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Judges 16:16–22
“And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, that he told her all his heart” (Judg. 16:16–17a).
Samson’s dalliance with Delilah apparently goes on for some days, during which she “pestered … and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death.” He could demand that she stop speaking about his strength. And, of course, he could leave her. However, he remains in her embrace, despite the vexation. “Surely in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird, but in Samson’s sight is the net spread, and yet he is taken in,” Matthew Henry writes, quoting Proverbs 1:17.
Finally, Samson yields and tells her the secret: He will lose his strength if his hair is cut. We have seen Samson possibly violating the Nazirite prohibitions against consuming the fruit of the vine and coming in contact with death, but he seems to have hung onto this provision, which was specifically mentioned by the Angel who announced his birth. Perhaps he believes that he can “cheat” on the other provisions of the Nazirite code so long as he keeps this one provision, that God will not cut him off as long as he does not cut his hair off. But it is not so simple. As Henry explains: “The Angel that foretold his birth said nothing of his great strength, but only that he should be a Nazirite.… His consecration to God was to be his strength.… Therefore, the badge of his consecration was the pledge of his strength; if he lose the former, he knows he forfeits the latter.” In other words, Samson is set apart as a leader and example for Israel; his consecration is before his strength in order of importance. But when he sacrifices his consecration, he loses the strength. When Delilah lulls him to sleep, cuts away his locks, and calls him as before, he wakes assuming he will escape as before. But he cannot, for “the Lord had departed from him.” God abandons him because he has now completely abandoned God. So he is taken by the Philistines, blinded in reality as he had been blinded to his danger, taken to Gaza, and imprisoned in the city from which he once so spectacularly escaped (16:1–3). There he is put to work grinding in the prison—it seems that some vestige of his strength remains, but it is worthless without God’s presence.
This passage does not leave the reader without hope. Samson’s hair, we are told, begins to grow again as he labors in the prison. In itself, this means nothing, but it holds out the possibility of restoration for Samson if he will repent of his sin and return to God.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
The lessons in this passage for the ancient Israelites are not hard to see. Like Samson, they committed “harlotry,” violating God’s covenant stipulations. And while God was longsuffering, He would not endure them forever. Study the verses below to see how these warnings are applied to all who claim a relationship to Christ today.
For Further Study
- John 8:34
- Romans 6:12–14
- Hebrews 10:26
- 1 John 1:6