Samson and Delilah: What we can learn

There are some bible stories that you always remember: Noah's Ark, feeding of the five thousand, Jesus turning water into wine. One of my childhood favourites is the story of Samson and Delilah.

You can read the full account in Judges 13 -16 but the summary of the story is that Samson was a man who's life was dedicated to God from birth. The Lord blessed him with this incredible strength which he was to use to rescue Israel from the Philistines. Many tried to attack and kill him but whenever they came, the power of the Lord would come over him and he would defeat them.

The secret to Samson's strength was through his hair and he had a covenant with God never to cut it. Samson met a woman called Delilah who secretly wanted to find out this secret in order to trick him and allow him to be captured by the Philistines. She asked and asked and Samson gave her different reasons to his strength, until the end he could not take the nagging no more and told her the reason. In his sleep she cut off his hair and arranged for him to be captured once he woke up. Through his poor judgement and bad decisions Samson lost his power and damaged his relationship with God.

There are many things we can learn from the life of Samson.

Don't forget where it came from.

Samson's strength came from the Lord. Several times in the scripture we read that he used this power to get him out of tricky situations and without any credit as to where it came from (16: 1-3).

God blesses us with many skills, gifts and talents. If we become successful using our God-given gifts we should not forget where they came from or the moral purpose that directs the use of those gifts. Notice what happened when Samson forgot (16:20-21). We must always remember and thank God because all our gifts and abilities come from Him.

Don't believe the lies

Samson was deceived because he desired to believe Delilah's lies. Although he could strangle a lion, he could not smother his burning lust and see Delilah for what she really was.

How can you keep your desire for love and sexual pleasure from deceiving you into believing a lie: (1) You need to decide what kind of qualities you will love before passion takes over. Determine whether a person's character and faithfulness to God are as desirable as his or her physical appearance. (2) Since most of the time you spend with your spouse will not involve sex, your companion's personality, temperament, attitude and commitment to solve problems must be as gratifying as his or her kisses. (3) Be willing to exercise patience. The second observation often reveals what is beneath the pleasant appearance and attentive touch.

If you think you love someone, but the first qualities you describe are their physical qualities, you probably don't really love them in a Godly way. Lust and love are two very different things. Loving someone involves unselfish sacrifice and genuinely caring about their needs.

Delilah kept asking Samson for the secret of his strength until he finally grew tired of hearing her nagging and gave in. What a pitiful excuse for disobedience. Don't allow anyone, no matter how attractive or persuasive, to talk you into doing wrong.*

We don't fall into sin...we walk into it

When we backslide it doesn’t happen overnight. It is as a result of a series of compromises and progressively yielding to temptation. We are given many warnings but often choose to ignore them.

Delilah was a deceitful woman and four times she took advantage of Samson. Now for him not have seen this, he was clearly blinded by lust. As the saying goes 'fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame me'. 

It is all to easy to be deceived by the 'sweet' words of flattery and give in to temptation and false belief leading to things getting compromised. It starts small, you allow your boyfriend to go one step further than he should and before you know it you’re in a situation that you didn’t plan. I'm sure Samson believed Delilah loved him but it is clear to see by her actions that this was not the case. Avoid falling prey to deceit by asking God to help you discern between deception and truth (good and evil, right and wrong).

Sometimes we don't realise it's gone until it's too late

Samson’s relationship with God had deteriorated so much that by the time he was captured by the Philistines, he had already lost the presence of God necessary to deliver him. (v20). By the time he realised this it was too late. Do not let the devil fool you into thinking that no matter how you live your life, God will always deliver you from that situation.

God allowed the Philistines to capture Samson, because ultimately he took God’s presence for granted. Everything he ever needed God would have provided for him but instead he chose to lay himself in the deceiving hands of Delilah and lost everything.

We need to be careful not place our lives into the wrong hands.

Let our true security come from God and the promises of His word.

*Source: Jesus Christ Saves Ministries