We are now in chapter 16 of the Book of Judges.
We have been studying the life of Samson.
Last week, we looked at the highlights of Samson's life - the three W's - Samson's Wedding, Samson's Wager and Samson's Wrath.
We have learned first of all that Samson insisted in marrying the woman in Timnah that he met for the first time in that Philistine town.
In spite of the disapproval of his parents, he persisted and the marriage arrangement took part.
There was a great feast attended by about thirty Philistine men who was supposed to help in reuniting the two families.
But because there was wine involved, Samson probably got drunk and decided to give a riddle.
“Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.”
The Riddle was actually about his encounter with the lion that he killed with his bare hands and after some time, a bee hive and fresh honey was found in it.
The riddle was just part of having fun, but Samson put a wager in that riddle.
Thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes was the prize for the winner.
The Philistines had no idea what Samson was talking about.
Finally, they pressured Samson's fiancée to coax her husband into explaining the riddle to them.
Otherwise, they warned to burn her father's household to death if she refused.
And so, the woman threw herself on Samson and started sobbing morning, noon and evening for several days just to get the answer to the riddle.
Then, on the seventh day, Samson finally told her the answer out of trust.
But the woman was already sold to betraying Samson and gave the answer to the Philistine men.
“What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?”
With this, Samson grew so angry, went to Ashkelon and struck down thirty of their men.
He then stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who have explained the riddle.
He left the wedding and the girl was given to one of his companions who had attended him at his feast.
It was a story of the kind of man Samson was - so strong physically but has no inward discernment.
He did not know whom to trust and it seems that every action that he made pulled him deeper into trouble and self-destruction.
God has gifted him with supernatural strength but he was not able to use such spiritual resources for the good of his people, hence, he had to loose them at the end.
In the same manner, if you will use your God-given gifts and abilities for His glory, you will succeed in whatever you do.
But in the case of Samson, he has those abilities and supernatural strength but sad to say, he lost everything and became a humiliation to his nation.
You see, God has called us to be a blessing to others and to use our God-given abilities for His glory.
But many times, we are not able to fulfill God's purposes in our lives and consequently hurt ourselves and others in the process
The apostle Peter put it this way:
1 Peter 4:14-15 (NIV) “14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.”
At the end of his life, Samson was humiliated because of the consequences of his sins.
He was not able to serve God faithfully.
He was not able to uphold the laws and the commands of God among his people.
He indulged in his own sin and lost his physical strength to his own destruction.
The Apostle Peter informed us that if people will insult us because of our faith in God, then, we are blessed and God's spirit rests on us.
But if we suffer because of our wrongdoing as a murderer or a thief or any other criminal, then we truly deserve such penalty.
Serving the Lord and fulfilling our purpose therefore is more important than anything else in this world.
And Christians who suffer because of the name of Christ will be blessed by God Himself.
Let us now continue our study in the highlights of the life of Samson.
We can learn from his failures and mistakes so that we can avoid them.
We will look at the three L's - his LUST, at his LIES, and his LOSS.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE LATTER PART OF SAMSON'S LIFE.
1. SAMSON’S LUST (Judges 16:1-5)
Verse 1 says, "One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her."
Sad to say that Samson was a man who cannot restrain his sexual desires and put it under control.
And so, the Bible says that when he went to Gaza, another Philistine town, the first thing he did was to look for a woman.
And lo and behold, he found a prostitute and without any second thought, he went in to spend the night with her.
What do you do if you are new in a town?
Many Bible commentaries refer to prostitution as the "oldest profession" in the world ever since women came into existence.
This was the easiest and the most common way for women at that time to make money by indulging in sexual trade.
Hence, the appetite for sexual desires has been in existence ever since.
The text tells us that Samson satisfied his sexual desires through that woman prostitute he saw in Gaza.
You see, when a person is being overtaken by an unrestrained sexual cravings, that is pure lust and that is sin.
And Samson was not aware that his lust can contaminate his mind to impurity, his heart to uncleanness, his body into infidelity, his soul into corruption and finally, his spirit into death.
Poor Samson, he did not know that it was part of his downward pull to destruction.
Brothers and sisters, have nothing to do with the lust of the flesh.
But you must remember that we all have been created by God with a desire for sexual pleasure.
