EXPOSITION
Gathered them, i.e. themselves. To rejoice. The Hebrew is for a festivity, or merry-making, or feast. There was to be a great feast upon the sacrifices offered to Dagon their God. Dagon (from dag, a fish in Hebrew), the national male god of the Philistines, as Atergatis, or Derceto, was their goddess. Both the male and female divinities seem to have had the head and breast and hands human, and the rest of the body fish-shaped (see 1 Samuel 5:5). The fish was a natural emblem of fertility and productiveness, especially to a maritime people. The fish-shaped idol is found upon old Phoenician coins, and also on the monuments of Khorsabad, and on some Assyrian gems in the British Museum. One of the chief temples of Dagon was at Gaza. Several towns bore the name of Dagon, as Beth-dagon in Judah (Joshua 15:41) and in Asher (Joshua 19:27), Caphar-dagon near Diospolis, etc; showing that the worship of Dagon was widespread.
And when the people, etc. The people, as distinguished from the lords in the preceding verse, to show how universally the capture of Samson was ascribed to Dagon. Rulers and people alike praised Dagon. Saw him. Not on the occasion of his being brought into the temple as mentioned in Judges 16:25, but after his capture, and whenever they saw him grinding or elsewhere. It was this universal ascription of praise to Dagon that led to the celebration of this great feast. This praise of Dagon is also dwelt upon to show that God, in what happened, vindicated the glory of his own great name, which was blasphemed by the servants of Dagon when they thus made him superior to Jehovah. So Milton makes Samson say, "All the contest is now 'Twixt God and Dagon ... He, be sure, will not connive or linger, thus provoked, but will arise, and his great name assert." Generally, the 'Samson Agonistes' is an excellent commentary on the history of Samson.
When their hearts were merry. They would not have acted so imprudently as to bring Samson out of his prison had not their judgment been clouded with drink. That he may make us sport. And he made them sport. The two verbs are not the same in Hebrew, but they have much the same meaning. It is not certain whether the idea conveyed is that of the A.V; that Samson was brought there to be as it were baited by the populace, jeered and jested at, reviled and reproached, perhaps struck or pelted; or whether the words do not simply mean to dance with music, which is certainly the meaning of the latter verb in 1 Samuel 18:7 (played, A.V.; see 1 Samuel 18:6); 2Sa 6:5, 2 Samuel 6:21; 1 Chronicles 13:8; 1 Chronicles 15:29. They set him between the pillars, i.e. when he had done dancing; because he must have been dancing outside the house for the people on the roof to see him.
Suffer me, or it may be rendered, Let me rest. He pretended to be tired, and asked to be allowed to rest a few minutes and lean against the pillars. That I may feel, or, literally, and make me feel. He adds his motive for making the request—that I may lean upon them—to rest himself after the severe exercise of dancing.
Now the house was full, etc. We do not know what was the construction of Philistine temples or houses of amusement; but from the description here given it seems that the interior was ranged like an amphi- theatre, with seats for the lords and principal people, and with an open front, so as to command a view of the stage just outside, and that front supported by pillars on which the beams of the roof, both the transverse beam and the longitudinal ones running into it, rested. The roof itself was fiat, and had the weight of 3000 people upon it, throwing a great strain upon the beams which rested upon the pillars. The sudden removal of the pillars would bring the roof down at that end, crowded as it was with the people, and would inevitably drag the whole mass in the same direction one over another, while the swaying of the people would bring the whole roof down upon the heads of those beneath, who would be crushed by the heavy timbers and stones and bodies of men falling upon them.
And Samson called unto the Lord. This is the first mention we have of Samson praying since the memorable occasion when he gave the fountain the name of En-hakkoreh (Judges 15:19, note). Perhaps we may see in this an evidence that his affliction and shame had not been without their effect, in bringing him back to God humbled and penitent. The language is very earnest. "O Lord, Jehovah, remember me strengthen me only this once, O God!" The threefold name by which he addresses the Almighty implies great tension of spirit. That I may be at once avenged. Meaning at one stroke—he would take one vengeance so terrible that it would be sufficient for his two eyes, which makes very good sense if the Hebrew will bear it. The literal translation would be, that I may be avenged with a vengeance of one stroke. Others take it, that I may be avenged with a vengeance for one of my two eyes, which it is not easy to understand the meaning of.
The two middle pillars. There may have been, say, four pillars in the front; the two middle ones standing near together, and the other two nearer the sides.
Let me die, or, my life shall perish with the Philistines. He knew it was certain death to himself, but he did not shrink from it. His last act should be to destroy the oppressors of his country. So the dead which he slew, etc. The words sound like the snatch of some song or proverb in which Samson's death was described.
