SAMSON AND DELILAH: PLAYING HOUSE Judges 13:1-5, 8, 24-25a Return to Famous Couples Index Page Before Reading the Passage. As we look at another couple in the Bible, I want to re-emphasize how important it is to get to know the boy or girl that your sons and daughters date. I heard about a young man who was going to pick his girl up for their first date. But before he picked her up, he went into a drug store to get her a box of candy. When the pharmacist asked if he could help him, he said, Yes, sir. I've got a date tonight and I want the biggest box of candy you've got and the smallest box of candy you've got. After the boy paid for the candy, the pharmacist said, Young man, I just have to ask you, Why the two boxes of candy? He said, Well, it's my first date with this girl. If she lets me kiss her on the lips tonight, I'm going to give her the big box of candy. If she only lets me kiss her on the cheek, I'll give her the small box. That night the young man got to the girl's house and the girl told him that her mother had prepared dinner for them before they went out. As they sat down to the table, the girl's dad asked the young man to return thanks. The young man prayed, and prayed, and prayed some more. After dinner they got up to leave and the young girl turned to the young man and said, Why didn't you tell me you were so religious? He said, Why didn't you tell me your father was a pharmacist? It's important to know who your children are dating! We come to look at Samson and Delilah. Jewish fathers love to tell their children of the great men and women of the Old Testament; especially those who have done great exploits for the Lord. Like the story of Abraham who took his son, Isaac, to sacrifice him. Like Moses who, in God's power, opened the Red Sea. Like Daniel in the lion's den. And, like Samson, the strong man of the Bible. Read the Passage. The life of Samson has been the plot for many movies and plays. It has everything you could want in a movie humor, romance, tragedy, deception and death. Samson was the great humorist of the Bible. He enjoyed playing practical jokes he caught 300 foxes, somehow tied their tails together, took them to the grain fields of the Philistines, set their tails on fire and watched them run through the fields, catching all the grain on fire. He enjoyed great exploits at midnight in Gaza he went out to the city gates, pulled them up, put them on his shoulders and carried them 38 miles to Hebron and put them on a hill facing Hebron.
He enjoyed riddles when he killed a lion with his bare hands, he came back a few days later and saw the vultures and ants had stripped the bones clean and in the rib cage of the lion some bees had made a honey comb. He gave the Philistines this riddle: Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet. (14:14) He enjoyed horseplay He slew 1,000 Philistines with the jaw bone of a donkey. He never really took life seriously until the last hour of his life. Then I want you to look at Delilah-- She is one of several temptress in the Bible: Potiphars wife who tempted Joseph; Jezebel who tempted Ahab; Herodias who tempted Herod. A good, godly woman has a high-lifting influence on her man; but an evil woman can bring a man low and strip him of his honor, strength, and integrity. Samson's Potential It was the Angel of the Lord that appeared to Samson's mother and told her that she would bear a special son who would be a Nazirite from his mother's womb. Manoah did not see the angel of the Lord that talked with his wife so he prayed and asked the Lord if He would let the angel appear to him also so he could instruct him how the child was to be raised. The Lord let the angel appear unto him also. Notice Judges 13:8 The angel is going to say that his is to be careful to give the right kind of prenatal care. 13:13-14 He told the woman that the child was to be a Nazirite from the womb. Usually the Nazirite vow was taken voluntarily and would last for a set time. You will remember that John the Baptist was a Nazirite. Samson was to be a Nazirite from the womb till death Three things were involved in his dedication to the Lord: 1. He could drink no wine, 2. He could not touch the dead body of man or beast, 3. He could not cut his hair, for that was the Nazirite sign. Samson could have been another Moses or David or Enoch or Abraham. The potential was there and we are told that the Power of God was upon him. * All that was needed was Samson's permission to allow God to be all he wanted to be in his life. That same potential is in us all that is needed is our willingness to yield to Him. But though Samson had great potential, there is a hint in what the Angel told his mother that he would not be all that he should be...see 13:5. The words begin to deliver --he would come short. King David would have to finish the job he started. Where did Samson go wrong? Why did he not live up to his potential? Because of Sin! * When a person falls into great sin, it is not an accident. There are definite and preventable reasons why it occurs. The one who falls into great sin lays the foundation for the great sin to occur. Samson is going to pave the way for his great moral defilement. Samson's Perversion Judges 13:25a No sooner are we told that the spirit of God began to move upon Samson than we are told the main reason Samson didn't live up to his potential. * Samson was a He man with a She problem. Samson was a very strong man, but he was also a very weak man AND his WEAKNESS