Such sexual desire is not sin when confined to the bonds of marriage between a man and a woman.
God created sex for a purpose to procreate man and it was good.
However, when sex is misplaced and abused, when sex becomes illicit and immoral, then it becomes bad and sinful.
Therefore, engaging in adulterous relationship outside of marriage is wrong and sinful.
Uniting your body with a prostitute to satisfy one's sexual desires is like becoming one with a prostitute.
God wants us to maintain purity of mind, purity of body, purity of heart and purity of our soul.
That is why lesson number one.
WE MUST FLEE FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY.
The apostle Paul urges us in 1 Corinthians 6:18 (NIV) 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.”
The problem with Samson is that he was the one craving and drawing closer to temptation rather than fleeing away from temptation.
He went to Gaza by himself where the Philistine women were beautiful even if he knew he was weak in that area.
And so, without restraint, he indulged himself into that one night stand with a prostitute.
The more he was being drawn closer, the more he got trapped into committing more sin.
We are to flee and run away from any sexual immorality.
When you know that you are weak in that area of sexual lust, you stop and run to the opposite direction.
So, run, Samson run.
Don't run towards sin. Run away from sin.
Just like Joseph who run away from Potiphar's tempting and beautiful wife.
At the first sight of temptation, he fled and he was able to overcome the temptation of sexual lust.
Even if he was put in prison because he was wrongly accused of sin he did not commit, yet the Lord blessed him there and was promoted to the second man in command of Egypt.
But Samson on the other hand was going down into the path of self-destruction.
Notice in again in verse 4 that he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.
First, he was so consumed with lust with that prostitute woman in Gaza, but in here, we find that Samson fell in love with another woman named Delilah in the valley of Sorek.
The words "fell in love" means he wanted to have a deeper relationship with Delilah more than what the prostitute woman can offer.
But was it true love or was it still lust that consumed his mind?
What do you think?
Was it lust or love?
I think it was lust. But what is lust?
The dictionary defines lust as an intense or uncontrolled illicit sexual desire or appetite for a limited time.
But love is much deeper than love in scope and in relationship.
Samson was being overtaken by his lust over any beautiful woman he sees because he was not using his God-given talents to serve God.
He was using his talents to serve himself and his own desires.
Delilah is actually the third woman on record that Samson had.
The first was the woman of Timnah.
Because of his intense desire for that woman, he was ready to marry her even though he does not even know her name.
But it did not turn out well and she was given to another man.
The second was the prostitute in Gaza where he had his sexual desires satisfied in a one night stand.
And the third is this woman named Delilah of Sorek.
At least, she has a name compared to the other two.
There might have been many more, we do not know but these are the ones that the Bible mention.
It is amazing to see that all these three woman were all Philistines.
Samson has an attraction to women who were off limits to him.
He was supposed to be a man of God filled with God's Spirit and mighty in strength, yet, he was powerless against the attack of sexual temptation.
Because of this, his life is characterized by illicit sexual relationships that he could not overcome.
It became a snare and destroyed his responsibility as the judge of Israel.
In the same manner, the Lord gave us our sexual desires, and they are good when they are within the framework of marriage.
However, when we allow our sexual desires to conquer us and look for another partner, we cross the line into sin.
God wants His people to be sexually pure.
That is why lesson number two is for all those who have already been married:
WE MUST KEEP THE MARRIAGE PURE.
Marriage must be honorable, pure and holy at all times before God and men.
Hebrews 13:4 (NIV) 4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”
The writer to Hebrews emphasizes that the marriage bed should be kept pure at all times.
And he warns us against those who are adulterer and sexually immoral - those who are consumed by sexual lust, those who look for sexual satisfaction outside marriage.
The text says that they will be judged severely by God.
Samson sinned because he was guilty of fornication.
Sadly, there is a lack of morality in our world today, 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.
Young people, you can wait until you are married to become sexually active.
Single adults, you can keep your bodies pure 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 waiting for you in Christ Jesus.
If you haven’t failed in this area, there is strength in the Lord to help you stay pure for the rest of your life as you give glory to God.
But there is more.
In verse 5 we read that “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.”
Look at the words "lure him" - it means to entice him, to trap him or to seduce him.
The Philistines wanted Delilah to be the bait to trap Samson so that they could destroy him and she agreed.
