LIFE LESSON FOR TODAY, 1/22/14

<sup>JUDGES 16:4-6; 15-18, 20

4</sup> Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
⁵ And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict you.”

¹⁵ Then she said to him, “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.”  
¹⁶ 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, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
 ¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.

²⁰ And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.


HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The Bible book of Judges 13-16 describe the life of Samson. He was  blessed by God with supernatural strength.  He killed a lion, slayed an entire army with the jawbone of a donkey, and destroyed a pagan temple.  He would continue to have this strength as long as he kept his secret and did not cut his hair.   Delilah nagged and manipulated Samson constantly
so he finally  gave into her demands.  He told her about the source of his strength and suffered the consequences.  He lost his super-natural strength
and became weak. His enemies, the Philistines captured and blinded him.   


PAINTING SAMSON AND DELILAH BY 
MASTERS E.S. 1460/1465






LIFE LESSON FOR TODAY,  "DON'T BE A NAGGING WOMAN!"


The description of a nagging woman is even in the Bible.  The Bible book of Proverbs really paints an awful picture a nagging woman.  Proverbs 21 says that it is better to live in the desert than live with a  nagging woman.  Proverbs 27 says that a nagging
woman is like water going drip drip on a rainy day. 
I was in a Women's Bible Study group when  I read these scriptures.  I had not been married long. I 
made a vow to myself to never have the qualities of
a nagging wife.  

I also learned that using manipulation to get what
you want is not good either.  I have never cared for football. I found out when me and my husband were dating, that he loved football.  I wanted him to spend time with me and not go to the football games with
his guy friends on Saturdays.  I started watching football with him at home and convinced him that I liked the game.  He started taking me to the football games.  I enjoyed being with him but hated sitting 
in the cold and enduring multiple overtimes. I could
not stand to go to another game.  I confessed that, 
"I DIDN'T LIKE FOOTBALL and he fell on the couch laughing.

My husband also learned not to manipulate. When I was a young wife learning to cook, I served him pigs in the blanket every week.  It was a quick week night meal and he had convinced me that he liked them.  Two  years later I overheard him telling his guy friends
that he hated pigs in the blanket.  I was about to get angry and approach him about his lie.  I relented and stayed quiet.  I started laughing after I realized how many pigs in the blanket he had forced himself to eat for the past 2 years.  I did began to show him mercy   and stopped cooking pigs in the blanket. 


A PICTURE OF WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO A NAGGING WIFE!!