Micah's Idolatry

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 17:1) And there was a man of Mount Ephraim whose name was Micah.

At the end of the last chapter and post, the life and reign of Samson as the last judge of Israel, ended.  Now begins the story of a man named Micah from Mount Ephraim.  Biblical scholars say that Micah's life did not follow chronologically after the life of Samson, but this chapter and the following four chapters of Judges contain a history of facts that probably occurred right after the time of Joshua before the time of the judges in Israel.  I have been disappointed in this particular chronological Bible study proposed by Skip Andrews as it does not always actually follow chronologically, but as I started with it, I must finish with it so as not to miss any part of the Bible.  As even Skip Andrews said, "there are several good ways to read the Bible each year. Choose a reliable version and stick with it all the way through."

(2) And he said to his mother, "The eleven hundred of silver that were taken from you, about which you cursed, and spoke of also in my ears, behold the silver is with me; I took it." And his mother said, "Blessed of the Lord, my son!"

Micah spoke to his mother about eleven hundred pieces of silver that had been taken from her which she had cursed when she realized it had been stolen from her.  It is interesting that it was exactly eleven hundred silver, the same amount that was given to Delilah in Judges 16:5.  I wonder if speculation that it could be the same silver is what caused confusion in the chronological order of events.  However, scholars are pretty certain these events with Micah happened long before the incident with Delilah.  Both events seem to have involved cursed silver.

Anyway, Micah had heard his mother speak of the silver that had been taken from her, and he heard that she had cursed it.  He now confessed to his mother that he had her silver, and she now blessed him, perhaps reversing her curse against the thief, realizing it was her own son.

(3) And when he had restored the eleven hundred silver to his mother, his mother said, "I had wholly dedicated the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son to make a graven image and a molten image; now therefore, I will restore it to you."

When Micah had restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, she in turn, told him that she had dedicated the silver to the Lord and had intended it be used to have her son make engraved and molded images.  Therefore, she gave the silver back to her son.

(4) Yet he restored the money to his mother, and his mother took two hundred silver and gave them to the founder who made of it a graven and molten image, and they were in the house of Micah.

However, Micah, apparently wishing to be completely absolved from the initial taking of the silver, gave it back to his mother again.  She then took two hundred silver of it and gave it to a silversmith to make a molded and engraved image or images, and they were put in the house of Micah.

(5) And the man Micah had a house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

Micah had a house of idols, and he made an ephod, a priestly garment, and teraphim, other household idols.  He consecrated one of his sons to be his priest.  This he did, perhaps not out of idolatry against his Lord, but maybe because the Levites had become corrupted at this time and neglected their duties.  For, as the next verse tells us:

(6) In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did right in his own eyes.

The people had no spiritual leadership, so everyone did what was right in their own eyes.  That may account for Micah's idolatry.

(7) And there was a young man out of Bethlehem Judah of the family of Judah, a Levite, and he sojourned there.

There was a young man in Bethlehem in Judah, distinguishing it from Bethlehem in Zebulun.  He was a Levite in the family of Judah, and he sojourned there in Bethlehem Judah.

(8) And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehem Judah to sojourn where he could find, and he came to Mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

The man left Bethlehem Judah and came to Mount Ephraim to the house of Micah.

(9) And Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" And he said to him, "I am a Levite of Bethlehem Judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find."

Micah asked the man where he was from, and the man answered that he was a Levite from Bethlehem Judah, and he journeyed to find a place in which to dwell.

(10) And Micah said to him, "Dwell with me and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and your victuals." So the Levite went in.

Micah asked the man to stay with him and be as a father and priest to him to instruct him in the knowledge of spiritual things.  He would pay him ten pieces of silver a year and would give him priestly garments and meals.  The Levite agreed and went in to stay with Micah.

(11) And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man was to him as one of his sons.

The Levite was content to live with Micah and became as one of Micah's sons.

(12) And Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and was in the house of Micah.

