Samson And The Gates Of Hebron.

–

What in the world was all that about?  Why did Samson rip up the gates and carry them to the top of the hill near by?  What a very strange thing to do!

Some Bible stories, like this one, really leave you scratching your head, don’t they?  Well fear not.  The Holy Spirit, our master storyteller, has hidden meanings in the names of people and places in Hebrew to tell us more about Jesus!

–

Samson lay low until midnight because he knew those wicked Philistines were after him.  Then he got up, grabbed hold of the city gates AND THEIR POSTS, ripped them out of their moorings, and ran with them on his back up to the top of the hill facing Hebron.  What does it mean?

The gates of cities in Bible times served as the parliament of any city.  Business was transacted here and judgments passed, comparable to city counsels of today.  It was considered the place of strength of the city so, when someone captured its gates, they in essence captured the whole city!

–

(For a more complete discussion of the meaning and significance of gates and doors, you may follow the link below:

https://emmausroadministries.international/2019/11/14/the-gate-is-not-the-door-2/)

–

–

Secrets In The Hebrew Language.

The name, “Hebron,” means “Association or fellowship” in Hebrew.  Samson’s name, “Shimshon,” is derived from the root word, “Shemesh,” which is the center lamp of the menorah.

 (For more on the topic of the menorah, you may follow the link below:  https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2016/03/30/the-lampstand-tabernacle-series-part-3/)

Let’s put it all together.

–

We, meaning Gentiles, who were afar off, were not able to have “Hebron: Fellowship” with God.  We were tried at the gates of the city, in other words, by the Law of God, and found guilty.  He Who sits in judgment at the gates of heaven had no choice but to judge us unworthy.  We were cut off from God.

–

Then Jesus came along and changed everything!  Remember what He said of His Church?  “The GATES of hell shall not prevail against it.” 

This story from Samson’s life perfectly portrays what our Lord Jesus did.  Just as Samson carried those wooden gates all the way up that hill, so Jesus  carried  the gates of hell–all our sins, punishment, shame, poverty, and EVERY CURSE–on His back, all the way up the hill of Mt. Calvary to restore “Hebron: Fellowship,” between us and our Father!

–

Incredible, isn’t it?  Everywhere you look, in every story of the Bible, every name, and every type, are wonderful pictures of Jesus, even in the strange story of Samson and the gates of Hebron.