Temptation's Subtlety

Today I read the passage in Judges 16 when Samson divulged to Delilah the secret of his great strength.  I was struck with how a man of great physical strength who could carry off city gates was eventually pushed over with pestering words spoken by a woman he loved.  Samson had bitter and bloody feud with the Philistines, yet he loved a woman named Delilah who lived in the valley of Sorek.  The Philistine lords for a long time had sought to capture Samson, and they bribed Samson's lover to discover the secret of his strength so they might neutralise it.

An interesting observation is as Delilah ramped up the pressure to share the secret of his strength, there was a softening of her request.  Consider the first time she brought up the subject in Judges 16:6:  "So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you."   This is a straightforward question with intent.  If I was Samson, I would seriously wonder why she would ask such a question!  Did she ask because she wanted to bind and afflict me?  Samson shrugged it off with a lie.  The next time Delilah made her request it was slightly different in Judges 16:10:  "Then Delilah said to Samson, "Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with."  There was no mentioning of the source of his strength, nor any reference to affliction.  Again, Samson deliberately misled her.  Delilah's third request was very similar to the second time with the same results.

Finally Delilah said in Judges 16:15, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies."  Delilah made no mention of binding or affliction.  Her statement is insightful, for she connected the affections of Samson's heart with responding to her request.  She wanted to know where his great strength lie - conveniently not mentioning her intent to bind and afflict him.  Judges 16:16-17a says, "And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, ¹⁷ that he told her all his heart..."  Day after day she pressed him, and the resolve of the mighty judge of Israel crumbled.  It was not long before he was indeed bound, afflicted, blinded, imprisoned, and made the object of ridicule.

It occurred to me the progression employed by Delilah mirrors the tactics of sinful temptation.  At first we are repulsed by the thing, realising the grave consequences of giving into sin.  Day after day of our soul being pressed leads to us wondering what all the fuss is about.  What is the big deal anyway?  Curiosity chews into our resolve and we find our affections shifting from allegiance to God and drifting towards the satisfaction of our flesh.  The scripture does not say, but I wonder if after Samson was bound and his eyes gouged out he regretted loving Delilah in the first place?  Blind in the darkness of a Philistine prison, I imagine Samson started seeing clearly mistakes he made when he could fend off his enemies easily.  It is good for us to realise the enemy of our souls is always looking to afflict and blind us, but as children of God he cannot do so without our permission.  The "secret" of our strength found through trust and obedience to Jesus Christ is no secret, but we can forget to guard our hearts from illicit affections and to keep our hands clean of sin.  When we give into sin's demands, we find ourselves weak as any other man.

Where Is The Compassion?

Paul asked a good question in Romans 9:20:  "O man, who are you to reply against God?"  Maybe there was a day when people realised the implications of arrogantly speaking against God and His wisdom, but it is not today.  I shudder when I hear the swelling words and vain philosophies of people who vaunt themselves over the Almighty LORD of hosts, the Creator and Judge of all the earth.  Woe to those who say they know better than God!  Professing to be wise, such expose their own folly.  These voices who oppose God have the same demonic tenor of those who shouted before Pilate concerning Jesus Christ, "Away with Him!  Crucify Him!"

It is a simple thing to point fingers at the faults of others, but followers of Jesus Christ ought to live as He did in a secular culture and faithfully examine our own hearts.  We cannot stoop to the level of such who speak proudly in arrogance, hating any who oppose them.  If we do not have compassion on those who are deceived and deliberately adding to their guilt before a holy God by rebellion and pride, we sin by refusing to love others as God does.  Passion without love and compassion is sin.  We must stand fast on the Word of God, for only then do we find an unshakeable foundation under our feet.  It is good to uphold righteousness, especially in a sinful world.  Love does not oppose righteousness but completes it.  We will surely suffer for such a clear stand, but praise God for His abundant consolation.

