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For the sake of time I cannot give the whole story of Samson and Delilah. It is enough to say that Samson had been raised in a godly home, but he treated the things of God lightly. Now we find him with this woman. Like a fool he had told her that his great strength lay in his hair, grown long as a Nazarite. He said,

“If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man” (Judges 16:17).

The Philistines were the enemies of Israel. They were waiting silently outside the door. Samson whispered his secret to the woman. She “made him sleep upon her knees.” Josephus, the ancient historian, said she gave him a drug to intoxicate him. As he slept, she called for a man who came in and shaved Samson’s head. His strength left him. Then the woman cried, “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” (Judges 16:20).

There are three lessons here for every unconverted person. Listen well to the story of Samson. Let it be a warning to you, and a cause for concern in your heart.

I. First, he was asleep.

Although Josephus thought the woman gave him a drug, the passage itself does not say this. Why then is he in such deep sleep that he cannot feel the razor on his head? I think it is best to say that this sleep is a picture of the dullness of his soul. I think that God sent this sleep, as He did when He put King Saul and his men to sleep. Neither Saul nor his men knew when David crept up and took Saul’s spear,

“For they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the Lord was fallen upon them” (I Samuel 26:12).

Sleep is often pictured in Scripture as a judgment from God.

“For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes” (Isaiah 29:10).

“According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear; unto this day” (Romans 11:8).

These verses show that God can harden the human heart as a judgment for unbelief.

I think the deep sleep that fell on Samson, like the sleep of Saul and the sleep of Israel, was a judgment from God for continually rejecting Him. Could that have happened to you? Could it be that God has given up on you, as He gave up on Pharaoh in the book of Exodus?

How can you know whether God has given up on you or not? The answer is simple enough - will you wake up? Will you see your need and come to Christ? Or will you continue on in a state of dullness and spiritual slumber? You say, “What can I do?” Why, you can pray, can’t you? David prayed,

“O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death” (Psalm 13:3).

If you would pray like that God would soon hear you, and God would soon awaken you from the “sleep of death.”

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

The time to be awakened is now. The time to call on God is now.

“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

Soon these evangelistic meetings will be over. Then it is much less likely that the Lord will be “near.” Seek Him now! “Call ye upon him while he is near,” lest you go on and “sleep the sleep of death” forever.

“And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep…” (Judges 16:20).

II. Second, he awoke too late.

“He awoke out of his sleep,” but he awoke too late! That’s what happened to the rich man in Luke 16.

“The rich man…died…And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments” (Luke 16:22-23).

He was not awakened to the realities of another world until it was too late. Now he awoke. But he awoke in judgment. He awoke in flames. “And in hell he lift up his eyes.” Matthew Henry said,

See the fatal consequences of security. Satan ruins men by rocking them asleep, flattering them into a good opinion of their own safety, and so bringing them to mind nothing and fear nothing, and then he robs them of their strength and honour and leads them captive… (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, volume 2, Hendrickson, 1996, p. 173).

He awoke, but he awoke too late!

“The Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass: and he did grind in the prison house” (Judges 16:21).

If you wait too long, you will awaken too late. The Devil will take you and bind you with chains. The demons will pull at your eyes, and you will “grind in the prison house” of Hell.

“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night” (Revelation 14:11).

“And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself” (Judges 16:20).

Do you think like that? Do you think that you will have another chance to repent? Samson thought he would “go out as at other times.” But he was wrong. His time was up. His strength was gone. It was too late to repent.

“The Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass: and he did grind in the prison house” (Judges 16:21).

And that will happen to you as well, if you awaken too late.

III. Third, he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

I turn your attention back to our text. Let us stand and read it aloud. Judges 16:20,

“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” (Judges 16:20).

You may be seated.

“Wist” is the old way of saying “knew.” “He knew not that the Lord was departed from him.” Think! Think! What will happen to you when the Lord departs from you? Think! Think! You may wish that you could return to this night, while God is near, but then it will be too late, as it was with King Saul when he called up Samuel for guidance,

“Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?”
     (I Samuel 28:16).

“Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him” (I Samuel 28:20).

Will you “fall all along on the earth” in fear when God departs from you and becomes your enemy? Saul found no salvation. Saul found no forgiveness. Saul had sinned away the day of grace. The Lord had departed from him, and had become his enemy.

Samson said, “I will go out as at other times.” “There’s plenty of time. I can go out again tonight. I can always be converted later. There’s no need for me to be too concerned tonight.”

“And he [knew] not that the Lord was departed from him” (Judges 16:20).

I realize that the analogy between Samson and an unconverted person is imperfect. Yes, Samson had one more chance. But it was only at death’s door. Like the thief on the cross beside Christ, he repented at the last moment. But there are very few instances of this in the Bible or experience. It is best to take Samson’s story as a warning. And, so, I warn you tonight,

“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

(END OF SERMON)
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Scripture Read Before the Sermon: Judges 16:16-21.