With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.
Judges 16:16-17 NIV
So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
The story of Samson is a tragic one. He was chosen by God before his birth to lead Israel and deliver them from the Philistines. God gave him great strength, and the account of Samson in Judges 13-16 includes many times when he used that strength to single-handedly defeat the Philistines.
But Samson had a weakness – Philistine women. And that was ultimately his undoing. Samson fell in love with Delilah, whom the Philistine rulers then hired to discover the secret of his great strength. At least three times, Delilah asked Samson for his secret. He would lie to her, and she would do what he had told her. But his strength always remained.
But she finally nagged him enough that he told her the truth. And it cost him dearly. As soon as his head was shaved, his strength departed. He was captured, blinded, and made an object of ridicule among the Philistines. In the final act of his life, God restored his strength, and he was able to slaughter thousands of Philistines. But it was a tragic end for this man God had chosen and blessed.
The story of Samson and Delilah is a tragedy. But it illustrates the danger of being in a close relationship with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14). The pressure to conform or compromise can be significant. And the results of that compromise can be tragic for the believer. Compromise may not cost us our eyes or our lives. But it will be harmful to our relationship and walk with the Lord.
Avoid the Delilahs you encounter – close personal or business relationships with unbelievers. They will be an ever-present danger to you.
