Playing With Sin

The story of how Delilah got Samson’s secret of spiritual strength is told in Judges 16. The first time she asked about the secret of his strength, Samson lied to her. “Bind me with seven fresh cords which have been dried,” he told her. The next time she tried, he lied again, “Tie me with new rope.” The third time he lied, saying, “If you take the locks of my hair and weave them all together, I will be as weak as any other man.” Delilah finally said, “Samson, you have lied to me too many times. Now get out of my house and don’t come back!”

The Bible says, “To whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey” (Romans 6:16). If you play with sin, you break the spiritual law of God and you become a servant and slave to sin. That is what happened to Samson. Samson had gone down there for a few kicks, but now he was hooked. He had become a slave to his own passion.

“Please don’t send me away, Delilah!” Samson begs, “I’ll tell you what you want to know. Just don’t make me leave!”

God had a purpose for his life, but Samson had let Satan cross-circuit that purpose. He was no longer the anointed judge and leader. Instead, he groveled at the feet of sin. Look at the humiliation of this champion who had become completely defeated. Samson gave in to the demands of the enemy and surrendered the secret of his strength. If this had been just a natural secret, it would have been sad enough. But, to give away the secret of spiritual power and betray to God, shows the lowest level to which sin can take a person.

Samson finally admitted, “If you were to cut off all my hair, I would be as weak as any other man.” You see, Samson had been a Nazarite since his birth and a razor had never touched his head. This was his secret. Spiritually he had been set aside by God for a purpose.

As he slept with his head on her lap, Delilah called for a man to cut Samson’s hair off. Then she said, “The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep and said, I will go out as at other times before and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him” (Judges 16:20).

The Bible says “as at other times” Samson rose and shook himself, but something was different this time. Samson felt for the power of God, but it was no longer there! The power of God that had come upon him when he battled with the Philistines; the power of God that was upon him when he carried away the gates of the city; the power of God that was upon him when he was attacked by a lion; the anointing of God to do great exploits — it was all gone.