King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Saturday, April 05, 2025
Chapters: Judges 16-18
Message: Judges: Samson and Delilah
Hello My Friend,
As we continue in the reading of Judges we learn that the strength to overcome evil does not come from our own physical strength, but through Christ’s strength in us, [2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.]
We also learn that those who do not have God in their lives are lost, they are constantly seeking hope, security, and acceptance by Him, but often end up finding a false god instead because they seek Him with their own eyes rather than His, [Proverbs 16:1-3 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD. 2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. 3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.]
Yesterday we learned of Samson, and while he was raised as a Nazarite, he was far from following that vow, he had a desire for the Philistine women that would become his greatest downfall. Today we learn that Samson still had a desire for the Philistine women and broke not only the Nazarite vow, but the Law itself when he defiled himself with a prostitute.
[Judges 16:1-3 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. 2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. 3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.]
Samson carried the gate about twenty miles upon his shoulders. Why? Perhaps it was to show his great strength, not for himself, but for the encouragement of his people to join with him or to put great fear in the Philistines. I believe it had to do with his pride, he got too confident in his physical strength, thinking that nothing and no one could defeat him. Pride will even bring the strongest Christian to forget that their strength comes from God, [Proverbs 8:13-14 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. 14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.]
Christians who continually live in sin may not face judgment of their souls as their sins are covered under the blood of Christ, but that does not mean that their flesh will not suffer. Those who knowingly engage in immoral behavior will suffer as their sins will catch up to them. Samson’s, sin was about to catch up to him when he fell in love with a woman named Delilah. The Philistines despised Samson and would have done anything to get rid of him, and they finally found a woman all too willing to sell him out, for a price that is.
[Judges 16:5-8 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. 6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. 7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.]
With a huge bounty on his head, Delilah, wasted no time in trying to convince Samson to tell him where his strength came from. When you stop to think about it, it really was odd that the only thing that Philistines were trying to find out was where his strength lied, but then again perhaps God was trying Samson at this point. Nevertheless the very next morning the Philistines came and Samson broke right through vines. That should have been Samson’s red flag right to get out of that relationship right away but it did not and for a while it seemed like Samson actually toyed with her and them, she even said that he mocked her.
[Judges 16:13-15 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. 14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. 15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.]
Delilah pulled the oldest trick in the book, those are the very words that can bring down the strongest Christian, especially when they love someone. Women have a great deal of influence on a man and his faith in God, they truly are their weakness when it comes to their flesh, but they can also be their strength as well. A Godly woman is truly a blessing from God, but a wicked woman, will tear him down fast, especially, if he loves her, [Proverbs 31:30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.]
I do have to say that the same thing is actually true in regards to a man, they are just as capable of influencing a woman to go against their faith. Well, Delilah pressed Samson day and night. but knew she had finally gotten him to open up his heart and tell her where his strength came from.
[Judges 16:16-18 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; 17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. 18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.]
Well Delilah got Samson to fall asleep on her lap and as he was laying there she had someone come over and shave off his hair. Now I do not know what she gave him to knock him out but whatever it was he did not flinch, she even poked at him a few times before she woke him up.
[Judges 16:19-21 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. 20 And 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. 21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.]
Everyone has a weakness when they are attempting to live their lives in their own physical strength, even with God in it. While God does want us to be strong in that we fight with all of our might, He also wants us to understand that without Him we have no strength to fight, [2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.]
As the Philistines were gloating that they not only captured Samson, but turned him into a slave, they were oblivious to the fact that his hair began to grow back. These fools decided to throw a huge party in honor of their god for delving Samson into their hands, then they decided to show him for sport.
[Judges 16:22-25 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. 23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. 25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.]
Samson knew his days were done, standing there tied up, he finally understood where his strength lied and it was not in his hair. He felt the Spirit of God in him and begs God for one last gust of strength.
[Judges 16:27-30 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. 28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.]
Samson is among the many who got saved during the last seconds of their lives and is proof that the only thing one needs to be saved from death and hell is by calling on the LORD, [Psalms 116:13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.]