She did not care about the love of Samson.
She only wanted to get rich at the expense of Samson's downfall.
All she had to do was to play her part, gather some valuable information that they need and she would walk away with a big reward.
That is actually what deception is all about.
Samson did not recognize it but he was being drawn into the trap of sin by his own weakness.
Story:
Radio and TV personality Paul Harvey tells the story of how an Eskimo kills a wolf.
The account offers a fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sin.
“First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze for some time.
Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood.
Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up.
When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it with its tongue, tasting the fresh frozen blood.
He begins to lick faster and more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen sharp edge is bare.
Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night.
So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue.
The wolf does not even recognize that his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his OWN warm blood.
His carnivorous appetite just craves for more--until the dawn finds him dead in the snow!”
The wolf has been lured by an unsuspecting bait and it was trapped.
That is what sin's deception is all about.
We are not aware of it, but when we are totally consumed by lust, we will be trapped until death takes it's toll.
That is what happened to Samson - he was trapped by his own lust.
Brothers and sisters, run away from lust.
The only way you can overcome the spirit of lust that dominate your mind is is to focus on the healing power of Christ in your life.
Be filled with the presence of His glory. Christ in you, the hope of your glory.
First is Samson's lust.
2. SAMSON’S LIES
Judges 16:6-9 (NIV) 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."
The second this we can learn about Samson is that he was being overtaken by a series of lies.
There was no honesty and truthfulness in the relationship between Delilah and Samson.
Can you stay long in a relationship filled with lies and deception? I don't think so.
It is the most difficult thing to do when there is not truthfulness and honesty between the husband and wife.
You will never know whether he is telling the truth or not.
Let us first examine the lies of Samson to Delilah.
They are all senseless and very unreasonable.
When Delilah asked Samson the secret of his great strength, he presented three senseless lies before he finally gave up his secret.
First lie - "Bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried." vs. 7
During that time, bowstrings were made of animal intestines that were fully dried to become incredibly strong.
When they are fresh, they are weak and easily broken.
And so, when he asked for fresh bowstring, it was a lie and shows his contempt for the Philistines.
When Delilah did so, he broke the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame.
Lie number one worked.
He deceived Delilah and Delilah took the bait.
The second lie - "If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” vs. 11
New ropes are very strong.
An ordinary man cannot break them.
But Samson was no ordinary man.
He had supernatural strength from God.
In fact, he was already bound with new ropes in chapter 15 but he was able to break them and killed a thousand Philistines by the jawbone of a donkey.
It was another senseless lie perpetuated by Samson in order to deceive her.
Again, Delilah did so but Samson snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.
Lie number two worked.
The third lie - “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.” - vs. 13.
Samson tells Delilah to take a loom and weave his hair into it.
If she does, he will lose his strength.
But of course, this again is a lie because his weakness will come when his hair is cut.
Notice that he is getting closer to revealing the real secret of his power.
He is playing a dangerous game and playing with fire and he was about to get burned.
Again Delilah did so but he pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric and he walked away easily.
Lie number three worked.
All three of Samson's lies so far worked but he did not know that she was getting closer to discovering his secret.
The problem with sin is that people play with it thinking they would not get hurt.
But sin is sin and the more you draw closer, the more you get burned.
If only Samson run away from sin.
But he did not, that is why the next lesson we can learn is that:
OUR EVIL DESIRES CAN DRAG US AWAY.
James 1:14-15 (NIV) 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
Samson's desires dragged him away from the truth of God's Power.
The temptations he faced was like a bait that enticed him and trapped him with nowhere to escape.
He should have learned from the story of Eve in the Garden of Eden found in Genesis 3:1-6.
The serpent was enticing her to eat the forbidden fruit.
She could have easily said "NO!" and turned away but the problem was that she listened intently and thereupon was overcome by doubt in God's Word.
She further took a step forward into the devil's trap until she literally touched it, then, she took it, and she ate.
Finally, she gave some to her husband.
From then on, they were drawn in a downward spiral of sin.
Samson has lied three times to Delilah but he did not know that Delilah has been lying to him as well.
She was disguising as if she was a faithful companion to Samson, all along seeking for an opportunity to trap him into giving her the secret of his strength.
