The biblical text gives us a clear picture of Delilah. She was a calculating woman. She was aware of the power her sexuality gave her and quick to use sex for personal gain. While Samson had fallen in love with Delilah, she only pretended affection for him. Delilah was more than willing to let Samson use her body, for she was using him to become rich.
How Samson failed to see what was happening we cannot imagine. Her repeated efforts to get him to betray the secret of his strength seem so transparent. But Samson was blinded by his passion and was easily manipulated by Delilah. Her pretended doubt of his love, and her appeal to prove his love by revealing his secret finally wore Samson down.
Delilah was determined to get ahead, and chose to use sex to advance herself. In so doing Delilah betrayed not only her love but also herself. Sex is a gift from God given to bind a married couple together in ever-deep-ening commitment. When a man or woman engages in sex outside of that context, and especially in a calculated way, then he or she is as much a victim as the sexual partner.
DELILAH: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY
- Delilah hounded Samson for the secret of his strength. If someone hounds us to do ore say something we know we shouldn’t, it’s time to make adamantly clear that the issue is not negotiable. The other person needs to drop it, or risk the loss of the relationship.
- The story of Samson and Delilah serves as a warning. We will all lose God’s empowerment should we step out of fellowship with Him.
- Delilah reminds us that fleshly weakness can topple even the most powerful person.
- Keeping ourselves sexually pure and equally yoked protects us from people like Delilah and is vital for empowering God’s people.