Sermon Tone Analysis
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But, Daddy, I Love Him
Since the deconstruction of Beauty and the Beast last week was so very popular, we will pick up Little Mermaid.
The Little Mermaid is a story from Denmark of a star-crossed lover, a mermaid who falls in love with a human.
Her father forbids it, pointing out that she is a mermaid and he is a human and she says “But, Daddy, I love him!”
In the Disney version she goes to land and wins him over and her father sees the error of his ways, transforms her into a human, and they live happily ever after.
In the original version… it doesn’t work out at all.
The prince marries someone else and, distraught that she can’t be part of the sea or part of the land she casts herself from a cliff in despair.
Her father transforms her into the sea foam that crests every wave, so that she can forever be part of both worlds.
I don’t know why Disney didn’t use that ending.
In most movies “love is the answer”.
“All we need is love.”
and love solves all problems.
In real life, and some of the best fiction reflects this, sometimes love can lead to some dark and dangerous places.
And here at church, and here in the Bible, we talk a whole lot about love.
Jesus is all about love, God is love.
So if we just love people it is all going to work out, right?
If God is love, isn’t love God, and doesn’t that mean that if we just love things will all work out?
Before the Little Mermaid, there was Samson, looking for love in all the wrong places.
Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places
Samson in a Nutshell
He-man with a she-weakness.
He is a sinner, but God uses him against the Philistines anyway.
As we saw last week, God is working to free his people from captivity, from their chains, even if they are complacent and comfortable in those chains.
The trouble-making Spirit of God is upon Samson to stir up trouble between the Philistines and God’s people.
Here he empowers Samson to do this Superman move, rip the gates right off the hinges and walk off with them.
You can’t contain me!
Can You Feel the Love Tonight?
But something is different.
He loves her.
“But Daddy, I love her.” Different from the prostitute a moment before.
Different than his first wife.
The Bible just said “She was right in his eyes.”
But here “he loved a woman.”
And was she worthy of his love?
How much money?
1100 shekels per governor, five governors, 5,500 shekels.
This is a massive amount of money.
Some estimates put it north of $100,000.
Delilah isn’t going to sell out Samson cheap… but she is certainly going to sell her out.
Samson loves Delilah.
Delilah loves money, and is willing to betray her lover for that money.
“How you might be bound, that one could subdue you...” Subtle.
Super subtle.
First attempt
“Fresh” bowstrings.
Remember what “fresh” means?
Moist.
Sinews of an animal still “fresh” from that animal.
Again trivilializing his Nazirite vow.
Second attempt
Third attempt
Creative.
We know from this that Samson must be a deep sleeper.
Getting closer to the truth.
Delilah setting up a loom, like where you would make cloth, and weaving his hair into the web of the loom.
This is oddly specific, but pretty creative.
It must have been awful to untangle after the fact.
Fourth attempt
Tortured to death.
Deciding...
He must know the price of telling her.
She has tried everything he told her would work.
Even if he just thinks she is testing the truth, he has to know she is going to cut his hair if he tells.
He loves her.
And he tells her.
How do we know this is a deep secret?
He “tells her all his heart”.
He “told her all his heart”.
He “bared his soul.”
And he tells her the truth.
And guess what she does?
Isn’t that one of the saddest lines in Scripture.
“But he did not know that the Lord had left him”
And the consequences are devastating.
(Little note of hope there at the end)
Samson Chooses Delilah
Samson wants Delilah.
Samson loves Delilah.
Now God doesn’t command secrecy.
But Samson has to know after the first three attempts that Delilah is going to immediately test the truth, even if he doesn’t know the depths of her betrayal.
Attempt 1: oh, I woke up with fresh sinews around my arms.
Attempt 2: oh, I woke up bound with new ropes.
What a coincidence.
But Attempt 3: Oh, look my hair is woven into the web of a loom and now I have a carpet hair-do!
He knows.
And this would appear to be the last shred of his Nazirite vow.
Samson loves Delilah.
Samson chooses love for Delilah over obedience to God.
I am going to make a word substitution here.
It is clear that Samson chooses love for Delilah over obedience to God… what is that obedience to God? What is it supposed to be?
What does summarize all the commandments, all the obedience to God? It’s in Deuteronomy 5, and later Jesus will say it:
The first step of obedience, the most important commandment => love of God.
And also “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
So love implies obedience, and obedience implies love.
So how about this.
Samson puts his love for Delilah before his love for God.
God gives Samson just what he wants.
(Isn’t that one of the scariest things?)
All we need is love?
Love Has An Order
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