And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, the watchmen apparently having settled down so quietly that they did not notice his coming, and took the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, wrenching them from their foundations, and went away with them, bar and all, as it had been locked in place to prevent his escape, and put them, the heavy gates with the posts, upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron, calmly making that trip to the mountains toward the east with the immense load resting upon him. The humiliation inflicted upon the Philistines was all the greater since the gates of a city symbolized its civic and national strength. It is not stated here that the Spirit of the Lord urged Samson to perform this deed, but he followed his own idea, making a show of his great physical strength. It is the beginning of severe transgression for a believer to put his trust in his own ability; for pride cometh before a fall.

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