Read Judges 16
Samson and Delilah
16 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn we’ll kill him.”
3 But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
7 Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.”
11 He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.
13 Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.”
He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric 14 and tightened it with the pin.
Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.
15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” 16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.
17 So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19 After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.
20 Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”
He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
The Death of Samson
23 Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”
24 When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying,
“Our god has delivered our enemy
into our hands,
the one who laid waste our land
and multiplied our slain.”
25 While they were in high spirits, they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.
When they stood him among the pillars, 26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” 27 Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. 28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, 30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.
31 Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel twenty years.
Go Deeper
As we finish out the story of Samson in Judges 16, his actions seem almost unbelievable. Yes, of course pulling up city gates and carrying them up a hill seems outlandish, but even more hard to believe is how he willingly allows Delilah to betray him. There are four separate times that he is asked for the power behind his strength and gives her an answer. That might seem innocent enough a game for Samson to play as he lies the first three times. But then, each time she tries to remove his power, he still stays in the situation. You would think that since she acted on his false statements in each instance, he would be wise enough to realize she would do the same when he told her the truth. What was he thinking? How come he didn’t get out of the situation when he knew she was actively seeking to destroy him?
Maybe it was because he was entitled. Everything had come easy to him in his life. Insurmountable odds were nothing to him. Three thousand warriors were inconsequential if he had the jawbone of a donkey. Everything he touched succeeded. He had gotten used to playing with fire and not getting burned. He had acclimated himself to being in danger and coming out unscathed. Perhaps he was even addicted to it. So the moment he was faced with his own demise, he had so convinced himself of his infallibility that he didn’t recognize it for what it was.
We can sit in judgment of such a foolish waste for such a gifted man, but are we not similar in our own way? Are we not blinded by our own entitlement to the very real enemy who is actively seeking to destroy us. We play with fire and we don’t get burned, so we acclimate ourselves to an ever increasingly deadly level of sin tolerance until we are destroyed by it whole. Affairs don’t happen overnight. Major sin issues that destroy our lives don’t come by surprise to us. There are little choices that we make that don’t seem to burn us, so we step deeper into the jaws of the beast we know wants to kill us because we convince ourselves that the outcome is worth the danger. We’ve gotten away before, we will get away with it again… until we don’t.
Questions
- What ways have you given yourself to little choices that are feeding an increasingly dangerous or hidden lifestyle?
- What ways have you minimized the dedication that the enemy has of destroying you and your family?
- If you followed the trail of your little compromises to their final conclusion, what would that end be – a life fulfilled or a life destroyed?
By the Way
Hebrews 11 is known as the “Hall of Faith”. Even with all of Samson’s flaws, he still makes it alongside David and Gideon. What insight does that give you about God’s nature and his ability to work with the faith of fallen people?
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7 responses to “Judges 16”
16 “With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.”
Yes, it is amazing that Samson despite his womanizing and his repeatedly very poor judgment was a leader of Israel for decades and is listed in Hebrews 11 “Hall of Fame”! God can do His will through very flawed individuals!
Samson reminds me that as believers today we think our spiritual strength will sustain us but when we fail and cross boundaries we will get burned just like Samson. We think we are undefeatable because we are following God. The temptation sneaks in to devour us, all very slowly and subtle. But all along the way there is that still small voice telling you that this is trouble, or not right, or have you prayed about this. God is not going to tempt you but He will help You to stop, if you listen and obey. James 1:13-18. You can or could have been raised in a godly home, where you were taught well but we all have freedom of choice minutely. BUT GOD can help you resist or can restore what was lost but it is your choice and decision. Why do I do what I dont want to do? Romans 7.
God may I be full of faith in knowing that You are with me and for me but more than that may I put my faith into action by being faithful in the minutes of all the days ahead. Faith is knowing, but faithfulness is doing. God help me to hear (shema) listen to obedience). God thank You for knowing the “fire” will burn me and not touching it. God I want to be different, but then all the people pleasing, control, pride makes me go for what I know will not be beneficial. God I believe that Jesus died for me and that You raised Him from the dead. But I also know when I am not faithful and are disobedient that I am spiritual weak. God thank You for eyes to see that every second, of every minute, of every day, I need, want and desire You. Thank You for Holy Spirit that guides, leads, and directs me to see, hear and obey You in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
While he may not of thought so, Samson lied the fourth time as well relating to where his strength came from. It was not his hair, but God who gave him strength. He realized that in his last prayer, V28 “. …Please, God, strengthen me just once more…”
Through Samson’s story, I pray that we remember where our strength comes from, the Lord.
Amen!
I found it interesting that the place Samson visited was Gaza, a present day hotbed of contention. (V1)
Samson was a judge over Israel for 20 years, but there are few indications that he regarded God’s law, something the Israelites as a whole struggled with. Yet God in his mercy meets him in the messy places. Instead of self-seeking/gratifying, Samson had the opportunity to make much of God’s name, but failed miserably. Today, let this be our prayer, “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days” (Psalm 90:14).
Interesting!
Everything in our lives hinges on the presence of God with us and the help of God for us. We are nothing good apart from God.