Oh, The Games People Play

O. T. #544  "Oh, The Games People Play"
June 24, 2015
Judges 16-Part 2
with such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.  Judges 16:16

LET IT GLOW

Here is the third woman in Samson's life that is mentioned. Delilah's residence was in the Valley of Sorek, which was near the hometown of Samson at Zorah. We realize that Samson's weakness was for women of low character and of Philistine loyalty. He continually went to see his Delilah daily, falling in love with her.
Word gets around about this judge's activity. The lords of the Philistines went to bribe his girl into discovering the secret of Samson's strength. These were the 5 lords of the Pentapolis. Now, they each offered her 1,100 pieces of silver, which totaled 5,500 pieces of silver for betraying Samson into their hands.

David Jeremiah explains that stunning amount was 550 times the annual wage and 3 times more units of silver than the units of gold Gideon received after defeating the Midianite kings (8:26).

Oh, the games people play:

• Delilah played the bribe game. Her love was for sale; they bought her off.
• She played the deceit game. Using her loving ways (using the term lightly), it took 4 tries to find out the secret of Samson's strength.
• Samson played the lying game, telling her his strength would cease if such a thing happened.
• Samson played the secret game, avoiding the truth of his strength, which was a part of the Nazirite vow of not cutting his hair.
• Finally, due to his own doings, Samson played the humility game, loosing his strength, eye sight, and position  whenever he revealed its secret.

Do we play games? Do we have a price at which we can be bought? Do we deceive others, even lie for our advantage? Are we hiding a deep dark secret? Does it take our being humbled by the truth for us to come to repentance?
Maybe we aren't like that, but know people who are. Are we praying for them?

LET IT GROW

Each time Delilah tried to use her womanly ways to get the secret of Samson's strength so she could tell the Philistines and get her pay off. What were the false answers he told her?

1. Bind him with 7 strong bowstrings not dried, (verse 7)
2. tie him up with new ropes, (verse 11)
3. weave his locks of hair into the fabric of  on a loom and tighten it with a pin. (verse 13)

Delilah's tears, pleas, and sex did not get her what she wanted, the secret from Samson. So she changed her tactic-nagging. Her daily nagging was nagging him to death. What man could stand up under such an attack? This was the turning point in the story and life of Samson.

Why didn't Samson quit going to see her? Or why didn't he refuse to tell her, end of discussion, instead of giving false hopes with lies? He made Delilah out to be a fool, then she turned the table and he became the fool. Why didn't Samson reveal the truth that God supplied his strength?

Do we beat around the bush with people instead of coming right out and telling them the truth, or no?

LET IT GO

Be a truthful person.

Don't give excuses.

Stay faithful to God.