced by the glamour and allurement of sin, the more blind we become. This extraordinary story tells us that Samson was spiritually blind long before his eyes were gouged out (Judges 16:21). We must accept the reality that sin can seep deep into in our lives. We must know that sin has a blinding, numbing impact upon us. Otherwise, we find ourselves ensnared by it, just as Samson did. All sin, especially sexual sin, comes with its own dire and sometimes deadly consequences. Sin binds us, then it blinds us; then it slowly and inexorably grinds away at us (Judges 16:21). In truth, sin will take us farther than we may intend to go. It will hold us longer than we may intend to stay. Furthermore, sin will cost us more than we intend to pay. We must heed the stern warning: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). We learn that God can use the wicked as well as the righteous to accomplish His will. We also discover that our own righteousness or wickedness will not deter God from doing His will. Though God punishes wrongdoing, He may wait in delivering the punishment. Samson also demonstrates that he was a shallow, vengeful man who pouted when things didn’t go his way. Most telling are his references to “I have a right to get even” (Judges 15:3, 11). This, too, was the same mindset of the Philistines (Judges 15:10). It’s strikingly akin to the world’s mindset today and contrary to the teachings of Christ (Matthew 5:38). However, despite all of Samson’s weaknesses, he did turn back to God before he died (Judges 16:28–30). God in His sovereignty used Samson to fulfill His purpose. In reality, Samson’s death did much to impede the oppressive actions of the Philistines. Samson’s destruction of the temple of Dagon was a major factor in their downfall at Mizpah by Samuel and the children of Israel some 100 years later (1 Samuel 7:7–14). Perhaps the greatest lesson we learn is that God would rather forgive than judge. In the final analysis, God saw Samson as a man of faith. This is evidenced by the fact that he’s listed among those in the hall of faith (Hebrews 11:32). When we read through the list of names recorded there, we find that no one in the “hall of faith” was perfect. Samson was the strongest man to ever live, but it was God who gave him the strength. More importantly, Samson let himself be used by God. In fact, God could have used him without making him the strongest man. He’s willing to meet us right where we are right now and to take us where He wants if we will let Him (James 4:8).GotQuestions.org QUOTES ON BACKSLIDING Related resources: Interesting book by Octavius Winslow (Click) Hosea 4:16 The Evil and Danger of Backsliding - Sermon by Charles Simeon Hosea 2:5-7 The Backslider's Way Hedged Up - Sermon by C H Spurgeon Hosea 2:15 The Backslider's Door of Hope - Sermon by C H Spurgeon Hosea 14:4 Backsliding Healed - Sermon by C H Spurgeon Jeremiah 3:22-23 Hope for the Worst of Backsliders - Sermon by C H Spurgeon Samson was like the Frog in the Kettle Wikipedia says "The boiling frog is a fable describing a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of sinister threats that arise gradually rather than suddenly. While some 19th-century experiments suggested that the underlying premise is true if the heating is sufficiently gradual,[1][2] according to contemporary biologists the premise is false: a frog that is gradually heated will jump out.[3][4] (ED: PERHAPS THERE IS A LESSON HERE - GENUINE BELIEVERS WILL EVENTUALLY JUMP OUT! A THOUGHT TO PONDER.) Indeed, thermoregulation by changing location is a fundamentally necessary survival strategy for frogs and other ectotherms. Webster says backslide means to lapse morally. To fall off; to apostatize; to turn gradually from the faith and practice of Christianity. To lapse into bad habits or vices from a state of virtue, religious faith, etc Easton's says to backslide means "To draw back or apostatize in matters of religion (Acts 21:21; 2Thes 2:3; 1 Timothy 4:1). This may be either partial (Proverbs 14:14) or complete (Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:38,39). The apostasy may be both doctrinal and moral. ISBE has this entry on backslide- bak'-slid' (meshubhah; Hosea 11:7; 14:4 and often in Hosea and Jeremiah, shobhabh; shobhebh, in Jer, 4 times: all meaning "turning back or away," "apostate," "rebellious." carar, in Hosea 4:16 = "stubborn," "rebellious"; the Revised Version (British and American) "stubborn"): In all places the word is used of Israel forsaking Yahweh, and with a reference to the covenant relation between Yahweh and the nation, conceived as a marriage tie which Israel had violated. Yahweh was Israel's husband, and by her idolatries with other gods she had proved unfaithful (Jeremiah 3:8,14; 14:7; Hosea 14:4). It may be questioned whether Israel was guilty so much of apostasy and defection, as of failure to grow with the growing revelation of God. The prophets saw that their contemporaries fell far short of their own ideal, but they did not realize how far their predecessors also had fallen short of the rising prophetic standard in ideal and action. As someone has well said "Backsliding begins when knee-bending stops!" (Ed comment: Woe!) The Christian writer Paul E. Little also alluded to the subtle slippage inherent in backsliding noting that "Collapse in the Christian life is seldom a blowout. It is usually a slow leak." The KJV uses the term backsliding more often than any other translation and is found mainly in the Book of Jeremiah where it refers to the lapse of the nation of Israel into paganism and idolatry. - Jer 3:6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 22; 8:5; 31:22; 49:4; Hos 4:16; 11:7; 14:4 What is the Biblical definition of "Backsliding?"… In popular theology the term “backsliding” is often given a prominent place. Depending on one’s theological tradition, it may be used to describe a person’s return to questionable habits, to a loss of the sense of God’s presence, or even to the “down” times that seem to be part of so many believers’ emotional experiences. But popular theology does not always reflect biblical meanings. In the Bible’s use of “backsliding” there is an important, but different, message. 1. The Hebrew words. “Backsliding” seldom occurs in modern English translations (6 times, NIV; 2 times, NASB), and only in the OT. Yet the root terms express an important biblical idea. Three forms from the same root communicate the idea of backsliding. Two of them, šôbāb (4 times in the OT—Isa 57:17; Jer 3:14, 22; 50:6) and šôbēb (2 times in the OT—Jer 31:22; 49:4), mean “backsliding” or “apostasy.” The most commonly used word, mešûbâh, occurs twelve times in the OT (Pr 1:32; Jer 2:19; 3:6, 8, 11, 12, 22; 5:6; 8:5; 14:7; Hos 11:7; 14:4). It means “backsliding,” “disloyalty,” or “faithlessness.” 