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| 1 And Samson goeth to Gaza, and seeth there a woman, a harlot, and goeth in unto her;
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| 2 [it is told] to the Gazathites, saying, 'Samson hath come in hither;' and they go round and lay wait for him all the night at the gate of the city, and keep themselves silent all the night, saying, 'Till the light of the morning then we have slain him.' |
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| 3 And Samson lieth down till the middle of the night, and riseth in the middle of the night, and layeth hold on the doors of the gate of the city, and on the two side posts, and removeth them with the bar, and putteth on his shoulders, and taketh them up unto the top of the hill, which [is] on the front of Hebron. |
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| 4 And it cometh to pass afterwards that he loveth a woman in the valley of Sorek, and her name [is] 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 princes of the Philistines come up unto her, and say to her, 'Entice him, and see wherein his great power [is], and wherein we are able for him and we have bound him to afflict him, and we we give to thee, each one, eleven hundred silverlings.' |
Entice him – Consider how the Adversary seduced the Church. R4088:6
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| 6 And Delilah saith unto Samson, 'Declare, I pray thee, to me, wherein thy great power [is], and wherewith thou art bound, to afflict thee.' |
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| 7 And Samson saith unto her, 'If they bind me with seven green withs which have not been dried, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.' |
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| 8 And the princes of the Philistines bring up to her seven green withs which have not been dried, and she bindeth him with them. |
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| 9 And the ambush is abiding with her in an inner chamber, and she saith unto him, 'Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and he breaketh the withs as a thread of tow is broken in its smelling fire, and his power hath not been known. |
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| 10 And Delilah saith unto Samson, 'Lo, thou hast played upon me, and speakest unto me lies; now, declare, I pray thee, to me, wherewith thou art bound.' |
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| 11 And he saith unto her, 'If they certainly bind me with thick bands, new ones, by which work hath not been done, then I have been weak, and have been as one of the human race.' |
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| 12 And Delilah taketh thick bands, new ones, and bindeth him with them, and saith unto him, 'Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and the ambush is abiding in an inner chamber, and he breaketh them from off his arms as a thread. |
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| 13 And Delilah saith unto Samson, 'Hitherto thou hast played upon me, and dost speak unto me lies; declare to me wherewith thou art bound.' And he saith unto her, 'If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.' |
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| 14 And she fixeth [it] with the pin, and saith unto him, 'Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and he awaketh out of his sleep, and journeyeth with the pin of the weaving machine, and with the web. |
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| 15 And she saith unto him, 'How dost thou say, I have loved thee, and thy heart is not with me these three times thou hast played upon me, and hast not declared to me wherein thy great power [is].' |
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| 16 And it cometh to pass, because she distressed him with her words all the days, and doth urge him, and his soul is grieved to death, |
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| 17 that he declareth to her all his heart, and saith to her, 'A razor hath not gone up on my head, for a Nazarite to God I [am] from the womb of my mother; if I have been shaven, then hath my power turned aside from me, and I have been weak, and have been as any of the human race.' |
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 Delilah seeth that he hath declared to her all his heart, and she sendeth and calleth for the princes of the Philistines, saying, 'Come up this time, for he hath declared to me all his heart;' and the princes of the Philistines have come up unto her, and bring up the 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 maketh him sleep on her knees, and calleth for a man, and shaveth the seven locks of his head, and beginneth to afflict him, and his power turneth aside from off 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 saith, 'Philistines [are] upon thee, Samson;' and he awaketh out of his sleep, and saith, 'I go out as time by time, and shake myself;' and he hath not known that Jehovah hath turned aside from off him. |
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| 21 And the Philistines seize him, and pick out his eyes, and bring him down to Gaza, and bind him with two brazen fetters; and he is grinding 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 And the hair of his head beginneth to shoot up, when he hath been shaven, |
Began to grow again – Representing the growing power of Present Truth. R4089:3
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| 23 and the princes of the Philistines have been gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; and they say, 'Our god hath given into our hand Samson our enemy.' |
Dagon their god – Representing the modern god of Evolution. R4089:3
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| 24 And the people see him, and praise their god, for they said, 'Our god hath given in our hand our enemy, and he who is laying waste our land, and who multiplied our wounded.' |
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| 25 And it cometh to pass, when their heart [is] glad, that they say, 'Call for Samson, and he doth play before us;' and they call for Samson out of the prison-house, and he playeth before them, and they cause him to stand 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 saith unto the young man who is keeping hold on his hand, 'Let me alone, and let me feel the pillars on which the house is established, and I lean upon them.' |
Samson – Still full of the spirit of his consecration. R4089:1
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| 27 And the house hath been full of men and of women, and thither [are] all the princes of the Philistines, and on the roof [are] about three thousand men and women, who are looking on the playing of Samson. |
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| 28 And Samson calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray Thee, and strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this time, O God; and I am avenged vengeance at once because of my two eyes, on the Philistines.' |
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 turneth aside [to] the two middle pillars, on which the house is established, and on which it is supported, [to] the one with his right hand, and one 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 saith, 'Let me die with the Philistines,' and he inclineth himself powerfully, and the house falleth on the princes, and on all the people who [are] in it, and the dead whom he hath put to death in his death are more than those whom he put to death 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 And his brethren come down, and all the house of his father, and lift him up, and bring him up, and bury him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the burying-place of Manoah his father; and he hath 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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