Hey Guys! Welcome once again to my page! Today I will be teaching on Samson and Delilah as part of my Godly Relationships series and also this Sunday’s Word:

Judges 16:1-21 (NIV)

Samson and Delilah

16 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.

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[a] 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 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.

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, “All this time 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[b] 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 sick to death of it.

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.[c] 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.

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.

1. POSITION: Firstly, it’s important to realize that Samson went to Gaza where he saw a prostitute. Hence pay attention to where you are going-that is where destiny or destruction will meet you. Samson met this prostitute in Gaza and he spent the night with her. Its interesting that he spent the night with her-this tells me that your relationships determine whether you stay in the darkness or in the light. Also, where you spend your time matters. Listen we are called to be the light of the world-not to add darkness to it. Samson entertained a physical relationship with a prostitute and it drew him into darkness. Who are you in relationship with? Where do you spend your time? Has it brought darkness into your life ie your decisions, your daily activities, your dreams? Then you need to re-evaluate your position.

2. ACCESS: Notice also because of Samson’s position his enemies had access to him because he was in the darkness-as they said, “Samson is here!” His enemies surrounded him and waited for him all night at the gate. Once more the importance of the timing is drawn into focus-they waited all night-he was in the darkness-your relationships either draw enemies into your life or protect you from your enemies. As I said previously in my last post on this series, your relationships are either leaving you exposed or are protecting you-Samson’s relationship with the prostitute left him exposed. Samson escaped-his strength provided him a medium of escape. Your calling can only protect you for so long-you have to protect it-Samson’s purpose protected him-it provided an avenue for escape. Your purpose will always draw you to the light-but you can choose to remain in the darkness. Samson’s purpose provided escape but he chose to remain in the darkness.

3. ATTRACTION: Where you spend your time will also determine who you find attractive. Samson spent a lot of his time it seems in physical things ie he spent the night with the prostitute. And so he was attracted to and fell in love with Delilah-once more this pattern of bad relationships with women. And people don’t realize-relationships are so powerful! You need to be careful who has access into your life-Samson gave Delilah access and by extension granted his enemies access as well. Its interesting that the Word says he fell in love with Delilah-have you fallen in love with a Delilah? it will be pretty obvious-do you cultivate your flesh or your spirit? Does he/she appeal to your flesh or your spirit? He fell in love with her because he was all up in his flesh but she was no good for him-she did not have his best interest at heart. She betrayed him to his enemies. Have you given access to your enemies through your relationship with that person? since you were attracted to them in the flesh, don’t be surprised if they are led by the flesh and not the Spirit:

For instance:

a) Delilah was greedy: She gave up Samson for silver. She was led by her flesh. She betrayed his trust for money-is that person ready to betray your trust for wealth? You will notice it in their actions-how do they act around money? How do they talk about money? Have they betrayed people for money before? Be careful with such people-they are very dangerous. Are they spirit led or flesh led? This too will be obvious through where they spend their time.

b) Delilah was selfish: She asked Samson repeatedly the secret to his great strength and how he can be tied up and subdued. This is pretty obvious-I’m surprised that Samson did not understand the weight of her question-whoever loves you will not want to hurt you. Delilah was querying on how Samson could be hurt for her advantage. So has that person hurt you intentionally and repeatedly? Then it is pretty clear they do not have your best interest at heart-have they showed you they are selfish through their actions?

c) Samson was blinded by lust: Samson heard Delilah’s question but he was not listening to the reason behind it-she asked for the secret to his strength because she wanted to know how he might be tied and subdued. Like the Word previously said, he was in love with her-don’t fall in love with the wrong person-they will provide an avenue for access to your enemies. Samson lusted after Delilah and so became spiritually deaf. Its interesting he lied to her as this shows resistance in the spirit-you cannot be touched except your spirit and your flesh come into agreement-Samson agreed with Delilah in his flesh but not in his spirit. But he was spiritually deaf because he could not see her betrayal through the presence of the Philistines. Why was he spiritually deaf? Delilah announced their presence three times and he never once queried why they came after he provided her information. This is another sign-have you told that person a secret that has somehow leaked into the open? Then it’s clear they do not have your best interest at heart.

d) Delilah was manipulative: She kept providing whatever Samson told her to the Philistines and then pretended to provide an avenue for escape by announcing their presence. Be wary of such people-they put you in trouble and then act like they are the source of your solutions! This is what Delilah did to Samson-and God revealed all her traits to him through her actions-have you listened to what God has shown you about that person through their actions? When you are spiritually deaf-its only a short while away from spiritual blindness and Samson was reaching that point.

e) Delilah was a chameleon: Somehow she was always the victim-she claimed Samson made a fool of her even though Samson was the victim here-has that person played the victim in your life when you have suffered as a result of their issues? Then they are a Delilah-and very manipulative. Samson once more provided her his “secret” for comfort, which she once again used against him-stop giving that person chances to betray you. They have not changed. Delilah once more betrayed Samson because that was her character and once more he suffered as a result of her betrayal. There is a pattern of betrayal here-has that person betrayed you more than once? Then stop giving them multiple chances to ruin your purpose. Notice this was an attack on Samson’s purpose and his strength-the more you spend time with that influence, the more exposed you leave your purpose-because although his enemies kept failing; they kept getting closer to the source of his strength because of Delilah. Which is why it is important to leave the relationships God has advised you to leave; protect your purpose.

f) Samson did not protect his purpose: He told her the truth because she manipulated him with his nagging-and he told her everything. Don’t reveal your secret to everyone-don’t tell everyone your story-it is not everyone’s business to know. And be very careful who you allow to come into your heart-Samson resided in Delilah’s abode-he was always attacked under her supervision-so who in your life have you suffered repeated attacks as a result of their presence? This will help you locate the source of the issues you’re dealing with.

g) Delilah betrayed Samson: The betrayal took place in secret first when she took the money, then Samson was given revelation of her intentions repeatedly before it fully manifested in the flesh. He was sleeping on her lap when his braids were cut off. The symbol of his strength was gone and he did not even know. The more you entertain that bad influence, the less sensitive you become to the presence of God and the less access you have to understanding your purpose. Samson did not know that the LORD had left him-and this passage always spoke to me. I wondered: how could he not know that the LORD had left him when he was dedicated to God? And the answer is, he was no longer in relationship with God-he had stepped out of the covenant by revealing the secret to Delilah.

h) Spiritual and Physical Blindness: Its interesting that the enemy-the Philistines gouged out his eyes because it symbolizes blindness-which also means you become spiritually blind before you become physically blind. The LORD left Samson before the enemy was able to gouge out his eyes. Hence his spiritual sensitivity was taken before it happened in the physical-and this is what happens with relationships-they bring you back into bondage or they liberate you.

i) Slavery and Freedom: Samson was bound in shackles and put in prison-this is symbolic of the fact that he was once more under bondage-ie under slavery to sin. And that is what happens when you allow Delilah’s to have access into your life-it may start with that prostitute which is symbolic of that distraction-those friends, those vices but if it continues, it ends up in spiritual blindness and slavery. Notice Delilah was no more there once she had served her purpose-to bring destruction into his life-so stop deceiving yourself that whoever that person is, will be with you through thick and thin-they serve a purpose-and once they serve that purpose, and give the enemy access-they leave.

So are you entertaining a Delilah?