Bible Blog: Judges 16 - June 27, 2007

Delilah:

How could God's favor be with a man who is recorded as having slept with a prostitute? I know, some versions say "loose woman" some say "harlot" some say "prostitute"... but they all say he went to bed with this woman, who is not his wife, which is a sinful thing to do, and yet God is with him and protects him from his would be attackers. My first thought was outrage, Sampson did not deserve God's grace and favor... followed by disgust, he was treating a woman like an object... and I continued reading but finally it hit me... God loves me, His favor is on me, I'm no better than Sampson going in to lie with a prostitute, I've done things that are horrible, disgusting, vulgar... but God loves me, His favor and grace are with me every day. He has every right to be appalled by the woman I am, the mistakes I make... He would be justified in turning away from me at any moment... yet His grace, His love, His mercy, His favor are with me every day of my life. Then I thought of my children, how rotten they've been lately, how I've wanted to just get away from them and not look back until they start behaving like the good kids I know are in there (somewhere). My grace, my love, my mercy, my favor has not been with them. I've been judging them and letting my human weaknesses win over the abilities I have through Christ. He wants me to strive to be like Him, yet when my children have made me crazy lately, I've behaved in a way even less pleasing to Him... but I'm supposed to be studying Deililah, not just Judges 16:1.

Some obstacles are to be overcome... lack of home, job, family, faith, or severe illnesses and injuries. But when a person doesn't share with you because it will negatively impact another person and you persist in trying to find out the way Delilah did and nag someone like that it's just wrong. She was manipulative (vs 15 "How can you say, 'I love you,' when you won't confide in me?") and complaining that a man wouldn't confide in her while she was trying to get him to open up so she could harm him... For the guys reading this, let me just tell you, I've never understood this mentality, make them feel bad about something to get what you want. But at the same time, when a woman's heart is sincere, those words, "How can you say you love me, when you don't mean it?"(GNB) ring so true. I could hear her begging voice, pleading with him to open up, to build a closeness between them. Women are designed, by God, to desire an intimacy with a man that can only be obtained by a man opening up to them. For a woman, hearing the words "I love you" without the emotional connection is devastating! But for her to use this very basic, very real emotion and play the role to use this desire women have to manipulate is as unimaginable to me as God standing with Sampson after he slept with a prostitute! Doesn't this woman realize that if a man does open up to her it is a precious gift to be treasured? Men generally don't deal well with emotions, they don't wonder how to get a woman to open up to them because we tend to do it naturally, if anything they want a woman to back off and let them veg in front of the TV while they regroup before spending time together, so to take the gift Sampson, albeit out of annoyance from her nagging, and to use it to have him turned into a slave is revolting.

The last thing that seemed a little odd to me was that God gave Sampson the strength, one last time, to kill a LOT of people, himself included. Now I understand in war situations that there is a possibility of your own death, but to intentionally drop a building on your head and the heads of a huge crown killing more than you ever had in your entire lifetime, while everyone is peacefully assembled? It reminds me of school shootings, planes crashing into the World Trade Center, even an tsunami... devastation without any understanding or realization that your death is near. But this man did it intentionally to so many people, and he did it because God was with him and gave him the strength to do it. Why would God do that? Aren't those people as deserving of the same grace and favor that God gave to the man who slept with a prostitute? Then I had another "ah ha" moment... none of us deserve His grace and favor. Sampson aligned himself with sinners, he became a blinded slave as a result. But he went to God and asked for God to remember him... and God answered Sampson's pray and used Sampson, an ordinary sinner like you and me, to destroy a pagan temple and worshippers.

I use the "Life Application Study Bible" and it provides "mini" commentaries at the bottom of pages on certain topics. The last sentence for verses 28-30 is, "If God could still work in Samson's situation, he can certainly make something worthwhile out of yours." I think I need to remember that. He isn't keeping tabs on every wrong, they're forgiven because of the sacrifice of Jesus... He just wants me to be willing to let Him work, through me, to accomplish His purpose.... no pressure though, He'll love me even when I fail.