Samson’s Secret

Samson’s Secret

Q: Delilah asked Samson the secret of his strength. He gave her four answers. Three were wrong. Samson said, “I would become as weak as anyone else if ________.” Which answer was the truth?

• a. I were tied up with seven new bowstrings that have not yet been dried
• b. I were tied up with brand-new ropes that had never been used
• c. my head were shaved
• d. you were to weave the seven braids of my hair into the fabric on your loom and tighten it with the loom shuttle

In the Disney movie Hercules, Hades, the Lord of the Underworld, sends beautiful Meg to find Hercules’s weakness. But Meg herself is Hercules’s weakness. Later, Hercules, thinking Meg is in trouble, trades his strength for her freedom only to find out she is working for the enemy. Hercules isn’t the only strong man who was fooled by a beautiful woman.

Samson made poor choices when it came to women. The Philistine rulers offered Delilah, Samson’s girlfriend, 1,100 pieces of silver each to find out the secret of his strength. Three times Samson gave Delilah wrong answers when she asked the secret of his strength, and three times she tried to take his strength.

Finally Samson told her if his hair were cut, he’d lose his strength. The long hair was a sign of his Nazirite vow to God. Delilah waited until Samson was asleep, and then she had a man shave his head. Samson’s strength was gone. The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes.

The story didn’t end there, but things were never the same for Samson. If he’d fully committed himself to God’s laws, he might have lived a life of triumph and victory. But he let his own desires get in the way, and that brought him down.

For You

It’s easy to let your selfish desires determine your choices. But that won’t lead to the amazing life God wants for you. Surrender your desires to him, because he has a better plan for you.

Answer: c

Finally, Samson shared his secret with her. “My hair has never been cut,” he confessed. . . . “If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as anyone else.”   Judges 16:17

(The Whole Story: Judges 16:4-22)