Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Mar 25th, 2014 Delilah, The Woman Who Deliberately Betrayed Her Man

(Second Milers also read – 2 John, 3 John, Jude; Proverbs 25; Psalms 121 – 125)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song –  Psalm 55:17

Read the “0325 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.” (Judges 16:4-5)

Delilah grew up a Philistine who’s culture worshiped idols.  She had little respect for her body and threw away her honor.  What made her so deceitful?  Could it have been the money they offered her?  Samson was physically strong, but morally weak.  He became involved with Delilah but was not married to her.  Together they spelled disaster.  Samson’s future, a man of God, now lies in the hand of Delilah, a worshiper of Dagon.

Delilah took her first strike with flattery.  I can hear her saying, where do you get your strength from because your sooooo strong.

“With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.  He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;” (Proverbs 7:21-22)

Next she plays the victim.  Now sulking like a little girl she says, you lied to me and your making fun at me.  Samson was like putty in Delilah’s hands.  She was with him long enough that she knew how to push his buttons.  Again Samson lied to Delilah.  Now she had to use her final weapon to trap Samson.  Her attack was in the form of feeling of hurt love.  For days she sulked and whined and nagged.  How can you say you love me when you mocked my three times?  You don’t really love me.  Finally frustrated, Samson could no longer take it.  He gave in.  Delilah won.  She got what she wanted.

“For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.  Her feet go down to death;” (Proverbs 5:3-5)

Talk about death, later we find Samson blind between two pillars.  He brought down the pagan temple and everyone in it.  We don’t know if Delilah was there, but maybe she wanted to take part in insulting Samson.

Looking at Delilah’s life, what can we learn?  How not to act.

First be very careful in our conversation with men.    The only man a women should flirt with is her husband.  Regardless if we ladies or the men are married, be careful in not sounding flirty because we never know what one is thinking.   There are many verses in the Bible that warns men about woman’s lips.

Next is playing the victim.  “Well if you didn’t … then I could have…” or “It’s not my fault, you didn’t ….. It’s your fault, not mine.”  “ You never let me have any money…”  It sounds familiar to me, how about you?  We know exactly how to push our man’s buttons.  We want our own way and sulk until we get it, but to what end?  What does your man have to do to keep you happy?  We laugh when we say “That cost an arm and a leg” but to Samson, it was his eyes.

Last is nagging. If there is one thing that gets under my skin, it’s a nagging wife.

“A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.” (Proverbs 27:15)

As a young girl I watched as a wife nagged her husband. I saw her put him down time after time. Because of his love for her, he tried to keep her happy by granting her every wish. Where were the kind words? Would she have liked it if he nagged her the same way? How many buttons would it take before he exploded and then granted her wish? How about you? How about me?

“It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.” (Proverbs 21:9)

What will be the end?  What kind of death will it come to? God’s Word commands a faithful husband and wife relationship. Any dealings outside of marriage leads to heartbreak.  Romance is not a game, but a lifelong commitment. Yours may not come quickly and you may not die, but pain will come when you don’t live God’s way. Ask Delilah if you can find her under the rubble!

Thank You

1 John 5:13