Series: Youth for Jesus, Number: Vol. 3, No. 39
“Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.” (Judg 16:4NIV)
The bible story of the fall of Samson is one the most instructive stories ever told on how important it is for us not to surrender to destructive desires. Samson, as bible account shows, was most likely the strongest man that ever walked the face of this earth. There may have been stronger men. But the things that are recorded about his exploits show that only few people could have been stronger than him, if there were any.
For instance, we are told of how, on one occasion, he caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs in order to punish the Philistines. Just think about that. This man caught three hundred foxes, not hens, not goats, and even tied them tail to tail in pairs. How did he do that? Only God knows. Then he went on to kill in one day one thousand trained armed men of the Philistines with just a jawbone of a donkey. How stronger could anyone else get to be? (Cf. Judges 15)
On another occasion, this man, with his bare hands, removed the doors of a city gate, with its two posts, bar and everything else, and carried them on his shoulders to the top of a hill (Judges 16:1-4). You don’t even want to imagine how heavy those doors and their posts must have been. Yet removing them with his hands and relocating them all by himself seemed to mean nothing to Samson. And that was because he was specially blessed by God with unusual might.
Unfortunately, even though Samson had more than enough physical strength to protect himself and his people from any kind of physical assault, he lacked the inner strength to protect himself from his desire for ungodly women. God had already warned His people, the Israelites, against having any form of sexual relationship or marriage with the pagan nations around them. That was because He did not want them to be polluted by these people and so come under His wrath. And if there was anyone that ought to take this instruction very seriously, it was Samson, for he was born as a Nazirite (special messenger) of God. (Cf. Deut 7:3-4)
But that was not the case for him. His very first love was a Philistine. And he put so much pressure on his parents about getting the lady for him that they gave in to his demand. Yes, of course, God used the occasion to punish the Philistines at that time for their hostility towards His people, Israel. Nevertheless, that did not change the fact that He did not want His people intermarrying with their pagan neighbours. And Samson ought to have use that occasion to learn that their own ways were different from the ways of these people. At least, from the way he and his so-called fiancée were shamefully treated, he should have seen that there was no way light could fellowship with darkness.
Yet Samson could not just get over falling in love with these pagan women, including their prostitutes. Perhaps it was the way they dressed and carried themselves that caught him. We are not told in plain terms in the bible. But it is clear there was something about these women that held him in love bondage to them. Eventually, he fell into the hands of one of them that care nothing for his love but for the money she could make on his head. And even though it was very clear to Samson that this woman, Delilah, did not really love him but only wanted an opportunity to hand him over to his enemies, he did not stop loving her or going to her. So, it was not because he did not know what Delilah could do to him that he gave in to her but because he had become a slave to the wrong love he had for her. And that, of course, was what led to his fall. (Cf. Judges 16:4-31)
In like manner, there are many today that are in love with things or people that they know will ultimately destroy them. They just know that what they are involved in is something that will definitely ruin their lives and that it is only a matter of time before it does. But why will anyone stay involved in something that he knows will certainly ruin him? Often, the reason is that they think they cannot help doing so. That means they have been trapped; they have been enslaved. And if they are not set free on time from this enslavement, they will certainly be destroyed.
Perhaps that is your situation now. You feel trapped in this thing or with this person that you are in love with but that is equally destroying you. I want you to know that you don’t have to go down this way. You don’t have to be led to the slaughter house like a helpless sheep and have your life wasted. That is because you can get help from God, if you will cry out to Him. The bible says, “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” So, cry out to Him today, if you truly want to be set free, and say, “Oh Lord, Jesus Christ, save me from this thing (person) that is bent on destroying me.” And He will save you, for He has done this for many in the past and will not make an exception in your case, if your cry to Him is genuine. (Cf. Rom 10:11-13)
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