What is the secret to his strength?
Sixth Sunday in Easter
Judges 16:18–30
When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.” And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.” And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.
Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.
Prayer: O Lord, be our strength and salvation, keep us humble and reliant on you. May we never forsake you but look to you for our every need of both body and soul, knowing with confidence that you are a gracious Lord who hears our prayers. In Jesus name. Amen.
Dear Friends in Christ,
Samson was the last of the 12 judges in Israel. Samson’s birth was announced by an angel from heaven. He shared this distinction with Isaac, John the Baptizer, and Jesus (Genesis 18:1–15; Luke 1:5–38). Samson was also an unexpected child. His mother was barren—she couldn’t have children, but she received a child as a distinct blessing from God. The angel told his mother that her son would be a Nazirite, “one set apart.” He would be separated from things unholy and unclean for the service of the Lord (Numbers 6). The angel said, “No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
Samson would be set apart in order to begin the process of delivering Israel from the Philistines. The Lord was with Samson and blessed him. If there is one thing you remember about Samson, it is his incredible strength. Scripture tells that on one occasion he was attacked by a lion, but he “tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat” (Judges 14:6). Yet, Samson’s love for women and riddles got him into precarious situations.
Leading up to our lesson, we learn about how the Philistines had bribed a woman he fell in love with, named Delilah, to find out the secret to Samson’s strength. Because of all the great battles and victories that Samson had won, like singlehandedly killing a thousand Philistine men with the jawbone of a donkey and destroying many of their crops with fire—they wanted to get rid of Samson. But he was too strong. They could not stop him.
So, the lords of the Philistines went to Delilah and said, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver” (Judges 16:5). A shekel was about a day’s wages, so this offer made by 5 or 6 Philistine lords would be more than 15 years of wages. This payoff would allow her to retire comfortably. And clearly, her love for money was greater than her love for Samson.
But why did the Philistines wonder what was the secret to his strength? Wouldn’t it be obvious? Most of us probably imagine Samson looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger 2.0—a man with a 48-inch chest and 32 waist and biceps the size of my thighs—a man bursting with muscles, a real-life Hercules. However, if Samson looked like this, the Philistine lords would probably have not wondered where Samson got his strength. It would have been obvious that his great strength came from his great muscles.
So, what did Samson look like? It could be that Samson looked just like an ordinary man, like me and you. So where did Samson get his strength? We learn from Scripture that whenever Samson performed some great feat of strength or victory, it says, “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him.” Samson’s strength was all from God. It wasn’t his muscles or his great fighting skills—it was God’s power at work in him. The Lord made this ordinary man extraordinary!
So, Delilah got to work to determine the secret to Samson’s strength. Leading up to our lesson we learn of her persistent requests to Samson to tell her the secret to his strength and how he could lose it. Three times she asked, and each time Samson gave her a wrong answer. While Samson could have been clueless to Delilah’s plans, it is more likely that he was arrogant about his abilities to defeat his enemies. Yet, after three failed attempts, Delilah got angry with Samson and accused him of not loving her for not telling her where his great strength lies. Finally, Samson tells her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man” (Judges 16:17).
So Delilah shaved his head and called the Philistines. This time Samson could not defeat them. The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and bound him in shackles. The blind Samson was now put to work like a donkey, where he ground at the mill in prison.
Often, the judges of Israel served as types or pictures of Christ who delivered us. But here, Samson is more closely aligned with the people of Israel who went after the false gods around them. He was strong, but weak. When the Lord was with them, they could accomplish great things, but when they abandoned the Lord, they fell due to their own weakness. Here, Samson serves as an important example. He abused his strength from God and tested the Lord to get him out of every situation. And he lost everything. As believers, we are warned not to tempt the Lord. Samson tested God’s help. As God’s people, we are warned not to knowingly use God’s grace as an excuse to sin. Scripture states, “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26). If we willingly ignore God’s word, hold on to anger, purposefully spread unkind things about our neighbors, covet, or take what does not belong to us and presume God’s forgiveness, there is no forgiveness for us. God is not mocked. But how often do we knowingly sin, unafraid of its consequences, because we presume God’s grace? We can be just as guilty of testing the Lord like Samson.
The Philistines defeated Samson. So, the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to their false god for finally defeating Samson, throwing a great party. And they called Samson, who was blind and bound to entertain them. But we are told that Samson’s hair had begun to grow—a sign of his Nazirite vow. He asked a young man, which is the same word for squire, to bring him to the pillars of the house. He was preparing for one last battle. With 3,000 men and women on the roof, Samson prayed to God, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.”
The Lord heard Samson’s prayer. Samson was given the strength to push the two columns causing the house to collapse with all the people in it. His last words were, “let me die with the Philistines,” or more literally, “let my soul die with the Philistines.” These words reflect the change that the Lord had brought about in Samson’s relationship with God. Samson was sacrificing his life in full recognition of the role his heavenly Father had given him from birth—to deliver Israel from the Philistines. Samson’s final act was not a selfish act of self-destruction. Samson died better than he had lived. We are told, “So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.” Samson accomplished more in his death than all his life. For this reason, Samson belongs among the heroes of faith listed in Hebrews 11.
The last words of Samson point us to the last words of Jesus, who after having said, “It is finished,” added, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). To finish the great work of our salvation, Jesus submitted himself to the Father’s will by laying down his life for the sins of the world.
Though imperfect, Samson’s death pictured to some degree what the Savior would do for all people. With his death, Jesus would accomplish what our life could not. He would pay for our sins, delivering us from the bondage of sin and death. He would sacrificially lay down his life so save all people. His death would bring down the power of death and his resurrection would be the power for our life. Yet, unlike Samson, Jesus would completely deliver us from sin. So much so, that even a man like Samson, with all his faults and weaknesses, could be saved eternally.
Jesus has paid for the sins of the whole world. There is no sin, even sins that were willingly done against God, that cannot be forgiven. You see, where you and I have failed to love God and our neighbor, Jesus did it perfectly so that his holy life could be credited to you. What he accomplished with his death on the cross would be yours through faith in him. This is why he calls us to repent of our sins and believe in Jesus.
As those who have been saved by the blood of Jesus, we have the power of our Redeemer’s death. We have been made children of God. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you.” As children of God, we can go to our Father with confidence, knowing that he hears and answers our prayers as he did with Samson. What an incredible gift! You can go to God with your worries and cares and know that the almighty God hears you. When we pray for things that he has promised, we can pray unconditionally, because we know he will grant it. Yet, for all other things, we pray according to God’s will. We can put our trust in God, because he is our help and salvation.
The lords of the Philistines wondered where the secret to Samson’s strength lied. If someone were to ask this same question about us—what would they find? Would they find us reliant on our own wisdom, physical strength, or healthy financial portfolio? Would they say that your life is a result of your own doing and efforts?
If we rely on ourselves and trust in our own doing like Samson, we will be left without God—without strength. If we think we can get to heaven based on what we have done, we will be lost. But if we rely on God and put our trust in Jesus, we have a strength that cannot be measured.
Jesus died on the cross for your sins. You are a child of God and heir of heaven. He died so that you could live. He forgives you. He cares for you both in this life and the next. He hears our prayers like he did Samson’s. So may our voices be always raised to him who hears, who delivers, and who saves. What is the secret to your strength? May our answer always be Jesus, who forgives sins, lifts up the humble, and gives strength to the weak. Amen.