And now we come to the sad state of what happens to those who have no idea what they are doing. They believe in God, want His blessings, and yet insist on making up their own ways to worship Him. These last chapters of Judges show just how lost Israel was and only went downhill after Samson died. Remember when the Philistines came to Delilah and told her they would each give her eleven hundred shekels if she got Samson to tell her where his strength lied? Well, one of the Philistines took his portion of money from a man name Micah’s mother and gave it to her. Micah retrieved it, and brought it back to his mother.
[Judges 17:1-3 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son. 3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.]
How does dedicating something to God and making a statue and an idol out of it constitute as being dedicated to Him? The very first command from God is to have no other gods before Him, [Exodus 20:2-4 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:]
Did you notice how these people who make up these false religions mimic true religion? Micah, not only had one idol, he had several and actually called them his gods. Watch as Micah was about to make things even worse for him when he ran into a Levite who was an actual priest.
[Judges 17:5-7,10,13 And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. 7 And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in. 13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.]
Do you see what was happening here? They were all lost and followed whatever god got them the better deal with the hopes that God Himself would bless them. They had no clue who God is, or how to worship Him, but they had one thing going for them they knew that they needed God, and yet they failed miserably. Things got even worse when this group from the tribe of Dan ran into the Levite, whom they knew.
[Judges 18:2-5 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here? 4 And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest. 5 And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.]
When the promised land was distributed by Joshua considerable territory was allotted to each tribe, including Dan, but this group was run out by the Philistines and Amorites. People are so clueless when it comes to God, but again, we cannot blame them for their ignorance, even though they will still be held accountable for following these false religions. The priest could not honestly tell them where to go, he just told them that they would have peace wherever they go. The Danites find their way to Laish where they observed the lawlessness and carelessness of the Zidonians who lived there.
[Judges 18:6-7,9-10 And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go. 7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man. 9 And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land. 10 When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth.]
This is the problem with the world even today, they want everything handed to them without any consequence and without doing any work to get it. Why do you think we have every kind of fruit and vegetable available at any time? Why do you think that children are growing up as giants and the obesity rate is astounding? None of this is from God, and yet God will use all of it to His advantage, [Romans 9:21-23 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,]
The Danites figured that if these people were living wickedly and no one got in trouble, then this must be the place to live. They plotted to take the land from them, but not before invading the house of Micah.
[Judges 18:17-19 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war. 18 And these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye? 19 And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?]
These fools were just as bad a Micah, they thought that having all of these idols as well as a Levite with them that all of their troubles over and that God would bless them and because the Levite priest was just as lost as the others, he gladly took the offer to go with them. Micah, just stood there wand watched them take his gods, then continued to pout about it.
[Judges 18:22-25 And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan. 23 And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company? 24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee? 25 And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household.]
Here is this fool more concerned about them taking his “gods” than anything else, but notice what he said, [my gods which I made]. The lost are so clueless, they know that there is a higher power out there, a being to look over them and give them some purpose, but they are a bunch of agnostic fools who believe that they are the ones who make God up into their own image. Well God does not nor ever complies to anyone who makes Him up, [Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.]
God gives all a choice, and those who do not want Him in their lives then so be it and He will accept that, but those who choose Him need to come to Him as He is, and worship not other gods because that will be their own fault for ending up in hell. There is a reason why Jesus said this, [Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.]
Now if Micah was not bad enough, theses five men after they overtook Laish, set up these idols and made up their own religion, using the priest, brought their families with them, and even renamed the town.
[Judges 18:27,29-31 And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire. 29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first. 30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.]
Religion will forever send souls to hell, and let me tell you as much as God does not want to see any of them on hell, especially when they go through such great lengths to show Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, if they are trusting in the religion over the truth, He will give them up to their reprobate mind, [Romans 1:28-29,32 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Judges 16:28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.]
Today’s Prayer: God, You have given us an example of how You want us to worship You and that is by first receiving Your Son as our Saviour. We are not required to be perfect, just to believe in Your perfect Son, but You would like us to live our lives in a way that others can worship You in the truth of Christ. Lord, give me Your power and wisdom to be more like Jesus, keep me in Your word, help me to discern right from wrong, and if there is anything I need to repent of, give me Your strength to do it. As I walk with You, love You, talk to You, and walk in the strength of Your Son, I know I can do all things. I ask these things in Your name Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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