The source of our strength (Judg 16:15-22)

A few years after I came to faith, the Christian life became a heavy burden. My church background emphasised obedience and denying oneself and life with God turned into joyless drudgery. That summer, things came to a head, and I felt that I could not live with God any longer. One afternoon at a week-long church retreat, I was sitting on the hillside behind the house where we were staying and imagined what it would be like to turn my back on God. No more church on Sundays, no more youth group to lead, no more evenings taken up with endless meetings, no one to tell me to deny myself in this or sacrifice that. Despite the relief that such a vision conjured up, I felt overwhelming sadness at the possibility of losing God from my life. The Lord has taken hold of me, and I could not let go. That moment became a turning point on the road to a healthier understanding of what the Lord requires and of His gracious love that carries us through.

Facing the choice: our way vs God’s

Sadly, for some, the allure of our inclinations and living as seems best to us is too great. Samson never wanted the calling and the burden placed on him to live set apart for God, but so far, he has managed to sit on the fence – more or less. Delilah, however, is forcing the issue by asking for his heart, that is, his will, mind and whole person (Judg 16:15). In the balance is Samson’s allegiance to God on the one hand and a woman’s love on the other, but Webb also points to Samson’s desire to be like everybody else and not stand apart.[1] While Delilah’s repeated question highlights her aim that she wants Samson bound (Judg 16:6, 10, 13), his reply reveals the tension between what he might lose and gain if he gave in to temptation (Judg 16:7, 11, 13). Losing his strength when it saved him from disaster numerous times could hurt him, but being able to mix and mingle with others like any other man may be appealing.

Samson gives away his strength

In the end, Delilah grinds him down with her daily nagging and he confides in her about his Nazirite vows (Judg 16:17) thereby giving his power away. Hair was seen in the ancient world as a sign of vitality because it keeps growing back (even for a short while after a person has died). Nevertheless, Samson’s hair has no magical properties, rather, his strength comes from the commitment to God as a Nazirite, of which the hair is an outward symbol. When he gives his heart fully to something or someone other than God (v.15), he breaks his loyalty to Him and the Lord departs from him (Judg 16:20). Is he relieved that the struggle is over? Does he hope that life will become easier now? Delilah lulls him to sleep with his head in her lap, in a position of trust, while the enemies are on their way with money in their hand (Judg 16:18-19). Although she calls a man to help, poignantly, she herself shaves off Samson’s hair (the Hebrew verb is feminine; v.19).

Who has our heart?

Samson may have hoped for peace from inner tensions between desire and calling, for fulfilment with the woman he loved, but was betrayed, blinded, made dependent on others, and enslaved instead. In him is embodied the choices and fate of Israel, who likewise turned from their calling to be holy and set apart for God to follow other gods, an act that Judges repeatedly describes as playing the harlot (Judg 2:17; 8:27, 33). As in Samson’s case, the result was not fulfilment and a flourishing life but oppression and enslavement. Yet, even at this low point, there is hope. Samson’s hair starts growing again (Judg 16:22), a sign that God still has a call on his life. Samson’s story illustrates the workings of sin with its allure and deception, its demand for full loyalty, its betrayal of our hopes and the destruction it brings on us in the end. Yet God who has claimed us for Himself seeks us in the depth still. May we give our heart fully to Him because He is the source of our strength, our help, the One who gives Life to be lived to the full.

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[1] Barry G. Webb, The Book of Judges, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 405-406.

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