His brethren, etc. Some infer from this that Samson's mother bare other children after the birth of Samson. But the Hebrew use of the word brethren is so wide, applied to cousins, or members of the same house of fathers, or of the same tribe, that it is by no means a certain inference. Here his brethren might mean the Danites generally, and all the house of his father those who were more nearly related, as belonging to the house of his father. His father was probably dead, and indeed the mention of his father's burying-place, or rather sepulchre, makes it certain that he was, so that Milton was in error in making him alive. Zorah and Eshtaol. See above, Judges 13:2, Judges 13:25, note. And he judged Israel. See Judges 15:20. The parallel between Samson and Hercules is in many respects very remarkable, and has been drawn out by Serdrius and others. The supernatural strength of each, the slavery to women, the tearing asunder of the lion, the violent death of each, partly voluntary and partly forced, are all points of strong general resemblance. But one of the most remarkable is the connection of Hercules with two pillars. The "pillars of Hercules" on each side the straits of Gibraltar, Mount Abila and Mount Calpe, were said to have been rent asunder by the strength of Hercules' arms. And Herodotus relates that in the temple of Hercules at Tyre were two remarkable pillars, one of refined gold, the other of smaragdus, some green stone like an emerald (2:44). But the account given of a visit of Hercules to Egypt is still more remarkable, as compared with the history of the binding of Samson and the slaughter of the Philistines, as related in Judges 15:1-7. The following are the words of Herodotus:—"The Greeks say that when Hercules went down to Egypt, the Egyptians surrounded him, and led him in a procession to sacrifice him to Jupiter; that he kept quite still for a time, but that when they were commencing the sacrifice at the altar" (the first act of which was cutting off the hair) "he turned in self-defence, and by his prowess slew them all." On which Herodo. tus remarks, "How was it possible for him, being but one, and being only a man, to slay many myriads?" The prevalence of the worship of Hercules among the Phoenicians, as, e.g; at Tyre and Thasos, a Phoenician colony, and the close connection of Egypt with Gaza, where the prowess of Samson was so well known, are points not to be omitted in considering the probability of some of the legends of Hercules being drawn from the history of Samson. So also is the title of the Phoenician Hercules, the saviour or deliverer, as compared with Judges 2:16, Judges 2:18; Judges 13:5.
HOMILETICS
The short-lived triumph.
One of the severest trials to which the faith of the people of God is exposed, is that triumph of evil over good, and of the enemies of Christ over his Church, which from time to time is permitted by God, and which in truth is one of the features of this disjointed age. The most signal and most awful triumph of the powers of darkness over the kingdom of light was when the only-begotten Son of God, Jesus our Lord, in the midst of his life of perfect goodness, and his service of perfect obedience to the will of his Father, was betrayed into the hands of sinners, and given up to suffer death upon the cross. When he hung in shame upon the cross, helpless and forsaken; when he bowed his head and gave up the ghost; when he was laid in the silent tomb, and the light of the righteous One was quenched in the darkness of the grave, then indeed the triumph of sin was at its height, and the hope of the servants of God was brought very low. But when on the third day the doors of that grave were burst open, and the prisoner of hope came forth in the power of an endless life, and he that was crucified ascended up to heaven, and sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high, from thenceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool, that brief triumph of the powers of darkness was turned into the far greater triumph of the kingdom of light; the enemies of Christ were put to shame, the servants of Christ were enabled to rejoice, and the joyful hope was exceedingly revived and established, that in due time there will be a final deliverance from evil, and that the kingdom is God's, and the power and the glory for ever. In the light of the resurrection the Church looks forward with unmoved confidence to the time when the Son of man shall come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and shall take to himself his everlasting kingdom of righteousness, and reign with his ancients gloriously. But meanwhile the Church must expect many short-lived triumphs of evil over good, and of darkness over light. There will be many occasions on which the world will say, Let us rejoice, for our god hath delivered our enemy into our hand. We may expect that many an isolated affair, or even a connected chain of events, will take that turn that the servants of Christ will be put to shame, and ungodliness and irreligion will seem to have it all their own way. It may even come to pass that the champions of the gospel shall seem fit only to make sport for an unbelieving and self-sufficient age. Nor is it the least part of the trial that some of these discomfitures are brought on by the errors and failures of the servants of God. The presumption and self-confidence, the blindness and moral weakness, of some like Samson; the intemperate, fiery spirit of others like the Boanerges; the fear of man in others like Peter, and so on, provoke defeat by putting religion in a false light in the eyes of those who are always looking out for occasions to bring it into contempt. But in the midst of these trials of faith, whether they take the form of private discouragements, or of public checks to the progress of religion, and public triumphs of the spirit of ungodliness, it is the Church's unfailing comfort to know that the triumphs of evil are short-lived, and the triumph of truth is eternal. Magna est veritas et proevalet. We should never forget for one moment that behind the passing cloud there is shining the unchanging sun. The faith and patience of the saints are indeed required, sometimes more, sometimes less, but are always required in this present age. The depression of the truth, the insolent aggressions of the various forms of evil, the discomfiture for a time of the champions of the cause of Christ, and the temporary victories of Antichrist, are very painful episodes in the history of the world and of the Church. But the pages of Holy Scripture, and even the pages of the experience of centuries, continually testify that the triumphs of falsehood and evil are but for a moment, the victory of truth and righteousness will be for ever.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR
A hero's exodus.
