In Judges 16:4-5 by the time we come to this part of Samson’s life he had become a national problem, (public enemy number 1) and the Philistines were determined to take him down. Samson heads down to yet another boarder town with the name “choice wine” might as well call it “Bourbon Street”. As a Nazirite he was suppose to stay away from the grapes but he again goes to the seedy side of town. There a lot of Christians like this that like to walk the fence of their inheritance in Christ seeing how close they can come into the world before the world won’t let them go.
Samson sees a lady and we are told her name was Delilah and that should have been a clue to him as her name means “to weaken or impoverish”. Each of the 5 major city’s had a lord over it and it seems as though they all band together to make Delilah an offer that was equivalent to 550 years of wages for the average worker. Notice again that the “source” of Samson’s strength wasn’t his massive muscles, bulging biceps and terrific triceps. No the source of Samson’s strength was the power of the Holy Spirit. Delilah was an opportunist, the original “gold digger” and she too had a problem with lust but it was the lust of wealth. There are three reasons for Samson’s failing as it dealt with temptation that we should all pay attention too.
• Compromise always makes us vulnerable: If Samson hadn’t entered into a sinful relationship with Delilah he would have never failed. In Samson’s case this is obvious but that is not always the case in our lives, we don’t succumb to moral failings by falling off a cliff we do so by sliding down a slippery slope until the only way we can stop is by a drastic action. That is why compromise even in our thought lives makes us vulnerable as it starts us down a slippery slope that only gains speed.
• Temptations always come in attractive packages: The Philistines didn’t hire Ugly Betty, they hired a beauty queen. When sin comes (and it will) it will always come in a package that is desirable and promises to be good and fulfilling.
• Temptation comes when we hang around the wrong people: Samson first fell in love with a Philistine temptress from Timnah (tinsel town), then he hooked up with a geisha from Gazaand finally he became delighted with Delilah. See the pattern? 1 Cor. 15:33says, “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”