The story of Samson and Delilah has always fascinated me.
God instructed the Israelites not to marry foreign wives
as, He said, they would turn their hearts from the Lord.
In fact, that is how Solomon’s heart turned from the Lord.
And the Lord was angry with Solomon,
because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel,
which had appeared unto him twice, 1 Kings 11:9
Samson was a Judge
Samson wanted a Philistine woman he had seen:
Then his father and his mother said unto him,
Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren,
or among all my people,
that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?
And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord,
that he sought an occasion against the Philistines:
for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. Judges 13:3-4
But his father and mother knew not that it was of the Lord.
It was a sort of mission field for Samson.
They had a stronghold on Israel
and God planned to use Samson to loosen their grip.
God used Samson to defy Dagon
and show His glorious strength and power.
Satan is always trying to foul up God’s plans.
Samson was in God’s will.
Samson was born of God.
Samson knew God’s power and might
and God used him to show His great strength
against the Philistines and their false gods
and to weaken their influence in Israel.
Samson did marry the Philistine woman he wanted.
She vexed him by the direction of the Philistines.
Samson told them if they could solve a complex riddle within three days,
they could have their way.
His wife gave away the secret and thus they won.
Then her father gave Samson’s wife to his friend.
Samson had great strength
and was able to frustrate and kill many Philistines.
They wanted to destroy him and his power.
Samson found Delilah.
Delilah was compelled by the Philistines
to find out where Samson’s great strength was found.
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.
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 16:5-6
Samson would not tell her.
She vexed him.
She asked him and he lied to her again and again.
Each time he told her, she called for the Philistines
to come and capture him,
but he would break the cords they bound him with with his great strength.
And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words,
and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; Judges 16:16
He told her if they cut his hair, he will be like any other man.
They finally captured him and gouged out his eyes and put him in prison.
Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
Judges 16:22
They brought him out to a party to make fun of him
and they said that their god Dagon had let them triumph over Samson.
Samson prayed to the Lord:
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
Samson grabbed the pillars
and made the building fall where the party was being held.
He killed more in his death than his life.
This is what the Lord showed me.
Delilah represents sin, the way the crafty devil connives and vexes us
to do what we don’t want to do. Without God, we cannot outsmart him.
There is no use trying.
Delilah was enticing, beautiful to look at and deceptive.
Her ability to trick Samson and capture his heart is the way sin can be to us.
Sin is not some foreign thing, the devil plots and calls and woos us toward
the destruction of our souls.
Once he gets us to the point where we are following sin instead of Jesus,
the battle has been won, for the time-being, maybe for eternity.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2
Samson was removed from everything he cared about and was imprisoned.
Deception got him there. He believed a lie.
He was greatly humbled
and he knew without the Lord, he had zero strength.
He was blind, but still called out to the Lord. And the Lord responded to him.