They hoped Delilah would be able to get Samson to do things he would never be naturally inclined to do, and with a bit of encouragement in the form of eleven hundred pieces of silver, she agreed.
“6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you.” 7 Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” (Judges 16:6-7)
When Delilah began to seek the secret of his strength, Samson should have been aware of his danger and, like Joseph in Genesis 39:12, fled as fast as possible. At least, that is what would have made the most sense. But he had been gripped by passion, sin had put him under anaesthetics, and he was unable to act rationally. Even if someone else could have pointed it out to him, given Samson’s personality, it is unlikely that he would have believed them.
Delilah, unaware that Samson had lied to her, bound him with seven fresh cords and called the Philistines to take care of the rest. But of course, because Samson had lied to her, he “snapped the cords as a string of tow snaps when it touches fire.”
Disappointed, Delilah tried again.
11 He said to her, “If they bind me tightly with new ropes which have not been used, then I will become weak and be like any other man.”
Samson continued further down the slippery slope of falsehood. He knew that he would be compromised if he told her the truth, so he continued to lie.
If he knows to lie, then he should know to leave?
It is true. You know that saying, “loose lips sink ships”, well in Proverbs 13:3, Solomon presents a similar thought saying, “The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” Unfortunately, this may be the case in Samson’s life.
After Samson fell asleep, Delilah did just what he told her to. However, when she called for the Philistines to attack him, Samson broke through the new ropes just as he did before.
A third time Delilah urged Samson to tell her his secret. What’s interesting is that we see Samson show the first sign of weakness (well first obvious sign – he really should’ve left her by now). This time Samson told Delilah part of the truth, mentioning his hair, but not giving the correct details. “He said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my hair with the web and fasten it with a pin, then I will become weak and be like any other man.”
You don’t have to say it. He broke free and revealed to Delilah that he had deceived her once again.
So how does she get him to tell her the truth? She went for Samson’s true weakness, love.
15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is.” 16 It came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death.
Yep, she’s got him. Oh, how history repeats itself. This exactly what the woman of Timnah said 20 years earlier.
I can only imagine he started having flashbacks, and her words stuck right in his ego. The secret’s ready to come out, but it seems like he is still holding back. So she, puts some more. She complains that he has made a fool of her three times. If we look at verse 16: “With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.”
Proverbs 21:19 says: “It is better to live in a desert land, than with a contentious and vexing woman.”
Samson could never keep a secret when there was anything important was at stake. The first one used a flood of tears. The other used an avalanche of words. She hit him in his ego and then struck his heart. Finally, she just talked and talked and talked and talked until he finally was ready to tell her.
17 So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, “A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man.”
Samson failed to guard his heart (see Proverbs 12:23) and instead of having the strength of heart to resist Delilah’s overtures, he finally succumbed, and it cost him his life. He failed to rely on the Spirit which gave him his strength, and began to trust his flesh, which can never kill sin. Samson’s weakness is only the more pronounced when compared with Joseph and his – entanglement – with Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39:7-12, who despite her sexual advances, did not give in and fled.
In Proverbs 7:21-27, Solomon lays down the basic principles which explain why Samson yielded to Delilah.
Now aware of Samson’s big secret, Delilah advanced in her plan towards financial independence. She called the lords of the Philistines and told them that this time she knew Samson had told her the truth, “for he has told [her] all that is in his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands.
Okay, she’s got the money. But how is she going to cut his hair without him, you know, ending her life?
She made him sleep on her knees. This is a custom very common in the East.
‘It is very amusing to see a full-grown son, or a husband, asleep on his mother’s or wife’s knees. The plan is as follows: the female sits cross-legged on the carpet or mat, and the man having laid himself down, puts his head in her lap, and she gently taps, strokes, sings, and soothes him to sleep.’ (GEORGE BUSH, Judges Notes, 1852)
19 She made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair. Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him.
Now, Samson’s “strength left him”, not because his strength was located in his hair, but because his hair was the symbol of his vow of devotion to God. When his Nazarite vow was intact, the Spirit of the Lord would come upon Samson and empower him, as we’ve seen on numerous occasions. However, when it was broken, Samson was left to his own strength, and at that point, even the soft and delicate Delilah could afflict him. He lost his vow, and hence no longer was functioning according to his calling.
Samson’s story is a constant reminder for each of us.
First, we all need to learn that when temptation comes to us, it is a mistake merely to evade it, or to parry attacks, as if to throw the tempter off the scent. These “boundaries” and “walls of defence” we set up will eventually fall one after the other, leaving us prone to attack. Secondly, we have all been created with a purpose to fulfil. Some may call it their destiny. Or even their calling. The fact of the matter is that when you choose to operate outside of your calling, you are operating outside of God’s power.
My Sunday Skl 