§ 69. Samson. It 1. Judg. ch. 14, 15. — The oppression of the Philistines had not fully produced the intended effect, and is, therefore, continued, even after the restoration of the ark of the covenant. had, nevertheless, made an impression on the people, and the previous indication of Jehovah's grace is accordingly soon followed by a second, in the appearance of a new judge; Samson, the Danite, had been appointed, even before his birth, to begin the deliverance of Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. The Spirit of the Lord began to move him to engage in the work which he was called to perform; but the place and the mode of beginning were not yet apparent. It occurred that he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines, whom he desired to obtain as his wife; it was of the Lord that he sought an occasion against the Philistines. His wife reveals to her people the solution of his riddle (meat out of the eater, sweetness out of the strong); he thence takes occasion to slay thirty Philistines, for the sake of obtaining their garments. His wife is given to another man; this circumstance induces him to send 300 jackals, with fire-brands attached to them, into the standing corn of the Philistines, and to destroy all of the enemy whom he could find. He afterwards dwells in the rock Etam, in the mountains of Judah, but freely permits the men of Judah to bind him, and deliver him to the Philistines. The rejoicing of the latter is premature; the Spirit of the Lord comes mightily upon him; he breaks the cords upon his arms, as if they were flax burnt with fire, seizes the jaw-bone of an ass which had recently been cast away in that spot, and slays a thousand men with it. He calls the place Ramath-lehi, (that is, the casting away of the jaw-bone,) and when he is sore athirst, God cleaves a hollow place in Lehi (translated, "in the jaw"), and water comes forth. OBS. 1.—It was undoubtedly untheocratic, and contrary to the law (Deut. 7: 3, 4; 21: 12, 13), that Samson, ensnared by the lust of the eyes, did not resign the Philistine woman; it was, nevertheless, of the Lord, that this error furnished an opportunity to Samson for engaging in his appointed work. OBS. 2.—The occurrences which took place, when Samson visited Timnath, the residence of the woman (the lion, and the honey afterwards found in the carcass), were highly significant, and adapted to instruct both him and his people. He seems himself to be aware, in some degree, of their importance, as he introduces them in his riddle. The lion, namely, is an image of the kingdoms of the world which are hostile to the kingdom of God; the attack, the struggle, and the victory thus acquire a symbolical meaning.—The riddle also includes a truth of great importance, the evidence of which is furnished in manifold ways by the history of the world, and which admits of an appropriate application even to our times. The attack of the lion was an image of the Philistine invasion; the eater furnished Israel with meat and sweetness, the destroyer brought salvation and blessings with him; for the yoke of the Philistines was a chastisement, designed to lead the people to repentance, and terminate in their renewed acceptableness before God. 2. Judg. ch. 16.-In Gaza, Samson enters the house of an abandoned female; the inhabitants close the gates of the city, for the purpose of taking him. But he seizes the doors of the gate, with the posts and bar, places the whole on his shoulders, and carries all to the top of a hill before Hebron.-He is a third time ensnared by a Philistine woman; Delilah, who resides in the valley of Sorek, receives a bribe from the Philistine princes, amounting to 1100 pieces of silver, and employs all the arts of a wanton in her efforts to induce him to disclose the secret of his great strength. He deceives the treacherous woman thrice; she makes a fourth attempt, presses him continually with her words, and vexes his soul unto death; he yields, and tells her all his heart. She cuts off the seven Nazaritic locks of his head, and now his strength departs for his Nazaritic vow, of which the uncut hair of the head was the sign and surety (§ 52. A, Obs.), is violated. The Philistines put out his eyes, which had tempted him to commit untheocratic and sinful deeds, bind him with fetters of brass, and compel him to grind in the prison. The hair of his head grows again, and, as he now acknowledges and repents of his sinful course, the power which God gave, returns with the outward sign of the vow. He is required to amuse the Philistines who are assembled to observe a festival of their idol Dagon; with each of his hands he seizes one of the two middle pillars supporting the edifice in which all were gathered together, bows himself with great power, and is buried under the ruins of the fallen building, together with all the people and the princes of the Philistines; the work which he had imperfectly performed while he lived, he completed when he died. OBS. - Samson was able only to "begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines" (13: 5); the source of this incompleteness of his work, unquestionably, lay in himself. His acts were dictated by caprice and the impulse of the moment; he frittered away the lofty powers which had been deposited in him by the Lord; the lust of the eyes caused him to forget the divine call which he had received. Still, these incomplete results may be ascribed, perhaps even more justly, to the defects in the character of his people and his age. The people always permit him to stand unaided and alone; their pusillanimous spirit even surrenders him to the enemy. That age had passed away already, in which one man, when moved by the Spirit of God, could become the saviour of the whole people; even a Gideon or a Jephthah, could not have accomplished much more, in Samson's position, than he performed. The work which Samson began, could not be completed, until Samuel had instituted a reformation by which the spirit of the people was renewed in God, and until David appeared. FIFTH PERIOD. FROM SAMUEL TO THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE AND THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM. § 70. Characteristic Features of this Period. 