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Samson, the Strongest Yet Weakest Man
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What a change! Weak, blind, imprisoned and degraded to the
most lowly service! God had been patient with him a long time, but
when he had gone so far in sin as to betray his secret, the Lord left
him. There was no special power in his long hair, but it was a sign
of his loyalty to God. When the symbol was sacrificed while he was
giving in to passion, the blessings that it represented were given up.
In suffering and humiliation, and as an amusement for the
Philistines, Samson learned more about his own weakness than
he had ever known before. His sufferings led him to repentance,
and as his hair grew, his power gradually returned. His enemies,
regarding him as a chained and helpless prisoner, felt that he was no
threat.
Samson’s Final Repentance and Tragic Victory
The boasting Philistines claimed that victory had come from
their gods, and they defied the God of Israel. A feast was appointed
in honor of Dagon, the fish god. Throngs of Philistine worshipers
filled the vast temple and crowded the galleries around the roof. It
was a scene of festivity and rejoicing.
Then, as the crowning trophy of Dagon’s power, Samson was
brought in. People and rulers mocked his misery and adored the god
who had overthrown “the destroyer of their land.” After a time, as
if weary, Samson asked permission to rest against the two central
pillars that supported the temple roof.
Then he silently prayed, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray!
Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may at one blow
take vengeance on the Philistines.” With these words he encircled
the pillars with his mighty arms, and crying, “Let me die with the
Philistines!” he bowed himself and the roof fell, destroying everyone
in that vast crowd in one crash. “So the dead that he killed at his
death were more than he had killed in his life.”
The idol and its worshipers, priest and peasant, warrior and
noble, were buried together beneath the ruins of Dagon’s temple.
And among them was the giant form of the man whom God had
chosen to be the deliverer of His people.