Blind and humiliated he was led by his long hair to the center of the auditorium. The sound of revelling reached his ears. The laughs became jeers as he became visible to the crowd. The ones who were leading him attached the iron shackles that bound him to the load bearing pillars in the middle of the auditorium, stretching his arms wide open- so wide that the pain was unbearable. His arms felt like they had popped out of his shoulder joints. How had he come to this?

Separated to God even before his birth, he was destined to be a judge over and deliverer of his people. The unrest in the land was a result of the influence of the Philistines who lived in the Southwest. They were constantly raiding the bordering villages and cities.

But in the midst of this unrest God was always with him. He knew fully well that he was called to deliver his people. How many times had he attacked the enemy single-handedly?

It had all started when he realized he had strength that far exceeded any man’s. Why, the lion he had killed had seemed more like a baby goat to him! With his bare hands he had ripped its body open, exposing the insides to the cool air of the mountain.

Thoughts of the mountain made him remember his wife. It was on one of the neighboring hills that he had first seen her. He had been mesmerized by her beauty. She had pledged her heart to him but had secretly placed it elsewhere. Her love for her pagan people was more than her love for him. He soon realized that. She had betrayed his trust by revealing the answer to his riddle to her people. But he didn’t go unavenged! With the Lord’s help he had killed thirty men to fulfill his end of the wager.

Those thirty men seemed insignificant compared to the thousand men he had slaughtered a few years later. Who would believe that? One man killing a thousand men unaided by anyone? Preposterous! But that was exactly what had happened. And his weapon- the jawbone of a donkey! When he left the place that evening, it looked like a cemetery with no undertaker. Bodies were strewn around carelessly, some forming heaps of flesh. Already the flies had started to swarm around the carcasses. The vultures weren’t too far behind.

Another time he had burnt the crops of the enemy. He smiled inwardly, despite the pain, as he recalled the incident. Firebrands tied to foxes’ tails! How novel an idea! Trying to escape the fire, the animals had scurried about in their bewilderment, in the process setting ablaze the wheat fields.

However, his ingenuity didn’t make up for his lack of discernment. He was attracted to many of the Philistine women. At first he bought their affections by going to a number of them with a bag of silver. The morals of these people were almost non-existent and many of the women gave him pleasure in exchange for money.

Finally he had set his eye on her. She was a rare one for a Philistine. She played hard-to-get and no amount of money would entice her. He found this trait irresistible and decided to win her over. And he did. In a matter of weeks she was his. Or so he thought. Much like his wife, she professed he love for him. Yet all along her heart was with her people. And she too had betrayed him to them.

They had shaved his head. His strength gone, he was helpless. They had taken him captive. But they hadn’t stopped there. They had put his eyes out with red hot iron rods. He could still remember the burning sensations that he felt as he lost his eyesight. They didn’t stop at that either. They set him to work at a grindstone, grinding their grain for them. It was the job of a beast, not one for a man. Yet they treated him worse than an animal.

Yet amidst all this he knew that there was One who was faithful. God hadn’t ever disappointed him. It was he who had let God down. But now, as he hung between the pillars, his arms spread wide, he lifted his head and whispered a silent prayer.

“Once more, 0 Lord, give me the strength I once had. Once more, O Lord!”

And with that he pulled at the shackles, bringing down the pillars and with them the roof of the auditorium. The earth shook as the great building fell. The screams filled the air as the people were crushed to death. By the number of people who died with him, even the thousand killed with the donkey’s jawbone seemed insignificant.

Centuries later God Himself would hang, His arms stretched open. But this time the arms were stretched not in judgment, but grace. Not with hatred, but love. And this time too the earth shook. The weight of the sins borne by the Savior was too much for her. And there too, on a hill outside Jerusalem, the enemy was crushed.

“Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

(Written on Wednesday, 15 February 1995)