Samson, the Strongest Yet Weakest Man
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for the wavering Nazarite, who had already indulged in the use of
wine, thus breaking another tie that bound him to purity and to God.
The Philistines determined, through Delilah, to accomplish his ruin.
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They dared not attempt to seize him while in possession of his
great strength, but it was their purpose to learn the secret of his power.
They therefore bribed Delilah to discover and reveal it.
A Weak Woman Subdues a Strong Man
As the betrayer plied Samson with her questions, he deceived her
by declaring that the weakness of other men would come upon him
if certain processes were tried. When she put the matter to the test,
the cheat was discovered. Then she accused him of falsehood: “How
canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? Thou
hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy
great strength lieth.” Three times Samson had the clearest evidence
that the Philistines had leagued with his charmer to destroy him; but
she treated the matter as a jest, and he blindly banished fear.
Day by day a subtle power kept him by her side. Overcome at last,
Samson made known the secret: “There hath not come a razor upon
mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s
womb: If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall
become weak, and be like any other man.”
A messenger was immediately dispatched to the lords of the
Philistines, urging them to come without delay. While the warrior
slept, the heavy masses of his hair were severed from his head. Then
she called, “The Philistines be upon thee, Samson!” Suddenly awak-
ing, he thought to exert his strength as before, but his powerless arms
refused to do his bidding. He knew that “Jehovah was departed from
him.” Delilah began to annoy him and cause him pain, thus making
a trial of his strength; for the Philistines dared not approach him till
fully convinced that his power was gone. Then they seized him and,
having put out both his eyes, took him to Gaza. Here he was bound
with fetters in their prison house and confined to hard labor.
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What a change! Weak, blind, imprisoned, degraded to the most
menial service! God had borne long with him. But when he had so
yielded to sin as to betray his secret, the Lord departed from him.
There was no virtue in his long hair, but it was a token of his loyalty