The blind captive, led by a boy, and degraded to the office of a buffoon in the idolatrous services of the Philistines, is a sad spectacle. But inwardly he was nobler than when carrying the gates of Gaza. His soul's eye has opened, and he repents. The locks that had been shorn grow again, and with them, gradually and, apparently, unconsciously, his strength returns. The Divinely-offered opportunity. The last act an atonement.
I. GOD OFTEN SUFFERS HIS ENEMIES TO OVERLEAP THEMSELVES. Here they are exultant. They rejoice as over a foe utterly vanquished. They do not know that their festival, blasphemy against God, is to be the occasion of their destruction. "The green bay tree" may be nearer to the axe than insignificant fruit tree.
II. THERE IS AN "UNKNOWN QUANTITY," NOT TO BE CALCULATED UPON, IN THE REPENTANCE OF THE BACKSLIDER. Even the ruin of a believer may be the temple of the Holy Ghost. A short time with God's blessing may suffice to retrieve the errors of a lifetime. "Faith as a grain of mustard seed" can "remove mountains." How often has Satan been disappointed of his prey! Some of the greatest of God's servants have been won back from backsliding. Let the wicked beware then of their companion and laughing-stock, and let the believing Church work on; the poor useless wreck over which we despairingly weep may yet become a man again, a blessing and a comfort to many souls.
III. THE PRAYER OF REPENTANCE AND FAITH MAY RETRIEVE A SOUL'S RUIN. Can God give ear to this heart-touching cry, and shall he not listen to his captive children in the dungeons of sinful habit or the temples of superstition? "This once," "only this once." One prayer, one look at the Crucified, one grand effort in God's strength, how much it may do I
IV. EVEN THE WEAK ONES OF GOD ARE MIGHTIER THAN THE GREAT ONES OF THE WORLD.—M.
Samson's heroic death.
The death of Samson was more honourable to the man and more useful to his nation than any event in his previous career. The heroism of his death followed the return of God's strength.
I. THE RETURN OF STRENGTH.
1. It followed a great fall. We may learn lessons from our own failures. Through our very weakness we may discern the secret of strength. The humility which should accompany failure is one of the first steps towards wiser conduct.
2. It came in a season of distress. Samson was a prisoner, defeated, insulted, mutilated. Sorrow is one road to God's grace,
(1) as it teaches us the folly of the evil conduct that produced it,
(2) as it leads us into a mood of serious and heart-searching reflection in which true wisdom is found, and
(3) as it teaches us our helplessness, and compels us to turn to God for deliverance.
3. The return of strength followed a return to obedience. This was suggested by the growing of Samson's hair and the return to fidelity to his vow. It was gradual. We are received into God's favour immediately we return in penitent faith; but we only conquer evil consequences of sin and regain lost powers and position by degrees.
4. The return of strength was realised through prayer. Samson now knows his weakness. In his own soul he is weak. Strength must come from above. There is no prayer which God will more certainly hear than that which invokes his aid in our performance of some great self-sacrificing duty.
II. THE HEROIC DEATH.
1. Samson uses his new strength for the deliverance of his nation. It is not given him merely for the amusement of the Philistines. If God gives us any special powers, he does so for some high purpose. We must not waste these in idle amusements, but put them to practical service.
2. Samson can only accomplish the greatest feat of his life by means that bring death to himself
(1) This was partly a result of his sinful weakness, which had betrayed him into the bands of his enemies, and brought him to such a position of bondage that his own death must be involved in that of the Philistines. Thus sin leaves consequences which produce suffering even after repentance and a return to a better life.
(2) It was also an instance of that strange law which makes the greatest good to men depend on the sacrifice of the benefactor. It has thus something in common with the death of Christ, though with many points of difference, Samson's death involving the destruction of his enemies, while Christ's death is expressly designed to give salvation to his enemies.—A.