Judges 16:22 - Meaning and Application

Though Samson’s last days were shameful, this account of his death can soften, though not erase, the disgrace. There was honor in the way he died. He likely repented deeply of his sin, both for the shame he had brought on God and for losing the honor God had given him. God’s reconciliation to him appears first in the return of the sign of his Nazirite vows, that is, his special dedication to God.

Judges 16:22 says that his hair began to grow again after it had been shaved. It likely happened before the Philistines’ public feast to Dagon, their idol. That growth seems to have been unusual and intentional, a special sign that God had again shown favor to Samson after his repentance. The hair itself did not restore his strength by any power of its own. It mattered because it showed that God accepted him again as a Nazirite, even though Samson had no chance to perform the rituals required for a restored Nazirite under the law (Numbers 6:9).

It is surprising that the Philistines, who had him in their power, did not notice or cut his hair again. Perhaps they were willing for his strength to return, because that would give them more work for him. Since he was blind, they probably felt no fear of him.

God also showed mercy by using Samson to destroy Israel’s enemies. He did this at a time that would defend God’s honor, even if it was not mainly for Israel’s immediate rescue. The Philistines showed great disrespect toward the God of Israel, first by sacrificing to Dagon, their rival god. Dagon was a false god of their own making, pictured as part man and part fish, a mere invention of the imagination. Yet they credited Dagon with their success, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands” (Judges 16:23, 24).

They knew Delilah had betrayed Samson, and they had paid her to do it, but they still gave the credit to their idol. People usually praise the gods they serve, and we should certainly give that praise to the true God, whose kingdom rules over all. Still, considering the wicked tricks they used to trap Samson, only such a worthless idol as Dagon could fit such evil worship. They offered sacrifices and sang praises for this victory over one man. Much more reason do we have to thank the God who always gives us victory in Christ Jesus.

The Philistines also insulted God by mocking Samson, God’s chosen champion. When they were drunk, they brought Samson out to entertain them (Judges 16:25, 27). That is, they used him as the object of their ridicule. After sacrificing to their god and eating and drinking, they rose up to amuse themselves, as idolaters commonly did (1 Corinthians 10:7). Samson was made the fool in their game.

They laughed at him because he was blind and stumbled around. They may even have struck him on the cheek and mocked him, “Prophesy, who struck you?” It was cruel to trample on a man in misery, especially one whom they had once feared. Their taunts must have been like a sword in Samson’s bones, especially when they shouted, “Where is your God now?” Yet Samson, now truly penitent, bore it patiently. He accepted the shame as part of his punishment. However unfair the Philistines were, he had to admit that God was righteous.

Samson had once made sport of himself in his own deceits and with the people who deceived him. So it was just that the Philistines were allowed to make sport of him. Sexual sin makes people low and exposes them to contempt. “A wound and dishonor shall he get whose heart is deceived by a woman, and his reproach shall not be wiped away” (Proverbs 6:32-33). Those who are blinded and bound by their own lusts will end in lasting shame and contempt. The devil who deceived them will also mock them.

God then brought sudden destruction on the Philistines through Samson’s hands. Thousands of Philistines had gathered for their rulers’ sacrifices and celebrations, and they had come to watch the public spectacle. But what they expected to be a comedy became a fatal tragedy. They all died and were buried in the ruins of the house, whether it was a temple, a theater, or some temporary building raised for the occasion.

Those who died included all the lords of the Philistines (Judges 16:27), the very men who had bribed Delilah to betray Samson. Evil came back on them. Many others died too, about 3,000 in all, including many women. One of them may have been the prostitute from Gaza mentioned earlier (Judges 16:1). Samson had been drawn into sin by Philistine women, and now many women were among those destroyed, as Moses once ordered the destruction of the women of Midian because they had led Israel into sin at Peor (Numbers 31:16).

They were destroyed while they were merry, secure, and careless, never imagining danger. When they saw Samson take hold of the pillars, they probably treated even that as a joke. They thought, “What can this weak Jew do?” Sinners often move toward ruin at the very moment they feel safest. Pride and laughter lift them up so their fall will be more terrible. We should never envy the joy of wicked people. Their triumph is short, and their gladness lasts only a moment.

