Judges 16:1-22

16:1-2 | Gaza, a Philistine capital city near the southern coast, was located along the caravan route from Egypt to Syria. Samson’s excursion into the depths of enemy territory reveals the extremes to which his sensual desires took him.

16:3 | The hilltop facing Hebron was some 40 miles away. While this was a superhuman feat, it was completely self-serving; done to anger and mock the Philistines rather than simply to escape. Both Samson’s moral weakness and his physical strength were on display here.

16:4-5 | The mention of the Philistine lords who ruled each city underscores that capturing Samson was their number one priority. Realizing that they would never defeat him in a test of strength, his enemies decided to destroy him in a test of weakness, using Samson’s infatuation with Delilah against him.

16:5 | The offer of 5,500 shekels of silver (1,100 from each of the five lords) was an utterly stunning amount – 550 times the annual wage and three times more units of silver than the units of gold Gideon received after defeating the Midianite kings (8:26).

16:6-14 | Seduction is usually subtle, exposing a person’s vulnerability inch by inch. In each of Delilah’s three attempts to discover the source of Samson’s strength, Samson revealed something without giving away his secret. By staying with her, however, he progressively revealed the truth, which led to his demise.

16:17 | Samson’s hair itself had no mystical strength, but Samson was a Nazirite to God, and his long hair was an outward symbol of dedication to the Lord (Num. 6:5). This dedication is what enabled Samson to do his mighty deeds. What a sad commentary on Samson’s character that he gave in to a woman who he knew would use her knowledge against him.

16:20-21 | These are some of the saddest words in the Bible: The LORD had departed from him (Num. 14:42-43). This time, the now-pathetic Samson was paraded through the city, a picture of helplessness. He went from a champion of the Israelites to a prisoner in the Philistine camp and a slave to his own sin. Sadly, the man who lived according to what was right in his eyes lost his eyesight.

16:22 | No matter how far God’s people fall away, His purposes are not jeopardized and the story is no yet finished. The detail that the hair on his head began to grow again suggests that God would yet work through Samson to accomplish the purpose for which he was born: delivering the people of Israel from the Philistines.