Are You Sleeping With Your Enemy? Part 2/2 (Judges Chapter 13 - 16)

Samson, had a special calling from God before he was born to lead his people, the Israelites, and deliver them from the hands of their enemies, the Philistines (idol worshippers). God gifted him with supernatural strength that he could kill a lion with his bare hands and 1000 Philistines in battle. He was a one-man army.

During Samson’s 20 year leadership over Israel, he would go to Gaza where the Philistines were and visit women including prostitutes. He later fell in love with a woman by the name of Delilah and spent a lot of time with her. The Philistines knew that Samson was in town and offered Delilah a huge sum of money (about $1 million today), to find the secret of his supernatural strength and how he could be subdued and weakened. Each time Delilah would ask Samson and he would tell her something ridiculous. She would do what he said and then shout out that the Philistines were coming. Each time he would rise up from his sleep and break whatever was used to tie him up. Samson allowed his passions and desire to take over common sense and the laws of God. He forgot or didn’t care that he had been betrayed by a Philistine woman before. He was in love and unfortunately thought that Delilah loved him as well.

After many times of playing this game with Delilah, Samson became weary of her constant nagging. She would say, “how can you say you love me and not tell me your secret? You have made a fool of me.” The Bible (NIV) says that “With such nagging, she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.”  Samson finally told her the truth, that no razor had ever touched his head. While he slept, Delilah had one of the Philistine men shave his head. She yelled the Philistines were coming and as he awoke his strength did not come upon him. God’s supernatural power had left him. Delilah was paid, the Philistines took Samson, gouged out both eyes so he could not see, put bronze shackles on his legs, and sent him to prison where he would be tied up to a grindstone. He would walk in circles grinding grain the rest of his life.

One day, all the Philistine rulers were having a grand sacrificial celebration at their temple for their idol god Dagon. They were celebrating that their god was so great and had brought down their enemy Samson. They decided to have Samson brought in for their entertainment. There were thousands of people at the celebration, including 3000 on the top of the temple building. By this time, Samson’s hair had grown out. While at the temple Samson asked a servant boy to put him between the two central pillars that hold up the temple. As the Philistines were celebrating, Samson asked God to give him strength one more time. God’s supernatural strength came on him and he pushed the temple pillars apart that caused the building to collapse killing him as well as thousands that had attended the ceremony. He killed many more enemies at his death than he did while he was alive.

When God calls us He equips us with what we need to accomplish His plans for our lives. However, God never forces us to do things his ways. Although Samson was brought up in a Godly home and knew that he was to keep God’s laws as both a Nazerite and Jew, he chose to follow his passions, desires, and revengeful ways. He went after women who were idol worshippers and did not follow the laws of God. He didn’t learn his lesson the first time and the second time the love betrayal would be life altering. Not only did Samson lose his Delilah, he lost his eyesight, his strength, and his freedom. How many times has our enemy tricked us into believing his lies. Our enemy, the devil, comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He repeats his lies over and over until we grow weary and give in. Have you experienced his lies? “Do what you feel like, let your em