2. The nature of backsliding. A study of the use of these words makes it clear that this is one of the many OT words intimately linked with the belief that God has established a covenantal relationship between himself and Israel. Backsliding is disloyalty by the OT community to the covenant relationship and involves a refusal to live by the terms of the covenant. The focus in references to backsliding is on the central element of the covenant: the commitment of God’s people to him personally. Texts that refer to backsliding repeatedly describe a faithless community that has rebelled against the Lord and has “scattered [its] favors to foreign gods” (Jer 3:13). Backsliding also involved rejection of the social and moral requirements of the covenant. Jeremiah shows this as he condemned the leaders who had consciously rejected “the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God” (Jer 5:5). It is important to note that each OT cry against backsliding portrays the state of the OT community, not of individuals (except Pr 1:32). Each description of the backslidden people implies their willful choice to turn away from the God of the covenant to other gods and therefore to other moralities. 3. Summary. In the Bible “backsliding” is a word used to describe the corporate condition of God’s OT people during periods of apostasy. The backslidden community had sinned by choosing to worship other gods, and a moral decay marked the backslidden society. This particular concept is never carried into the NT: “backsliding” is not found there as a description of the experience either of an individual Christian or of a particular congregation. However, any who feel a sense of alienation from the Lord can find release in the prescription Jeremiah shares with God’s OT people: “ ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD, `I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD, `I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt’ ” (Jer 3:12-13). In confession and trust in the mercy of God we, like Israel, can find restoration and peace. (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency) Warren Wiersbe writes that "Most Christians do not jump into sin and get away from God’s will. They gradually decline spiritually, then find themselves in trouble and wonder how it happened. They leave their first love (Rev. 2:4) and start living for the flesh and not the Spirit (Gal. 3:1–3). That is why our Lord admonished us to watch and pray (both in the present imperative and both need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey - Mt 26:41+). When we least expect it, the germ of sin can enter the system. (Borrow With the Word or read context in With the Word: The Chapter-by-Chapter Bible Handbook) Unger writes that "In the NT backsliding is set forth as involving a change of the believer’s state before God but not of his standing. The former is variable and depends upon daily contact with Christ, “if we walk in the light” (1 John 1:7) and many other factors of the spiritual life. Standing, by contrast, refers to the believer’s position “in Christ,” which is grounded in the unchangeable and perfect work of Christ for the believer, whereas state describes the changing and imperfect condition of his soul from moment to moment as affected by backsliding on the one hand or spiritual progress on the other. Faith in Christ secures standing (John 1:12; Rom. 5:1–2; 8:17; Eph. 1:3, 6; Col. 2:10; Heb. 10:19; etc.), but observance of all the laws of the spiritual life alone assures protection against backsliding. Compare 1 Cor. 1:2–9 (standing) with 1 Cor. 1:11; 3:1–4; 4:18; 5:2 (state). Backsliding not only results in a changed state or experience but involves corrective chastening (Heb. 12:6; 1 Cor. 11:31), loss of rewards and fellowship (2 Cor. 5:10; 1 John 3:10), curtailment of usefulness, and in extreme cases physical death (1 Cor. 5:5; 1 John 5:16) that the “spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (Online version or borrow The new Unger's Bible dictionary) David Guzik (Judges 16 Commentary) gives us a powerful metaphor for the subtle nature of backsliding, even invisible to the backslider himself or herself! (By the way, that's also a descriptive definition of "deceived"! The deceived person by definition does not know it! So don't be deceived! Look at your face in the mirror of God's Word -- if it's "dirty" wash it with the water of the Word and the soul cleansing soap of repentance!)… Are you backsliding? The signs may not be so obvious to others. When you see a tree broken over in a windstorm, it’s easy to think that it was the wind. If you look closer, you will often see that insects have been at work a long time on the tree, making it weaker and weaker. It really wasn’t the wind that did it - other trees around it withstood the wind. It was the slow decline of strength, as insects nibbled away month after month. (From Comments on Hoses 14:4). Dr. Payson warns that… “The symptoms of spiritual decline are like those which attend the decay of bodily health. It generally commences with loss of appetite and a disrelish for wholesome food, prayer, reading the Scriptures and devotional books. Whenever you perceive these symptoms, be alarmed, for your spiritual health is in danger: apply immediately to the great Physician for a cure.” J. Oswald Sanders writes that… We must not just take it for granted that we are in touch with God. Joseph and Mary lost a whole day of fellowship with Jesus because they “supposed him to be in the company.” They took for granted something of which they should have made sure. “He [Samson] wist not that the Lord had departed from him” (Judges 16:20). He was out of touch with God and did not know it. (Sanders, J O: The Best That I Can Be. Overseas Missionary Fellowship Books. 1984) Warren Wiersbe commenting on Jer 2:19 that… A basic principle is enunciated in verse 19: God punishes us by allowing our own sins to bring pain and discipline to our lives. “Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is!” (Jer 4:18NIV) “Your wrongdoings have kept these [rains] away; your sins have deprived you of good” (Jer 5:25NIV). The greatest judgment God can send to disobedient people is to let them have their own way and reap the sad, painful consequences of their sins. (Ed comment: This certainly applies to Samson. Is there some pet sin you are holding onto, even "cultivating"? You can be sure that the harvest will be bitter fruit even as it was in Samson's life! Gal 6:7-note, Gal 6:8-note) The word “backsliding” literally means “to turn away” and describes the nation’s repeated apostasy. The Book of Judges records at least seven occasions when Israel turned from the Lord and had to be chastened, and there were numerous other times during the period of the monarchy when the Israelites deliberately turned from the Lord. The word “backslide” is not used in the New Testament, but the experience is described in other ways: falling from grace (Gal 5:4), leaving your first love (Rev 2:4-note), loving the world (1Jn 2:15-note, 1Jn 2:16-note, 1Jn 2:17-note; 2Ti 4:10-note), and walking in darkness (1Jn 1:5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). (See