“Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.” Judges 16:4 (NKJV)
Samson seemed to have poor judgment in relationships. His first wife ended up being given to another man. He was probably not married to Delilah, but was very intimate with her without the required marriage unit.
Delilah may not have been a Philistine, but she apparently was swayed by some of the Philistines she was acquainted with. They asked her to find out Samson’s secret of his strength. Their purpose was so that they could overtake him and capture him. (Judges 16:5) They were willing to pay Delilah for obtain this information for them.
Samson gave her an answer. Delilah told the Philistines. They tried what Samson had told Delilah and it didn’t weaken him at all! This happened three times all without Samson being captured. Delilah was getting frustrated (and so were the Philistines).
What has always puzzled me is why didn’t Samson wisen up to what Delilah was doing? For a judge of Israel, he was pretty dumb in my book. Delilah was openly taunting Samson and had no hidden agendas. She wanted to make him weak enough to be captured. Yet, Samson gave her answers each and every time (Ok, they were false answers so maybe he had an inclination that she was up to no good).
“Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.” (Judges 16:19 NKJV)
What can I learn from Delilah? She was definitely not on God’s side. She was against God’s people and had evil intentions toward Samson. So, a lesson I need to learn is that I need to be careful in choosing friends. I need friends with integrity to encourage me to stay on the narrow path toward heaven. I need to be careful who I share my secrets with. Delilah was not trustworthy for Samson to share his secrets with. I need to obey God in everything so as not to place myself on the enemy’s territory.
It is difficult to keep in touch with friends when one moves around a lot. I’ve lost touch with more friends than I can count. It seems that once one of you moves out of the close proximity so that everyday activities are no longer intertwined, the dynamics change. However, there are a few friends, that regardless of how many miles there are between us there’s a special bond because Jesus is the connection we share.
One of my favorite songs is sung by Michael W. Smith – “Friends Are Friends Forever“. Listen now … won’t you be my friend today?
Published on MyBibleRoom.com 1/30/25, 6:00 am