The idol and its worshipers, priest and peasant, warrior and noble, were buried together beneath the ruins of Dagon’s temple. And among them was the giant form of him whom God had chosen to be the deliverer of His people. Tidings of the terrible overthrow were carried to the land of Israel, and Samson’s kinsmen came down from their hills, and, unopposed, rescued the body of the fallen hero. And they “brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the burying place of Manoah his father.” Judges 16:31. (PP 567.1) MC VC

God’s promise that through Samson He would “begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines”(Judges 13:5) was fulfilled; but how dark and terrible the record of that life which might have been a praise to God and a glory to the nation! Had Samson been true to his divine calling, the purpose of God could have been accomplished in his honor and exaltation. But he yielded to temptation and proved untrue to his trust, and his mission was fulfilled in defeat, bondage, and death. (PP 567.2) MC VC

Physically, Samson was the strongest man upon the earth; but in self-control, integrity, and firmness, he was one of the weakest of men. Many mistake strong passions for a strong character, but the truth is that he who is mastered by his passions is a weak man. The real greatness of the man is measured by the power of the feelings that he controls, not by those that control him. (PP 567.3) MC VC