context The Bible Exposition Commentary- Jeremiah) Theodore H. Epp a well known Bible expositor warns that "Backsliding starts in such a subtle way that most of us are not aware of it, and many of us may be backslidden and may not realize it." C E Macartney once explained the danger of backsliding noting that "Between an airplane and every other form of locomotion and transportation there is one great contrast. The horse and wagon, the automobile, the bicycle, the locomotive, the speedboat, and the great battleship—all can come to a standstill without danger, and they can all reverse their engines, or their power, and go back. But there is no reverse about the engine of an airplane. It cannot back up. It dare not stand still. If it loses its momentum and forward-drives, then it crashes. The only safety for the airplane is in its forward and upward motion. The only safe direction for the Christian to take is forward and upward. If he stops, or if he begins to slip and go backward, that moment he is in danger." Mike Yaconelli wrote the following illustration on backsliding in the Wittenberg Door "“I live in a small, rural community. There are lots of cattle ranches around here, and, every once in a while, a cow wanders off and gets lost. Ask a rancher how a cow gets lost, and chances are he will reply, ‘Well, the cow starts nibbling on a tuft of green grass, and when it finishes, it looks ahead to the next tuft of green grass and starts nibbling on that one, and then it nibbles on a tuft of grass right next to a hole in the fence. It then sees another tuft of green grass on the other side of the fence, so it nibbles on that one and then goes on to the next tuft. The next thing you know, the cow has nibbled itself into being lost.’ ” Most people don’t deliberately set out to backslide, but following their appetites or desires from one tuft to the next, they nibble themselves through the fence and off the straight and narrow path." (A dramatic illustration of Samson's wanderlust) Jerry White observes a truth many believers have experienced at one time or another "No one is so empty as the man who has stopped walking with God and doesn’t know it." F W Boreham alludes to the Christian's journey through the tempestuous, tempting seas of life noting that "The captain gives earnest heed to the charts lest he drift unconsciously shoreward!" The peril of the drifting life - For most of us the threat of life is not so much that we should plunge into disaster, but that we should drift into sin. There are few people who deliberately and in a moment turn their backs on God; there are many who day by day drift farther and farther away from him. There are not many who in one moment of time commit some disastrous sin; there are many who almost imperceptibly involve themselves in some situation and suddenly awake to find that they have ruined life for themselves and broken someone else's heart. We must be continually on the alert against the peril of the drifting life. The Word will never drift from us. The danger is our drifting from it. The harbor of salvation is absolutely secure. It is Jesus Christ, who never moves, never changes, and is always available to anyone who wants the protection and security of His righteousness. The writer of Hebrews adds that in light of the truth of the superiority of our Captain Christ Jesus "We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it." (Hebrews 2:1) Predisposition to "drifting" backward - (1). Time: A slow drift, given enough time, will carry you to another continent and its dark uncharted waters. (2). Familiarity with the truth. It is natural for us to come to regard the familiar as commonplace. The initial venture into the mysteries of Christ will leave us exhilarated. But with the repeated journeys, some become bored tourists. (3) Danger of busyness: We who live at the end of the twentieth century are busy people, and the multiplicity of our cares and duties can overwhelm us. A snowflake is a tiny thing, but when the air is full of them, they can bury us. Even so, the thousand cares of each day can insulate us from the stupendous excellencies of Christ, causing us to begin a deadly drift. The drifting that comes through the combination of years, familiarity, and busyness often bares its existence when the storm of opposition comes. The anchor has long been loosed, and when the winds come, an eternal soul is suddenly on the rocks and shipwrecked. Here is a fascinating illustration of drifting the wrong direction ("backsliding") - The danger and deceitfulness of drifting is illustrated by the story of the English explorer, William Edward Parry, who took a crew to the Arctic Ocean. They wanted to go farther north to continue their chartings, so they calculated their location by the stars and started a very difficult and treacherous march north. They walked hour upon hour, and finally, totally exhausted, they stopped. Taking their bearings again from the stars, they discovered that they were farther south than they had been when they started. They had been walking on an ice floe that was moving south faster than they were walking north. How many people are out with step to God, thinking that they are walking with Him, when in fact they are moving away from Him faster than they are supposedly walking toward Him. That is the tragedy of drifting from the truth. Will you awaken one day ("come to your senses") to find, like Parry’s crew, that all the time you have been moving imperceptibly in the wrong direction. In his poem “Let Me Get Home Before Dark” Dr. Robertson McQuilkin offers a prayer that alludes to subtle drifting… I fear the Dark Spectre may come too soon—or do I mean, too late? That I should end before I finish or finish, but not well. That I should stain your honor, shame your name, grieve your loving heart. Few, they tell me, finish well… Lord, let me get home before dark. (Read the entire poem - it is powerful) The venerable preacher Charles Simeon (see John Piper's summation of this man's amazing ministry - Brothers, We Must Not Mind a Little Suffering) once warned that "However advanced a man may be in piety or age, he is still in danger of falling." (AMEN - I AM 76 IN 2022 AND BELIEVE THIS IMPLICITLY!) F. W. Norwood wrote that "Life’s greatest tragedy is to lose God and not to miss Him." Thomas à Kempis - Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience withdraws from grace C H Spurgeon (read his miraculous testimony) spoke a great deal about backsliding warning that "You, who have the most familiarity with Christ, and enjoy the most holy fellowship with him, may soon become the very leaders of the hosts of Satan if your Lord withdraws His grace. David’s eyes go astray, and the sweet psalmist of Israel becomes the shameless adulterer, who robs Uriah of his wife. Samson one day slays a thousand of his enemies with the might of his arm and the valor of his heart; another day his honor is betrayed, his locks are shorn, and his eyes are put out by a strumpet’s treacherous wiles. How soon are the mighty fallen!