Judges 15-16

CHAPTER 15:
          Verses 1-3: Some time after the betrothal feast, during the time of harvest, Samson returns to Timnath for the actual wedding ceremony. (v.1) The bride's father, however, has bad news for Samson. He assumed incorrectly that Samson wasn’t interested in his daughter anymore after the incident at the betrothal feast, and so he’s already given her away to one of the men in Samson’s wedding party. (v.2) He offers instead his other daughter to Samson, but Samson refuses. Samson uses this betrayal as an excuse for revenge against the Philistines. (v.3)
 
            Verses 4-8: Samson’s method of capturing 300 foxes and tying them together tail to tail in pairs with a burning torch also attached is a rather creative method for incinerating the Philistines’ crops. (v.4-5) But the Philistine rulers’ response is also unexpected and shocking. They retaliate by murdering the daughter of Timnath and her father! (v.6) Samson, of course, responds in kind, slaughtering more of the Philistines in another act of vengeance after which he flees to the wilderness of Judah to hide in caves of Etam. (v.8)
           Seen in the larger context of God’s sovereignty, this cycle of violence is His judgment against the Philistines for their conquering and subjugation of Israel. Samson is acting impulsively out of his own free will, but God is using him as an instrument of judgment and a savior for His chosen people.
 
            Verses 9-17: The conflict between Samson and the Philistines has escalated to the point of all-out war. The Philistine army arrives at the border of Judah and sets up camp, casting fear into the hearts of Judah’s elders. (v.9-10) When they question the Philistines they learn of Samson’s deeds, and they seek him out among the hill country of Etam. (v.11) The Philistines are referred to as “rulers” over Israel, indicating God’s judgment against Israel for her sin of apostasy and idolatry. God, through Moses, had warned Israel this would happen if they failed to obey Him and honor His covenant with them. (Deuteronomy 15:6) Had they obeyed, it would now be Israel who is ruling the Philistines, not the other way around.
            When Samson explains what the Philistines did to him and why they’re now after him, the elders of Judah predictably side with their rulers rather than their fellow Israelite. (v.12) Samson’s only request is that they not kill him. The elders consent, and Samson allows them to bind him with new rope and be delivered to the Philistines as their captive. But when they all arrive at the Philistine camp, the Spirit of the LORD once again fills Samson with supernatural strength. (v.14) In spite of him violating his Nazarite vow (again!) by seizing the jawbone from the carcass of a donkey to use as his only weapon, God allows Samson a great victory over the Philistines. (v.15) Notice, however, to whom Samson gives the honor and glory: himself, not God. (v.16) He names the site of battle in honor of his weapon: Ramath-lehi, which is translated literally as “jawbone heights”. (v.17)
 
            Verses 18-20: Perhaps because of Samson’s foolishness in glorifying himself rather than God, the LORD causes Samson to wander in the wilderness for some time as he searches for water. Apparently, the elders of Judah have long ago fled the scene of battle, and Samson is left alone in the middle of nowhere with only the dead Philistines for company. Finally recognizing the source of his victory in battle, Samson cries out to God. (v.18) In response, the LORD causes water to gush forth from dry ground, just as He did for the Israelites many times after their exodus from Egypt. Samson names the site En-hakkore, translated literally as “Spring of the Caller”.(v.19)
            No doubt the news of Samson’s victories against the Philistines quickly spreads throughout Israel, and verse 20 implies that there is a period of relative peace for twenty years while Samson is judge over all the nation.

CHAPTER 16:
          Verses 1-3: These verses contrast Samson’s great physical strength with his utter lack of moral purity and self-control. Imagine what a powerful leader he could have been if only his moral character was as strong as his physical might! In the ANE the gates of a city were often covered with metal to prevent them from being burned during an attack. Not only that, Hebron is about 38 miles from Gaza and mostly uphill, so the fact that Samson carried on his back the pair of gates – along with each of their posts – is a testament to his supernatural gift from the LORD!
 
            Verses 4-15: Now enters the final chapter of Samson’s epic yet troubled life. His moral weakness, of course, becomes the source of his downfall, and the new object of his affection is a Philistine woman named Delilah. (v.4) Though the text doesn’t label her as such, it is reasonable to presume that she, too, is a harlot. Her moral character is just as weak as Samson’s, for she accepts a rather lucrative bribe from the Philistine lords to betray Samson. (v.5) The first three attempts fail (v.6-16), and, each time, Delilah uses Samson’s lust for her to manipulate him. But it’s clear from the text that Samson is also just using her to satisfy his lust as much as she is using him to make a profit off the Philistine lords. His false answers to her question about the true source of his strength indicate this.
 
