WOMEN IN SAMSON’S LIFE –  Part 3, Delilah

Learn: Proverbs 9:9, 10

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. 

Read: Judges 16:4-31

1.Samson had now had two bad experiences with ungodly Philistine women, had these bad experiences caused him to learn to obey the LORD?  Explain. v 4

2. What did the lords of the Philistines want Delilah to do for them? v 5a

3. What reward did the lords offer Delilah?  v 5b

NOTE: Eleven hundred pieces of silver is about 34 pounds of sliver per each one of the lords of the Philistines. It was a great amount of money.

4. Was Delilah eager to betray Samson?  Explain.  v 6   

Did she hide her intentions from Samson?v 6

5. How does Proverbs 7:22, 23 describe thinking ability of the man that is enticed by the ungodly woman?

6. What answer did Samson give to Delilah when she asked him the source of his strength? v7

NOTE: Green withs were fresh bowstrings made of twisted gut.

7. How does Samson’s answer to Delilah’s question as to the source of his strength show that he was behaving like a fool?  Proverbs 14:9

8. How did Delilah make it clear to Samson that she was planning to sell him out to the Philistines?  vv 8,9

NOTE: “Tow”, raw flax fibers used for wicks. Something very easily broken.

9. Why would Samson continue with a woman that had clearly shown her evil intentions toward him rather than flee from the danger?  Proverbs 9:16, 17

10. What is always true of those that play with sin and refuse God’s wisdom?  Proverbs 9:18  

11. After her first failure, did Delilah give up in her quest to find the source of Samson’s strength?   Explain. v 10            

12. How did Samson’s answer show that he was blinded to reality of the danger that he was in?  v 11

13. How did Delilah’s response to Samson’s answer demonstrate that she was in earnest in her desire to destroy him?  v 12 

14. Delilah was not about to give up on her opportunity to gain wealth at the expense of Samson. What accusations did she make in order to overcome Samson?  v 13a

15. How was Samson’s answer to Delilah this time getting closer to what he believed to be the source of his strength?  v 13b    Also see Judges 13:3: 4, 5, especially verse 5a.

16. What do we learn in verse 14 to be the means by which Delilah was able to bind Samson on each of these occasions?  v 14b

17. How did Delilah finally convince Samson to tell her what he believed to be the secret of his strength?   vv 15, 16

18. What do we note in this case that was the same as in the case with Samson’s betothed wife that shows on of Samson’s character traits that made him very susceptible to danger?                                               v 16, Also see Judges 14:17.

19. What phrase in verses 17 and 18 demonstrates that Samson had completely been deceived by the wiles of Delilah?

20. How was it possible for a man who knew the true God, and had been taught the truth from his youth to be so completely deceived that he brought about his own destruction?   Proverbs 8:32-36

21. What did Samson tell Delilah was the source of his great strength?  v 17

22. How quickly did Delilah take advantage of the information that Samson shared with her? vv 18-20a

23. What is the said commentary about how self deceived Samson was?  v 20b

24. What was the end of Samson’s thinking that he could play with sin and that there would be no consequences?  v 21

25. What does Proverbs 6:27 remind us is the result of playing with sin both to Samson and to all who play with sin?

26. What result did Samson’s disobedience cause to bring shame to the name of the God that Samson said he believed in?  vv23, 24

27. What physical consequences did Samson’s disobedient behavior bring into his life?

 v 21a
v 21b
v 25a
v 30
v 31a
v 31b   

28. At the end of his life, what did Samson finally understand about the source of his great strength? v 28

29. How did the LORD answer Samson’s prayer?  v 30

30. How does Proverbs 7:26, 27 describe what Delilah did to Samson?

31. Why wasn’t Samson able to discern his danger and flee from it, when Delilah made her intentions for his destruction so evident to him?   Proverbs 5:1, 2, 7,8 

32. What lesson will you take from the wiles of Delilah and the fall of Samson to apply to your life?