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| 1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. |
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| 2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. |
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| 3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron. |
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| 4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. |
Delilah – The standards of the Ancient Worthies were different from those of the Gospel age. R4087:6
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| 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. |
Entice him – Consider how the Adversary seduced the Church. R4088:6
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| 6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. |
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| 7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. |
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| 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. |
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| 9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. |
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| 10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound. |
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| 11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. |
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| 12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread. |
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| 13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. |
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| 14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. |
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| 15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. |
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| 16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; |
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| 17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. |
If I be shaven – Samson's strength, considered in relationship to his Nazarite vow, should show the Lord's acceptance of the consecrated and his making them mighty to the overthrow of their enemies. R4088:3
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| 18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath showed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. |
All his heart – We should be specially on guard against the blandishments of the world and the Adversary through the nominal church. R4088:5
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| 19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. |
Made him sleep – Consider the stupor, drowsiness, ease and worldliness upon those who made a vow to faithfulness during a considerable time. R4088:6
Upon her knees – Similarly, those who are strong in the Lord are in danger of going to sleep in the lap of the modern Delilah, Churchianity. R4088:6
Shave off – A vow once taken must be observed faithfully if its blessings would be enjoyed. R5613:5
His strength went – The strength of the Gospel message was lost while in the drowsy condition in the "Dark Ages." R4088:6
A condition of his vow being broken. R4088:6, R5613:4
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| 20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. |
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| 21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of copper; and he did grind in the prison house. |
Put out his eyes – Illustrating how the Church lost the eyes of her understanding in the Dark Ages. R4088:6
Bound him – Ever since the Reformation time the Church has been to a considerable extent a slave to Churchianity and the world. R4088:6
He did grind – Thus the Church has been grinding food of a certain kind for many while still a slave to the world and under its blinding influences. R4089:1
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| 22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
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Began to grow again – Representing the growing power of Present Truth. R4089:3
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| 23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. |
Dagon their god – Representing the modern god of Evolution. R4089:3
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| 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. |
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| 25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. |
Their hearts were merry – The worldly-wise feast and rejoice, giving honor to the god of Evolution through their Higher Critics. R4089:3
Make us sport – Those who are faithful to the principles of the Lord's Word will yet be made sport of by the worldly-wise. R4089:4
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| 26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. |
Samson – Still full of the spirit of his consecration. R4089:1
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| 27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. |
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| 28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. |
Strengthen me – We have come to a time when the Lord's people are recovering a little of the strength of the early Church. R4089:3
That I may be at once avenged – One lesson we may learn from Samson is the importance of having an object in life. R5613:5
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| 29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. |
Samson took hold – Even now Labor, like the blind giant Samson, is groping for the pillars whose fall will overthrow present conditions. PD89/103
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| 30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. |
Let me die – His whole life was used in serving his people. R5613:2
Nephesh, soul, sentient being. E334
All his might – The Lord's true people are ready to put forth all their strength to move the pillars of error which uphold Churchianity. R4089:4
And the house fell – With the death of the last member of the Church, the Body of Christ, will surely come the downfall of Churchianity and the present system of world power. R4089:4
Were more than – He did more damage to the Philistines and more for the deliverance of his people in that one act than in all the other experiences of his life. R5613:4, R4089:2
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| 31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years. |
Buried him – According to the Law, Samson was rated as a very faithful servant of God. R5613:2, R4088:1
Judged – In the sense of avenging wrongs that Israel sustained upon the enemies who committed those wrongs. R4088:4
His chief work was to revive the spirit of the totally dejected people; encouraging their return to the Lord, with its resultant prosperity. R5613:1
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