Delilah is one of the best-known women in the Bible, but we only learn a few things about her. Each one is a warning, and each one points us toward a better kind of love.
Her name and home. “He loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah” (Judges 16:4). Sorek was a valley of vineyards on the border between Israel and the Philistines.
Loved by Samson. Samson loved her. But what she did showed that her heart was set on something else.
A business deal. The Philistine lords offered her “eleven hundred pieces of silver” each (16:5). That was a fortune.
She knew the plan. They told her plainly that they wanted to bind him “to afflict him” (16:5). Afflict means hurt. She agreed anyway.
Not the first time. Samson's first wife had also been pressured to “entice” him (14:15). Samson did not learn from what had happened before.
Her method. She asked, she tested, and she complained. Three times she called, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” (16:9, 12, 14).
Her words. “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me?” (16:15). She used the word love to get what she wanted.
Day after day. “She pestered him daily with her words and pressed him” (16:16). She did not give up until she won.
Paid in full. The lords “brought the money in their hand” (16:18). Delilah was paid for Samson.
Was she worse than Samson? Both of them sinned. Delilah loved money. Samson loved whatever pleased his eyes. Both of them are warnings for us.
The love of money. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Money is not evil, but loving it more than God and people leads to every kind of wrong.
Two masters. Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Mammon means money treated like a god.
What we learn. Real love tells the truth and wants what is best for the other person. Delilah's love was fake, because it only wanted silver. Jesus said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12).
What to do. Think about your friends. Do they help you love Jesus more? Thank God for friends like that, and be that kind of friend yourself.
Delilah sold Samson for silver. Hundreds of years later, someone sold Jesus for silver too. But Jesus is the Friend who never sells us out.
A friend who betrayed. Judas was one of the twelve disciples. He went to the chief priests and agreed to hand Jesus over for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16).
A picture many see. Many Christians see Delilah and Judas side by side. Both were close to the one they betrayed. Both took silver. Both handed someone over to enemies.
A sign of love used wrongly. Delilah talked about love to get Samson's secret (16:15). Judas gave Jesus a kiss to show the soldiers who He was (Luke 22:47-48).
The difference. Samson did not see what Delilah was doing until it was too late. Jesus knew all along what Judas would do, and He still loved him (John 13:21-26).
He washed their feet. At the Last Supper, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, and Judas was there too (John 13:5).
Samson was captured. Samson gave away his secret and was taken without a fight. His sin put him in chains.
Jesus gave His life. Jesus was not trapped. He chose to go to the cross. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends” (John 15:13).
Friends of Jesus. Jesus told His disciples, “I have called you friends” (John 15:15). He wants to be your Friend too.
He never leaves. “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5).
Forgiveness for failures. Peter also failed Jesus. He said three times that he did not know Him. Jesus forgave him and gave him work to do (John 21:15-17).
God's kindness. “The goodness of God leads you to repentance” (Romans 2:4). God's kindness is meant to bring us back to Him.
Two endings. Later Judas was sorry, but he did not come back to Jesus (Matthew 27:3-5). Peter came back, and Jesus welcomed him.
A welcome home. Jesus told about a father whose son came home: “his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). That is how God welcomes people who turn back.
What we learn. People may let us down. Jesus never will. His love is real, and it cost Him everything.
What to do. Thank Jesus this week for being a true Friend. Then look for one way to be a loyal friend to someone else.
Complete all sections to finish!
Read each section and answer the questions correctly.