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Snapshot

Overview

SAMSON took a familiar route to an undesirable destination – prison. The path was greased with pleasure, hidden beyond his know, was a rize laced on his head. Then Delilah used pressure to derive the truth from him, landing him in prison. We will explore this route, seeking how we may escape this route when similar events assail our ways.

Pleasure

The command was “entice him.” Not that alone, “find out where his great strength lies.” And finally, find out “by what means we may overpower him.” The instructions were crystal clear. But there was no access to his source of strength nor cutting him off the source without first being enticed. They found out this young man was a man of pleasure. He loves carnal affairs. He would not settle for the ladies of Israel because they were not descent and, perhaps, could not satisfy his casual desires.

Thus, they told the young woman to entice him. For success in her luring job, she had a promise of 5,500 pieces of silver. She had enough in accrual to execute her job. This, in combination with her status of being known to be and enticer and probably a harlot, set her up for the most rewarding career of her life. She was the best fit for the job. She cooked for him and washed his clothes regularly. He was so much catered for that Samson would not remember the pains of anyone back home, nor conceive a visit. The wife ought to move in with the man. But Samson’s order was a reversal. He moved in with his wife. Home is Delilah. His heaven was her bedroom. He sat there, always telling endless riddles, not minding a report from home, where he was supposed to be judging.
Satan knows how to engage us with the pleasures of this world so that we forgo our god-given assignments. He knows how to get us well-fed too fast. He knows how to get us too drunk with little successes to pray. He knows how to get us soon satisfied with a meagre revelation of Christ’s thirst for Him. He knows how to fill us with pride to draw near to God. I am not talking about boisterous attacks of his swirling winds and ocean currents. No, I speak about the seeming imperceptible satisfaction that could blindfold us from pursuing God to the set point of becoming wholly like Jesus.

Little did Samson know that His price tag and Delilah’s pleasurable offerings would give room for the pressure that would eventually lead to his colossal captivity.

Prize

There was a price tag on Samson. “…and each one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.” He was not an ordinary man. He would not be an easy catch. A warrior will not crush him. The whole Philistine army would not suffice for Samson.
Nevertheless, it was a national observation in Gaza that Samson comes most times, having been allured by the beauty of women. At one point, he was in Gaza with a harlot (Judges 16:1); in another, he was at Timnah and got entrapped by the beauty of another philistine. This time, he even proposed marriage to this girl. The last of them was . Delilah was a more powerful seductress. She had connections with kings. Her home was in the valley, as was the valley of the shadow of death. Samson feared no evil, though, but not in reverential fear of the rod and staff to comfort him. He left with self-confidence.

The lord of philistines often itemized as 5 (cf. Joshua 13:3, Judges 3:3, 1 Samuel 6:4), came to her, saying, we owe you 1,100 pieces of silver each if you get us this man. Jesus and Joseph were worth only about 30 pieces of silver each, and these were not sold by gentiles. The gentiles would have preferred 180 Jesuses and Josephs than to have a Samson! They had neither a way to appease him nor had a way to conquer him. He never enters a negotiation with the enemy. He conceives and goes on to execute. Yet, he lived too, most times, having no luxurious apartments to rest his head. No plot would take him off-guard. Meet him in the bush; he ties animals tail-to-tail and lights them up with fire to devour your crops. Deliver him like a weak prisoner; up, he will stand to defend himself, be the mechanism a mere jawbone of an ass. Meet him sleeping; he will awake and lift your gate out of its space in intimidation.

Thus, the one who must capture this pain in the neck of these territorial leaders should be greatly rewarded. Since in as much as Samson was alive, they were perceived as weak and lacking in authority or power. But his parade around Philistine women spoke volumes. It was Delilah who was capable of this venture. She lived in the valley, and like a snake, she knew where best to strike a horse.

Doesn’t the enemy trail our footsteps? Is he not cautiously determining our strengths and weaknesses? No fool can have seen Samson gravitate towards Gaza about three times and wouldn’t conclude he had a weakness for females. Thus, here were his enemies, like their father, the devil, having gone about prowling at Samson to a fatal failure, resulting in gliding like snakes, looking for where to strike. Whether like a snake, a lion, or as foul fowls of the sky, it is most important to note that Satan is restless. He does not relax until his aim is achieved. There’s no point of escape from his constant attempts until death. He pursued Jesus till death. Samson was foolish to think the battle was over, having married one of theirs.

Battle on, they placed a massive prize on Samson’s head. The enemy will spend promotion, placements and pay to bring down his adversary, which we are. He is constantly negotiating our downfall at whatever cost. Therefore, let us be as wise as the serpent himself and be gentle or sober as doves. With this, we may watch and pray, knowing when to flee and when to resist.

