Samson was a weak strongman and willing victim to his own defeat. He gave his heart to a woman he knew to be ungodly, but whom he desired sexually. He lived contrary to his godly calling, delighting in Delilah instead of the Lord and following the lusts of his eyes rather than walking by faith. There’s little in Samson to make him heroic, but Judges isn’t about heroes; it’s about man’s failures and God’s grace.

I. Returning Hair (Judg 16:21-22). Much of Samson’s sinful choices involved his eyes (Judg 14:1-3, 7-8; 16:1), and ironically, when captured by the Philistines, they bored out his eyes which so often led him in rebellion against God (Mt 5:27-31). The man whose name meant “sunny” was in darkness. Rather than a deliverer, he was a slave; instead of a destroyer of grain, he ground it into flour.
Samson wanted to be like every other man and do what was right in his own eyes (Judg 16:17). In the prison mill, God caused Samson’s hair to grow back, suggesting his imprisonment was short. Like Jonah in the fish, Daniel in the lions’ den, Joseph in an Egyptian prison, Noah in the ark, Israel wandering the wilderness, or Peter sinking into the Sea of Galilee, God never keeps His people in trouble any longer than He has deemed necessary. He knows what He’s doing. He is the ultimate Deliverer of His own!

II. Raising a Celebration (Judg 16:23-25). The politicians and high society of Philistia gathered in Dagon’s temple in Gaza for a religious festival and celebration victory over Samson. The chief Philistine god, Dagon provided agricultural prosperity. He was considered the father of Baal and portrayed with the body of a fish and head and hands of a man.
The Philistine elite credited Samson’s capture and disgrace to Dagon, but it was actually because Jehovah had departed from Samson (Judg 16:20). The glory that belonged to God was falsely laid at the feet of a lifeless idol.
As the guests got drunk and sacrificed to Dagon, they demanded Samson be further humiliated, having him perform (literally, entertainment by creating laughter). To make matters worse, the strongman was under the control of a little boy.
In the ancient pagan religions, the gods mimicked their worshipers. By humiliating Samson in their temple, they believed Dagon would do the same to Israel and Samson’s God would be defeated as Samson was!

III. Bringing Down a House (Judg 16:26-31). Samson was led to two supporting pillars in the most godly event of his story. Israel’s deliverer no longer presumed upon God’s favor, but trusted God to be his strength; that’s faith! Blind and broken, defeated and dependent, helpless and hopeless, Samson turned from himself to YHWH in a sign of repentance.
Samson’s two recorded prayers occurred at points he was at his weakest and most defeated (Judg 15:8; 16:28). Both times God was present to help. That’s the point! Judges is a contrast between man’s failure and God’s grace. If not for His grace in our sinful failures and His patience in our prideful victories, where would we be?
Samson ended his prayer asking to die with his enemies. He gave his life for vengeful justice, an eye for an eye, getting even with them for what they’d done to him.
In both Samson’s conception and death, neither of which he had any control over, he was wholly dependent upon God. His greatest evidence of faith was in death, finally walking by faith rather than sight (Heb 11:32-34). A danger we face in Samson’s story is making it more about the man and too little about his God. God showed His power and glory by bringing down Dagon and his worshiper’s in Dagon’s own temple. Idols are nothing, but God made and rules all things well (Ps 96:5; 1 Cor 8:5).