The Downfall of Delilah
Notes
Transcript
4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a rasor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
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The Downfall of Delilah
In Judges chapter 16 vs. 5 the bible tells us that the lords of the Philistines comes to Delilah and they seek to bribe her with monetary compensation. “Delilah,” they tell her… “if you will entice Samson…if you will find out for us what is the source of his strength…and how me might prevail against him”....Then when we are able to use this knowledge and this wisdom that you are able to procure from Samson…and WHEN we are able to bind him and afflict him…
To afflict someone means to bring someone to a place of distress by means of mental or physical pain.
And Delilah, when the information you obtain allows us to bind and afflict Samson, then each of us will reward with 1,100 pieces of silver…commentaries tell us that there were 5 lords of the philistines…equating to 5,500 pieces of silver…in comparison, the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, was for a mere 30 pieces of silver.
Delilah…Samson’s pain is your profit
Samson’s imprisonment is your empowerment
Samson’s distress is your delight…and his failure is your fortune!
Delilah…when we are certain that Samson is imprisoned…and when we can attest with assurance that his very being is infested with pain..
THEN Delilah…THEN you will be rewarded.!
Her lips declared her undying love, but her motive declared an unquenchable hate.
Samson’s defeat was Delilah’s victory...
Her deception declared her devotion, but h
I rise this morning to remind someone in this house today that your defeat is the devils victory!!
If you haven’t figured it out by now…Delilah was the tool of Samson’s destruction.
Your pain is the adversary’s profit.
I don’t care how alluringly Delilah bats her eyes and purses her lips...
How softly and seductively Delilah whispers her promises of love and devotion.
How
Never forget that Your ruin is her reward!
I don’t care how sure you are that this object of your affection has your best outcome at heart…She isn’t getting paid until you’re imprisoned...
Your defeat is Delilah’s victory!
Make no mistake...
1. Delilah was the tool of Samson’s destruction...
Anything that leads you to break your covenant with God is a tool meant for your destruction
a better job
More education
The chance of a lifetime
Mr. Right or Ms. all that and a bag of chips...
It doesn’t matter, if it leads you to break the commitments you have made unto the Lord, it is a tool in the hands of your adversary.
2. The only thing standing between Delilahs payday and Samson’s destruction was his covenant.
You see…way back in Judges chapter 13 the angel of the Lord had appeared unto a barren woman, and told her…get ready, because your barrenness is about to be replaced by a bouncing baby boy...
vs. 5 “thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no rasor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”
The covenant between God and Samson was his uncut hair. This Nazarite vow was the source of his supernatural strength that would allow him to:
thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no rasor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Slay 1,000 philistines while having no weapon save the jawbone of a donkey.
Carry the gates of a city, on his shoulders, up a hill
and tie the tales of 300 foxes together
And after the lords of the Philistines entice Delilah to bring about Samson’s destruction, she immediately goes to work to try to plot his destruction.
Tie him up with
Delilah could try everything she wanted, but as long as Samson was in covenant with God, there was nothing she could do.
In Judges 16:
Tie him up with string
Bind him with ropes
Braid his hair and snare him in the loom
Any one of those traps would have been enough to snare a man…but when you are in covenant with God, the traps of the enemy will not work.
His secret was not simply his uncut hair. It went much deeper than uncut hair.
The uncut hair was simply the symbol of his commitment to God.
- in our walk with God. If you are ever going to be used by God in a significant way there will be things asked and even required of you that go deeper than just what is asked of you.
Things that others around you aren’t required to do!
And if you aren’t willing to do what others would not be willing to do, then you will not be what others are unable to be.
Even in Samson’s words in vs. 17 when he shares the secret of his strength with Delilah, he reveals this truth…If I be shaven my strength will go from me, and I will be just like any other man.
The moment that I am not willing to sacrifice what others around me may not be asked to sacrifice, I will become like everyone else around me.
What separated Samson was his consecration!
But as
3. Delilahs bet was that Samson’s infatuation with her seductive ways would lead him to tell her his secret.
- in our walk with God. If you are ever going to be used by God in a significant way there will be things asked and even required of you that go deeper than just what is asked of you.
We must understand that Delilah was a tool used meant for Samson’s destruction
He will be so blinded by his lust and his selfish desire that he will break his vow and then I will destroy him.
a better jobMore education The chance of a lifetime
He will be so consumed by his carnal appetite that he will veto his vow.
It doesn’t matter, if it leads you to break the commitments you have made unto the Lord, it is a tool in the hands of your adversary.
And Delilah was right
Her wager that the sinful appetite of Samson would lead to him breaking the covenant with God proved to pay off.
And the Bible says that as Samson slept, Delilah called for a man to shave the seven locks of Samson’s hair. And when that seventh lock of Samson’s hair fell to the ground the Bible that his strength went from him.
There are commentaries that suggest that Delilah felt remorse for her betrayal…that perhaps she did love Samson, but couldn’t pass up this prolific payday.
I don’t find scriptural evidence of any hint of remorse from the devious Delilah, for the Bible says that as the barber applies the final stroke of the razor…that it was Delilah who began to afflict him.
Because Samson…your pain is my payday!
Your distress is my delight!
and the Philistines took him and bound him and plucked his eyes from his head.
The deal that she had made with the Philistines was now money in her pocket.
Samson was ruined. He was the laughing stock of Philistine.
His strength was gone from him.
His anointing was gone from him
His power was gone from him.
Delilah had won. Samson had lost.
But there was one small factor that Delilah had failed to consider.
Perhaps it was on the day that is spoken of in vs. 23. A day of celebration and festivities. A day that they would celebrate that their god, Dagon had delivered Samson into their hand.
It is possible, if not likely that the toast of the party was Delilah. After all, it was her deceitful plan that had led to the capture of Samson. The same lords that promised her reward were there in the hose…it is plausible that Delilah was there as well to publically receive the reward of her despicable deceit.
And as the crowd gathered to laugh…to scorn…to humiliate…to celebrate the once powerful Samson, now in his low and feeble state...
Samson who had defied the vow and the covenant with God…sharing the secret of his uncut hair...
But there was one small factor that Delilah failed to consider.
vs. 22 “Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again AFTER HE WAS SHAVEN”
and as the pillars began to tumble and the walls began to crumble, the downfall of Delilah became apparent...
The adversary though that because Samson had shaved his head and revoked his covenant with God, that it was over...
But after he was shaven…the hair of his began to grown again!
But his hair began to grow again!
Delilah didn’t consider the mercy of the Lord!
There are people here today and your adversary knows that you have broken your vows and disavowed your covenant.
He knows that you have gone back on your promises and reneged on your commitment.
And he thinks your destruction is decided. Your failure is final.
But…Samson’s hair began to grow again after he was shaven!
rejoice not against me…On my enemy!!! When I fall…I shall arise...
“Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.”
My failure is not final!
My mess up is not my give up!
Im preaching to someone right now that your head is shaven…you know you broke a vow…you know that you failed and you quit on your commitment.....
But your hair is growing again!
God isn’t finished with you!
Don’t you let the enemy get the last laugh!
Vs. 30 Samson puts his hands against the foundations of that building and he brings the house down…Wether or not Delilah was there…i can only suspect…but either way…She was defeated...
Because Samson’s defeat was her victory
But the Bible says that Samson’s greatest victory came when his hair began to grow again!
Judges 16:22 KJV
https://www.bible.com/1/jdg.16.22.kjv