Bible Tuesday

Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. ⁵ The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels^[a] of silver.”
⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
⁷ Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
⁸ Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. ⁹ With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.”
¹¹ He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
¹² So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.
¹³ Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.”
He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric ¹⁴ and^[b] tightened it with the pin.
Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.
¹⁵ Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” ¹⁶ With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.
¹⁷ So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. ¹⁹ After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.^[c] And his strength left him.

Judges 16


Samson.

I have much too much to say about this joker.  His character makes my brain run in circles.

Like the prophet Samuel or John the Baptist, Samson has a great conception and birth story. (I have a post about that coming some time later. I know you can't wait.)  But that's where the similarities end. Between stories about him being stupid, we get one verse that says 'he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines for 20 years.'  That type of verse in the book of Judges generally means that things went pretty well.  It had to be nothing but the power of God that allowed Samson to keep it together for two decades.  On his own, it barely seems like the dude could get his own shoes on.

And maybe that's the point.

Actually, I am pretty sure that is the point.  Over and over throughout the Bible, God shows just what He can accomplish through twerps like Samson.  And hopefully through twerps like me and you. 

In his most famous story, Samson has been duped by Delilah.  I hate to use that word.  'Duped' kinda implies that she had to work at it.  Mostly she was just persistent.  Don't you read this story and wonder what kind of moron couldn't figure that deal out?  But even after that pile of stupid, God is at work.  And that leads to one of my favorite verses of scripture.  (Do you get tired of me saying that?  I know.  It is wearisome, ain't it?)

 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.   -  Judges 16:22

Samson's hair was just a symbol of God's power inexplicably working through him.  He lost it for a while but then it grew back.  I have made a lot of Samson level mistakes.  You know the kind.  The stuff you look back on and wonder how anyone could do anything that stupid.  I mean embarassing stupid.  I've actually done that several times.  I'm not proud to admit it.  But I am proud to serve a God of second, third and sixty fourth chances.  And I am thankful He can and does redeem the stupid over and over again.