Judges 16:1-17 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Judges 16:1-17. Let’s go!
Judges 16:1-3 (NIV)
1 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.
On verses 1-3: It’s a sad situation when a person as obviously talented as Samson has no heart for God or God’s purposes, is so calloused to the immorality of his actions and thinks he can get away with anything just by his own strength and intimidation. Such a leader will not last. They never do. Samson picking up and destroying Gaza’s city gates was not so much impressive as it was reflective of Samson’s own moral self-destruction and the lack of boundaries in Samson’s own life. As Proverbs 25:28 says, “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.”
Judges 16:4-17 (NIV)
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 thongs 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 thongs 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 thongs 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, “Until now, 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 tired to death.
17 So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
On verses 4-17: We’ve seen this before in Samson’s life. Samson has a secret to keep, but the woman he is with keeps pressing him to reveal the secret and he eventually caves in (see Judges 14:16-17). Once again Samson’s penchant for playing games and his continuously falling for women of questionable character meant he was always playing with fire.
Now here’s a question: was Samson’s strength really in his hair? If the answer is yes, aren’t we now really into the realm of legend and fairy tales? How is it that Samson could violate every other duty of a Nazirite and not lose his God-given strength, and yet by cutting off all his hair he can lose all that strength? Here’s what I think: Samson’s strength was never actually in his hair, but Samson believed it was. Rather than crediting God with his incredible strength, Samson lived with the superstition that his strength was in his hair. Rather than worshiping God, Samson vainly worshiped his own appearance, whether he knew it or not.
What can we learn from this?
– Who you partner with in life is so important. Your choice of partner can launch you even more powerfully into your God-given destiny or derail you from that destiny.
– Don’t mistake where your strength really comes from. Your strength does not come merely from your own abilities, personality, appearance, smarts, wealth, or experience. Your strength ultimately comes from God. Worship God as the source of your strength, not anything else.
Thank You Father for the sobering lessons we can learn from Samson’s life. I admit that I am weak just like Samson was weak, and I need You Father to be my strength. Please help me not to make the same mistakes that Samson made, trusting in my own appearance rather than in You, or thinking that I can get away with anything because of my position or perceived power. Let You and Your wisdom be the protective wall around me, that I would live for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
