This Tuesday we will be discussing Delilah. Please read Chapter 4 of Liz Curtis Higgs’ book Bad Girls of the Bible: And What We Can Learn from Them and please read Judges 16. The story of Samson and Delilah is one of the great romantic tragedies in Scripture. On the surface, at least, it is the story of a large, stupid, athletic meathead who falls in love with and is destroyed by a sexy, greedy, scheming, femme fatale. However, as pointed out by Mrs. Higgs, Delilah is a complex character with many unknowns.
- Delilah lives in the borderland between Israel and the Philistines (although the area was controlled by the Philistines) and we do not know to which ethnicity she belongs. Scripture tells us she has her own house, which would have been rare for a single woman.
- Scripture is not shy in pointing out women who are prostitutes, but Judges never says that this is Delilah’s profession. We simply don’t know Delilah’s profession or social standing.
- Scripture says that Samson fell in love with Delilah prior to the Philistine kings approaching her. It appears, therefore, that she did not initially intend to betray Samson when she caused him to fall in love with her.
- Scripture tells us that the Philistine leaders offered her 5,500 pieces of silver. (For reference, Joseph’s brothers sell him for only 20 pieces of silver. Gen. 37:28.) So we do know that, for her, money trumps love. But the Scripture never tells us how she feels or what she is thinking.
- Once Delilah’s betrayal is complete, she disappears from the story. Judges does not tell us what happens to her. Samson’s story ends with him pulling down the Philistine temple on himself, the Philistine leaders, and 3,000 Philistines. But Delilah isn’t mentioned as a casualty.
Mrs. Higgs’ blog post on Delilah is HERE. Her discussion question this week is:
Though we may not be blinded by greed like Delilah or physically blinded like Samson, we may still find ourselves looking in the wrong direction. 1 Corinthians 3:18 cautions us to be aware of self-deception: “Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become ‘fools’ so that you may become wise.” Where are the blind spots in your own life where you tend to see only what you want to see?
Dinner is at 6. The menu is meatloaf (with a black bean vegetarian option). Film at 6:45. Hope to see you here and please bring a friend.
The lips of a mysterious woman drip honey,
Proverbs 5:3-5
and her tongue is smoother than oil,
but in the end she is bitter as gall,
sharp as a double-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead to the grave.