Wicked Women Of The Bible DevotionsНамуна

Delilah: Day 2

Painting by Alexandre Cabanel titled Delilah

She rests in the crook of his arm, nestled against his massive chest. Delilah loves to feel the hardness of his muscles, the girth of his arms as they enfold her.

One day, when Samson is away, leaders of the Philistine approach her. If it was not for him, they could do as they please, harassing and oppressing the Israelites. But Israel’s unruly leader is like a traveling avalanche, a man who wreaks havoc wherever he goes.

Though power has always been Delilah's favorite aphrodisiac, they tempt her with something even more seductive—cold hard cash. Enough to make a girl's head spin.

"You are beautiful," they say, telling her what she already knows. "And Samson is under your thumb." She knows that too.

"If you can lure him into telling you the secret of his great power so that we are able to subdue him, we will make you rich."

So day after day, despite repeated failures, Delilah harasses Samson, trying to squeeze the secret from him. Her accusations become a never-ending siege that finally wears him down.

"No razor has ever been used on my head. I have been dedicated to God from my mother's womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man."

So Samson's wicked girlfriend hands him over to his enemies, who cut off his hair, gouge out his eyes, and drag him off to prison.

When news of Samson’s final triumph reaches her—that God's Spirit has enabled him to pull a Philistine temple down on his head and on the heads of his enemies, a tiny tear runs down her cheek. Quickly wiping it away, she reminds herself of what is most important, that she is no longer dependent on a man to meet her needs. Some would call her heartless, but she merely calls herself lucky—free and rich beyond her dreams.

Though Delilah is remembered as a wicked seductress and Samson as one of Israel's most unruly heroes, Jewish mothers and fathers recount the sordid tale, at least in part, to remind their children of the truth of God's word, which declares that victory comes "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit." (Zechariah 4:6)