Judges 16 - 18 (5th April) - Li Juan

Judges 16 – Samson and Delilah
Samson fell in love with Delilah and the rulers of Philistines wanted her to lure him into showing the secret of his great strength, so that they can overpower and subdue him.

1st Try
Delilah: Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued
Samson: If anyone ties me with 7 fresh thongs that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man

So, Delilah tried it out and it did not work!

2nd Try
Delilah: You have made a fool of me and lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied. (Think she’s a lil angry now!)
Samson: If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become weak as any other man.

And without a doubt, Delilah tried it out and it did not work too!

3rd Try
Delilah: Until now, you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied. (Changed tatic, can you sense that there’s this really whinny tone? *shivers*)
Samson: If you weave the 7 braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become weak as any other man.

Of course, Delilah tried it out and it did not work either!

4th Try
Delilah: How can you say ‘I love you’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength. (She’s a really naggy woman! She nagged Samson TO DEATH! This guy can’t resist such nagging, and so he told her..)
Samson: No razor has ever been used on my head because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.

And the Lord left Samson when his head was shaved by Delilah. Samson was seized by the Philistines and they gouged his eyes out (yucks) and made him a prisoner in Gaza.

Moral of the story for the ladies, if you sense that your husband / boyfriend is hiding anything from you, just NAG and NAG and NAG and… =)

Judges 16 – The Death of Samson
God strengthened Samson the last time when he was brought out to entertain the rulers of Philistines. Samson reached the 2 central pillars holding the temple and pushed with all his might. The temple came down on everyone who was in it!

Judges 17 & 18 – Micah’s Idol & Danites Settle in Laish
These chapters show the religious confusion in Israel, and picture the downward path of Israel resulting from the departure from the Word of God. In those days, Israel had no king and everyone did as he saw fit.

Micah and his mother were involved in idolatry, and this symbolizes what the whole nation was into at that time.

The Danites seeked further territory, took Micah’s idol and his priest, attacked the unsuspecting Laish and dwelled there.