Judg 16:13 | KingComments | STEP | Delilah is tireless in her attempts to find out the secret of his strength. She does not give up. That’s not necessary because Samson doesn’t leave. He is entangled in the net that she has stretched before his feet, because he does not do what David did: “My eyes are continually toward the LORD, for He will pluck my feet out of the net” ( ). Because his eyes are on Delilah, she can go on. And she does, because the money smiles at her. Again she accuses him of lies and deceit and asks again how he may be bound. The answer he is giving now comes close to revealing his secret. He points to the locks of his hair. It is that long that it can be woven. He allows her to work his hair with her loom, so that his hair is woven into a whole with her work. The spiritual lesson that lies in this is telling. What Samson does is to apply to the Christian who, in his vocation as a Nazirite, shows an interest in the attractiveness of an embellished and dressed up religious world. He gets involved in this and takes over its methods. In this way the Nazirite then unites himself with the work of the religious world. He stands together with people who are guided by Philistine principles on the same platform; he is committed to the same goal. Only by name, these people possess the life of Christ, not in reality. Many Philistine ‘webs’ are used, so that the saints will participate in this weaving and finally be deprived of their strength. Take politics. Someone can participate with the best motives, but he binds himself to people of the world. They want to commit themselves to an excellent job. They want to cleanse the world of all kinds of injustice and create a righteous society. Again and again such believers ‘wake up’ when proposals are made that go against the Bible. It always appears that they have to deal with the enemies of the cross. They hear the crying of their conscience: “The Philistines are upon you!” But no matter how Samson tries to free himself, this time the web sticks to him as proof that he is connected to her work. He is no longer really free.

‏ Judges 16:13

Third Phase in Revealing the Secret

Delilah is tireless in her attempts to find out the secret of his strength. She does not give up. That’s not necessary because Samson doesn’t leave. He is entangled in the net that she has stretched before his feet, because he does not do what David did: “My eyes are continually toward the LORD, for He will pluck my feet out of the net” (Psa 25:15). Because his eyes are on Delilah, she can go on.

And she does, because the money smiles at her. Again she accuses him of lies and deceit and asks again how he may be bound. The answer he is giving now comes close to revealing his secret. He points to the locks of his hair. It is that long that it can be woven. He allows her to work his hair with her loom, so that his hair is woven into a whole with her work.

The spiritual lesson that lies in this is telling. What Samson does is to apply to the Christian who, in his vocation as a Nazirite, shows an interest in the attractiveness of an embellished and dressed up religious world. He gets involved in this and takes over its methods. In this way the Nazirite then unites himself with the work of the religious world. He stands together with people who are guided by Philistine principles on the same platform; he is committed to the same goal. Only by name, these people possess the life of Christ, not in reality.

Many Philistine ‘webs’ are used, so that the saints will participate in this weaving and finally be deprived of their strength. Take politics. Someone can participate with the best motives, but he binds himself to people of the world. They want to commit themselves to an excellent job. They want to cleanse the world of all kinds of injustice and create a righteous society. Again and again such believers ‘wake up’ when proposals are made that go against the Bible. It always appears that they have to deal with the enemies of the cross. They hear the crying of their conscience: “The Philistines are upon you!”

But no matter how Samson tries to free himself, this time the web sticks to him as proof that he is connected to her work. He is no longer really free.