His Hair Began to Grow

The Story

Samson was set apart for God from birth. As a sign of that, his hair was never to be cut, and God gave him incredible strength. He once tore apart a lion with his bare hands.

But Samson was careless with his gift. He fell in love with a woman named Delilah, and the Philistine rulers offered her a fortune to find out the secret of his strength.

Three times she asked him, and three times he lied. Each time she tried what he told her, and each time the Philistines burst in, but Samson broke free. Still, she kept pressing him day after day, until he finally told her the truth. “If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me.”

While he slept, she had his hair cut off. This time, when the Philistines came, his strength was gone. The Bible says one of the saddest lines in Scripture: “he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.”

The Philistines gouged out his eyes, chained him, and forced him to grind grain in prison.

But then comes a small, hopeful verse: “Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again.”

Later, at a great feast, the Philistines brought Samson out to mock him. He asked the servant leading him to let him lean against the pillars of the temple. And Samson prayed, “O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once.” He pushed with all his might, the temple came down, and God answered his prayer.

Reflection