10/26/25 “Samson & Delilah”

Judges 16:1-21

Last Monday, Lisa & I had the opportunity to spend the day hiking in and around the city of Sedona, Arizona…

It’s a beautiful area.

The colorful tapestry of reddish-brown rocks that rise hundreds – some, even thousands – of feet out of the ground are like nothing seen anywhere else…

Every day, thousands of people from all over the world flock to this area to experience a unique hiking adventure…

Just in one day alone, Lisa & I met people from France, Britian, Japan, and numerous states from all across this country….all of them hiking enthusiasts.

Not everyone – however - flocks to Sedona for the hiking.

To many people, Sedona has become a place where individuals attempt to experience “spiritual enlightenment”…hightened “self-awareness”….“Meditative Healing“….

….or whatever name they want to give these unbiblical, mystical religious practices.

Many of these things fall under the umbrella of “New Age” philosophy….

New Age practices are a mixture of ancient eastern mysticism, divination, and traditional native American religions.

In fact, Sedona is sometimes referred to as the “New Age Capital of the World.”

Lisa and I saw many New Age shops throughout the city selling things like crystals, incense, and ritualistic supplies….

….or they were providing services such as palm-reading and fortune-telling.

In fact, as we were hiking the Cathedral Rock trail, a lady came up to us and said that there was an incredible energy source waiting for us at the very end of the trail….

….well, when we got there…I did experience an energy source….but it didn’t come from the universe…it came from my nature’s touch peanut butter granola bar!

There’s nothing spiritually magical about the red rocks of Sedona…no trans-dimensional vortexes…no special energy sources…

….even though many people want to believe that this is – indeed - the case.

Because of man’s fallen nature…combined with a natural disposition toward curiosity…

…people will try to gain spiritual knowledge and wisdom apart from God’s Word contained in this book - the Bible.

….people will always desire to know things that mankind is not meant to know or understand.

This sad truth goes all the way back to Adam & Eve.

Remember how Satan promised them that by disobediently eating of the forbidden fruit….their eyes would be opened, and they would understand things previously undisclosed to them?

Remember the Gnostics during the time of the early church? – those who believed that one could become aware of a kind of enhanced, secret knowledge of God?

Neo-Gnosticism continues today…it happens whenever anyone adds to…or takes away from….the Holy scriptures.

All of this is rooted in the disobedient desire to know something about the spiritual realm that man is not meant to be aware of.

In today’s passage of scripture, the disastrous lust-story (Not love story, LUST story) of Samson and Delilah centered around hidden information…

Information that was never meant to be obtained by Delilah…

…..or revealed by Samson…

Sadly, however, we see both happening in these 21 verses.

…and this ungodly desire – and ungodly revelation – would prove to be the undoing of…not only this dysfunctional relationship…but of Samson himself.

You’ve all heard of Samson & Delilah…

….But let’s get some background as to who Samson and Delilah really were.

Back in Judges chapter 13, we are introduced to a man named Manoah…and his wife (Who is never named in scripture)

Manoah’s wife is unable to have children….but one day she is visited by the Angel of the Lord…

If you recall, this is the Old Testament name given to the preincarnate Jesus Christ…this – indeed - was a very important visit.

The Angel of the Lord informs Manoah’s wife that she will miraculously become pregnant and give birth to a son.

As time goes by, that’s exactly what happens…

Manoah’s wife gives birth to a son and he’s given the name Samson.

Samson – like his father - was an Israelite from the tribe of Dan…

But there was to be something unique about Samson…

…He was to be what’s called a ‘Nazirite.’

A ‘Nazarite’ was someone who was to be set apart and bound by a vow of consecration to God’s service….

…sometimes it would be for a specific period of time….and sometimes it would be for life.

In Samson’s case this Nazirite vow was for life…

….much like that of Samuel,,,and John the Baptist.

To live under a Nazirite vow meant that one was to observe three very important regulations:

 (1) they were not permitted to cut their hair…(2) they were not permitted to drink alcoholic beverages…or (3) they were not permitted to go near a corpse.

These outward signs of obedience were meant to serve as an indicator of one’s intense inward dedication to Yahweh (God)…

Sadly though, in the case of Samson, the Nazirite vow never seemed to be of much importance to him…

…He actually breaks all three of these solemn commands within just a few chapters of the Bible.

As an adult, Samson led the Israelites as their judge (Remember, these were the days before Israel had a King)…

…In fact, Samson is the final judge of Israel before the monarchy begins a few hundred years later.

