Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Aug 21st, 2012 Just for Ladies – by Camille Stahl

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 26 – 29 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)

(Second Milers also read – Acts 22 – 24; Psalms 101 – 105; Proverbs 21)

Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 48:1 & 2

Read “Count Your Encouragement” by Pastor Paul Chappell

The Study of Women in the Bible

Delilah, The Woman Who Deliberately Betrayed Her Man

“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. And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread. And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.” (Judges 16:4-30)

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 deceitful 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.

The feelings 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 the other 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