22: The Darkness Broke the Nazarite Vow (Judges 16:1 – 22)

Though Samson was unfaithful and pursued his own desires, the Lord continued to give him strength. However, when he revealed the secret of his power and allowed his hair to be shaved, surrendering himself to the Philistine woman, his Nazarite vow was broken. The restriction on cutting hair was the final of the three Nazarite requirements he violated: abstaining from vine products, avoiding dead bodies, and not cutting hair.

Read Judges 15:1 - 20

Q1. Samson saw (            ) and slept with her. The Philistines were waiting to kill him in the morning. Samson got up in the (         ) of the night, took off the (           ) of the town, and carried them to a hill at (           ), which is 40 miles away.

Samson saw ( a prostitute ) and slept with her. The Philistines were waiting to kill him in the morning. Samson got up in the ( middle ) of the night, took off the ( city gate ) of the town, and carried them to a hill at ( Hebron ), which is 40 miles away.

The passage seems especially to address that the woman was a prostitute. Also, we can see Samson’s mighty power though there is no explicit addressing of God’s empowering. 

The contrast between Samson's physical strength and his moral weakness emphasizes that the core issue lies within his inner being.

Q2. Among the three Philistine women associated with Samson, only one is explicitly described in the Bible as someone he loved, and her name is provided: Delilah. What role did she play in his story?

Delilah. Her role was to deceive Samson for money, pretending to love him to uncover the secret of his strength.

The Hebrew word for "night" is לילה (Lilah), symbolizing darkness. Delilah blinded Samson, plunging him into a darkness akin to a night, both physically and spiritually.

Q3. We can summarize how Samson lost his power in four sentences. He fell in love with the woman of the (        ) (4-5). She nagged him and pressured him so that he gave all of his (          ) to her and revealed the secret (15 – 17). His hair was shaved by the (          ) that he loved (18 – 19). (            ) departed him and they made him physically (          ) (20 - 21).

We can summarize how Samson lost his power in four sentences. He fell in love with the woman of the ( night ) (4-5). She nagged him and pressured him so that he gave all of his ( heart ) to her and revealed the secret (15 – 17). His hair was shaved by the ( woman ) that he loved (18 – 19). ( The Lord ) departed him and they made him physically ( blinded ) (20 - 21).

The secret of Samson’s power is another riddle hidden from the Philistines. Observe the stages: initial refusal → disclose partial truth → full surrender -> fatal defeat. This progression serves as a warning about how spiritual darkness creeps in first deceiving us, then gradually subduing us, and ultimately causing us to surrender.

Key themes in Samson’s story include knowledge, night, and heart.

Knowledge: Samson’s story is filled with riddles, reflecting the hidden nature of God’s providence in his life and Israel’s fate. “They did not know it was from the Lord” (14:4) highlights how God’s plan often remains unseen. The riddle of the lion and honey was unsolvable without being told or experiencing it, emphasizing that it was from the Lord. Likewise, the secret of Samson’s strength was hidden from the Philistines.

Night: The narrative of Delilah metaphorically illustrates that the true weakness of God’s people lies not in physical strength but in spiritual darkness. Samson initially resisted revealing his secret, but step by step, his answers drew closer to the truth until he finally entrusted his fate to a pagan woman and fell asleep in her arms, symbolizing surrender to spiritual blindness.

Heart: The heart is where truth and love dwell. Samson’s love for Delilah (16:4) led him to share “everything in his heart” (16:17, literal translation). His willingness to reveal his innermost truth to Delilah sealed his downfall.

Samson gave his heart to a woman of darkness, she acquired the secret of his strength and fatally wounded him. We should give our hearts to the Lord and grow in knowing Him, the God of light and wisdom. 

Q4. They gouged out his (           ) and bound him in (              ). He became a grinder in the prison. His hair began to (             ).

They gouged out his ( eyes ) and bound him in ( bronze chains ). He became a grinder in the prison. His hair began to ( grow back  ).

Hair regrowing foreshadowed his recovery. Many would not have expected him to regain the strength, as his God had once rejected him. However, unlike pagan deities, the Lord gave him a second chance to fulfill the Nazirite vow, for the first and last time. According to the Nazirite code, when someone violates the code and becomes unacceptable before the Lord, God provides a way to restart the Nazirite period through the shaving of hair. Our God is a God of forgiveness and grace. God interpreted Samson’s shaved head as a restart of his Nazirite commitment, even though Samson had not intended it. 

Also, note that Samson was not a voluntary Nazirite but was set apart as one by God’s will from birth. From God’s perspective, as Samson persistently failed to live appropriately as a Nazirite, God allowed his hair to be shaved, forcing him to restart his Nazirite life, without his eyes and with the chain, preventing him from pursuing what he saw or doing what he desired.

We may feel sympathy for Samson reading through human eyes. However, from God’s perspective, it serves as a solemn warning: we must not give our hearts to the world or anything other than God. The world deceives us and, when we give it our hearts, it will use that to destroy us.

Despite human failure, God’s purposes will always be fulfilled. Therefore, fixing our focus on the Lord and His Word will bring light and understanding to our lives and the world around us.

Beware of the darkness of this world! It deceives us as Delilah did to Samson.