A Contradicted Man, Samson I Am Part 4

Posted on September 11, 2015 by America's Keswick in Freedom Fighters

A Contradicted Man, Samson I Am. Part 4

“After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.” Judges 16:4-6 (ESV)

“Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.” Can I ask you brothers this question this morning…would you have given Delilah an answer? Better yet, how many you already have at one time in your life or another? I did but her name isn’t Delilah, her name is SIN and the Samson that I believe lies in all of us caved in after being pressed hard and I found myself grinding out an existence at the millstone of punishment. Just going around and around, being mocked and feeling useless. A prisoner to sin because like Samson I allowed myself to get too close and thought I was getting away with it or better yet could just live with it.

In the Book of Judges, we read in the chapters before 16 that Samson has flirted with disaster. He has played with sin like a toy that cannot hurt him and it is in those playtimes that he must have gotten arrogant with his God-given ability. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson and it was that Spirit that should have been given the glory. But after the “Jawbone Incident” Samson must have started to believe his own hype and off to Gaza he went. And I am going to say that now Samson wants to go full blown with his playtime without once counting the consequence. Flavius Josephus put it this way, “However, he at length transgressed the laws of his country, and altered his own way of living, and imitated the strange customs of foreigners, which thing was the beginning of his miseries;”…interesting. Matthew Henry says, “In this chapter we find him behaving in so wicked a manner, that many questions whether or not he were a godly man.” (He is exonerated in Hebrews 11:32)

Three times Delilah has been mocked by Samson in her attempts to reveal his “secret” weakness and she more than likely gently nagged him into exposing where his true strength lie…no brothers not the hair but in the Nazirite Vow, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.” He allows Delilah’s greed for money and the Philistines desire to conquer him to ruin his testimony to God and “The Spirit of the Lord left him”. The Philistines find Samson sleeping (more likely passed out from drinking wine) on the knees of Delilah, bind him with bronze shackles, drag him deeper into Gaza and attach him to a millstone in their prison. Oh and they gouged out his eyes.

I want to hold off right there this morning there is more to say about the irony of Samson’s eyes but can you get a sense of the Samson that may live in you. We call him the “old man” don’t we? And as I have read about this Judge of Israel I have found some of myself in him. I may have not had the extreme outward devotion for God from birth like Samson but my mother wanted me to be part of a church. I went to Gaza instead and years later realized my need for salvation. “Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

How about you this morning? Have you had your trip to Gaza and found the same things with the same results? Or are you in Gaza right now? Don’t allow your Delilah to lull you into a false sense of security and have the lords of the Philistines tie you to a millstone of existence. Seek Him and all His riches and live in the victory that has been won for you by what Christ did for you on a cross of wood. Don’t be a slave to the grind! – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. He is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger.

Daily Bible Reading: Judges 11-12; John 4:31-54

Think About This: Whatever task God is calling us to, if it is yours, it is mine, and if it is mine, it is yours. We must do it together – or be cast aside together, and God in his absolute freedom goes on by other means to use His Church in hastening His Kingdom. Howard Hewlett Clark

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:  Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day; For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 23:17-18