Pressure

Perhaps, Delilah had begun to run out of resources and time to complete this assignment. Even if she wasn’t, the promised 5,500 pieces of silver were enough to drain her jar of patience. Delilah needed to be crowned the most connected and influential prostituting celebrity in town. But one thing was sure: She would soon run out of patience.
It is worthy of note that the Philistine lords' presence does not affect Samson at all. He has Torn their warriors limb-to-limb. Thus their presence each time she told Delilah about her strength might have been a secret scheme by him to show that they stood no ground against him. On the other hand, he may intend it as a deterrent measure. Unknown to him that they had a game plan, and the unity of their 5 will outdo his own 1.

So one after the other, Delilah began asking about the source of the young man’s strength. Something was salient, Samson loved a show of power as a mathematician would love to display his capabilities, demonstrated by attacking mathematical problems anywhere found. She made 3 failed attempts, having been deceived by Samson. When enticement had run out of effectiveness. She resorted to pressure: “…when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him so that his soul was vexed to death… he told her his heart.” She was not employed to subject him to pressure. Still, the money offered to her was enticing enough to get her to do whatever she had in her power to get her task to success. They would not encourage her to use pressure because they had used a combination of coercion and violence to no avail.

Yet something is obvious, the pressure emanating from our lust, that is, strong fond desires, tends to be an appealing pressure. At the same time, pressure that surges from things we distaste does meet with our full fist of resistance. Samson’s daily supplies of cuddling were denied him. He had begun to eat a piece of meat less on a daily basis. He had began to be denied nighttime stories. She hissed in response to every call of Samson. She perhaps changed his name to Delilah’s, the liar. He had no home to return to. He had deserted his brethren. Like Lot to Abraham, it will be disgraceful to return to Israel. He will be emotionally defeated. He will not be greeted with a loud ovation on reaching home.

Therefore, our friend and brother bulged. He divulged confidential information only known to him, his Parents, angels, and God alone. With the pitiful face with which he presented the story of the source of his strength, having received a pressure of a lifetime from Delilah, he knew Samson had told him the truth in desire for a restored peaceful relationship with her. In seeking to make peace with his enemy, he divulged heavenly information.

He’s not alone on this track. How many of us haven’t, due to pressure from work or financial responsibilities, compromised at one time or the other? No one will come near the border of sin to resist it. We are instead told to flee all appearances of evil. Oh, how Joseph ran from the appearances of immorality in his heart and was only in the neighborhood because he had no alternative place to recourse. But Samson reclined in sin – spirit, soul, and body. And was defeated.

Dear friend, with every attempt we make to flee the appearance of sin, we take steps to draw near God out of our weaknesses and helplessness. And as he has promised, He will draw near us with might and grace to act in our defense. Are you drawing near to God or drawing near to sin? If sin, you will never be able to resist it. It will instead take you farther than you want to go. Slowly but wholly taking control. It will keep you longer than you want to stay. And cost you far more than you want to pay.

Prison

Of course, no one will take a Samson and grant him freedom. Sin will not trap you and cohabit. No, he will instead become the master. In a similar manner, the once-dreaded Samson was blindfolded, as an impartial judge ought to have been in discharging his duties. This time, his impartiality will be measured by how smoothly he ground the corn of wheat. Oh, the eyes that saw the gates of a city and connected them to a mountain top! The eyes that saw how to connect the tails of animals to fire that will burn down philistine harvest… The same never knew that when it began to cast lustful look on Delilah only began to admire his pitiful path to the prison as a blind man. Oh, the eyes that were once bedim with bright crystalline heavenly visions! How they failed to realize they would soon lose position when they began to cast lustful looks on ungodly ladies and were drawn away by their desires.

Samson Manoah, Samson Miller, a warrior now blind. Once a source of honor to God, directly originating blaspheme. I imagine him meeting warriors who ended up in prison for their failure to capture him. They would have struck him. They will mock him, “where is your God that rendered us homeless with your jawbone of an ass! They would have drawn his jaw and slapped him. I can imagine him being led to prison; it would have been a national theatric scene broadcasted over all public address channels. They would have sand and praised, awaiting the day of his execution. Delilah, the vehicle would have been so promoted.

Nonetheless, where would have been his desire for a sexual escapade with gentile females? It would have given way to regrets immediately. Every vacuum pleasure occupies in us, everywhere sin fills in us, are just placeholders for regrets when these sins would have caused our downfall. What must have beclouded the inner sight of this young man? Regrets to limitless extents. His vision was destroyed, and his capabilities shrunken. He is only a casualty of his desires now when he could have ruled over them.
Look, brother, the way to hell has been smoothed by pleasure. The glide towards hell meets no stumbling block except repentance and faith to turn off this evil way immediately. So consider your ways, my brother.