DELILAH - meaning “delicate” Ever heard somebody call another person a real Delilah? Who was Delilah, what did she do and why was she an important figure in the Bible? Her story starts with Samson. He was a judge for the Israelites for 20 years and since birth he was dedicated as a Nazarite. As a Nazarite he had to abstain from cutting his hair and consuming alcohol. Samson was blessed with supernatural strength and protected the Israelites from the Philistines. In his lifetime he killed thousands of Philistines. After a failed marriage to a Philistine women, he met Delilah in Judges 16. Although she was not an Israelite, he loved her and started having sexual relations with her. They never got married. The Philistines approached Delilah and offered her huge amounts of money to betray Samson and find out what was the secret behind his strength. She immediately agreed and set her plan in motion. She asked Samson his secret, but he lied to her and told her if he was bound with 7 fresh bowstrings, he will become weak and loose his power. Later on, she bound him with the Philistines lying in wait. She called out to him that the Philistines were there, and he broke the strings instantly. Very upset with him, she asked him again to share his secret. Again he lied and told her if he was bound with new ropes, he will lose his power. She bound him and called out to him. He broke the ropes with no effort. This happened a third time when he told her weave his locks of hair into a loom. A third time this did not work. Surely by now Samson should have known that his love for her was one-sided and that she was out to trick him and hand him over to the enemy. Very angry at Samson, Delilah started pestering him. She said that he does not love her, else he would share his secret. After a few days of this, Samson was broken and could not take it anymore and he shared his biggest secret with her. His strength lies in his hair, and if his hair is cut, he will lose all his strength. Delilah sent word to the Philistines that she now knew his secret of the source of his strength! Very deceitfully, she lulled him to sleep on her lap and then had a man cut off his hair. He immediately lost all his strength and was taken captive. Delilah collected her money and then disappeared from the scene. Unlike most other women mentioned in the Bible, Delilah is not a role model to us. She taught us about the dangers we should guard against. Be careful who you fall in love with. Love must always be both ways and if you end up with somebody who does not believe in God, it can affect the rest of your live in unexpected ways. 1 Corinthians 16:33 tells us that evil company can corrupt good habits. Having sexual relations outside of marriage is dangerous and a sin. We also learn that we need money to survive on this earth, but it should not consume us. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:10. Satan will often try and exploit our weaknesses, so never let your guard down and always pursue righteousness. Keep away from the Delilah’s of the world and be sure you don’t become a Delilah to somebody else! For me, be very careful of the delicacies in this life.