Judges 16:4-21
4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5 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.
6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
7 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.
8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9 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.
10 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.
11 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.
12 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.
13 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.
14 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.
15 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.
16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
17 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.
18 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.
19 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.
20 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.
21 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.
The Story of Samson and Delilah
This is one of the most famous stories in the Bible. Most people have heard of these two people even if they do not attend church services. Even Hollywood has given this story treatment on the big screen. It seems that what happened thousands of years ago across the sea still has something to say to this generation after all.
I have often tried to figure out exactly what was going on in the head of Samson and I have just not been able to figure it out. Look at our text – three different times Delilah betrayed Samson and each time he was able to beat the enemy, yet on the fourth time he still revealed his secret. I just could not figure this out!
It is obvious to all of us what Delilah was going to do to Samson. She had already proved her disloyalty and I kept thinking, “Why would Samson fall for this?” It was as obvious as the nose on his face that she was going to betray him. Yet he continued to play this “Cat & Mouse” Game with her anyway. I thought, “Maybe he was just a stupid jock” but that was not it. The real truth of this story is this: Samson was addicted to Delilah.
Addiction is a horrible thing that is self-destructive in nature. Have you ever noticed how addictions are always unhealthy? Look at smoking: people know it causes cancer yet they still continue to smoke. Look at alcohol. Tens of Millions of people a year die in connection to alcohol yet they still continue to drink. Look at drugs: Dangerous. Yet there are millions that continue to pump their bodies full of drugs. Why do they do this? They are addicted!
This is exactly why Samson continued this deadly game with Delilah. He was addicted! Samson kept going back to Delilah time and again. I am sure there were times after she betrayed him that he said in his heart, “I am not going back to see her anymore”, but he did again. If you keep going to Delilah eventually she will destroy you. You must know that there is a Delilah out there waiting to destroy you.
Who Was Delilah?
On the surface we know that Delilah was a Philistine woman. We also know that the Philistines were the sworn blood enemies of Israel (as they continue to be to this day). Why would Samson consort with his enemy? He was addicted! We just as well as the question: Why do people continue to engage in destructive behavior that they know is any enemy of their body and mind? The answer is the same: they are addicted.
On top of all of this we can see from the behavior of this woman that she was a prostitute. Samson was raised by Godly parents so he knew this was forbidden and deadly yet he continued to visit this woman. Why? He was addicted.
The name “Delilah” means “languishing” and from its root we understand further that it means “to dwindle, to dry up, to slowly die, to waste away to nothing, to become impoverished, to be emptied out, to be brought low, to become a failure, to be malnourished, to shrink away to skin and bones, to be made thin.” None of these definitions sound very favorable to Samson yet he continued to visit her until she reduced him to the level of her name.
You can sum all of this up with one word: BACKSLIDE. Samson was playing around with backsliding. Samson was addicted to backsliding. Samson was addicted to Delilah.
Signs of Addiction
People can become addicted to just about anything. Over half of the people living in the world today are addicted to something. In America alone, it costs 530 Billion dollars a year in medical costs, deaths, and injuries due to addictions.
People can become addicted to a variety of things, the most common being alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. Yet, I do not want to just focus on these addictions because those are not the major problems in our Pentecostal Church. The real problem is the addiction to this World – the addiction to Backsliding.
Here are the signs of addiction:
1. Extreme mood changes – MOODY.
2. Sleeping a lot.
3. Abrupt changes in energy levels – one day energetic and the next day lethargic.
4. Secretive – trying to hide things.
5. Dishonest – lying, cheating, and stealing.
6. Unpredictable.
7. Unreliable.
8. Sickly.
9. Strange friends.
10. Easily offended.
11. Unaccountable – does not want to answer to anyone.
12. Makes lots of excuses.
13. Bothered by others.
Does any of that sound like someone in your church? If so then maybe they are addicted to Delilah – addicted to backsliding. You can tell when people are addicted to backsliding in the Church. They will become moody. They will become unfaithful to God and the Church. They will stop supporting the Church so they can spend their money on self. Their addiction to self and backsliding begins to monopolize their time and money.
Addicted to Backsliding
Who is the Backslider? When anything becomes more important to you than God, you are backsliding.
Proverbs 14:14
The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways:
There is a great danger today of those within the church becoming addicted to Delilah. Samson displayed destructive behavior. He knew that Delilah was unhealthy to righteousness but he continued his relationship with her nevertheless. Samson continued to flirt with Delilah. She had already betrayed him three prior times to the Philistines. I had to ask myself, “Why”? He was so drunk on the pleasures of sin that he was easy prey to the enemy.
Samson was addicted to this behavior – he was addicted to Delilah – he was addicted to backsliding. If we are not careful we will make foolish decisions like Samson did. These deadly decisions will lead to our destruction.
People have asked me over the years to join some cause or club but I have always turned them down because all of my affection is directed towards Christ. I have been asked to join the Lions Club and I told them, “I am already a part of The Lions Club – the Lion of the Tribe of Judah!” Why don’t you join the Rotary Club? I don’t need the Rotary Club because I know the Wheel in the Middle of the Wheel! How about the Optimist Club? I am already Optimistic – I am optimistic that I am going to Heaven! The reason I would not join any of these is because I do not want anything trying to steal my love for God.
One preacher was asked what was worldliness and he replied, “Anything that cools my love for God is the World.” My friends, we must keep our love for God single! A double eye, a shared love with this world, will lead you to backsliding and destruction.
The Answer To Delilah
Only the carnal man can be addicted to this world – the spiritual man is free from this world. Look at what the word of God says:
Galatians 5:16-24
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
The only answer to Delilah is a “Walk in the Spirit”. I will only be free from the addictions of this flesh if I walk in the Spirit! I am not just talking about tobacco, alcohol, and drugs – I am talking about anything that is carnal.
I can be free from carnality if I walk in the Spirit. If I walk in the flesh then I will be doomed to fail. There are two things specifically mentioned in the Bible that will aid our Spiritual Walk:
1.The Bible says, “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God”. Our faith is going to be built up by reading the Word of God. Our faith is going to be built up by going to Church and hearing the Word of God preached.
2.The Bible also says, “Building up your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost”. This is not just “speaking in tongues” but this is praying until you “pray through” to the Holy Ghost. This will build up our faith and strengthen the Spiritual Man.
Young people, you do not have any business dating a sinner. Delilah is after you! Delilah is waiting on you. She is waiting to catch you at your most vulnerable. I am tired of seeing people lose to Delilah! You don’t have to be a Samson!
Watch out for the MLB, or the NFL, or the NBA will steal your affection. Yes they will try to draw your attention away from Christ. First they will target your attention and then they will capture your affection. Before you know it you become addicted to the things of this world and do not have time for God any more. You have begun a destructive relationship with Delilah and now you are languishing away.
I have seen young ladies marry a loser that will not keep a job, he stays gone and she does not know where he is, and he breaks her heart. She gets out of this relationship and then finds her another man just like him! Why do they keep going back to Delilah? They are addicted!
The path to continual victory is walking in the Spirit. Fall in love with Jesus and keep your love for Him exclusive and up-to-date. You will find when other loves come along and try to pull you away from Jesus that you can say “No” because you are so in love with Him that nothing even intrigues your flesh. This is a walk in the Spirit.
In Christ
unknown author
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