So Micah then consecrated the Levite to be his priest as he had once done with his son (verse 5).  The man lived in the house of Micah.

(13) Then Micah said, "Now I know that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite as priest."

Micah felt confident that he was doing the right thing and that he would be blessed by the Lord because he had a proper Levite priest.  I can't help but relate this to the present time when we have strayed so far from the things of God, but God knows our hearts, and He will guide us toward the right things.  It seems as if Micah had repented from taking his mother's silver and was trying to live in worship to God, although it was at that present time a mixture of the worship of God and the worship of idols.  God knew his heart and perhaps sent him a priest.

(Judges 18:1) In those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought an inheritance to dwell in, for until that day their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.

We are told again that there was no king in Israel during this time, no political or spiritual leader in Israel.  A tribe of Danites at that time sought a place in which to dwell because they had not received an inheritance for themselves.  The whole tribe of Dan had received their lot during the time of Joshua (Joshua 19:40), but this particular Danite family was looking for an inheritance of their own.

(2) And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valor, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it, and they said to them, "Go, search the land," who when they came to Mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

This family of Danites sent five men from their territory, considered men of valor, men from Zorah and Eshtaol.  Again, there is a coincidence from the time of Samson, as this is where he was from.  Both these narratives were probably written at the same time which is why they are found next to each other in the book of Judges even though they did not happen chronologically at the same time.  These men of the tribe of Dan were instructed to search out the land, and they subsequently came to Mount Ephraim where the house of Micah was located, and they lodged there.

(3) When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man, the Levite, and they turned in there, and said to him, "Who brought you here? And what are you doing here? And what do you have here?"

When the Danite men were near to the house of Micah, they heard the voice of the young Levite and recognized it.  They turned in to the house of Micah and asked him questions about how he came to be there and what he was doing there.

(4) And he said to them, "Thus and thus Micah dealt with me and has hired me, and I am his priest."

The young man told them that all answers were in Micah.  He had hired him to be his priest.

(5) And they said to him, "Ask counsel, we pray you, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous."

Learning he was a priest, and probably because they saw the ephod which traditionally held the Urim and Thummim, which when consulted, would reveal the will of God, they asked the man to consult God and ask if their way was going to be prosperous.

(6) And the priest said to them, "Go in peace, before the Lord is your way in which you go."

Presuming it was after he had consulted God, the priest told them to go their way in peace as the way they were going was before the Lord, or in His presence, suggesting they were on the right path.

(7) Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people there, how they dwelt careless after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure, and no magistrate in the land that might put to shame anything, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no business with anyone.

The five Danites departed from the house of Micah and went to Laish where they observed the people there who lived without care after the manner of the Sidonians.  They probably had been a part of the Sidonians but were now far from them with no business with them, but living as they did, with no cares, quiet and secure, with no magistrate or law in the land to put to shame anything they did.

(8) And they came to their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren said to them, "What do you say?" (9) And they said, "Arise, that we may go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good; and are you still? Do not be slothful to go, to enter to possess the land."

The five men went back to their brethren in Zorah and Eshtaol where their brethren asked them for a report of what they had seen.  They told them to rise up and go against the present occupants of the land for the land was very good.  They asked how they could sit still when there was such a good land available for them to possess.

(10) "When you go, you will come to a people secure and to a large land, for God has given it into your hands, a place with no want of anything that is in the earth."

They told the people that they would find a large land with people secure or without care, insinuating that it would be easy to catch them off guard and capture their land.  They told them that God had given the land into their hands, a fruitful land with everything they wanted.  They apparently concluded that from the message they received from Micah's priest, that they were going the way of the Lord (verse 6).

(11) And there went from there of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war. (12) And they went up and pitched in Kirjath Jearim in Judah; therefore they called that place Mahaneh Dan to this day; behold, it is behind Kirjath Jearim.

