Turning Strength in Weakness Part 4

Hello.
It's almost Christmas.  Today is the first day of an 11 day weekend for me and my family.  I have trying to get some things done around here today, and to continue the story of Samson is the last item on today's agenda. 

When we last looked at Samson he had made a series of mistakes that had risen out of his refusal to listen to his parents, a lack of seriousness about his vows to God and a lack of real spiritual relationships.  Today thoughts about Delilah and how he literally turns his strength into weakness because he forgets where his real power comes from.

The story of Samson and Delilah begins in Judges 16:4.  Samson marries Delilah.  The rulers of the Philistines offer Delilah a great deal of money to find out the secret of Samson's strength.  Delilah asks him the secret first in 16:6.  Samson doesn't really seem to take any of this stuff seriously and makes something up, telling her that if someone ties him with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, that he would become as weak as any other man.  So after he falls asleep, with the Philistines hiding in the room, she binds him with bowstrings.  Then she yells, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you."  Samson jumps up and snaps the bowstrings like they were thread.  Delilah gets angry and continues to pester Samson.  So he makes something else up, which she, of course, tries and again fails.  The third story that Samson makes up in verse 13 and 14.  If you try to visualize this, it pretty hilarious. It's almost like Samson is trying to what he can get he to believe.  Any way. He tells that if she weaves the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on a loom and tighten it with a pin, he would become weak.  So she does, and again yells, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you."  He jumps up, strong as ever.  In my mind's eye, I see Samson ready to fight the Philistines dragging a loom along in his hair.

Any way, Delilah pesters him until he tells her the truth.  Verse 16 says, she nagged him until he was sick to death of it.  He tells her that if she cuts his hair he will become as weak as any other man.  Now this is the point where I started thinking, "Samson, how stupid are you?" He has to know that she is going to do shave his head.  She already done far more ridiculous things.  So Samson gives up the one of his vows that he seemed to take seriously.

Now here is what I want you to think about.  Samson had told her that if she cut his hair, he would lose his strength.  He understood to be true intellectually and he told her any way, knowing that she was going to do it.  never-the-less, after she cut his hair and shouted, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you," he jumped up thinking he would shake the Philistines off, just like he always had before.  I think that Samson had lost sight of where the power was really coming from (God) and really been trusting the wrong source of power (himself).

It is important for us to realize that the power in our own lives comes from God.  When we start trusting in our power we are in for trouble.  Samson lost sight of this and had a colossal fall.  Unfortunately for Samson, in this part of the story he only serves as an example of what not to do.

Tom