Judges 16:19
“And she made him sleep upon her knees; and
she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his
head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. 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”.
The book of Judges is the history of Israel
during a time when God still ruled His people through men called Judges.
Samson we all know was born under the
Nazarite vow and no razor was to come to his head. He was chosen by God to
deliver his people from the Philippians’ bondage. A Nazarite he was, set apart
and was to abstain from wine, forbidden to cut his hair and must not touch a dead body or anything
unclean.
The stars of this story, as I said, are Samson and Delilah. Their story
is one of lust, deceit and betrayal of trust and lust. It is a tale for the
ages. It is a story that should be read, studied and taken to heart. I want to
spend some time here because their story has much to teach us. Their story does
not teach us lessons about genuine love, but about the dangers of getting too
close to the enemy. Their story is a story of deception, greed, lust and
destruction.
Their story stands as a constant warning to those who would trifle with
sin. Their story is a reminder to us all that sin is deceptive and that it is
deadly. There may be “pleasure in sin for a season,” but the end of
sin is never worth the pleasure it provides. Let’s take another dip in the drain of Samson’s life before
we unveil the chapters.
Samson Loved a Woman
– We are told that Samson “loved a woman.” Over the course of his
life, this is the third woman we have a record of Samson being with. First,
there was the “woman of Timnath…” (Judges 14:1-2); then
there was the “harlot” in Gaza… (Judges 16:1);
now there is “Delilah”. There may have been others, but these are the
ones the Bible mentions.
From the texts that mention these women, it seems that all three of them
were Philistines. It appears that Samson has an attraction to women who should
have been off limits to him as a man of God. It also appears that he had a
problem with lust, which as a man of God, he should have fought against. It
seems that Samson’s life was characterized by a series of illicit sexual
relationships. There can be no doubt that this was a sin and a snare in his
life, and that it hindered his ministry as a judge in Israel.
By the way, the same is true for people in our day. The Lord gave us our
sexual desires, and they are good when they are exercised in the proper
context. That is, within the framework of marriage. However, when we step
outside the boundary of marriage and engage in any sexual expression, it
crosses the line into sin. God wants His people to be sexually pure.
1 Cor. 6:18 – “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man
doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against
his own body.”
· Matt.
5:27-28 – “Ye have heard that it was
said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you,
That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery
with her already in his heart.”
· Heb.
13:4 “Marriage is honourable in all, and
the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”
· 1
Thess. 4:3-8 “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should
abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his
vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as
the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother
in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also
have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness,
but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who
hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.”
In these texts, we are told that Samson “loved” Delilah. This
was not said about the woman he took as his wife, nor was it said about the
harlot from Gaza. In this case Delilah seems to have touched the heart of
Samson and it appears that he truly loved her, and as the text suggests in verse
17, he trusted her with his most valuable secrets.
The fact that Samson
loved Delilah does not excuse him in his sin. Samson sinned because he was
guilty of fornication. Sadly, there is a lack of morality in our world, even
among those who call themselves Christians. The rate of fornication and
adultery in the church is at about the same level as it is in the world. That
should not be! Those who know the Lord should be careful to keep themselves
clean and unpolluted by this immoral, godless world. I speak, as a young person, to my colleagues who are reading this
book that you wait until you are married to become sexually involved. Don’t
indulge in anything that will stain your ‘garment’ and bring shame to the name
of God. This fact emphasises the understanding of who you are and the kind of
authority and power you carry.
Likewise, single adults, you can keep your bodies as temples of the Holy
Spirit. Married couples, you can be faithful to your spouse both mentally and
physically. May God help us to strive for that goal. If you have failed in this
area, there is forgiveness and restoration. If you haven’t failed in this area,
there is strength in the Lord to help you stay pure for the glory of God.
Delilah
Loved Wealth – While Samson loved Delilah, she
apparently did not love him. The “lords of the Philistines” comes to Delilah
and offers her 1100 (Eleven hundred) pieces of silver each to discover and tell
them the secret to Samson’s power, vs5.
They want her to “entice” him. The word “entice,” means “to be gullible.” It
has the idea of “acting like an innocent person in order to deceive someone
else.” These men want her to play dumb and do everything she can to extract from Samson the
secret of his power.
The ancient Philistines were a very superstitious people. They probably
assumed that Samson possessed some kind of amulet, or good luck charm that gives him his power. They want to exploit his lust for women to their
advantage. They want to use her
to capture Samson.
Most people think they can control their sin. In truth, but for the
grace of God, sin controls us, and it will be our master if we allow it a
foothold in our lives. Romans
6:11-14 say: “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive
unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your
mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yields ye your members as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are
alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but
under grace.”
Notice what the Bible says
about this matter.
“But
every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then
when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death,” James 1:14-15.
Your friend,
Ogunbiyi Dimeji
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