She was not really in love with Samson but with the intent of luring him and trapping him so that she could sell him to the Philistines for some rewards.
You see, a relationship that has been established on lies and deceptions will not last long.
When there is no truthfulness, there is no strength in any relationship.
Samson lied to her because he thought he was smarter than she was - that was not love.
On the other hand, Delilah lied to Samson because she was far smarter than he was that was not love either.
Delilah played her part and lured Samson into her trap just like a spider luring a fly into its inviting web.
She used the same tactics that the woman of Timnah played to Samson - "if you loved me, you would..."
And so, she begged, she pleaded, she whined and cried all day and all night.
After a long while, her persistent wore Samson down and finally gave her the secret of his power.
Samson took the bait and he was trapped and that resulted to his ultimate demise.
That is why the next lesson we can learn is that
PLAYING WITH SIN IS LIKE PLAYING WITH FIRE.
Proverbs 6:27-28 (NIV) 27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? 28 Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?”
The Text is in a form of two questions:
Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?
Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?
The obvious answer to these questions is NO.
You cannot scoop fire into your lap and not get burned. No way.
You will get burned if you put fire into your lap.
You cannot walk on hot coals without your feet being scorched.
No way.
Both refers to the scorching heat of sin, when you get too close with it, you will get burned.
Sin always cost and that cost is never cheap.
And so, playing with sin is like playing with fire, you will get burned.
This is the picture of how sin works to trap us.
If we allow ourselves to be in constant pressure of temptation, we too will be worn down and commit sin.
Like Delilah, sin is relentless, sin is persistent and sin is aggressive to destroy Samson.
She tried to hammer away all resistance until she gets the full advantage.
And like Samson, we often lose.
Satan is like that, he will not stop until he ruins your life.
He will not back down until sin has taken everything of value from you and leave you with nothing.
The best thing to do is to keep away, put a distance and run away from the sources of sin and temptation.
First is Samson's Lust.
Second is Samson's Lies.
3. SAMSON’S LOSS
Judges 16:17-20 (NIV) “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.
Delilah wore him out and finally told her the truth of the secret of his power.
He told her that his hair was the symbol of his Nazarite vow before God.
When his hair is cut, he will be as weak as any man.
The secret of his supernatural strength was in the hair.
Samson trusted Delilah and believed that his secret was safe with her.
But as soon as he was asleep, she cut off his hair and immediately, Samson lost everything.
It was the most expensive haircut in history!
I usually spend about $15 for a regular haircut each month.
But that is cheap compared to other celebrities who spend a fortune for a haircut.
I read in a magazine that The sultan of Brunei has no problem spending ridiculous sums on a haircut.
He pays for his favorite stylist, Ken Modestou, to fly to the other side of the globe just for a haircut.
Modestou works at the Dorchester hotel in London and a haircut from him itself is not all that expensive, but the Sultan values the stylist so highly that he covers all the hairstylist’s expenses for his time in Southeast Asia.
The sum adds up to an absurd $23,000.
The Sultan apparently flies out his favorite hairstylist on Singapore airlines, first class of course, every few weeks for a trim.
People put a high value in the maintenance of their hair.
Do you know that the average woman spends over $50,000 on her hair in her lifetime?
Do you know that an average woman spends two years of her life washing, styling and setting her hair?
Do you know than an average woman spends 10 minutes per day working on her hair?
And did you know that a recent survey found that during the last month, 54% of the women surveyed, got madder at their hair than they did at their husbands?
Did you know that Americans spend over 7 billion dollars per year on hair care products alone?
That figure does not include the billions spent by Americans every year having their hair cut, colored, permed, set, and styled.
It seems to me that our hair is really important to us.
It is also important to God - Matthew 10:30 "And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."
If our hair is that important to us and to God, think of how important it should have been to Samson.
His hair had never been cut since birth.
He was a Nazarite, and part of the vow he was required to take stipulated that Samson could not cut his hair.
Samson’s hair was the external symbol of his undying commitment to God.
It identified him as a man set apart for God’s glory and God’s use.
As long as Samson’s hair left to grow, it set him apart as a man of God and God's presence was with him.
When his hair was cut, he lost God’s power in his life.
There are two verses that summarizes the loss that Samson experienced in the hands of Delilah.