OVERCAME HIS STRENGTH. His weakness was his love for unholy, defiled woman. I have known men like that...strong in many areas of their life, but they have problems with controlling their lust for women. You can see Samson's downfall by looking at the three unholy women that he was involved with. A. A woman from Timnath 14:1-3 Samson didn't care what she was like spiritually verse 3 She pleases me well... She looks good to me! She was a complete mismatch...both father and mother asked, Couldn't you find one godly Jewish girl? Judges 14:10-11 implies that none of his family or friends came to the wedding, only his mom and dad. His best man was even a Philistine! On his way to the wedding feast, he met a lion and killed it. A little later he went back to see the carcass of the lion and bees had made a honeycomb inside it. Forgetting his vow, he reached down to get some honey. Since his family didn't come to the wedding, 30 Philistine men stood up for him. Samson is going to have some fun with them. He gives them a riddle 14:14 (He gives them seven days to tell him the meaning of the riddle or they would have to give him 30 changes of garments. The men got the bride-to-be to get the answer out of Samson.) Note 14:18-20. An angry Samson leaves, but then goes back only to find that the bride's father had given her to the best man. The father offers him the younger, more beautiful daughter. Samson goes out and gets the 300 foxes, ties their tails together, sets their tails on fire, and sends them through the farmland to destroy their crops. B. Second woman a harlot from Gaza 16:1-3 (Samson doesn't marry any more. He just plays house with women.) Picks up the gates of the city. C. Third woman Delilah 16:4-31 Five lords or rulers of the Philistines come to Delilah and bargain with her. If she could find out about his strength they would give her 1,100 pieces of silver each...5,500 pieces of silver Today, three quarters of a million dollars and the reputation that she brought down Samson! They didn't know the secret of Samson's strength, but they did know the secret of his weakness-it was Philistine women! He wasn't surprised when Delilah asked him where the source of his strength lay. He had been asked that many times. But he wants to play games with her. Why didn't Samson tell her of his mother's encounter with the Angel of the Lord and how she dedicated him to the Lord as a Nazirite. Delilah began to toy with him. She wanted to bring him down. Be careful of that boyfriend or girlfriend or spouse who tries to lead you away from God rather than closer to Him. If you're dating someone who tries to get you to do something that is not right, you're dating the wrong person. Three times she tries to get Samson to tell her his secret and he just plays games with her.
Then watch, she begins to cry and says, If you really loved me, you would tell me what I want to know. How many times has some boy told a girl, If you really loved me, you'll do what I want you to do. According to that false criteria for proving love, the girl doesn't love the boy until she lets him defile her body and destroy her virtue. Many a foolish girl has fallen for that lie, but true love will not defile that which it really loves. Finally, he tells her his secret. III. Samson's Punishment 16:18-22 Look at what it cost Samson: 1. It cost him Strength verse 21 The Philistines took him - That's the first thing we think of his strength. - Sin always saps our strength. 2. It cost him God verse 20 - Lost the presence and power of God - God left Samson only because Samson had long ago left God. - Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you --it works the other way, too. Put distance between you and God and He will do likewise. 3. It cost him Discernment verse 20 It was bad enough that God had left Samson, but what made it worse was that Samson was not even aware of it. 4. It cost him Sight verse 21 woke up at midnight -They bored his eyes out with red-hot irons -It was this that hurt Samson the most Notice 16:28 -Samson had trouble with the lust of the eyes. They dwelt upon sinful, defiled women and he lost them. 5. It cost him Honor Verse 21 Sin always humbles you in the end! 6. It cost him Freedom Verse 21 - Hands that once ripped the life out of a raging lion, now pushes a grinding pole. - Feet that were swift enough to catch 300 foxes, now only go in circles. - Think of the mocking and laughter he endured. - * Proverbs 13:15 The way of the transgressors is hard. Samson's last act may be his best known of all his deeds 16:22-30. A. There is Gradual Restoration Restoration is possible after great sin, but it will not come quickly. It takes time for hair to grow. You can be forgiven in a moment, but not restored in a moment. Sin takes its toll. The wounds must heal and you must prove your trust all over again and trust is not proven in a few days, but over a long period of time. B. It is a Singular Restoration Hair was the only thing being restored his eyesight was not restored, nor his freedom.
The sinning saint will discover that some things may be restored, all things will not be restored. Desire to serve may return, but opportunity to serve may not be the same. Samson is lead to the pillars...he destroys them...i can see Delilah's body there. She came to mock and laugh at him there, close to his lifeless body is hers. What unrealized potential was in Samson. He made his decisions, and his decisions made him. Return To Famous Couples Index Page