So there went from the Danites six hundred armed men out of Zorah and Eshtaol.  They pitched a camp in Kirjath Jearim, or actually very near behind it.  To the day of the writing of this account, the place where they camped was called Mahaneh Dan, which literally meant "camp of Dan."

(13) And they passed from there to Mount Ephraim and came to the house of Micah. (14) Then answered the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish, and said to their brethren, "Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you have to do."

The Danites came to Mount Ephraim to the house of Micah.  The five men who had spied out the land told them that there was an ephod, teraphim, and engraved and molded images within those houses of that village or area, specifically in the house of Micah.  They said they should consider what they should do at that point.  I'm not sure what they thought they should do, perhaps consult the priest further?

(15) And they turned there and came to the house of the young man the Levite, to the house of Micah and saluted him. (16) And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.

The Danites turned in to the house of Micah where they saw the young Levite man, and they greeted him.  The six hundred armed Danites stood by the entrance of the gate.

(17) And the five men who went to spy out the land went up, came in, took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men appointed with weapons of war.

The five spies went in the house and took out the ephod, teraphim, and engraved and molded images, and the priest stood at the gate with the six hundred armed men.

(18) And these went into Micah's house and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image.  Then the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"

It seems the five spies had gone into Micah's house and took the things without the priest's knowledge.  When he saw what they had done, he asked what they were doing.

(19) And they said to him, "Hold your peace; lay your hand upon your mouth and go with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man or that you be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?"

The Danites told the priest to be quiet and go with them to be their father and priest.  They asked him if it was better to be a priest to one man or to an entire body of people, called a tribe here, although these six hundred didn't represent the entire tribe of Dan.

(20) And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.

The priest was happy at the opportunity to serve more than just one man, and he took the spiritual things and went among the people.  However, didn't those things belong to Micah?

(21) So they turned and departed and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.

The Danites departed from Micah's house.  It appears they had been traveling with their wives, children, and livestock, as they were in search of a new land, never planning to return from where they came.  They let their children and cattle go before them.

(22) When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together and overtook the children of Dan.

However, when Micah and his neighbors realized what the Danites had done, they gathered together and went after the Danites and caught up with them.

(23) And they cried to the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said to Micah, "What ails you, that you come with such a company?"

When Micah and his neighbors caught up to the Danites, they cried out to them.  Hearing them, they turned and directed their question to Micah, incredibly asking why he had come after them with so many people.

(24) And he said, "You have taken away my gods which I made and the priest, and you have gone away, and what more do I have? And what is this you say to me, 'What ails you?'"

Micah told them they had taken away his gods and his priest, leaving him with none of his spiritual things, and they had the audacity to ask him what ailed him.

(25) And the children of Dan said to him, "Let not your voice be heard among us, lest angry men run upon you and you lose your life with the lives of your household."

The Danites told Micah he should quit complaining in the ears of their men, as one of them might get angry and kill him and his household.

(26) And the children of Dan went their way, and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

The Danites went on their way.  Micah realized they were too strong for him, so he went back to his house.  The silver Micah had once stolen from his mother was made into idols that were stolen from him.  If Micah had truly repented and was trying to live for the Lord, then it was a good thing that his idols had been stolen, and he could return to the proper worship of his Lord.

(27) And they took what Micah had made and the priest whom he had and came to Laish to a people quiet and secure, and they killed them with the edge of the sword and burnt the city with fire.

They went their way with the things they had taken from Micah, including the priest, and they went to Laish where they found the people quiet and feeling secure, meaning not on guard against any enemies, and they killed them and burnt their city.

(28) And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no business with anyone, and it was in the valley by Beth Rehob. And they built a city and dwelt in it.

There had been no one to save the people in Laish because they were far from the Sidonians under whose government they had appeared to be (verse 7), and they had no interactions with any other people.  It was in the valley by Beth Rehob, and the Danites rebuilt the city.

(29) And they called the name of the city Dan after the name of Dan their father who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city was Laish at first.