1. While the age of Eli and Samson is passing away, a new period, commencing with Samuel, approaches, during which the theocratical state is destined to attain to the highest degree of prosperity. The gifts which God had bestowed on his people. through Moses and Joshua-a country, independence, supreme political power vested in the people, laws and a religion-had, nevertheless, through the fault of the people, not led to that complete development of the Theocracy, which they were fitted and designed to produce. (§ 64.) That development had been hith erto sustained by the people in their civil capacity, and by the priesthood; both were found to be no longer suited as its vehicles, and hence, two new influences now appear, represented by the institution or order of the Prophets, and by the Royal dignity. The word of the Lord was precious (rare) in those days; there was no open vision. (1 Sam. 3: 1.) Prophecy, which had previously influenced the development of the kingdom of God in isolated cases only, henceforth appears as a leaven permanently operating in the state; of this change Samuel was the author. The class of men appropriately termed Prophets, and the prophetic office itself, which now acquired a permanent character, originated in the schools of the prophets which he established. But prophecy is the mouth of God (Exod. 4: 15, 16)—it is the conscience of the state. It teaches all to understand the true character, position and purposes of the present time, by references to the past and the future. -- OBS. The "schools of the prophets," which were placed under the direction of experienced and approved prophets, afforded to younger men an opportunity of becoming qualified to perform the duties of the prophetic calling. The selection and the admission of individuals who were suited for the prophetic office by their personal character, and who had a divine call, undoubtedly depended on the prophetic judgment of those who presided over these institutions. As prophecy was a gift and not an art, the instructions which were imparted, probably referred merely to the study of the law, and were intended to awaken and cultivate theocratical sentiments, as well as promote a growth in spiritual life, for herein a suitable preparation for the prophetic office necessarily consisted. There are also indications found which authorize us to conclude that the revival of sacred poetry, as an art, and that theocratico-historical composition also, are to be ascribed to these religious communities as their source. Such schools existed in Ramah, Jericho, Beth-el, and Gilgal. (1 Sam. 19: 18; 2 Kings 2: 3, 5; 4: 38.) Those who frequented them, had, usually, reached the age of manhood already, and in some cases, were married men. They lived together in a society or community, which often embraced a large number of members, and were occasionally employed as prophetic messengers by their teachers. (2 Kings 9: 1.) However, the prophets were not invariably trained in these schools; several are named who were taken at once from civil life and invested with the prophetic office. (1 Kings 19: 19; Amos 7: 14.) The company of the disciples of John the Baptist, and also the company of the Saviour's disciples, have perhaps an analogy, in some respects, to the ancient schools of the prophets. 2. Besides prophecy, a new element also appears in the Royal dignity which was introduced, and which furnished the state with a visible point of union and a head. It is true that a kingly government was established through the wilful and untheocratic self-determination of the people; nevertheless, Jehovah, the invisible King, had already designed to establish it, although under other circumstances (§ 72. 2, OBS.); he permitted its introduction at the present time, because the prophetic office, which was already firmly established, and armed with the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God, Eph. 6:17), formed a power distinct from the royal power, and could exercise a supervision over the latter, affording admonitions to it, and rebuking its abuses.-The Old Testament economy attained its loftiest elevation, externally, through David's conquests, and internally, through the building of Solomon's temple. The great Messianic hope depends on the house of David (§ 76. 1), and is placed in a still clearer light by the introduction of the royal dignity; for David's power and victories, and Solomon's peaceful and glorious reign, may be applied as types of the Messianic kingdom, while the Old Testament worship reached its highest and most splendid development in the building of Solomon's temple. OBS. 1.—The state or political organization reaches its highest development, when royalty is introduced. The King of Israel is not, however, intended to be an autocratic but a theocratic king; the prophet and the priest, in their official capacity, did not occupy a subordinate, but a co-ordinate rank. As men and as citizens, they were under an obligation, like all other subjects, to obey the king; but with respect to their prophetic and priestly offices, they were dependent on God alone, and by no means on the king. OBS. 2.-The sources whence the materials of the history of this period, and also of the next, are derived, are the following: 1. The two Books of Samuel.- These commence with the history of Eli and Samuel, and extend to the last days of David. The author's name is not known with certainty; he was, however, very probably, a cotemporary of David, and composed them soon after the death of the latter. |