Laying in Delilah’s LapMessage preached by Dr. Chris Chong on 01.03.2009 at
the SIB Metro Church English Evening Service at 6.00 p.m. Laying in
Delilah’s Lap Today’s scripture reading is taken from Judges
16: 4-21 Samson is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable man in
the OT. We know that he has impressive physical strength and yet he was a weak
man. In Judges chapter 13, we know that his birth was inspired by an angel. He
was set apart as a Nazerite. A Nazerite was to live a life of total separation
unto God. He was to be consecrated unto God for life. From Numbers Chapter 6, there
are 3 conditions that a Nazerite need to observe: 1) he must be
abstained from wine/grapes 2) he must not touch
the carcasses of human/animal 3) he is refrained
from having his hair cut, which is a constant reminder that he is a God’s
man. A Nazarite’s vow was held up by these 3 strands.
If you read chapter 14: 8 and 10, you would know that Samson had already broken
the first 2 strands. In Chapter 14: 10, he has taken some wine during the feast
with his buddies. In Chapter 14:8, he had touched the carcass of a lion. All of
his Nazarite vow is now supported by a single strand, ie he is refrained from
shaving his hair. Sadly we will see in the Chapter 16 that the final thread of
his vow is going to be broken and his life collapses. Samson grew up in the belief that he was consecrated to
God and that there was a definite God appointed work for him to do. He was a
Judge of Israel fro 20 years. Samson fought many battles with Philistine and
the philistines hated him. We read from the text that Samson loved a woman in the
valley of Sorek- her name was Delilah. When the Philistine noted that Samson
frequently visited Delilah, they went to her and offered a business
proposition. If she could get the secret of the strength of Samson, she would
get 1100 silver. The Philistine knew by now that they could never catch
Samson unless they knew about the secret of his strength. In order to get the
secret, they made use of a usually very effective weapon at their disposal. Her
name was Delilah. It proved a difficult assignment even for Delilah.
Three times Samson resisted her temptation. It seemed that Samson would not
reveal his secret, no matter how she tried. But the 4th time he
surrendered and betrayed his secret. Verse 17: That he told her all his heart,
and said unto her, there has not come a razor upon my 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… Delilah knew enough by now and
she made him lie in her lap. A barber came out and shaved off the 7 locks of
his hair. And Delilah awoke him with the similar words 3x before -“
Samson, the philistine be upon thee” . Apparently Samson thought that he would be able to
escape again like before but with the loss of his hair, he had broken his
Nazerite’s vow. Samson, you are not going to defeat the enemy this time
because says here he knew not that the Lord has left him. He did not realize
that the Lord had departed him. The Philistines seized him and they did not want to
kill him immediately. They wanted to have some fun with him first before they
killed him. Poor Samson. His eyes were removed. Of course he could never set
his eyes on any Philistine women again. The Samson who used to kill the
Philistines with the jaw bone of a donkey, now had to do the work of a donkey. He
not only lost his secret, he also lost his strength and sight. What lessons can we learn from Samson’ life? 1) Brothers and
sisters, what happened to Samson could happen to a lot of us as well. When we
look at Samson’s life, the first thing you notice is his lust driven
life. Samson became a slave to lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and the pride
of life. He had a vulnerability/Achilles heel that he did not deal with. He was
vulnerable to Delilah and this vulnerability made him succumb to
Delilah’s manipulation. In the day of his power, Samson first became
prayerless, then careless and then powerless. How did Samson get to the stage
of spiritually dead? It was as a result of protracted sinning. Similarly the
same thing could happen to us. He or she might cling to his/her own sins and
couldn’t resist his/her Delilah. The reason why a person’s spirit
is low is because he /she has lost his/her secret. What’s the secret of
our Christian strength? It’s our close walk with God. It’s our
reliance on God’s grace. When that’s gone, do not be surprised that
your strength is gone. You are powerless against all your spiritual enemies. In 1
Peter. 5:8 “ Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”. If one
keeps living in sin, sooner than later one’s conscience will become dead.
The struggle against sin becomes less intense. If one loses that sensitivity, one will
begin to approve and practice the very things that one is not supposed to do. Turn
with me to the book of James chapter 1: 13-15- Let no man say when
he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil,
neither tempteth he any man; but every man is tempted , when he is drawn away
of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin
and sin, when it is finished , brings forth death” Instead of
expelling the carnal thoughts, we may encourage, nourish and enjoy it. Lust
conceives and SIN is born, which is another way of saying that if we think
about a forbidden act long enough, we will eventually do it (like the story of
David and Bathsheba). And sin, when it is full grown , brings
forth death, says James. Here James was talking about spiritual death,
a process of separation from God. If we lay our head in the lap of Delilah,
then we must not complain if we wake in the hands of the Philistines. Take
steps now to make sure that same deterioration doesn’t happen in your
life. Bothers and sisters, fellowship with god is maintained by close walk with
him and this involved an ongoing struggle against sin in your life, not just
occasionally. The lord wants us to keep fighting. 2) Although the Bible
did not mention whether Delilah was a beautiful woman, I would suppose she
would be one, at least very attractive to Samson. Temptation often comes to us
in attractive packages. When it comes to us, it will not come to us as
something ugly, but as something desirable. The world will try to entice you
and woo you to fall asleep in its lap. What is your own Delilah’s lap,
brothers and sisters? Is there anything in your life now that is turning you
away from your destiny? 3) Samson has fallen
into the trap of self confidence that he could escape from anything with his
own strength like before. But he didn’t realize that the Lord has
forsaken him. He has gone too far this time. He probably became complacent and
did not seem to believe that even if his hair was shaven, he could still go out
as at other times.
Brothers and sisters, there are moments that you become so sure of your
ability and power that you cannot see your situation. You see yourself as able
to always overcome any obstacle in your own strength. Trusting in your own
strength becomes your weakness. Samson assumed that just like before his
personal integrity would be overcome by his incredible ability. He did not
remember that his God given ability was built upon his personal integrity. The other lesson we learn from
Samson’s life was that: The supernatural strength and the power of spirit
given to Samson are not meant to be used for his own pleasure and the service
of sin (self indulgence). The gift and talents given are not meant to be abused
and are to be used for his service. 4) The last point I
would like to illustrate is the Mercy of God. Verse 28 says: 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” We see here that Samson is his final moments, crying
out to God. God redeemed Samson. Our God is merciful, he always be there when
we seek his face. Brothers and sisters, we need to humble ourselves and turn
from the sinful lifestyles. He will redeem you through Jesus Christ.
God’s mercy is not hindered by our sinfulness. What he wants is that we
acknowledge our sinfulness in the light of his mercy , so that he can shower us
with his mercy. He’ll give us his grace to do that but we need to go to
Him. We need to repent, turn from and forsaken the sins. Sometimes we struggle
with our sins and it may take time to get out it. As you repent and you might
struggle with it again, keep praying to God , ask for strength to get out it.
You are guaranteed to find God to be merciful because that’s what He is. These are the lessons we can learn from Samson’s
life. May the lord give us the grace to do what‘s right and be constant
in prayer. Amen. Dr. Chris Chong |
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