The Danites called the name of their rebuilt city Dan, after the son of Jacob or Israel.  The name of the city was Laish at first, which meant "lion."  As it turns out, this was the detailed story of how Dan came to enlarge its territory as we were told it did in Joshua 19:47.  In that account, the city was called Leshem which must have been the same place as Laish, as we were told there that the Danites took the city and renamed it Dan after their father, the son of Jacob.  The name of the place may have had something to do with the prophetic blessing Jacob gave Dan in Deuteronomy 33:22, that Dan, as a lion's whelp, would leap from Bashan, which it did when some of the tribe went from their original allotted inheritance to the far northeast corner of Israel, as seen in the map borrowed from Unique Sites of Israel Blog:

(30) And the children of Dan set up the graven image, and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

The Danites set up the graven image, and probably the other spiritual things they had taken from Micah, and set those up in their new city.  Whether it was one or all the idols they set up, it was, no doubt, in veneration for the idol(s) to which they attributed their success.  They set up Jonathan, said to be the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, as priest, and his sons to continue as priests for this particular tribe of Dan until the captivity of the land, which probably refers to the Assyrian captivity (2 Kings 17:6).  

There is no consensus about who this Jonathan was.  Most agree that it was probably the same Levite whom Micah had set as priest of his house.  But was he the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh?  Maybe only if these were a different Gershom and Manasseh than the ones we have come to know.  Manasseh, the son of Joseph, did not have a son named Gershom.  However, supposedly the only thing in the original spelling of the name Manasseh that made it indeed Manasseh, was a small "N" placed over the other letters.  With the N, it's Manasseh.  Without the N which may have been added at some subsequent time, it's Moses, and Moses did have a son named Gershom.  I don't think it really matters who this Levite was.  I believe the purpose of these two chapters was to demonstrate how far Israel had strayed from their original worship of their one true God.  Every man did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6).  We were initially told that the Levite who became Micah's priest was from the tribe of Judah (Judges 17:7).  Even from that point, we see that the Levite was not living as he should, as Bethlehem was not a Levitical city.  Whether he was the grandson of Manasseh or Moses or some other Levite, he had strayed from his original purpose and worship.  And he allowed himself to be a part of a theft of Micah's belongings and continued in the worship of idols.  He may have thought he was worshipping the one true God, as Micah probably did.  The Danites may have sincerely thought they were doing proper worship by having a priest and the spiritual things they believed to be from God.  However, they had stolen and destroyed a peaceful city to get it.  But with no proper spiritual leadership and instruction, everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes and straying further and further from the true God.

(31) And they set them up Micah's graven image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

Again we are told that these Danites set up Micah's engraved image, and it remained as long as the tabernacle of God was in Shiloh, which according to some Jewish writers, was three hundred and sixty years.

Samson and Delilah, and Samson's Death

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 16:1) Then Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there and went in to her.

At the end of the last chapter, we were told that Samson judged Israel for twenty years, so this chapter appears to take place at the end of his reign.  Samson went to Gaza, one of the five principalities of the Philistines, where he saw a harlot and he went in to her.

(2) It was told the Gazites, saying, "Samson has come here." And they surrounded him and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city and were quiet all the night, saying, "In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him."

The Philistines of Gaza heard that Samson was there, and they quietly surrounded him all night, lying in wait in the gate of the city, planning to kill him the next morning.

(3) And Samson lay till midnight and arose at midnight and took the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts and went away with them, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill before Hebron.

Samson lay there until midnight, when he arose.  He did not stop at the gate of the city where men had gathered to surround him, but he took the doors of the gate with their posts and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of a hill before Hebron.

(4) And it came to pass afterward that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

Some time after this, Samson came to love a woman in a valley called Sorek, named Delilah.

(5) And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, "Entice him and see where his great strength lies and how we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him, and we will give you every one of us eleven hundred of silver."