In verse 19, the text says that "his strength left him." while in verse 20, the text says that "the Lord had left him."
It means that God departed from him or abandoned him to fend for himself.
He was left alone in the hands of his enemy without back-up.
Then, Delilah began to subdue him, she began to humiliate him and mistreat him.
That was not true love.
Samson was so weak that he could not even defend himself from the hands of a woman that he thought he loved.
he should have run, but he did not, and so, Delilah caught him and turned him over to the Philistines without any fight.
They got Samson, while she got the prize, a good deal for a days' work.
But let us look closely and examine all the things he lost.
Verse 21 -"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."
Samson lost his freedom.
The text says that the Philistines seized or took him and bound him.
He was now the prisoner of his own enemies.
Not only that, he lost his vision.
The Philistines gouged or took out his eyes.
They blinded him to make it easier to control Samson.
Then, he lost his dignity.
They took him to prison and they forced him to grind grains.
Grinding grain was the work of animals or of the lowest slaves.
He was going about in circles while being ridiculed by the children and women.
This shows how they ridiculed and scorned Samson for what he has done to the Philistines.
Thy humiliated the mighty judge of Israel by forcing him to work as a slave.
All of these are just pictures of the power of sin in our lives when we allow sin to dominate us.
Sin can trap us, can blind us, can grind us and can enslave us with habits that are hard to break.
Beware, my brothers and sisters, sin can ruin your lives if you indulge in it without God's help.
Story:
I want to share to you an article from the Santa Clarita Gazette written by a registered sex offender and the difficulty he had to face each day after being incarcerated for some time.
He lost his freedom, he lost his dignity and he lost everything.
"After being released from parole, my life has changed very little.
I am fortunate to be employed, but I am still homeless and living in my car.
And I have it better than most individuals on the sex offender list.
Most have no job and no car.
I struggle with depression to varying degrees, depending on the day while some days, it is almost debilitating.
I am sleep deprived and live mostly on peanut butter sandwiches and the occasional meal given to me by my church.
The depression is a result of not only being falsely convicted and incarcerated for almost 10 years, but also the three years of degradation and humiliation inflicted on me by the parole department.
The theory behind parole is to help a parolee integrate back into society in a productive way.
In reality, it is the opposite; it is very stifling and prohibitive.
To illustrate the counterproductive nature of parolee, every time I had the possibility of gaining employment, my parole agent found a way to deny me of the opportunity.
For instance, when I was briefly employed by a friend in real estate, he attempted to garner additional rights for me so I could venture into a nearby county to assess houses.
Instead, his phone calls to the parolee department resulted in me being kicked out of my residence, citing my location was violating my parole agreement.
I can't get those years back, but the anger, the frustration... I could let all of that go and try to move on, but they won' let me.
Part of parole consist of being forced to go to counseling: again, great in theory, but not so much in reality.
One very incompetent intern named Eric actually said in a group session that he hated working with sex offenders.
he said, "You are all sex offenders; you are all hated. Everyone hates you."
Rather than being therapeutic, the belittling, the verbal abuse and misuse of power over us by these foolish amateurs made those three years more stressful and humiliating than prison.
I hope that I can eventually prove my innocence and get off the list.
I also hope that people will understand that just because you're on the sex offender's list, it doesn't mean you're some kind of monster.
Were human beings with feelings, just like anybody else."
With that, we'll go to the last lesson learned:
WE MUST NOT LOSE WHAT WE HAVE WORKED FOR. Mark 8:36-37 (NIV) 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
If you have been working so hard to maintain your Christian testimony, don't lose it to the momentary pleasure of sin.
You will have difficulty recovering it once you lost it.
Trust and integrity is hard to build over time but can be destroyed overnight.
Once destroyed, it is very hard to regain.
The life of Samson is as an example for all those who would put sin ahead of a relationship with God.
These had been written so that we can learn our lessons well.
Think of it, you might be enjoying the pleasures of this world at this moment, but you have never realized that in the end, there is the judgment of God and an eternity in Hell waiting for you.
The time to change is now.
The time to be saved is now.
Come to Jesus Christ today for the only hope of salvation that can deliver you from the wrath of God!
He deserves our best; let’s give it to Him!
Let us not damage our testimony for Christ.
Let us not dishonor to the name of our God.
May it never be!
END...
