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| 1 Then went Samson unto Gaza,–and saw there an unchaste woman, and went in unto her. |
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| 2 And it was told the Gazites, saying–Samson hath come in hither. So they came round, and lay in wait for him, all the night, in the gate of the city,–but kept themselves quiet all the night, saying, Until the light of the morning, then will we slay him. |
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| 3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and of the two doorposts, and tare them away, with the bar, and put them on his shoulders,–and carried them up to the top of the hill that faceth Hebron. |
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| 4 And it came to pass, after this, that he loved a woman in the ravine of Shorek, whose, name, was Delilah. |
Delilah – The standards of the Ancient Worthies were different from those of the Gospel age. R4087:6
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| 5 So the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said to her–Entice him, and see wherein lieth his great strength, and wherewith we may prevail against him, and bind him, to humble him,–and, we, will give thee, every man, eleven hundred pieces of silver. |
Entice him – Consider how the Adversary seduced the Church. R4088:6
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| 6 So Delilah said unto Samson, Do tell me, I pray thee, wherein lieth thy great strength,–and wherewith thou mightest be bound, to humble thee. |
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| 7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green cords, that have not been dried, then shall I become weak, and be as any other man. |
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| 8 So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords, that had not been dried,–and she bound him therewith. |
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| 9 Now, the liers in wait, were tarrying for her, in an inner chamber,–and she said unto him,–The Philistines, are upon thee, Samson! And he snapped the cords as a thread of tow is broken, when fire bloweth thereon, so his strength was not discovered. |
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| 10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Lo! thou hast been laughing at me, and speaking unto me falsehoods,–Now, do tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound. |
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| 11 And he said unto her, If they, bind me fast, with new ropes, wherewith work was never done, then shall I become weak, and be as any other man. |
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| 12 So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him–The Philistines, are upon thee, Samson! Now, the liers in wait, were tarrying in an inner chamber. And he snapped them off his arms like a thread. |
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| 13 And Delilah said unto Samson–Hitherto, hast thou been laughing at me, and speaking unto me falsehoods, do tell me, wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weave the seven braids of my head with the warp. |
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| 14 So she beat them up with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines, are upon thee, Samson! And he awaked out of his sleep, and pulled out the pin of the loom, and the warp. |
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| 15 And she said unto him–How canst thou say, I love thee, when, thy heart, is not with me? These three times, hast thou laughed at me, and hast not told me wherein lieth thy great strength. |
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| 16 And it came to pass, when she urged him with her words continually, and pressed him, that his soul became impatient, unto death; |
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| 17 so he told her all his heart, and said to her–No, razor, hath come on my head, for, one separate unto God, have I been, from my birth,–if I were shaven, then would depart from me my strength, and I should become weak, and be as any other man. |
If I be shaven – Samson's strength, considered in relationship to his Nazarite vow, should show the Lord's acceptance of the consecrated and his making them mighty to the overthrow of their enemies. R4088:3
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| 18 And, when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying–Come up this once, for he hath told me all his heart. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought up the silver in their hand. |
All his heart – We should be specially on guard against the blandishments of the world and the Adversary through the nominal church. R4088:5
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| 19 And she made him sleep upon her knees, and called for a man, and caused him to shave off the seven braids of his head,–and she began to humble him, and his strength departed from him. |
Made him sleep – Consider the stupor, drowsiness, ease and worldliness upon those who made a vow to faithfulness during a considerable time. R4088:6
Upon her knees – Similarly, those who are strong in the Lord are in danger of going to sleep in the lap of the modern Delilah, Churchianity. R4088:6
Shave off – A vow once taken must be observed faithfully if its blessings would be enjoyed. R5613:5
His strength went – The strength of the Gospel message was lost while in the drowsy condition in the "Dark Ages." R4088:6
A condition of his vow being broken. R4088:6, R5613:4
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| 20 And she said–The Philistines, are upon thee, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep, and said–I will go out now, as time after time, and shake myself free: he, not knowing, that, Yahweh, had departed from him. |
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| 21 And the Philistines seized him, and put out his eyes,–and took him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of bronze, and it came to pass that he used to grind in the prison. |
Put out his eyes – Illustrating how the Church lost the eyes of her understanding in the Dark Ages. R4088:6
Bound him – Ever since the Reformation time the Church has been to a considerable extent a slave to Churchianity and the world. R4088:6
He did grind – Thus the Church has been grinding food of a certain kind for many while still a slave to the world and under its blinding influences. R4089:1
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| 22 And the hair of his head began to grow, after he had been shaven. |
Began to grow again – Representing the growing power of Present Truth. R4089:3
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| 23 Now, the lords of the Philistines, had gathered themselves together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice,–and they said, Our god hath delivered into our hand, Samson our enemy. |
Dagon their god – Representing the modern god of Evolution. R4089:3
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| 24 And, when the people saw him, they praised their god,–for they said–Our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy, even him who laid waste our land, and who multiplied our slain. |
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| 25 And it came to pass, when their heart was merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make sport for us. So they called for Samson out of the prison, and he made sport before them, and they stationed him between the pillars. |
Their hearts were merry – The worldly-wise feast and rejoice, giving honor to the god of Evolution through their Higher Critics. R4089:3
Make us sport – Those who are faithful to the principles of the Lord's Word will yet be made sport of by the worldly-wise. R4089:4
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| 26 And Samson said unto the youth that held him by his hand, Place me where I may feel the pillars whereon the house resteth, that I may lean upon them. |
Samson – Still full of the spirit of his consecration. R4089:1
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| 27 Now, the house, was full of men and women, there, also were all the lords of the Philistines,–and, on the roof, were about three thousand men and women, looking on while Samson made sport. |
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| 28 So then Samson cried unto Yahweh, and said,–My Lord Yahweh! remember me, I pray thee,–and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be avenged, with one avenging, for my two eyes, upon the Philistines. |
Strengthen me – We have come to a time when the Lord's people are recovering a little of the strength of the early Church. R4089:3
That I may be at once avenged – One lesson we may learn from Samson is the importance of having an object in life. R5613:5
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| 29 Then did Samson grasp the two middle pillars, whereon the house rested, and whereon it was upheld, and he braced himself against them,–the one with his right hand, and the other with his left. |
Samson took hold – Even now Labor, like the blind giant Samson, is groping for the pillars whose fall will overthrow present conditions. PD89/103
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| 30 And Samson said–Let my soul die with the Philistines! And he bowed mightily, and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead, whom he slew at his death, were more than they whom he slew in his life. |
Let me die – His whole life was used in serving his people. R5613:2
Nephesh, soul, sentient being. E334
All his might – The Lord's true people are ready to put forth all their strength to move the pillars of error which uphold Churchianity. R4089:4
And the house fell – With the death of the last member of the Church, the Body of Christ, will surely come the downfall of Churchianity and the present system of world power. R4089:4
Were more than – He did more damage to the Philistines and more for the deliverance of his people in that one act than in all the other experiences of his life. R5613:4, R4089:2
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| 31 Then came down his brethren, and all the house of his father, and lifted him, and carried him up, and buried him, between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the buryingplace of Manoah his father,–he, having judged Israel twenty years. |
Buried him – According to the Law, Samson was rated as a very faithful servant of God. R5613:2, R4088:1
Judged – In the sense of avenging wrongs that Israel sustained upon the enemies who committed those wrongs. R4088:4
His chief work was to revive the spirit of the totally dejected people; encouraging their return to the Lord, with its resultant prosperity. R5613:1
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