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Patriarchs and Prophets
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 immedi-
ately dispatched to the lords of the Philistines, urging them to come
to her without delay. While the warrior slept, the heavy masses of his
hair were severed from his head. Then, as she had done three times
before, she called, “The Philistines be upon thee, Samson!” Suddenly
awaking, he thought to exert his strength as before and destroy them;
but his powerless arms refused to do his bidding, and he knew that
“Jehovah was departed from him.” When he had been shaven, 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, they took him to Gaza. Here he was bound with fetters
in their prison house and confined to hard labor.
What a change to him who had been the judge and champion of
Israel!—now weak, blind, imprisoned, degraded to the most menial
service! Little by little he had violated the conditions of his sacred
calling. God had borne long with him; but when he had so yielded
himself to the power of sin as to betray his secret, the Lord departed
from him. There was no virtue in his long hair merely, but it was a
token of his loyalty to God; and when the symbol was sacrificed in the
indulgence of passion, the blessings of which it was a token were also
forfeited.
In suffering and humiliation, a sport for the Philistines, Samson
learned more of his own weakness than he had ever known before;
and his afflictions led him to repentance. As his hair grew, his power
gradually returned; but his enemies, regarding him as a fettered and
helpless prisoner, felt no apprehensions.
The Philistines ascribed their victory to their gods; and, exulting,
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they defied the God of Israel. A feast was appointed in honor of
Dagon, the fish god, “the protector of the sea.” From town and country
throughout the Philistine plain the people and their lords assembled.
Throngs of worshipers filled the vast temple and crowded the galleries
about the roof. It was a scene of festivity and rejoicing. There was the
pomp of the sacrificial service, followed by music and feasting. Then,
as the crowning trophy of Dagon’s power, Samson was brought in.
Shouts of exultation greeted his appearance. People and rulers mocked