… Here are several pithy quotes from unknown sources… Never look back unless you want to go that way However deep you fall, you are never out of God's reach Life's greatest tragedy is to lose God and not miss Him If you are not as close to God as you used to be, you do not have to guess who moved (From Complete Gathered Gold - Recommended) John Chrysostom wrote that "If repentance is neglected for an instant, one can lose the power of the Resurrection as he lives with the weakness of tepidity and the potential of his fall. BEGINNING OF BACKSLIDING… TURNING YOUR EYES FROM JESUS G Campbell Morgan in a sermon entitled "Backsliding" on Deut 4:29 says… I am speaking tonight to some who have traveled a long distance from the Father's house, to some who seem as though they had lost track of the way that leads them home; or I may be speaking to many others who have just lost their first love, who are maintaining all the externalities of Christian relationship, but have lost the thrill, the fire, the passion, the devotion. Whether to those or to others upon the trackless burning desert of degradation my message is exactly the same… The first is purely personal, perhaps hidden from men, corruption of self. The second is the sequel to self-corruption, the making of a graven image. Finally, the overt act of evil. (STEP #1) What is self-corruption? It is the devotion of the life to something lower than the highest. The first movement of backsliding may be accomplished without committing any sin which the age names vulgar. In the moment in which a man takes his eye from the highest and sets it upon something lower, be the distance apparently never so small, he has set himself upon the decline which ends in the desert and in the agony of rejection. Self-corruption is the first step in the backslider's pathway, the choice of something lower than the highest. What is the highest? The thing you have seen that is highest. That is the highest for you. To you it was the fair and radiant vision of the loveliness of the Christ in those days when you knew He was fairer than all the sons of men, more perfect in loveliness. You saw that, and you turned your eyes from it to something a little lower, to some ideal you built for yourself out of your own imagining. You corrupted yourself when you allowed the false ideal to intrude into the realm of your own thinking, your own desire, your own choosing. That was the beginning of the whole story. (STEP #2) Following that is what always follows, the setting up of a graven image. You say, "Here your message breaks down. I have set up no graven image." Remember, the graven image is always the figure of that which lies behind it. When a man has corrupted himself, the issue is always that he thinks falsely of God. Man is so linked to deity in the very essential of his being that he will form his conception of God upon what he is in himself. There is a sense in which, try as he will, he cannot escape this. He is forevermore projecting his own personality into immensity, and calling that God. That is the whole history of idolatry through all the centuries. Man has flung the lines of his own personality into immensity, and called the result God. In proportion as his own personality has become corrupt and evil, he has projected corruption and evil into immensity, and made that his god. When a man corrupts himself, he corrupts the idea of God by putting something false in the place of God. In the old days it was a graven image, so that, as the prophet said, man took to himself a tree or a piece of stone, and carved out of it a semblance, a grotesque imitation of himself, and called it a god. So when a man has corrupted himself by accepting some ideal lower than the highest he immediately makes a god after the pattern of his own ideal, and descends a little lower on this course of backsliding, until swiftly and surely he descends to a course of evil which a little while ago he would have declared to have been impossible to himself. (STEP #3) He does the evil thing who never intended to do it. He started by choosing the lower ideal. He proceeded, in the next place, to corrupt deity, by projecting into immensity the false lines of his own corrupt nature, and worshiping that. Suddenly the light that seemed to lure him fades, and the very ideal which he worshiped fails, and he finds himself doing things he never dreamed he could do. (This is a MUST READ sermon - click and slowly read the rest of this somber, sobering message from Dr Morgan! Why? Because in every one of our hearts, no matter how spiritual you are today, lurks the "prone to wander" temptation!) John Blanchard echoes Dr Morgan's analysis of Backsliding writing that "Backsliding never begins with a loud bang… it begins quietly, slowly, subtly, insidiously… It is possible to be diligent in our religion, yet distant in our relationship. The pithy evangelical writer, J C Ryle (1816-1900 - read a short biography) has the following "thoughts" relative to backsliding… Men fall in private long before they fall in public. If we know anything of true, saving religion, let us ever beware of the beginnings of backsliding. It is a miserable thing to be a backslider. Of all unhappy things that can befall a man, I suppose it is the worst. A stranded ship, an eagle with a broken wing, a garden covered with weeds, a harp without strings, a church in ruins — all these are sad sights, but a backslider is a sadder sight still. I am trying, as God shall help me, to set the story of your backsliding in relationship to the spiritual and infinite. Shall I put that story in slightly different language? You corrupted yourself in that hour when you ceased your devotion to the God of your mother, and ceased to hand over your life wholly and absolutely to Christ. Your backsliding proceeded when you put into the place of Christ something else. It may have been your business. It may have been your very passion for knowledge. It may have been a far more mean and paltry thing than either of these, your pursuit of pleasure. You put something where Christ used to be. You who once took of your talents, and time, and strength, and poured them out in sacrificial service in the cause of Christ have been worshiping with all the soul, with all the heart, and with all the mind, wealth, fame, pleasure, I know not what. You know. There is your graven image. The result has been that this week, in the prosecution of your business, in the pursuit of your pleasure, you have done things which, if you thought I could proclaim them in your name from this pulpit, would cause you to blush and hurry from the building. You did not begin here. You began with the lowered ideal. You continued with the false deity, and the hour has come in which your hands in the sanctuary are unclean with deeds of evil, and you know your very heart has become polluted. That is the process of backsliding. The following tale illustrates the subtle nature of backsliding - A foolish old farmer, so the story goes, concluded one day that the oats he had fed his mule for years were simply costing him too much. So he hatched a plan: he mixed a little sawdust in with the feed, and then a little more the next day, and even more the next, each time reducing the amount of oats in the mix. The mule didn’t seem to notice the gradual change, so the farmer thought things were fine and kept decreasing the proportion of oats. But weeks later, on the day he finally fed the poor beast nothing but sawdust, the mule finished the meal and fell over dead. A silly tale, perhaps, but it serves as a parable of the backslider—the Christian who slips further and further away from God through unrepented sin or neglect. Though we know our souls cannot survive on spiritual sawdust, we may well convince ourselves that a little won’t hurt too much, and a little less real spiritual food won’t be missed. Then, over time, the proportion of sawdust increases while the oats gradually disappear. Before long, the change is complete, and our starved, sawdust-stuffed spiritual life has collapsed. J C
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Wiersbe - Someone has said that Jdg 16:21 reminds us of the blinding, binding, and grinding results of SIN. (See context in With the Word: The Chapter-by-Chapter Bible Handbook) Then the Philistines seized ('achaz) him and gouged out his eyes - "The ayes have it!" means someone wins! Here the "the eyes have it" led to persistent immorality and loss of the very eyes that were the "window" of Samson's sins. Samson walked by sight, specifically the lust of the eyes (1Jn 2:16+) when he should have been walking by faith (2Cor 5:7+) in light of his incredible blessings. In short, the mighty warrior became a slave to his fallen flesh and then a slave to the Philistines (also a picture of our fallen flesh). The Philistines opted to humiliate Samson rather than kill him. There is a touch of irony as seized ('achaz) is same word used to describewhen Samson "took hold of the doors" (Jdg 16:3), a bit of "poetic justice" for the Philistines! ESV Study Bible - The practice of blinding an enemy and then forcing him to grind grain at a mill is known from ancient Near Eastern texts (e.g., the Tapikka Letters, from a 14th century b.c. Hittite administrative city). The Philistines may have adopted this practice from the Hittites. (See context in ESV Study Bible or borrow the ESV study Bible) Ray Pritchard - Notice the four things that happened to Samson. First there is mutilation. They gouged out his eyes. Then there is deportation. They took him down to Gaza. Oh, Samson, when was the last time you were in Gaza? That’s right. When you came to visit that harlot. Now you’re going to go back down there. In chains this time. Then there is incarceration. Binding him with bronze shackles. Finally, there is humiliation. They set him to grinding in the prison. Grinding in the prison was the work of slaves. It was the work of animals.So they bound him. His head has been shorn. His eyes gouged out. On his hands and his knees the mighty Samson pushes the pole that powers the press that grinds the grain. O, how the mighty are fallen. The empty sockets in his eyes bear mute testimony of his unfaithfulness to God. Samson, Samson, Samson. How could you end like this? (Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places - this was Samson's "theme song" - from the movie The Urban Cowboy - caution - one slightly inappropriate scene) Keil and Delitzsch - Philistines then seized him, put out his eyes, and led him to Gaza fettered with double brass chains. The chains are probably called nechushtaim (double brass) because both hands of both feet were fettered with them. King Zedekiah, when taken prisoner by the Chaldeans, was treated in the same manner (2 Kings 25:7). There Samson was obliged to turn the mill in the prison, and grind corn (the participle טֹחֵן expresses the continuance of the action). Grinding a handmill was the hardest and lowest kind of slave labour (compare Ex. 11:5 with 12:29); and both Greeks and Romans sentenced their slaves to this as a punishment (see Od. xx. 105ff., vii. 103–4; Terent. Phorm. ii. 1, 19, Andr. i, 2. 29), and it is still performed by female slaves in the East (see Chardin in Harmar’s Beob. üb. d. Orient. iii. 64). (Commentary) Bush - put out his eyes. Heb. ינקרו yenakkeru, bored out. ‘With the Greeks and Asiatics, the way of putting out the eyes, or blinding, was not (always) by pulling or cutting out the eyes, as some have imagined; but by drawing, or holding a red-hot iron before them. This method is still in use in Asia. According to Chardin, however, the pupils of the eyes were more frequently pierced and destroyed on such occasions. But Thevenot says, ‘that the eyes in those barbarous acts are taken out whole, with the point of a dagger, and carried to the king in a basin.’ He adds, that, ‘as the king sends whom he pleases to do that cruel office, some princes are so butchered by unskilful hands, that it costs them their lives.’ In Persia it is no unusual practice for the king to punish a rebellious city or province by exacting so many pounds of eyes; and his executioners accordingly go and scoop out from every one they meet, till they have the weight required.’ Burder. Thus was the lust of the eye in looking after and gazing upon strange women punished. The offending organ that he had refused to pluck out was in effect plucked out for him in the righteous providence of God. (resource) In his epic poem Samson Agonistes, John Milton has the champion say: O loss of sight, of thee I most complain! Blind among enemies, O worse than chains, Dungeon, or beggary, or decrepit age! And they brought him down to Gaza - He comes full circle having spied a harlot in Gaza and now unable to see in Gaza! Also it was at Gaza that he uprooted the massive city gates and now he was grinding grain! Is there some "divine" poetic justice in this scenario? Recall Delilah was in the valley of Sorek (map) (Jdg 16:4) which would have been close to his home in Zorah (see map). Apparently the valley of Sorek is where the Philistines captured him. They then transported him almost 40 miles to the southernmost Philistine town of Gaza which is where the curtain falls on his life and the lives of 3000 Philistines! And again note the direction - DOWN but the difference is that this time it would be down to the grave! Samson started out on the TOP of the world so to speak and for the next 20 years slid progressively DOWN! That's what unconquered sin will do to a soul, even one that is the physically strongest man in the world! And bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison - "Sunny" Samson ended in abysmal darkness (see below), toiling at the grinding mill, doing the work usually assigned to slaves, women, or donkeys. Samson now had plenty of time to ponder his sins that brought him to this tragic juncture. They bound him physically because he had allowed himself to be bound spiritually/morally by the tentacles of sin. Indeed, bound him is a literal fulfillment of the figurative effect of the cords of sin as described in several passages... Proverbs His own iniquities will capture the wicked, And he will be held with the cords of his sin. (Pr 5:22+) He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray. (Pr 5:23+, cf Ro 6:16+) Peter describing false teachers says For speaking out arrogant [words] of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, 'promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, (hettao in perfect tense) by this he is enslaved. (douloo in perfect tense = became enslaved and still in that state/condition) (2Pe 2:19+) Jesus was right (AS HE ALWAYS IS!) Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits (present tense = habitually, as one's lifestyle exactly what Samson did!) sin is the slave (doulos) of sin. John 8:34 Bush - fetters of brass. A proof that iron, though now well known, had not yet come into general use; as otherwise we should doubtless have found Samson bound with fetters of that material. The emphasis here is not on brass, as distinguished from any other metal; but to show that his fetters were of metal; and that he was not, like the common class of offenders, bound with ropes or thongs of leather. offending organ that he had refused to pluck out was in effect plucked out for him in the righteous providence of God. (resource) In his epic poem Samson Agonistes, John Milton has the champion say: O loss of sight, of thee I most complain! Blind among enemies, O worse than chains, Dungeon, or beggary, or decrepit age! Bush - he was a grinder in the prison - Of course with mill-stones worked by the hands, this being still the usual method of grinding corn in the East. It is an employment, however, which usually devolves on women; and to assign it to such a man as Samson, was doubtless with a view to reduce him to the lowest state of degradation and dishonor. To grind corn for others, was, even for a woman, a proverbial term, expressing the most degraded and oppressed condition; and how much more for Samson, who seems to have been made grinder-general for the prison-house. ‘Ask for this great deliverer now, and find him Eyeless at Gaza, at the mill with slaves. -- ’Milton. The champion and avenger of Israel is now become the drudge and the sport of the Philistines. The crown is fallen from his head, and his honor laid in the dust. We are ready to pity the degraded judge of Israel, when we see him reduced to such a state of misery by his enemies; but while we pity the man, we congratulate the sinner, to whose final salvation these heavy trials were made subservient. Let us not, however, lose sight of the solemn lesson which his misery teaches us. What a warning to those who ‘yield their members instruments of iniquity.’ They will find their bondage bitter and unbearable when they are finally bound with the chains which their sins have forged for them. (resource) Warren Wiersbe - Samson is one of three men in Scripture who are especially identified with the darkness. The other two are King Saul, who went out in the darkness to get last-minute help from a witch (1Sa 28:7, 8), and Judas, who “went immediately out: and it was night” (Jn 13:30). Saul lived for the world, Samson yielded to the flesh, and Judas gave himself to the devil (Jn 13:2, 27); and all three ended up taking their own lives. But there was one ray of light in the darkness: Samson’s hair began to grow again. His power was not in his hair but in what his hair symbolized—his dedication to God. If Samson renewed that dedication, God might restore his power. (See context in The Bible Exposition Commentary) Some of the most dangerous practices bring temporary pleasure. That's why they are so ensnaring. Freedom, however, is found in becoming a slave of Jesus Christ. — H. V Lugt Seized (took hold, fastened grip)(0270)('achaz) means to grasp, take hold, take possession. First use is the dramatic "ram caught in a thicket" (Ge 22:13, cf Ex 4:4) Figuratively of anguish taking hold ("gripped") someone( Ex 15:14) and "trembling grips them." (Ex 15:15). "Caught" in Jdg 1:6. "Seized him and slew him" (Jdg 12:6) The following is extracted from David Roper's excellent sermon Samson and Delilah - His eyes had gotten him into trouble (Jdg 14:1,2; 16:1), and the “lust of the eyes” had led him into sin. Had Samson walked by faith, he would have ended his career in honor, glorifying the Lord. And that is what happens to us. God will give us up to the passions of our own life, if we insist on it. This picture of Samson grinding away at the mill is such a vivid illustration of what happens in the inner man. There is a blinding--a loss of a sense of moral perspective and vision. There is a binding--a loss of our freedom and liberty and mobility in the Spirit. And there is a grinding--a sense of futility and boredom and purposelessness about life, of just going around and around and around inside. There is a way out, though. And if this is there is a "blinding, binding & grinding" effect transpiring in your spirit because of some old sin pattern you are harboring, you need to know there is a way out. And as we see in the following verses the Lord did remember Samson. God does not forget us even though we forget Him. When He takes his hands off us and lets us go, He is still right there available to us. He never utterly abandons us, and He didn't in the case of Samson. He was there, standing ready to respond to his entreaty. And I am sure that in the months of grinding at that mill Samson had reviewed his life's sowing and reaping (Ga 6:7, 8+). He must have surely comprehended what and why this had happened to him. He realized that his strength lay in Jehovah, and thus in the end he sought the Mighty One to set him free from his bondage. A death had to take place -- his death. It was only through Samson's death that the Philistines could be brought under subjection. And this is also true in our life. The only way out of bondage is to go back to that area of our life where we are resisting the Lordship of Jesus Christ and die, right there (cp Rev 2:4, 5+). In his letter to the Romans, Paul says that those who have died are no longer under the dominion of sin (Ro 6:16-18+). To look honestly at the sin that binds you, calling it what God calls it (1Jn 1:9+, Pr 28:13+), and putting it away by the Spirit of Christ (cp Ro 8:13+, Col 3:5ff+, Ro 13:12, 13, 14+), will bring freedom. God is able to rout the "Philistines" in your life and to restore the sense of peace and prosperity. Father, thank you for this great story. We thank you for the truth that is revealed in it. We pray that it might be truth which we enter into personally. We ask that we would be strengthened in the inner man to face, honestly and squarely, the issues in our life which we have been unwilling to submit to you, and to cast them off in your power, and thereby to experience the sense of liberty in the Spirit, in