Scroll to the bottom for thoughts/discussion questions!
One-sentence summary: Sampson visits a prostitute, she cons him into revealing the secret of his strength (his hair), he is taken captive by the Philistines, and God gives him the strength to knock over their temple, killing all those in it along with himself.
Sampson visits a prostitute, and the Gazzites hear he is there and surround the gates of the city, planning to attach at daylight. Sampson lays low until midnight, and then he pulls up the gates of the city with his hands, puts them on his shoulder, and carries them to the top of the hill. The Philistines persuade Delilah to entice Sampson and find out where his strength comes from and how they can overpower him, so that they can "bind... and afflict him," and each one will give her 100 pieces of silver. So she asks Sampson where he gets his strength from, and he lies to her and says that if he is bound with seven fresh bow strings, he will be "like any man." So, she binds him with the strings, and the Philistines lie in wait for him. She tells Sampson, The Philistines are upon you!" and he wakes up and breaks free. She tells him he has tricked her, and asks him again what is his secret. He says that if he is tied with unused ropes, he will be weak, and she tries a second time and again, is unsuccessful. (Does he think she is joking?? Not really sure why he allows this to continue.) She pleads a third time, and he says that if his seven locks of hair are weaved into a loom.... but again he breaks free. Then, she accuses him of not loving her. After daily pestering, "his soul [is] vexed to death," and he shares his heart with her and tells her the truth, that his head has never been shaved and that he has been "a Nazirite since the womb." When she realizes he has poured his heart out, she calls the lords of the Philistines and tells them to come again, and they pay her and wait in ambush. She "lulls [Sampson] to sleep on her knees" and calls a man to shave his head. Then, she "torments Sampson," and "his strength leaves him" (It's so sad!) He awakes and thinks he will shake himself free like usual, but "he [does] not know that the Lord has departed from him." The Philistines pluck out his eyes and bring him to Gaza and bind him with fetters, and he becomes a grinder in the prison. But his hair grows again. The lords of the Philistines gather to worship their god for delivering Sampson to them, so they call for him to perform for them. They station him between the pillars of their temple, and Sampson asks a young lad to help him feel the pillars of the temples to lean on them. The temple is full of 3,000 men and women and all the lords of the Philistines. He cries out to the Lord and asks Him to strengthen him "this once" to take vengeance on the Philistines for his eyes. Then, he cries out, "Let me die with the Philistines!" and he pushes with all his might, and the temple falls on all the people who are in it. And it says that those Sampson killed in his death are more than those he killed in his life. And his family comes and buries him.
A man from the mountains of Ephraim named Micah apparently steals some silver from his mother but returns it, and she gives it back to him, saying that she had already dedicated it to him in order to make an idol. She gives the silver to the silversmith to make an idol, and they stay in Micah's house. He has a shrine and makes an ephod and other household idols, and he consecrates one of his sons to be his priest. In these days, there is no king in Israel and "everyone [does] what is right in his own eyes." There is a young man from Bethlehem in Judea from the family of Judah who is a Levite. He leaves Bethlehem, staying wherever he can find a place, and he comes to Micah's house. Micah asks where he comes from and tells him to be a father and priest and that he will give him room and board, payment, and even clothes. And the man "[becomes] like one of his sons." Then, Micah says "the Lord" will be good to him because he has a Levite as priest, but it is clear he is not referring to the true Lord.
The Danites at that time are still seeking an inheritance because their inheritance had not yet fallen to them, so they send five men to spy out the land. They go to the mountain of Ephraim and the house of Micah, and they recognize the voice of a Levite and inquire what he is doing, and he tells them what Micah has done for him. They ask him to inquire of "God" if their journey will be prosperous, and he says that it will, to go in peace, and that "the Lord" will be with them. When they spy out the land, they see the people in the land dwell safely and have no ties with any other people, so they return to their brethren and give a good report. They say "God" has given them the land, so 600 armed men go up to the house of Micah, and the five spies tell them about the images in Micah's house. The men all go to his house and greet him. They start taking all the "sacred" items in Micah's house, and the priest asks them what they are doing. They tell him to be quiet and come with them and be priest to their tribe. He likes the idea and goes with them. When they are a good ways away, the neighbors of Micah gather with him, and they overtake the children of Dan. They call out to them, and the Danites ask, "Why have you come out against us?" Micah responds that they have stolen his gods and his priest, but they tell him to be careful lest he lose his life, too. So Micah goes back, realizing they are too strong for him. So they take his special items and the priest with them, and they strike the peaceful and secure people "with the sword and fire," and there is no one to deliver them because they are far from any other nation and have no dealings with anyone. The Danites rebuild the city and call it Dan, for obvious reasons. They set up the carved image, and it says that Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons are priests to the Danites until "the day of captivity and exile from the land."
Thoughts/discussion questions:
*See yesterday's blog for commentary on Sampson.
The whole old testament seems like one sad story after another. It really is. God loved man and wanted the best for him. Man rejected God. God gave consequences. People repented for a time, only to repeat the same pathetic, destructive cycle again and again. Scripture says the law was given to restrain people until the right time when Christ would come. God knew He would have to give us new hearts to love Him. There is an expression that says "only God can love God," and it's true; we can only love God when we truly receive His love for us. Israel did not want to get close enough to Him to do that. We have the same choice today.