…Samson was a man gifted by God with miraculous physical strength…

….and he would use this strength – and the intimidation that it produced – to protect the Israelites from their arch enemies (the Philistines) for over 2 decades.

Samson lived in a place called the Valley of Sorek…an area that was on the border between Israel and the land ruled by the Philistines.

So, this brings us to verse 4 of our passage for today in Judges chapter 16 (Judges 16:4)

Here we are told that Samson falls in love with a woman named Delilah, who also lived in the Valley of Sorek…

So…Even though the name ‘Delilah’ is of Hebrew origin, It’s generally assumed that this Delilah was a Philistine….which makes perfect sense when one reads today’s passage…

We don’t know a lot of specifics about Delilah…

She – like Samson – was obviously not concerned about living within the covenant of marriage….

…we’re led by the text to believe that she and Samson were never officially married -yet they lived under the same roof and most assuredly had a sexual relationship.

Scripture does – however - reveal a bit about her character.

Verse 6 (Judges 16:6) tells us that Delilah agrees to deceive Samson in exchange for eleven hundred shekels of silver from each of 5 Philistine overlords....

It does appear as though Samson had some sort of feelings for Delilah…but – judging by Delilah’s actions of betrayal– it’s doubtful if she had any real feelings for him in return…

Remember when we looked at the story of Isaac & Rebecca….how Abraham’s servant was a prefigured type of the eventual work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament?

In many ways, Delilah is seen as a prefigured type pointing to Judas Iscariot in the New Testament…

Both are propositioned to betray someone close to them for a promised amount of silver in return…and both agree to go through with the act of betrayal….

Verse 6 through verse 14 is basically a game of cat and mouse being played between Samson and Delilah….

Delilah continues to seek information about Samson’s strength in an effort to ultimately have him overpowered by the Philistines.

…..she even tells Samson that neutralizing his power is her objective!

…and Samson is playing with her as if she represents no threat whatsoever.

….He seems to be so overconfident and comfortable with a disobedient lifestyle that he doesn’t realize how getting too close to sin’s flame could literally destroy him.

Do you notice how Samson’s third answer to Delilah’s same question in verse 13 (Judges 16:13) comes closer to the true information that Delilah is after?

…He tells her to weave the seven braids of his head into the fabric on a loom and tighten it with a pin.

He’s getting closer and closer to sin’s flame…and he just laughs it off as entertainment.

Finally, in verse 15 (Judges 16:15) Delilah pulls out the woman’s trump card of emotional manipulation….

Alligator tears are undoubtedly flowing from her eyes as she cries out to Samson….”How can you say ‘I love you’ when you won’t confide in me?”

Verse 16 tells us that she does this day after day until Samson begins to care more about his own peace and comfort than for the truth…

…and in verse 17 (Judges 16:17) Samson divulges the information that Delilah has been seeking all along…

That by having his hair shaved…his miraculous power will be gone.

Now…many people believe that Samson’s hair itself held some sort of intrinsic power…and that was why – when it was shaved – his strength was taken from him.

…but if we take a look at the last part of verse 20 (Judges 16:20) we read “…But he did not know that the Lord had left him.”

Samson’s tremendous physical strength really had nothing to do with the length of his hair….

…His strength came from a spiritual origin

…It was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit…

But because of Samson’s continued disobedience…and complete irreverence for his Nazirite vow…God had finally had enough…

…So He withdrew the Holy Spirit from him…leaving him physically vulnerable for the first time in his life.

The remainder of the passage describes Samson’s capture and fall from God’s grace…

…he would only be effective for the Lord one more time in his life – and that act of renewed strength would involve his own demise.

Unlike the other couples in the Bible we’ve looked at: Adam & Eve, Abraham & Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca…

These two individuals seem to be completely void of any moral integrity whatsoever…

This dysfunctional, manipulative, and disobedient couple has much that we can learn from today….

…we learn from Samson & Delilah what not to do, rather than what to do in a relationship.

The first thing we learn from this couple is that choosing not to enter into the sacred covenant of marriage - while physically living as husband & wife - is not living in obedience to God’s Word.

The Bible uses the term “Fornication”….or in more recent translations…“Sexual Immorality” to describe a host of behaviors that are conducted outside of the biblically defined marital relationship.

Sexuality is God’s design…He alone can define the parameters for its use…

The bible is clear that sex was created to be enjoyed between one man and one woman within the covenant of marriage until one of them passes on.

