Samson and Delilah – Part III

Judges 16:13-14
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.

Delilah yet again tempted Samson to reveal the source of his strength. What surprises me is that Samson stayed on with Delilah knowing well that she would hand him over to Philistine lords waiting in her chamber. The same way even when we sense that a particular temptation from satan is deadly and that it has the potential to put us to death, we some times stay on subjecting ourselves to the enemy’s traps for the temporary joy it gives us. Remember, any happiness out of a temptation is short-lived and is detrimental to us. When doing a certain thing, wait for a minute and ask yourself a question: “Is this act of mine glorifying God?” He will reveal to you whether it is acceptable to Him or not. I would like to define sin as anything that does not glorify God; anything that displeases Him; anything that is not according to His will. I say this in love and am not judging anybody. Many a time people think it is acceptable to drink wine. I would say as you drink wine ask yourself if the act is pleasing Him. For example, Noah got drunk and the result was family feud and curse over Canaan (Genesis 9:20-26). Lot got drunk and the result is incestuous children (Genesis 19:30-38). Proverbs 23 has warnings against drunkenness. We can go on and on; wine in English refers to alcoholic beverage as well as grape juice. God will speak to us what is holy and acceptable to Him if we ask Him to reveal to us.

Samson’s answer to Delilah was, “If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.” His answer was now close enough to his real strength. His first and second answers were far from truth but the third about the seven locks of his head is close to the truth. Look, how he slowly started yielding to the temptation. If we think we are strong and can resist the temptation living right where there is temptation, we become weaker and weaker. In Genesis 39:7 we see, “And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.” Potiphar’s wife conceived a passion for Joseph and tempted him to lie with her. Genesis 39:10 says, “And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.” Here too Potiphar’s wife tempted Joseph day after day, persistently! Such is the temptation from the enemy. It is after us and will try every means to make us yield. Genesis 39:13 says, “And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth”. See how Joseph fled forth from her leaving his garment in her hand. Let us also flee away from the devil when tempted and let us ask Lord to grant us strength to recognize what is a temptation.

Delilah did exactly what Samson told her hoping that she found the source of his strength. She spoke the deadly words that the Philistines are upon him. The same way when we give in to the satan’s tricks, the many fiery demons will rise up against us. We should guard ourselves with the armor of the Lord mentioned in Ephesians 6:11 (Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.) The wiles of the devil are evil and give us death and not life. Why even allow a wile of devil; cut it out before it emerges as a sin.

Samson awoke from his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. When Samson was fast asleep Delilah attacked him with her deceptive trick. Before going to sleep let us ask God to put His hedge of protection around us and to fill our minds with His holy thoughts. It appears that Samson did not talk with His Lord God but spoke to an evil woman and the result is a serious attack from her. Let your thoughts surround the heavenly King, His Word, His goodness and His glory at all times. An evil thought results in an evil action in due course of time. Put an end to that thought and dwell on the Word of God. Let God arise while you are asleep also. May the Lord lead you in your spiritual walk with Him! Be mightily blessed!

Next: Samson and Delilah – Part IV