Jesus' name, Amen. (Samson and Delilah) F B Meyer on Judges 16:21-31 Repentance and renewal. -- Alone in the prison-cell reflection did its work; and prayer again arose from Samson's heart; his hair began to grow again. Is not there an analogy to Peter's repentance with bitter tears, preparing for Pentecost? What pathos in that last petition (Judges 16:28; Ps. 74:18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)! There is an encouragement here for backsliders to return to God that He may forgive and restore them, and peradventure use them again. A W Tozer - The Lord Departed -- We bear within us the seeds of our own disintegration. Our moral imprudence puts us always in danger of accidental or reckless self-destruction. The strength of our flesh is an ever present danger to our souls. Deliverance can come to us only by the defeat of our old life. Safety and peace come only after we have been forced to our knees. God rescues us by breaking us, by shattering our strength and wiping out our resistance. Then He invades our natures with that ancient and eternal life which is from the beginning. So He conquers us and by that benign conquest saves us for Himself. With this open secret awaiting easy discovery, why do we in almost all our busy activities work in another direction from this? Why do we build our churches upon human flesh? Why do we set such store by that which the Lord has long ago repudiated, and despise those things which God holds in such high esteem? For we teach men not to die with Christ but to live in the strength of their dying manhood. We boast not in our weakness but in our strength. Values which Christ has declared to be false are brought back into evangelical favor and promoted as the very life and substance of the Christian way. How eagerly do we seek the approval of this or that man of worldly reputation. How shamefully do we exploit the converted celebrity. Anyone will do to take away the reproach of obscurity from our publicity-hungry leaders: famous athletes, congressmen, world travelers, rich industrialists; before such we bow with obsequious smiles and honor them in our public meetings and in the religious press. Thus we glorify men to enhance the standing of the Church of God, and the glory of the Prince of Life is made to hang upon the transient fame of a man who shall die. (See context in God's Pursuit of Man) Slaves of Sin - When we repeatedly give in to a particular sin, we become a slave to it. A man dying of AIDS admitted that he had felt guilty about his homosexual way of life. But he couldn't carry out his resolve to give up his immoral lifestyle. Another young man admitted that his wife left him because of his preoccupation with pornographic literature. He's unhappy, but he can't stay away from smut shops. Similarly, many people who take cocaine know they are ruining their lives, but they feel powerless to give up the habit. Samson too had become a slave to sin. He continued an affair with Delilah even though he knew she was bent on betraying him to his enemies. Samson was not stupid, but he was a slave to his lust. Like the homosexual, the pornography addict, and the drug user, he could not do what he knew he should. Once we start down the wrong path, turning back is difficult. Jesus said that whoever keeps on sinning will become a slave to sin (John 8:34). Some of the most dangerous practices bring temporary pleasure. That's why they are so ensnaring. Freedom, however, is found in becoming a slave of Jesus Christ. The pleasures of sin are for a season, but its wages are for eternity. Judges 16:22 However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off. the hair. Le. 26:44. De. 32:36. Ps. 106:44, 45; 107:13, 14 Judges 16 Resources SAMSON'S DIVINE HAIR RESTORATION However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off - Who created the physiological mechanisms to cause hair to grow? That's rhetorical of course. God was in the process of restoring His fallen man. He had said Samson would be a Nazirite to his death and so he would be! Samson's strength was not in his hair but in the Spirit (cf Micah 3:8+) and that the hair was (1) a sign and (2) the final fulfillment of his Nazirite vow. What is amazing is the blindness of the Philistines to not recognize that his hair regrowth might also signal a return of his strength. Did God blind them to the possibility? Possibly!
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Wiersbe wrote "Samson walked in the darkness and died in the darkness. God forgave him and restored his strength, but He did not restore his sight or his ministry. Samson may have died in victory, but he lived in moral and spiritual defeat. He destroyed God’s enemies, but he did not live like God’s friend (Jn 15:14). What a tragedy!" (See context in With the Word: The Chapter-by-Chapter Bible Handbook) In another writing Wiersbe makes an interesting observation "Like Saul, Samson was a castaway (1Cor 9:27KJV+); he had committed sin unto death, and God had to take him off the scene (see 1Co 11:30-31+; 1Jn 5:16-17+). (See context in Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament or borrow Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament - this is a great resource for preaching) Bush -- Let me die. I am content to die, if the glory of God requires it; as at once a suitable punishment to me, and means of judgment to the Philistines. Heb. ‘let my soul die:’ i. e. according to Hebrew usage, let my life become extinct. As to his ‘soul,’ as we understand the term, he would of course pray that that might live. Samson’s death is no warrant for suicide, as it does not appear that he directly sought it, or designed to bring it about any farther than as it might be the inevitable consequence of destroying so many of the enemies of his people. He may be considered therefore as having perished in the same way as if he had fallen in battle like Josiah, 2 Chron. 6:23, 34, resisting the invaders of his country. (resource) Bush - He bowed himself with all his might, and the house fell, &c. With arms extended he grasps the massy pillars, and feeling an answer to his prayer in the renewed strength bestowed upon him, he bends himself forward with all his force; the pillars rock, the building totters, the roof, encumbered with the weight of the spectators, rushes down, and death in every tremendous shape appears. Crushed under the load or dashed to pieces in the fall, thousands expire. Their music is now changed to dying groans; and shrieks of agonizing pain, instead of songs of triumph, fill the air. Thus dies the mighty Samson, triumphant in his fall, and more terrible to the Philistines in his death than even during his life. Who can in this but be reminded of that adorable Saviour, who ‘triumphed over principalities and powers upon the cross, and by death overcame him that had the power of death, and delivered those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage?’ (resource) Alexander Maclaren sums up Samson observing that… We have the last cry and heroic death of Samson. It is not to be supposed that his prayer was audible to the crowd, even if it were spoken aloud. It is not an elevated prayer, but is, like all the rest of his actions at their best, deeply marked with purely personal motives. The loss of his two eyes is uppermost in his mind, and he wants to be revenged for them. Instead of trying to make a lofty hero out of him, it is far better to recognise frankly the limitations of his character and the imperfections of his religion. The distance between him and the New Testament type of God’s soldier measures the progress which the revelation of God’s will has made, and the debt we owe to the Captain of the host for the perfect example which He has set. The defects and impurity of Samson’s zeal, which yet was accepted of God, preach the precious lesson that God does not require virtues beyond the standard of the epoch of revelation at which His servants stand, and that imperfection does not make service unacceptable. If the merely human passion of vengeance throbbed fiercely in Samson’s prayer, he had never heard ‘Love your enemies’; and, for his epoch, the destruction of the enemies of God and Israel was duty. He was not the only soldier of God who has let personal antagonism blend with his zeal for God; and we have less excuse, if we do it, than he had. But there is the true core of religion in the prayer. It is penitence which pleads, ‘Remember me, O Lord God!’ He knows that his sin has broken the flow of loving divine thought to him, but he asks that the broken current may be renewed. Many a silent tear had fallen from Samson’s blind eyes, before that prayer could have come to his lips, as he leaned on the great pillars. Clear recognition of the Source of his strength is in the prayer; if ever he had forgotten, in Delilah’s lap, where it came from, he had recovered his conscious dependence amid the misery of the prison. There is humility in the prayer ‘Only this once.’ He feels that, after such a fall, no more of the brilliant exploits of former days are possible. They who have brought such despite on Jehovah and such honour to Dagon may be forgiven, and even restored to much of their old vigour, but they must not be judges in Israel any more. The best thing left for the penitent Samson is death. He had been unconscious of the departure of his strength, but he seems to have felt it rushing back into his muscles; so he grasps the two pillars with his mighty hands; the crowd sees that the pause for breath is over, and prepares to watch the new feats. Perhaps we may suppose that his last words were shouted aloud, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’ and before they have been rightly taken in by the mob, he sways himself backwards for a moment, and then, with one desperate forward push, brings down the two supports, and the whole thing rushes down to hideous ruin amid shrieks and curses and groans. But Samson lies quiet below the ruins, satisfied to die in such a cause. He ‘counted not his life dear’ unto himself, that he might be God’s instrument for God’s terrible work. The last of the judges teaches us that we too, in a nobler cause, and for men’s life, not their destruction, must be ready to hazard and give our lives for the great Captain, who in His death has slain more of our foes than He did in His life, and has laid it down as the law for all His army, ‘He that loseth his life for My sake shall find it.’ How beautifully the quiet close of the story follows the stormy scene of the riotous assembly and the sudden destruction. The Philistines, crushed by this last blow, let the dead hero’s kindred search for his body amid the chaos, and bear it reverently up from the plain to the quiet grave among the hills of Dan, where Manoah his father slept. There they lay that mighty frame to rest. It will be troubled no more by fierce passions or degrading chains. Nothing in his life became him like the leaving of it. The penitent heroism of its end makes us lenient to the flaws in its course; and we leave the last of the judges to sleep in his grave, recognising in him, with all his faults and grossness, a true soldier of God, though in strange garb. Spurgeon tells the following story "George Whitefield had a brother, who had lived far from the ways of godliness; and one afternoon he was sitting in a room in a chapel-house. He had heard his brother preach the day before, and his poor conscience had been cut to the very quick. Said Whitefield’s brother, when he was at tea: “I am a lost man,” and he groaned and cried, and could neither eat nor drink. Said Lady Huntingdon, who sat opposite: “What did you say, Mr. Whitefield?” “Madam,” said he, “I said I am a lost man.” “I’m glad of it,” said she; “I’m glad of it.” “Your ladyship, how can you say so? It is cruel to say you are glad that I am a lost man.” “I repeat it, sir,” said she; “I am heartily glad of it.” He looked at her, more and more astonished at her barbarity. “I am glad of it,” said she, “because it is written, ‘The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.’” With the tears rolling down his cheeks, he said: “What a precious Scripture; and how is it that it comes with such force to me? O! Madam,” said he, “Madam, I bless God for that; then he will save me; I trust my soul in his hands; he has forgiven me.” He went outside the house, felt ill, fell upon the ground, and died. Judges 16:31 Then his brothers and all his father's household came down, took him, brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. Thus he had judged Israel twenty years. his brothers. John 19:39–42. between Zorah and Eshtaol . Jdg. 13:2, 25. Jos. 19:41. Thus he had judged Israel twenty years. Jdg. 15:20. Judges 16 Resources Related Passage: Judges 15:20+ So he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines. Gaza in SW Philistia - site of Samson's capture (ESV Global Study Bible) Then his brothers and all his father's household came down, took him, brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father - Samson was laid to rest in the region where he had grown up and was given the honor of burial in his father’s tomb (cf. Jdg 8:32). A proper burial was a sign of special kindness and divine blessing. Not to be "buried" was a sign of divine disapproval, both on the surviving kinsmen and on the nation. The location between Zorah and Eshtaol reminds one of Jdg 13:25+. Samson has returned to where he began, only now he is dead. Samson's remains were laid to rest where the Spirit of Yahweh first stirred him (Jdg 13:25+). THOUGHT - Beloved, you can mark it down that we may ignore our sins, but our sins will not ignore us. We eventually reap what we sow (Hos 8:7, Hos 10:13, Pr 22:8, Gal 6:7, 8). Reaping follows sowing -- actions have consequences. Wicked deeds result in suffering and sorrow. Samson sowed the hot winds of sexual immorality and reaped the tumultuous whirlwinds of destruction. Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny. —Samuel Smiles