Judges 16:21-3121But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. 22Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. 23Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 24And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. 25And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. 26And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. 27Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. 28And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 29And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. 30And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. 31Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years. (Judges 16:21‑31)
We do not know how long Samson was in the prison at Gaza, after the enemy had cut his hair. But his hair began to grow again, and his strength came back to him, but he could not see, for they had put out his eyes.
One day a great number of the chief men and women of that land came tether to hold a feast and sacrifice to their idol, because they said the idol had given Samson to them. This feast must have been in a very large building. We read of there being three thousand people in it.
They called for Samson to be brought out of the prison so they could all see and laugh at him.
A boy led Samson by the hand, and Samson asked him to bring him to the middle pillars which held up the great roof, or porch, where the people stood to see and rejoice over him. They did not know he had become strong again.
Samson felt very angry at them because of the loss of his eyes, and wanted to punish them. He put his right arm around one big pillar, and his left arm around the other big pillar; then he bent forward with all his great strength, and pushed the pillars out from under the roof, so the whole house suddenly fell, and all the people were killed. This was a dreadful thing and Samson too was killed. His relatives heard of his death, and came after his body and buried him on his father’s land.
So the story of the strong man is a sad one, because of his making friends those who did not believe in the Lord.
There were two more men who judged Israel, but are not told of in the Book of Judges, but later, in the Book of Samuel. There were many sad things done in the land of Israel because the people worshiped idols and did not keep God’s words. The last verse of the book says,
“Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
ML 08/28/1938