Judges 14:15-18 (ESV)
15 On the fourth day they said to Samson's wife, “Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?” 16 And Samson's wife wept over him and said, “You only hate me; you do not love me. You have put a riddle to my people, and you have not told me what it is.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?” 17 She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted, and on the seventh day he told her, because she pressed him hard. Then she told the riddle to her people. 18 And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
And he said to them,
“If you had not plowed with my heifer,
you would not have found out my riddle.”
If you Love Me ...
What are we willing to do for love. Many people have fallen into sin for the sole purpose of pleasing someone they love. The enticement to please is a dangerous vice. Samson was called upon by God to judge the nation of Israel. In the book of Judges the entire plot is found in the “judge” that God sends to lead Israel out of their oppression. Samson was to be that judge. But, Samson had a desire and a lust for women. He was also man full of pride. The above passage shows how he succumbed to his wife and gave in to her request. This is not the last time that would happen. Note what happens when he marries his second wife and the Philistines bribe her with silver. Do you see the pattern?
Judges 16:15 (ESV)
15 And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.”
Samson, once again, tells her his secret and that costs him his life in the end. He was so eager to please her. She, like his first wife, enticed him with the, “If you love me ...,” speech. He feared losing her love and therefore he was willing to do anything to keep her love. Here is what Solomon stated about that type of life:
Proverbs 29:25 (ESV)
25 The fear of man lays a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.
Samson was the strongest man alive in those days. But he was weak of heart. He was afraid to lose love and that cost him his life.
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