The lords of the Philistines saw another chance to get Samson.  They went to Delilah and asked her to entice Samson and find out where his great strength lay, for it must have seemed to them to be supernatural.  They wanted Delilah to find out how they might be able to overcome Samson and bind him, and for that information, they would give Delilah eleven hundred pieces of silver.

(6) And Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me, I pray you, where your great strength lies and with what you might be bound to afflict you."

Delilah very directly asked Samson to tell her where his great strength lay and with what might he be bound to afflict him.

(7) And Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven green vines that were never dried, then I shall be weak and be as another man."

Samson lied to Delilah, telling her that if he were bound with seven green vines that had never been dried, that would make him weak and as any other man.

(8) Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green vines which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

So the lords of the Philistines brought to Delilah seven green vines, and she bound Samson with them.

(9) Now were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And he broke the vines as a thread is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.

While Delilah bound Samson with the seven green vines, there were men lying in wait in her chamber.  She then told Samson that the Philistines were upon him.  She may have said this to pretend to warn him.  He immediately broke the vines as if they were but a single broken thread burnt by fire.  Therefore, the real secret of his strength was not known.

(10) And Delilah said to Samson, "Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies; now tell me, I pray you, with what might you be bound."

Delilah told Samson he had mocked her and lied to her, and she asked him again to tell her how he might be bound.

(11) And he said to her, "If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then I shall be weak and be as another man."

Samson, appearing to be toying with Delilah, told her that if he were bound with new ropes that had never been used, he would then be as weak as any man and able to be overcome.

(12) Delilah therefore took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And liers in wait were abiding in the chamber. And he broke them from off his arms like a thread.

So Delilah proceeded to bind Samson with new ropes and told him that the Philistines were upon him.  It must have seemed as a game to Samson.  Although there were men lying in wait to bind Samson, it doesn't appear that he ever saw them, as he broke his bonds as soon as Delilah told him that Philistines were upon him.

(13) And Delilah said to Samson, "Until now, you have mocked me and told me lies; tell me with what you might be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom."

Once again Delilah lamented that Samson only told her lies, and she asked again how he might be bound.  This time he told her that if she wove seven locks of his hair into the fabric on the loom, he would be bound.

(14) And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And he awoke out of his sleep and went away with the pin of the beam and with the web.

It appears that Delilah did, in fact, weave Samson's hair into the web of fabric on the loom and fastened it with a pin.  But when she told Samson that the Philistines were upon him, he awoke from his sleep and went away with the pin and the web and all.

(15) And she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times and have not told me where your great strength lies."

Delilah asked Samson how he could say he loved her when he only mocked her.  She had asked him three times where his great strength lay, but he only mocked and lied to her.

(16) And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was vexed to death, (17) That he told her all his heart and said to her, "There has not come a razor upon my head for I am a Nazarite to God from my mother's womb; if I am shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak and be like any man."

Delilah continued to press Samson for the truth about his strength until he could stand it no more, and he told her that he had been a Nazarite to God from his mother's womb, and no razor had ever touched his head.  He told her that if he was shaven, his strength would leave him, and he would become as weak as any man.  Actually, it wasn't really his hair that gave him strength, but because he was a Nazarite to God, God blessed him with great strength.  Once he broke his vow as a Nazarite and shaved his head, his strength would leave him, and that he believed in his heart, and he told Delilah that truth.

(18) And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up this once, for he has showed me all his heart." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought money in their hand.

Delilah felt confident that Samson had told her the truth this time, as he seemed to reveal his heart to her.  She called for the lords of the Philistines and told them.  They came and brought her the money they had promised in the beginning.  It's a wonder that Samson never suspected Delilah of deceiving him, but then he had never seen that she had called any Philistines to her chamber to bind him.  It probably only seemed a game to him, that she would attempt to bind him and call out that the Philistines were about to get him, and he would break free.  He obviously didn't believe there was any real threat that the Philistines would get him if he told Delilah the truth.

