Judges 16:4-6 (ESV)
After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”
Do you have a Delilah in your life? Note that the Philiistines had already tried this with Samson’s first wife:
Judges 14:15 (ESV)
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?”
The word seduce and entice are the same Hebrew word. As believers we are often facing a Delilah. The name is an archetype for Lady Folly we read about all through the book of Proverbs. Note what Solomon tells us about her:
Proverbs 7:24-27 (ESV)
And now, O sons, listen to me,
and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
do not stray into her paths,
for many a victim has she laid low,
and all her slain are a mighty throng.
Her house is the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.
As we are seduced and enticed we often don’t realize the consequences we are facing. Notice what happens when Samson told Delilah the source of his strength. She cut his hair and then had the Philistines come to fight him. He rose up to defeat them as he had done so many times and note the results:
Judges 16:20 (ESV)
And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.
He didn’t even know his strength was gone. This is the reason we are to stay away from sin and folly.
Our Lord told the Church at Thyatira something similar about a seductive person in their church:
Revelation 2:20 (ESV)
But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
Jezebel is another archetype for Lady Folly. She, too, seduced others. Notice that the Lord says she was seducing my servants. Those in the church who were believers were falling victim to her. Note their possible end and demise:
Revelation 2:22-23 (ESV)
Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.
Beware of the Delilahs and Jezebels in our path. They only come to seduce and entice:
Proverbs 1:10 (ESV)
My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
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