Scripture Focus (Judges 16:1-6) – Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. 2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” 3 But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron. 4 After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 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.” 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”
I. Samson’s Moral Weakness On Display (Judges 16:1)
“Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her.”
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- Samson had been humiliated
- Samson had given in to his wrath
- Samson had lost his woman
- Men are susceptible to lust during times of exhaustion, anger and loss
II. The Enemy’s Deadly Strategy In Motion (Judges 16:2)
“The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.”
Our enemy is like Samson’s: organized, working in darkness, preferring to go unnoticed, patient, committed to destroy
III. The Lord’s Sovereign Grace For Samson (Judges 16:3)
A. God kept him awake (Judges 16:3a) – “But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose…”
B. God stirred him up (Judges 16:3b) – “…and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders…”
C. God broke him out (Judges 16:3c) – “…and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.”
IV. The Flesh’s Proven Failure In Life (Judges 16:4-6)
A. The cycle resumes (Judges 16:4) – “After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.”
B. The danger reappears (Judges 16:5) – “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.”
C. The temptation repeats (Judges 16:6) – “So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”