“And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.” (Judges 16:6)
These were the words Delilah used to entice Samson to reveal the secret of his strength. The Philistines had offered her eleven hundred pieces of silver from each of them to learn the secret of his strength so they could overcome him. Scripture doesn’t tell us how many of them there were, only that they were the lords of the Philistines. She asked Samson several different times. Each time he played with her and didn’t tell her the truth. But he finally did, and the Philistines captured him and put out his eyes. (Judges 16:4-21)
Samson’s downfall was his flesh. Since his youth he did what he wanted. We find that he did things that were against the Law and withheld them from his parents. He tore a young lion that roared at him and when bees made honey in the dead lion, he ate some and gave some to his parents. (Judges 14:6-9) He was disobedient to the Law and was intent on marrying a Philistine. She was then given to another. He was vengeful, burning the Philistine’s corn field, vineyard and olives who in turn burned the bride and her father. He went on to take further revenge against the Philistines. (Judges 15:1-8) This caused trouble for the Israelites because they were a conquered people by the Philistines.
And although he judged Israel for twenty years, his downfall was his flesh. His disobedience and determination to do as he wanted blinded him to Delilah’s intentions. And it happens with us. Our flesh desire may be so strong, we don’t listen to reason and we plow ahead in our flesh to destruction. It doesn’t have to be as carnal as Samson’s want of a Philistine woman. I knew of a pastor who wanted a house in a very exclusive neighborhood. He didn’t pray about it. He wanted it and could afford it so he bought it. Little did he know the youth of that exclusive neighborhood were ruined by drugs and that his own son would suffer in the same manner. Then there is the girl who was determined to marry a young man. Although they had already broken up and he was not that interested, she prayed and pined for him. They finally did marry, but it was disastrous and ended up divorced. When we refuse to stop and wait on the Lord and continue to move toward what we want without consulting the Lord, we will run into trouble.
Sometimes when it seems that the Lord is withholding us from a thing, it’s a warning that it’s not good for us or that it’s not the right time for us. In this difficult time of high inflation many families are having a hard time making ends meet. It’s a temptation to buy lottery tickets on the chance one may hit a jackpot and have abundance for whatever their hearts desire. We hear and read about many who have hit the jackpot only to end in disaster. God gives us exactly what we can handle to live righteously and safe from harm and disaster. But how many spend their hard earned money on a chance of getting rich, instead of trusting in the Lord’s sure provision. “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matthew 6:31-34)
There are many lessons one can learn from Samsom. Trusting and waiting on God is only one. In the end, Samsom’s strength returned. Even though he was blind, he was able to kill more Philistines than he had all his life. God knows the end from the beginning. (Isaiah 46:10) Some things we may want are not good for us. Only God would know that. We have to depend on and trust in Him.
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