(19) And she made him sleep on her knees, and she called for a man and caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head, and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

Delilah had Samson fall asleep on her knees and then called for a man to come and shave off the locks of his hair.  In this, Delilah began to afflict Samson, and his strength went out from him.

(20) And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And he awoke out of his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times before and shake myself." And he did not know that the Lord was departed from him.

Delilah told Samson that the Philistines were upon him, just as she had several times before.  He woke up and said he'd shake himself and go out as he had always played the game before, but he did not realize that the Lord had departed from him this time.

(21) But 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.

The Philistines were able to take Samson, and they gouged out his eyes.  They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with brass fetters in a prison house where he was forced to grind grain.

(22) However, the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

While in prison, Samson's hair began to grow again.

(23) Then the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice, for they said, "Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand."

The lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a sacrifice to their god for delivering Samson to them.  

(24) And when the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, "Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy and the destroyer of our country, who killed many of us." (25) And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, "Call for Samson that he may make us sport." And they called for Samson out of the prison house, and he made them sport; and they set him between the pillars.

When the Philistine people saw Samson in the prison house, they praised their god for delivering him into their hands.  It came to pass at a time when their hearts were merry with wine and strong drink, that they called for Samson that they might make sport of him as he was blind.  They brought him out between two pillars and probably taunted and tormented him.

(26) And Samson said to the lad that held him by the hand, "Allow me to feel the pillars upon which the house stands, that I may lean upon them."

Samson asked the young man who had led him out of the prison house to allow him to feel the pillars of the house and lean against them for support.

(27) Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines there, and upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

The house with the pillars to which Samson was brought was full with many people, including all the lords of the Philistines, and there were an additional three thousand people on the roof of the house, all making sport of Samson.

(28) And Samson called to the Lord, and said, "O Lord God, remember me, I pray You, and strengthen me, I pray You, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes."

Samson called out to the Lord in prayer, asking that He remember Samson as His servant and have mercy on him.  He asked that the Lord strengthen him just one more time to bring vengeance on the Philistines for blinding him.  Samson may have been asking for personal revenge, but God all along was planning opportunities to avenge His people Israel.

(29) And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand and of the other with his left. (30) And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." And he bowed himself with might, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead which he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.

Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, his right hand on one pillar and his left on the other.  At the end of his prayer or as a part of it, he asked that he die with the Philistines.  Although his prayer may have had a selfish slant to it in wanting to take revenge on the Philistines for his two eyes, he did not ask for strength and healing for himself, but to bring vengeance on the Philistines, which was certainly part of God's plan.  He bowed himself and pushed with his arms against the pillars with all his might and brought the house down.  Samson asked God for this one last gift of strength and acted in faith that it had been given him, and it certainly was.  Samson is listed as one of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 (Hebrews 11:32).  In that act, Samson killed all the people in that house, including all the lords of the Philistines, more people in that last act than he had killed in his lifetime.  Of course, Samson died, too.

(31) Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

Samson's family came and retrieved his body and took him back to his native place, Zorah, and buried him between there and Eshtaol, in his father's tomb.  Once again, we are told that Samson judged Israel for twenty years.

Samson was a greatly flawed hero.  He was selfish, impulsive, and had a weakness for the wrong women.  If he had taken his vow as a Nazarite more seriously and solemnly, he could have perhaps done a great deal more for the kingdom of God.  But then again, God knew Samson from the womb, and He used him for His purposes.  Samson's life could have been better with a proper wife, and he could have had descendants, and it certainly could have lasted longer than it did if he had lived differently.  He could have had his best life living for the Lord.  And that is what God desires for us, His best, and He lays it all out for us in His word.  However, even when we choose selfishly and unwisely, He can still use us, and that should give us all encouragement.  Even though Samson's end was a tragic one, God listened to and favorably answered his last prayer, and he went on to be remembered in God's word as one of the great heroes of faith.