"Smarter than a Fox, but dumber than a Snake!"
The Story of Samson and Delilah.
Samson was smart, but...
When Samson’s first marriage failed, in vengeance he caught three hundred foxes and tied their tails together, set their tails on fire and chased them off to burn up harvesting fields of the philistines. I assume that you have to be smarter than a fox to catch three hundred foxes!
How could anyone be so stupid?
When I read over the story of Samson and Delilah, I have to ask myself this question, How could anyone so smart, be so stupid? Four times Delilah set Samson up for failure and he never seemed to catch on. How stupid can a man be?
Yet this story plays itself out in life over and over again, people get addicted to their sin and never seem to be "smart" enough to climb out.
Why: Pride…
“I am so smart!”
The reason why Samson was so stupid is because he thought that he was so smart!
"I am smarter than my parents..."
In chapter 14 of Judges, Samson goes against the advice of his parents in marrying a "heathen" philistine bride. He does not listen to their admonition. After all, she pleases him well. Samson made his choices based upon what looked good and what felt good. He was a man set out to please his own fleshly appetite.
The marriage fails.
"I am smarter than God..."
After the failure of his first marriage, Samson has given up on marriage altogether. Samson decides to live a life style of sex and single. God calls it adultery, but Samson thinks he is smarter than God. When he is surrounded by the enemy at the harlots house, he simply picks up the entire front side of the house on his shoulders and tosses the whole thing on the side of a hill. Samson thinks he is not only smart, but strong! He cannot be defeated.
I am smarter than the Devil...
Samson may have been smarter than a fox, but he was dumber than a snake. The snake in this story was Delilah. Samson is living with this woman. He loved this woman. He loved "all woman!" But he will not pay the price of marriage to obtain her. So Delilah is offered a price by the Lord’s of the Philistines. She sells him out. Notice how Samson thinks that he is playing a game. I don’t know what kind of sex games that they were "playing," but Samson allowed Delilah to tie him up every night in the bed. How stupid can a man be? Before the night was out, Samson put his life in danger. You know the story. And with every night, Samson came closer and closer to getting caught in his sin, until his heart gave out and he told Delilah the secret of his strength.
The secret of his strength was in the length of his hair. Samson had taken the Nazzarite Vow. He was not to get his hair cut. Long hair speaks of submission. The secret of Samson’s strength was in his submissionness to God.
The smartest thing you could do is to seek God’s wisdom!
In this moment of failure, Samson is on his knees with his head sleeping in the lap of Delilah.
Where should he have been?
Samson should have been on his knees, but his head should have been resting on the altar! James 1:5 tells us, "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God..."
To say "smart," admit your "dumbness" and ask God for his divine wisdom!