Sexuality is a gift from God…but any expression of it outside the marital union is an abuse of this gift…it is living in disobedience.

Adultery, premarital sex, pornography, and homosexual relationships are all contrary to God’s original design for his creation…

…I understand that this isn’t a popular thing to proclaim in our current day & age…

…especially when – today - we see an overwhelming number of people living like husbands and wives before getting married.

But we need to remember that….although cultural norms will always change…God’s word never does…

God’s definition of sexual immorality is immutable…unchanging…binding upon all generations…

…regardless of what the world may preach – or desire.

Hebrews 13:4 says that “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”

Many of us would have wanted the writer of Hebrews to stop at “Adulterer”, right?

…But he doesn’t.

He goes on to add “Sexually Immoral” behavior right along with Adultery.

Paul says in Ephesians 5:3 “But among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality, or any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.”

He goes on to say this in 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.”

Paul explains what this means in the next verse when he reminds believers that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit…

Why would we use our bodies as instruments of sin…when they are literally inhabited by God himself?

Most of us would never think of committing a sin of any kind here in a sanctuary where we worship God…right?

Likewise, how repulsive should it be for us to envision ourselves choosing to be sexually immoral with our bodies – bodies where the Holy Spirit Himself resides.

We often don’t think of these particular sins through that lens…

And neither did Samson & Delilah.

They completely disregarded God’s mandate that sexual activity of any kind belongs only within the marital covenant of one man and one woman.

This morning – if you find that you are willfully living in a way that dishonors God with your body….choose to come in line with God’s sexual mandate.

If you’re unmarried and living together…Honor God & get married.

If you’re addicted to pornography…find help for your addiction (There are very useful Christian screen-monitor apps like ‘Covenant Eyes’ and ‘Accountable to You’ that allow a trusted brother or sister in Christ to receive a daily report on any sexually explicit search history)

If you’re married and you find yourself flirting with someone at work who is not your spouse…Flee that situation of temptation!....even if it means finding a different job.

Be a Joseph when finding yourself in a ‘Potipher’s Wife’ scenario….Get out of there as fast as you can.

Your marriage is far more important than your occupation….or receiving a fat paycheck….far more!

And…If you’ve been unfaithful to your spouse…and they don’t know it…you have to come clean.

You need to repent and seek forgiveness from God – and also from your spouse – if you ever want to begin the long road back to a level of trust that a healthy marriage requires.

Samson and Delilah were never able to establish a true, loving, godly relationship….because they chose to live outside of God’s design for marriage.

Another lesson we can learn from their tumultuous union is this:

Trying to manipulate the parameters of your marriage for your own benefit – for your own gain - will always lead to marital ruin.

Both Samson and Delilah were guilty of this.

Samson saw their relationship as just another challenge to conquer in his life…a game to play for his own enjoyment.

Even though he seemed to care for Delilah on a superficial level…at the end of the day – it was all about himself.

His pride…his ego…his selfishness – they would continually rise to the top of his heart posture toward Delilah.

…And Delilah saw their relationship as a way to advance her own financial position in life…

Money was her god…her idol…and extracting Samson’s secret was the only thing standing in her way between her and a bounty of riches…and all of the privilege’s riches can afford.

If these two people were in love…they were only in love with the person in the mirror.

All too often we see this kind of selfishness in relationships today…

…We try to manipulate the marital dynamic in order to advance our own agenda.

….we give the silent treatment – or we withhold intimacy from our spouse - until we get what we want.…

We go out with our friends rather than spending time alongside - and communicating with our spouse…

We withdraw into a virtual world of fake social media relationships– rather than addressing real-life issues within our marriage.

All too often we get married for the wrong reasons….selfish reasons.

We enter into the sacred covenant of marriage not to serve another person…but to be served by another person.

This will always end in ruin as well.

I realize that this has been a pretty heavy sermon...so I want to end things on a positive note.

At the end of Samson’s life, he is once again used by God for a great purpose.

The Holy Spirit once again comes upon him to perform a miraculous feat of strength that will result in advancing God’s kingdom.

So….no matter what you’ve done.

No matter where you’ve been....

No matter what sins you’ve committed in God’s presence…

There is healing waiting for you in the shed blood of Jesus Christ…

Forgiveness is yours when you humble yourself…and make the decision to repent of your sins…

…and – through His strength – turn from that lifestyle of sin….and turn to Christ.

It is then – and only then – that you will be able to experience true peace with others…and true contentment of the soul.

Let’s Pray.