The Death of the Deliverer (Judges 16)

We have seen how the literary structure of the book of Judges has collapsed.

Judges 2 provided the basic literary structure of the book:

• The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.
• God allowed their enemies to conquer and oppress them.
• The people cried out to God for relief.
• The LORD sent a judge to deliver them.
• The land had rest until the death of the judge...
  and then the pattern starts over again.

With each judge a piece of the literary structure has dropped out. By the time we get to Samson, all that is left is that the people Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD (13:1), and the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines (13:1).

The people do not cry out for relief. The LORD does not send a judge to deliver them – rather he says that Samson will begin to deliver them! And the land has no rest – Samson judges Israel "in the days of the Philistines."

The literary pattern disintegrates! But in a way that makes it clear that this is on purpose! This is not a mediocre author who just doesn't know how to write a coherent book! Where the pattern disintegrates, it does so in ways that call attention to the disintegration!

No – Israel does not cry out to the LORD for deliverance – but Samson does.

The disintegration of the literary structure of the book shows us the disintegration of Israel.

And that continues in the story of Samson's death.

As we look at chapter 16, I would ask you to think: who do you identify with in this story?

Where are you in the story of Samson?

Think about that as we go through our text this evening...