Consider what is written in 1 Peter 2:20-23:  "For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. ²¹ For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ²² "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth"; ²³  who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously..."  Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem, filled with people scattered as sheep without a shepherd.  They refused to believe Jesus was the Son of God, rejected His sound teaching, and scorned His outstretched arms of love.  Those few faithful followers of Jesus today are to follow His example of compassion, mercy and grace when we are maligned, belittled, and slandered falsely.

Brothers and sisters, let us not shy away from using the truth of scripture to combat the satanic deceptions at work in the minds and hearts of people today.  Why use secondary sources or statistics when we can speak forth the powerful words of God?  When Peter spoke to the unbelieving Sanhedrin, he quoted the scriptures.  After Philip ran to the Ethiopian eunuch, he preached Christ from the Word of God.  Whether Paul spoke to unbelieving Jews, Roman rulers, or the philosophers in Athens, he preached from the Bible.  Preaching the Word of God is a single thread connecting all their discourses to believers as well as unbelievers.  Some were enraged, others laughed and mocked, but there were some who believed and were saved.  LORD, forgive me when I have substituted the logic of men for the Word of God!

Will you be so bold to seek opportunities to share the truth of God's Word with others to show why you believe what you believe with meekness and fear?  1 Peter 3:8-12 exhorts us all, "Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; ⁹  not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. ¹⁰ For "He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. ¹¹ Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. ¹² For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil."

Loving Indeed

"My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. "

1 John 3:18

As children of God, we are called to love one another as He loves us.  God's love is practically displayed, meeting all our needs by God's grace.  This love is more than words or feelings, but is actively demonstrated in opening our hearts to one another.  1 John 3:17 asks the question:  "But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?"  We cannot meet every need, nor does God expect us to.  Based upon the great love we have received from Jesus, our hearts should be open to being used by God to meet needs everywhere in Jesus' name.

When there is hatred in our hearts, we cannot love as we ought.  This passage in 1 John reveals that in God's sight hatred towards our brother is murder in God's eyes, even as looking with lustful intent is the same as committing adultery.  We do well not to hate others, but our aim must be to love them.  As James demonstrated his faith in God through God works, the righteousness of God is displayed through love towards others.  It does us little good to ask ourselves if we nurse a grudge or hatred of others, but better to ask if we have demonstrated love to them.  God's love is active and never fails.  Praise God for that!

What Jesus Does

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. ¹⁷ These things I command you, that you love one another."

John 15:16-17

These things Jesus told His disciples during their celebration of the Passover are true for His followers today.  Whilst instructing His followers Jesus also emphasised their calling.  In choosing to pursue Christ as disciples we can mistakenly place our primary focus on what we have done and what we must do, but the words of Jesus remind us of His divine role.

Jesus corrected the disciples' thinking they had chosen Him because Jesus had chosen them first.  He knew them before they knew Him; He first called them and then they followed.  He chose them and appointed (ordained, commissioned) them to go and bear fruit which would remain.  Having supplied the good seed of the Word of God, it would doubtless bear much fruit according to the design of Jesus Christ.  Jesus also appointed them to pray to God, and whatever they asked in Jesus' name would be given.

See all the things Jesus did for His disciples before they even knew Him?  He chose and ordained them, He formulated a plan for them, and ensured they would be successful.  Do you realise as a child of God He has done the same for you?  You do not need to graduate from seminary, become a foreign missionary, or have a ministry position recognised by men to be eternally fruitful.  All we do is within the context of God's love, loving one another as He loves us.  Disillusionment comes when we figure fruitfulness depends primarily upon our efforts.  We imagine "fruit" to be immediate and qualitative and forget seeds take time to grow.  There is danger in departing from the good Word for anything else in an effort to accomplish our plans rather than seeking God.

I am blessed to know God has chosen me, ordained me, and commissioned me to go and bear fruit.  I am humbled to have access to God's throne room of grace to find mercy and help in time of need.  Since I am called to love as Jesus does and cannot do this without Him, how necessary it is to seek Him.  Looking outside on this spring morning, God knows how to make seeds germinate, flowers bloom, and trees flourish with new growth.  Won't He also do marvellously with His Word in the hearts of those prepared to receive Him?