Judges 16:19, commentary and pictures

Delilah lulled Samson to sleep on her knees, had a man shave off his seven locks, and then afflicted and tormented him to prove he had become powerless. His strength left him when he was shaved, not because it lay in his muscles but because his uncut hair was the sign of his Nazarite loyalty to God, which he disclosed and broke. Though physically the strongest of men, he was morally weak, letting passion rule his reason until it brought shame, disaster, and death. Captivated by a lewd woman, he gave her the love due to God, betrayed the secret of his strength, and sacrificed his honor, conscience, strength, and usefulness to indulgence. His seduction and betrayal into enemy hands shows how lust blinds even the strong through unlawful influence, warning that self-confidence and unguarded affections leave all who depend on such a one in peril.

What Happened to Samson

Delilah got Samson to fall asleep with his head resting on her knees, then she called for a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. Once he was shaven she began to afflict and torment him, testing him to see whether he had become powerless. That betrayal while he slept shows how a woman's influence can deceive and destroy a man, as Delilah's did to Samson.

His strength went from him at that shaving and afflicting. That strength did not lie in his physical build, for his unshorn hair was the symbol and sign of his Nazarite condition and loyalty to God. By disclosing that secret and breaking that sign, he lost the strength that depended on it.

Why Samson Fell

This verse belongs to the account of yielding to passion instead of relying on God's strength. Though physically the strongest man, Samson was weak in self-control, integrity, and firmness. He let his passions rule until his reasoning and morals were corrupted, and his choice led to shame, disaster, and death. He became infatuated with a lewd woman and broke his lifelong Nazarite vow. Her influence separated him from God and her devices helped destroy him. By giving her the love and service due to God he committed idolatry, lost sight of the sacred character of God's work, and sacrificed his honor, conscience, and other valuable interests to passion.

So captivated by Delilah that he betrayed the secret of his strength, he allowed his hair to be cut while he slept and his strength to depart. She had a man shave off his seven locks, began to afflict him, and his strength left him, and he was thus seduced and betrayed into the hands of his enemies the Philistines. His reputation, strength, and usefulness were sacrificed through sinful indulgence. His fall shows how sexual temptation and lust, by which Satan blinds and deceives, can bring down even a strong man through a woman's influence and imperil those who depend on him. It warns that self-confidence and failure to guard one's affections leave a person vulnerable to temptation, deception, and destruction.

Warnings for Believers Today

Just as Delilah became a snare to Samson and his strength diminished as he slept upon her knees and his locks were shaved, placing a wife before God draws a person farther from God and weakens spiritual strength. To be shorn of strength is to be deeply discouraged and ready to leave the work, as with Brother Smith, yet God mercifully intervenes and calls for taking hold of His strength and for reconciliation, as Sister Smith was urged to make peace with him. To be shorn of strength is also to lose courage and spiritual resilience and so to stand exposed to temptation when another worker is more accepted.

The loss of power when the hair was shorn shows what happens to those long weakened by improper eating and intoxicating drink when they attempt to break free from the control of appetite. Their bodies are God's temple, and years of violating the laws of life and health leave them powerless against Satan in the struggle for mastery. Obedience to those laws would have saved them from suffering the penalty of transgression.