Samson and Delilah

Samson and Delilah

(Judges 16:1-22)

Yearly Theme:  “Love Is…”

Series Title:  Kind of a “BIG” Deal

July 21^st, 2019

Something to think about:

As we continue Samson’s story today, what we’ll see is that his pride in his strength would become his greatest weakness that would ultimately lead to his downfall.  Samson’s lust would become the opening through which his demise would come.

Let’s take a look at the ongoing story of Samson…

Follow along in your Bibles:  Judges 16:1-22

Here’s the key point this morning…

Key Point:  “Pride leads to weakness.”

What can we learn about Samson through this particular passage?  How did Samsons strength become his greatest weakness?  How did pride become Samson’s downfall?  Let’s take a look…

• Samson’s addiction to lust make him weak.

Judges 16:1, 4 (NLT),  ¹  One day Samson went to the Philistine town of Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute. …

… ⁴  Some time later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the valley of Sorek.

• Because of Samson’s pride and disobedience, God quietly left

Judges 16:20b (NLT), … When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the LORD had left him.

• Samson’s spiritual blindness left him physically blind.

Judges 16:21 (NLT), So the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.

Something to take home:

“All of God’s Giants have been weak men.  Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, knew the secret of strength through weakness.  Complimented once by a friend on the impact of the mission, Hudson answered, ‘It seemed to me that God looked over the whole world to find a man who was weak enough to do His work, and when He at last found me, He said, “He is weak enough—he’ll do.”  All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they counted on His being with them.’”[1]

Samson was a giant in the world’s eyes during his day, but he would have to be humbled in order to become a giant in God’s Kingdom.  It wasn’t until Samson was weak, that he became strong.[2]  For not too long after Samson’s humiliation, his hair began to grow.  The once great man who ruled over Israel as a Judge, with physical strength and prowess, would have to be brought low physically in order to become strong in God’s eyes.

Our world and our culture honor pride and arrogance as something to be sought after.  The world holds high those who achieve greatness by the world’s standards.  The world elevates the proud and the wicked as people to emulate.  But, God will have nothing to do with that kind of fame.  In God’s Kingdom, it’s the first who are last and the last who are first.[3]  In God’s Kingdom, the greatest is the one who serves.[4]

Key Point:  “Pride leads to weakness.”

[1] Our Daily Bread, May 13, 1996.

[2] 1 Corinthians 1:27; 2 Corinthians 12:10.

[3] Matthew 20:16.

[4] Luke 22:24-27.