A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

Delilah sought to learn the secret of Samson’s strength by playing a “deadly lover’s
game.” After she had set Samson at ease, she appealed to him to reveal the secret of his strength.
Samson played along with the game giving her false answers. But each time he did so, he was
getting closer to revealing the true source of his strength. What he did not realize was that
Delilah had men waiting and watching to take him as soon as the true secret of his strength was
revealed. Only when Delilah was convinced she knew the source of his strength, did she call the
lords of the Philistines to collect her reward.
When Delilah knew the strength of Samson could be destroyed if his hair was cut, she
caused him to sleep on her lap. While he slept, she had a man cut the seven braids of Samson’s
hair and then began to beat him to wake him up. As he awoke to the by now familiar words,
“The Philistines are upon you, Samson” (Jud. 16:9, 12, 14, 20), he assumed he could shake them
off and fight them as he had done at other times. Tragically the Scripture records, “but he did not
know that the Lord had departed from him” (v. 20). The strong man of Israel was without his
strength, and he was about to suffer the consequences of his sin. He was bound and blinded by
the enemy he had sought to destroy and taken to the prison where he would do the work of a
woman grinding out Dagon’s grain. In a sudden reversal of circumstances, the former victories
of Samson now came back to haunt him in his greatest defeat.
PERSPECTIVE: NEVER BEYOND HOPE
Samson was not destined to end his life in the service of the Philistine god Dagon but
rather in the service of the Lord God of Israel. After Samson became a prisoner, his hair began to
grow again. He would have one more opportunity to use his God-given strength in accordance
with the purpose God had established for his life.
The Philistines were eager to celebrate their great victory over Samson and attribute it to
their god Dagon. They gathered their people to the temple of Dagon and offered sacrifices to
their god and feasted together. As the celebration continued, a decision was made to bring
Samson to the temple as a form of entertainment. He was taken from the prison and brought into
the temple where everyone could see him.
The temple of Dagon was a massive two-tiered structure which rested on a series of
pillars for support. While there were a number of pillars between the two floors of the temple,
the weight of the second floor was supported primarily by the corner pillars. Samson had a boy
who was acting as his guide take him to these support pillars in preparation for his final battle
with the Philistines. Resting against those pillars, Samson prayed one last time. “O Lord God,
remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow