Judges 16:16-19 Peculiarities

”And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death,“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Earlier Samson gave into the nagging of his Philistine wife (Judges 14:15-18). Now he yielded to the nagging of Delilah. She certainly sinned by using such terrible manipulation, but Samson also sinned by yielding to that manipulation.” (Guzik)

“Her previous complaint was that Samson’s love for her was empty was a hollow protest. Delilah had no love for him, and she expected Samson to destroy himself and his service for God to “prove” his love for her.” (Guzik)

”that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“When Samson did this, it was a very sad scene. He had to know what was to come. He faced the choice between faithfulness to his God and continuing an ungodly relationship.” (Guzik)

”When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the Lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the Lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”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

“As long as he is consecrated he is strong; break that, he is weak as water. Now there are a thousand razors with which the devil can shave off the locks of a consecrated man without his knowing it. Samson is sound asleep; so clever is the barber that he even lulls him to sleep as his fingers move across the pate, the fool’s pate, which he is making bare. The devil is cleverer far than even the skillful-barber; he can shave the believer’s locks while he scarcely knows it.” (Spurgeon)

“Not that his hair made him strong, but that his hair was the symbol of his consecration, and was the pledge of God’s favor to him. While his hair was untouched he was a consecrated man; as soon as that was cut away, he was no longer perfectly consecrated, and then his strength departed from him.” (Spurgeon)

“In the opinion of some persons Samson looked much improved when his matted hair was gone. He was more presentable; more fit for good society. And so in the case of churches, the notion is that they are all the better for getting rid of their peculiarities.” (Spurgeon)

We recently watched the movie The Jesus Revolution about pastor Chuck Smith opening his home and church to the hippies. His congregation got upset because of their peculiarities and wanted to get rid of them and threatened to leave. Some got upset because they were afraid that their dirty feet would stain the new carpet, so Chuck started washing their feet before the service.

Have you ever gotten upset with someone’s peculiarities?

Blessings 

Judges 16:12-15 The Cost of Sin!

 ”So Delilah took new ropes, tied him up with them, and called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But while the men were hidden in her room, he snapped the ropes off his arms like they were threads.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭12‬ ‭BSB‬‬

”Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me all along! Tell me how you can be tied up.” He told her, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the web of a loom and tighten it with a pin, I will become as weak as any other man. ”“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭13‬ ‭BSB‬‬

“Delilah obviously cared nothing for Samson. His continued commitment to her is a remarkable testimony to the power of blind, irresponsible love.” (Guzik)

”So while he slept, Delilah took the seven braids of his hair and wove them into the web. Then she tightened it with a pin and called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin with the loom and the web.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭14‬ ‭BSB‬‬

”“How can you say, ‘I love you,’” she asked, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and failed to reveal to me the source of your great strength!”“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ ‭BSB‬‬

“Tragically, Samson’s heart was with Delilah. Her accusation was a manipulative projection of her own heart, which was not with Samson.” (Guzik)

When we study these verses in hindsight we have to wonder, what the heck was wrong with Samson? Why was he so blind to Delilah’s intentions?

Was his conscience seared? 

Proverbs 6:27 asks a rhetorical question to illustrate the consequences of adultery: “Can a man scoop fire into his lap / without his clothes being burned?” To paraphrase the question in relation to false teaching, “Can an apostate dispense the fiery lies of hell without his conscience being seared?”

( https://www.gotquestions.org/seared-conscience.html )

Has sin cost you more than you were willing to pay?

Blessings 

Judges 16:10-11 Warped Thinking!

 ”Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me! Now please tell me how you can be tied up.”“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭10‬ ‭BSB‬‬

“It would seem that romantic attraction made Samson lose all sense. There was no good or rational reason Samson continued this relationship with Delilah or entertained her prying into the secret of his strength. Samson is a good example of how an ungodly relationship can warp thinking.” (Guzik)

”He replied, “If they tie me up with new ropes that have never been used, I will become as weak as any other man.”“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬ ‭BSB‬‬

“Samson allowed this bondage because he refused to escape the situation. Many today are in similar places of sin, compromise, and bondage - and refuse to escape the situation.” (Guzik)

Warped Thinking

Warped thinking is how sin begins, we have a thought that is displeasing to the Lord and then we act on it. 

