Judges 16:6-10: a reflection

6Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and what you might be bound to afflict you.” 7Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven green cords that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.” 8Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green cords which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9Now she had an ambush waiting in the inner room. She said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” He broke the cords as a flax thread is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known. 10Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies. Now please tell me how you might be bound.”

Delilah presses Samson to reveal the secret of his strength, and Samson, instead of fleeing the obvious danger, begins to play a dangerous game. He gives her a false answer, and lets himself be bound and tested; then, when she tries it and calls the Philistines, he breaks free. He is toying with the temptation, coming right up to the edge of disclosure and pulling back, treating the deadly danger as a game. And Delilah, undeterred, presses again. Samson is playing with what will destroy him.

Notice Samson's fatal mistake: he toys with the temptation instead of fleeing it. He knew Delilah was trying to find the secret that would destroy him; the danger was obvious. But rather than removing himself from it, he played along, giving false answers, letting himself be bound, coming close to the edge and pulling back, as though he could handle it. This dallying with the danger, treating it as a game he could control, would gradually wear him down, until he gave up the secret and was destroyed. He played with what he should have fled.

That is a warning about the folly of toying with temptation instead of fleeing it. We can do as Samson did, playing games with a temptation we should flee, coming close to the edge and pulling back, telling ourselves we can handle it, that we will not go too far. But dallying with temptation, treating it as a game we can control, gradually wears down our resistance, until we fall. The wise course is not to toy with temptation, but to flee it. When you face a temptation you should flee, do not play games with it, coming close and pulling back, as Samson did; remove yourself from it. Do not treat as a game you can control what has the power to destroy you; the one who toys with temptation, edging closer while telling himself he can handle it, is on the road to Samson's fall. Flee temptation; do not dally with it, as Samson dallied with the danger that destroyed him.

Lord, Delilah pressed Samson for the secret of his strength, and instead of fleeing the obvious danger, he played a dangerous game, giving false answers, letting himself be bound, coming to the edge and pulling back, toying with what would destroy him. Warn me by his fatal mistake: he toyed with the temptation instead of fleeing it. I can do as Samson did, playing games with a temptation I should flee, coming close to the edge and pulling back, telling myself I can handle it, that I will not go too far. But dallying with temptation, treating it as a game I can control, gradually wears down my resistance, until I fall. The wise course is not to toy with temptation, but to flee it. When I face a temptation I should flee, keep me from playing games with it, coming close and pulling back, as Samson did; help me remove myself from it. Keep me from treating as a game I can control what has the power to destroy me; the one who toys with temptation, edging closer while telling himself he can handle it, is on the road to Samson's fall. Help me flee temptation, Lord, not dally with it, as Samson dallied with the danger that destroyed him.