Their destruction also came while they were praising Dagon, giving to an idol the honor that belongs to God alone. That is nothing less than treason against the King of kings, an attack on his rule and honor. So their blood was rightly mixed with their sacrifices. Belshazzar was also cut off while praising his man-made gods (Daniel 5:4). And it happened while they were mocking an Israelite, a Nazirite, and insulting a man whom God had already struck.

Nothing brings a person or a people to full guilt faster than mocking and mistreating God’s servants, even when those servants have fallen through their own folly. People do not know what they are doing, or whom they are insulting, when they make a good man their joke.

How they were destroyed. Samson pulled the house down on them, and God no doubt put it into his heart to do it, since he was acting as a public servant to avenge God’s cause, Israel’s cause, and his own. He gained the strength to do it by prayer (Judges 16:28). The strength he had lost through sin he recovered by prayer, like a true penitent, a person sorry for sin and turning back to God. David did the same when he had driven away the Spirit’s help and prayed, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with your free Spirit” (Psalm 51:12).

We may think this was only a silent prayer, since he was in the middle of a loud crowd of Philistines. His voice may not have been heard by people, but God heard him and answered him kindly. He did not live to give an account of that prayer himself, as Nehemiah did of his, but God accepted it in heaven and had it recorded in his church through the inspired writers. Samson asked God to remember him and strengthen him this one more time. In doing that, he admitted that his earlier strength had come from God and asked for it once more so he could strike one final blow. God’s answer shows that this was not selfish anger or personal revenge, but holy zeal for God’s glory and for Israel’s good. Samson died praying, as our blessed Savior did, but Samson prayed for vengeance, while Christ prayed for forgiveness.

Samson gained his chance to act by leaning on the two pillars that held up the building. They seem to have been close enough together for him to grasp both at once, and he pushed them down with all his strength, crying out, “Let me die with the Philistines” (Judges 16:30). The many people on the roof, looking down to enjoy the spectacle, likely helped bring the building down. The weight on it was far beyond what it was made to bear, so it may have begun to give way on its own, and in any case the collapse became far more deadly for those inside. This was not done by Samson’s natural power, but by the almighty power of God. It is more than surprising, it is a miracle.

In this event, the Philistines were deeply humbled. All their rulers and leading men were killed, along with many of their people, and this happened in the middle of their celebration. The temple of Dagon, as many think the building was, was pulled down, and Dagon was buried in its ruins. This would have checked the pride of the survivors. If Israel had had enough sense and courage left to use this moment well, they might then have shaken off the Philistines’ control.

Samson may also be defended as not guilty of sinful murder, either of himself or of the Philistines. He was a public person, a declared enemy of the Philistines, and he could rightly take every opportunity against them. They were at that moment attacking him in the most brutal way, and everyone present was helping them, so they justly died with him. He was not a self-murderer, either, for he was not aiming to end his own life, though he had every reason to be tired of it. His goal was the lives of Israel’s enemies, and for that cause he bravely gave up his own life, not counting it too precious if he could finish his course with honor.

God was also greatly honored in forgiving Samson’s serious sins, and this event showed that mercy. It has been said that when a ruler gives a commission to a man who has been convicted, that amounts to a pardon. Still, though God was one who forgave Samson, he also punished Samson’s wrongdoing (Psalm 99:8), and by allowing his champion to die in chains, he warned everyone to watch out for the sinful desires that fight against the soul. Even so, we have good reason to hope that though Samson died with the Philistines, he did not share their eternal end. The Lord knows those who belong to him.

Christ was clearly pictured here. He tore down the devil’s kingdom, just as Samson pulled down Dagon’s temple. When Christ died, he won the most glorious victory over the powers of darkness. With his arms stretched out on the cross, like Samson’s hands on the two pillars, he gave the gates of hell a deadly shake and, through death, destroyed the one who had the power of death, that is, the devil (Hebrews 2:14, Hebrews 2:15). Christ went beyond Samson, because he not only died with his enemies, but rose again to triumph over them.

The story ends with Samson’s burial. His relatives, stirred by the honor that came with his death, came, found his body among the slain, brought it back respectfully to his own land, and buried it in his family’s tombs. The Philistines were so alarmed that they did not dare stop them. The account also repeats what was said earlier about his rule: he judged Israel for twenty years. If Israel had not been as weak and timid as Samson was brave and bold, he could have left them free from the Philistines’ yoke. They could have lived in peace, safety, and happiness if only they had allowed God and their judges to make them so.