June 5, 2025
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Judges, Proverbs, and Psalms? Here’s today’s reading:
Judges 16 (NIV)
Samson and Delilah
1 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn we’ll kill him.”…..Continue Reading
Wow another sad story of using love and attraction for personal gain. Once again Samson is manipulated by a woman and this time to the point of his own capture, loss of eyes, and imprisonment. Samson knew Delilah’s intentions were never good and yet he still allowed himself to be compromised to that extreme. Clearly his view of “love” in a relationship was out of wack but that is something we see all too often even today. Samson is definitely an example of someone God used despite his behaviors showing no good judgement. I am surprised that it appears that God is helping Samson’s vengence instead of encouraging his forgiveness, but I suppose the ultimate goal was punishment for the Philistines so he still allowed it.
Judges 16
What a sad story of lost potential is found in the account of Samson’s life. God intended so much for him in calling him to be a nazarite, but wrong desire lead him astray. The story of Samson and Delilah is legendary and they really deserved each other. Samson was truly a fool not to see that Delilah was wrongly motivated to learn his secret. But she was subject to the lure of the flesh as much as he was. And so the great Samson is diminished to be a weak, blind man because of his unwise lifestyle. What a lesson for us to be wise and restrain the influence of the flesh and watch out for those who would seek to use us. And yet God used him to destroy many Philistines and show that their god was no god at all.
Morale of this story. Marry the right woman!!!
Samson had every blessing of God at his fingertips. His fleshly desires ruined his life
God says that vengeance is His, but often He uses man to inflict His vengeance and punishment. I think of Nebuchadnezzar.
”Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!”“
Judges 16:28 NKJV
It seems to me, that for a “judge” Samson had very poor judgement and discernment.
Judges 16