Look at what Jesus says:

Matthew 5:28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Samson shouldn’t have pursued a relationship with an ungodly woman and when we have ungodly thoughts we should pray and seek the scriptures for our escape. 

”Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.“

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭10‬ ‭BSB‬‬

”Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.“

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ ‭BSB‬‬

”For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.“

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬ ‭BSB‬‬

Lastly: 

”But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.“

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ ‭BSB‬‬

Let this be a lesson for us, ungodly warped thinking leads to compromising situations. Flee and pursue righteous, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. 

Blessings 

Judges 16:6-9 Enslaved!

”So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭6‬ ‭BSB‬‬

“The source of Samson’s strength was not obvious. This means that he probably was not a large, heavily muscled man like a modern-day bodybuilder. He may have looked small and skinny, and unlikely to have such strength.” (Guzik)

“Delilah knew that Samson was strong; yet she also knew that he could be bound with something, and this was indeed true of Samson. One might say that the honest answer to her question would be, “I may be bound with the attention and affection of an ungodly yet attractive woman.”” (Guzik)

”Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become as weak as any other man.”“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬ ‭BSB‬‬

”So the Lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭8‬ ‭BSB‬‬

”While the men were hidden in her room, she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he snapped the bowstrings like a strand of yarn seared by a flame. So the source of his strength remained unknown.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭9‬ ‭BSB‬‬

“Samson could have easily seen Delilah’s heart by the way she immediately tried to bind him with what he deceptively said he could be bound with. The fact that he did not tell her the truth provedthat he knew she had a dangerous intention.” (Guzik)

Sin binds with dangerous intentions and enslaves us.

Samson was playing with fire and was enslaved by lust!

Acts 8:23 (ESV)

23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”

Romans 6:6 (ESV)

6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

2 Peter 2:19 (ESV)

19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.

Samson was overcome with lust and was enslaved by it. Unfortunately he will meet his demise because of it.

Lord, please help us examine our heart for any sin that displeases You and help us overcome it and break the chains with Jesus Christ, Your Son. Amen 

Blessings 

Judges 16:4-5 Completely Wrong

 ”Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭4‬ ‭BSB‬‬

“Samson fell in love again and fell for a woman completely wrong for him. This is another example of the pain and ruin that came into Samson’s life because he did not guard his heart.” (Guzik)

”The Lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭5‬ ‭BSB‬‬

“Delilah was also deeply in love; but she was in love with money, not Samson. 1,100 shekels made up more than 140 pounds (63 kilograms) of silver.” (Guzik)

Many of us are as guilty as Samson for failing in love with a woman or man that is completely wrong for us. The current divorce rates are a statistic that confirms incompatibility but many of the younger generation are forgoing marriage and simply cohabiting with someone and breakup and leave when things don’t go as well as expected.

Without the Lord Jesus as the center of your life and your moral compass, where can you turn when relationships sour? 

Blessings 

Judges 16:1-3 Despite Sin

 ”One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭1‬ ‭BSB‬‬

“Samson wanted to be used by God, but he also yielded to the deceitfulness of sin. He kept the external features of his Nazirite vow zealously, while at the same time sinning blatantly with a prostitute.” (Guzik)

“Samson did what we nearly all do when deceived by sin. He put his life into categories, and figured that some categories God cared about, and some categories God did not care about. Understanding that Jesus has claim over our entire life is a radical change of perspective.” (Guzik)

”When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded that place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They were quiet throughout the night, saying, “Let us wait until dawn; then we will kill him.”

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭2‬ ‭BSB‬‬

“But Samson lay there only until midnight, when he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and both gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all. Then he put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the mountain overlooking Hebron.”

‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭3‬ ‭BSB‬‬

“Despite his sin, God still gave Samson supernatural strength to escape from the Philistines. God did this because God’s purpose was bigger than Samson himself, and because God used Samson despite Samson’s sin, not because of it.” (Guzik)

All of us whether we like it or not have a little bit of Samson in us. Externally we profess we are a good person, or a Christian, but there are times we act like Samson and sin. 

”If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.“

‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬ ‭BSB‬‬

The world is watching you because they want to declare that you are a hypocrite! When we understand that we are NOT sinless but we are supposed to sin less and go humbly before the cross and ask for forgiveness, then you have learned the life lesson Jesus is trying to teach all of mankind.

Be kind, love, forgive and ask for forgiveness and slowly but surely your heart ❤️ will become more like the heart of Jesus.

Blessings