And it came to pass afterward,
that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek,
whose name was Delilah. Judges 16:4
Samson represented the Kingdom of God
and how powerful it is when we give our lives to be used of God
Samson also loved his flesh
He loved Harlots and got entangled with them
That was also a way the enemy, in this story,
the Philistines, represented our enemy, our flesh, our desires of the world
And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her,
Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth,
and by what means we may prevail against him,
that we may bind him to afflict him:
and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
Judges 16:5
Samson was a Nazarite who never let a razor come upon his head
that was evidence of faith and knowledge of God in Samson’s life
Samson knew God’s hand was upon him
and he was more powerful than most,
if not all men, who walked the face of the earth
He had a reputation of strength
The Philistines knew it and they hated Samson for his strength
as they served another god, Dagon
Delilah captivated Samson’s heart
And Delilah said to Samson,
Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth,
and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. Judges 16:6
He was swooned by Delilah
She deceived him and vexed him
Delilah represented the flesh
the desires that lead us away from the Lord and His ways
He thought he had the strength to withstand the flesh and he lied to her:
And Samson said unto her,
If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried,
then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs
which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber.
And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.
And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken
when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. Judges 16:6-9
She continued to vex him and deceive him
and he thought he was smarter than the flesh
and thought he was more powerful:
And Delilah said unto Samson,
Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me,
I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
And he said unto her,
If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied,
then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith,
and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.
And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber.
And he brake them from off his arms like a thread. Judges 16:10-12
She continued with her conniving and he seemed to be breaking down:
And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me,
and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound.
And he said unto her,
If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him,
The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.
And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam,
and with the web.
And she said unto him, How canst thou say,
I love thee, when thine heart is not with me?
thou hast mocked me these three times,
and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. Judges 16:15
She, the flesh, broke him down and he caved, he trusted her,
and Delilah vexed Samson to the point
where he could no longer withstand her seductions
He let his flesh get the best of him
And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words,
and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
That he told her all his heart, and said unto her,
There hath not come a razor upon mine head;
for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb:
if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me,
and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. Judges 16:16-17
Delilah finally vexed him to the point of death and he told her the truth:
And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.
And he awoke out of his sleep, and said,
I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself.
And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.
But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes,
and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass;
and he did grind in the prison house. Judges 16:20-21
Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. Judges 16:22
In other words, God was still with him
God had not forsaken him, Samson still belonged to the Lord,
even in his failings
Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together
for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god,
and to rejoice: for they said,
Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. Judges 16:23
God will not be mocked, no matter what we do or don’t do,
God’s name will not be mocked
Be not deceived; God is not mocked:
for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7
And Samson called unto the Lord, and said,
O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee,
only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines
for my two eyes. Judges 16:28
In my opinion, a better prayer would have been:
Forgive me God, for not recognizing
Your strength was what I had and I abused it
But that’s not what happened and God looked upon Samson with favor
He fought for Samson and allowed the Dagon worshipers to be killed
as they mocked his child
And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines.
And he bowed himself with all his might;
and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. Judges 16:30
God understands our flesh and sees our hearts and we are not the ones who decide how God works or when or why
God is true and every man is a liar:
God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written,
That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings,
and mightest overcome when thou art judged. Romans 2:4