The stage is set . . . by God . . .
Judges 13 "Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines, who oppressed them for forty years. 2 In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant, and they had no children. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. 5 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”
This would be a good time to read Numbers 6:1-21 in your Bible to gain a full understanding (or refresher) of what it meant to be a Nazirite in the eyes of the Lord and the instructions from God to His people.
Judges 14 "One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye.2 When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.”
3 His father and mother objected. “Isn’t there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?” they asked. “Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She looks good to me.” 4 His father and mother didn’t realize the Lord was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time."
Samson married the woman - he gave her people a riddle - they threatened to kill her family if she didn't tell them the answer to the riddle - she nagged (and cried and cried) Samson until he gave the answer to the riddle. As the story goes - Samson's wife was given away to a friend - Samson takes revenge on the Philistines who then burn her (Samson's wife) and her father to death. To fully understand the background of Samson's life and strength, read Judges 14 - 15.
Judges 16 tells us "Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, "See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver."
This is where our study begins - the author, Liz, reminds us that an average worker would work an entire year for 10 shekels. Each of them would give her 1,100 shekels. She researched and learned that the Philistines had 5 leaders . . . therefore she would receive 5,500 shekels in silver or an equivalent of $15 million in today's money. She has no problem betraying the man who loved her (and as Liz said - no where in the story does it say that she loved him).
Read all of Judges 16 in your Bible and pages 106 to 126 in your book.
Contemplate the lessons we can learn from Delilah on pages 125-126.
- The love of a man is to be treasured
- Silver and gold aren't very good company
- Weaknesses needed to be strengthened, not exposed.
- For a happy home, keep your scissors out of reach
Review and be prepared to discuss question # 5 on page 242 and questions 1 - 3 on pages 252-253.
Take time to enjoy the what Liz has put onto Pinterest for Delilah