Charming, seductive, and someone who led a man of God to his demise. These are probably the best words used to describe a woman named Delilah. She appeared in the Bible for only a short period of time but her story gives us many important lessons to learn and apply in our lives.
Who is she and what can we learn from her? It's important we know the answer to that.
Charm is deceptive
Judges 16 tells us of Delilah's short story. She was one of Samson's love interests, and a fatal one at that.
"Afterward it happened that [Samson] loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah." (v. 4)
Samson, the man of God famous for his supernatural strength, was apparently charmed by this woman who came from the "Valley of the choice vine." The Bible does not give any descriptions regarding her beauty, but what is clear is that Samson fell for her and that she was instrumental in Samson's demise.
What can we learn from her? Here are a few things:
1) Be very careful with your emotions
Judges 16:4-22 tells us that Samson might be strong, but he wasn't wise in his decisions. He fell madly in love with a woman who was working for his own downfall in exchange for money. Judges 16:5 says,
"And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.""
We read in the following verses how Delilah tried to seduce Samson to telling her the secret to his God-given strength. While Samson was able to fool her a few times, he gave in "when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death" (see Judges 16:16).
Don't ever let your emotions or your affections, fool you.
2) Run away at the first sign of trouble - especially sexual lust
Samson was really strong, but he wasn't really wise. He didn't run away from Delilah when he had the chance; rather, he stayed thinking that he would be able to defeat any challenge or enemy that came his way.
Moreover, Samson was very reckless and careless about his actions. He didn't think that Delilah was bad news for him. He didn't set his boundaries straight, and so allowed trouble in his life.
Proverbs 7:21-23 perfectly describes what happened to him and warns us,
"With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, with her flattering lips she seduced him. Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, he did not know it would cost his life."
3) Don't let anybody manipulate you
Delilah craftily - and using guilt and charm as her weapon - manipulated Samson into telling her his secrets. This led to his demise.
We should be careful in dealing with people who are manipulative and controlling. Any secret or personal matter we share to them can be used to manipulate us and control us. We must learn to obey what the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 7:6,
"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."