            Verses 16-21: This back and forth between Samson and Delilah goes on for some time until she finally breaks him down. (v.16-17) He confesses the details of his Nazarite vow, and Delilah can see from his demeanor that he is finally telling her the truth. (v.18) She meets with the Philistine lords and tells them that she’s found the answer at last, and they give her the money. The phrase “And she made him sleep upon her knees…” (v.19) indicates that Delilah most likely slipped something into Samson’s wine at dinner, or in some other way gave him something that caused him to fall into a deep sleep. Delilah summons a man who proceeds to shave off all of Samson’s hair. Delilah then tests Samson’s strength while he is yet asleep, though the text doesn’t say exactly how. But it does confirm that Samson’s gift from God has left him.
            Just as before, Delilah wakes Samson by crying out, “The Philistines be upon thee!” (v.20), and, just as before, Samson comes to, thinking that he will fight them off. But it doesn’t take him long to realize “…that the LORD was departed from him.” The Philistines successfully capture their arch enemy, gouging out both of his eyes before bringing him bound in chains to Gaza. (v.21) They lock him in prison for some time, chaining him to a large wheel like an ox, where he spends day after day grinding grain. This is the lowest form of slave labor in the ANE. But, during this time, Samson’s hair begins to grow again.
            It’s important to note here that the true source of Samson’s great physical strength was not his hair. It was the Spirit of the LORD, and in the dispensational age of the law, before the death of Christ, it was common for the Holy Spirit to come upon someone for only a specific time so that he/she could perform a specific task for the LORD. Because Samson sinned by consistently violating his Nazarite vow as well as his complete lack of moral character by disobeying the Mosaic Law, God finally pronounced judgment on His servant by withdrawing the Holy Spirit from Samson, thus making him physically weak like all other men.
 
          Verses 22-31: It’s not clear how much time passes before the huge victory celebration described in the closing verses of this chapter. It could have been only a few days or a few weeks, as indicated by verse 22. Even though it was never solely his hair that was the true source of Samson’s strength, the fact the author mentions its regrowth indicates its importance in the life and story of Samson. It could also simply be a foreshadowing of Samson’s final request at the end of his life.
            The Philistines, in their foolish arrogance and pride, believe that it’s their false god Dagon that delivered Samson into their hands. (v.23-24) They become so drunk that they call for Samson to entertain them. (v.25) When Samson is brought out of the prison house, guided by a young servant boy, he asks the boy to guide his hands to the pair of central pillars that support the upper level of the house. (v.26) The way that houses were designed in the ANE, especially ones as large as this that could support 3,000 or more guests (v.27) on its rooftop, were such that the upper level was supported solely by a pair of large pillars.
            Samson finally acknowledges the true source of his strength by praying to the LORD and asking Him for His blessing one last time. He asks God to restore his strength so that he may have vengeance against the Philistines for their act of gouging out his eyes. (v.28) Even at the lowest point of his life, Samson seems curiously focused on only himself. His prayer indicates that even though he was a judge and leader of all Israel, and a servant of the LORD GOD (v.28), he never completely conquered his pride. He never truly humbled himself, even at this final hour of his life. His final thought is to get revenge for what was done to him, not for all the evil done to his people by the Philistine lords.
            Yet God grants Samson his request, and Samson uses his great strength to bring down the massive pillars and the whole upper level with them. All 3,000 Philistines are slain, more than all that Samson had killed up to this point. (v.29-30) He is buried in his home country, next to the grave of his father Manoah, between Zorah and Eshtaol. (v.31) The author’s final note is the same as that of the previous chapter: “And he judged Israel twenty years.”
 
            Samson’s story is among the more fascinating profiles in scripture, mainly because of its contrast of man’s free will against the larger backdrop of God’s sovereignty. It’s an account of a man who never subjugated his pride, always giving in to the impulsive and selfish desires of his flesh, and yet was effectively used by God to deliver His chosen people. Samson is an example of all of Israel in this time period: rebellious, prideful, and stubborn, yet never neglected or completely forsaken by God. Like Samson, Israel eventually repented and came back to the Lord, but their faithfulness never remained for long. The final five chapters of Judges show just how far and how deeply Israel strayed from the God who had once blessed, sustained, and protected their faithful fathers.