Love People Not Money

Delilah is only mentioned 7 times in all of Scripture. And in fact all 7 of those come in only one chapter. She isn’t mentioned anywhere else in Scripture, yet her name is universally known. She is introduced in the text in this way…

Some time later, [Samson] fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. (Judges 16:4)

It says that Samson loved her. It doesn’t say she loved him. In fact, nowhere in the entire story does it say that Delilah loved Samson or had any feelings for him at all. This begs the question, who or what did Delilah love?

In the next verse, five Philistine rulers come to Delilah with an offer, a bribe. They promise to give her 5,500 shekels of silver (about 28 pounds) if she will seduce the secret of Samson's great strength out of him and tell them his secret. What did Delilah do? Without hesitation, the very next verse, vs 6, says, 

So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.” (Judges 16:6)

There is no hint that Delilah was conflicted about this. There is no hint that it was a difficult decision for her. She immediately went to work trying to earn that money.

So who or what did Delilah love? She certainly didn’t love Samson. She loved money. 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” That is certainly how it played out in Delilah’s life. Her greed made her more than willing to deliver Samson over to captivity, humiliation, slavery, even death. It didn’t matter to her as long as she got her money. You may think. “I would never be like that!” Don’t be so sure. The love of money is a slippery thing.

We used to live next door to a young family with three girls. We were great friends with this family and would spend time together often. One day when our families were hanging out one of their little girls got upset because she didn’t want to share a toy with her sisters. I watched her father walk over and lovingly ask her this question. “Do we love things or do we love people?" Then he said, "We love people. Not things.” That cut me to my heart! This father was teaching a lesson to his young child that I hadn’t learned and applied to my own heart yet. 

As Christians we are called to love people and use things. Anytime we allow ourselves to begin loving things, we will find ourselves using people. Be careful that you don’t allow love for money and things to creep into your life, because it will cause you to do terrible things. You will hurt people. You will lie to people. You will neglect people and betray them. And all for what? For just a little more money. And you will end up like Delilah. You will have a nice fat bank account, but you will be empty and alone, isolated by your greed and awaiting God’s judgment. Take this lesson from Delilah’s life. Love people not money.

A God We Don't Fully Know

Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”

He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.”

Judges 13:17-18

When Samson's father asks the angel who foretold his son's birth what his name is, he doesn't realize he is speaking to no ordinary angel but to the angel of the LORD... to God Himself. So when the angel answers that his name is "beyond understanding" it actually tells us something about God. 

The phrase for "beyond understanding" is sometimes translated "wonderful" or "secret." That's an interesting assertion since God had already told Israel that His name was Yahweh which is sometimes translated as "I am the I am" or "I will be who I will be." So what does this passage mean? Is Yahweh not God's name? Is God's true name a secret? Is it beyond our understanding? Or is His name Wonderful?

Well, let's look at the only other time this Hebrew phrase is used in Scripture for help. In Psalm 139:6 the same phrase is used. That verse says "...such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain." I think that helps us understand what God is saying about His name in Judges 13:18. His name is too wonderful for us to fully understand. It is too lofty for us to attain.   

This is a powerful reminder that every facet of who God is, even down to His name, is beyond our ability to grasp fully. There is no single truth about God that we understand fully. I have a Master's degree from seminary. I have served full-time in church ministry for over a decade and in a very real sense it could still be said that I don't yet fully understand a single thing about God. I'm not saying I don't know anything about God. I'm saying that even the things I do know about Him, I only know in part. 

1 Corinthians 13:12 puts it this way. "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."

There are things we know to be true about God with certainty and confidence, but we must remember that even those things we only know in part. There is a depth to who God is and what He is doing and what He has done that we simply cannot plumb. There is always more of God to know, always more to love, always more to discover and worship Him for. This is part of what makes an eternity spent in Heaven possible. There will always be more to God.

Who could claim to fully comprehend God?! Who has apprehended His love? Who has mastered His justice? Or who could claim to have grasped His perfection or beauty? No one! There is no single truth about God that we comprehend fully or understand completely. And this is cause for praise! 

I praise God that I do not know Him fully, that He will always provide a joyous mystery for me to revel in unfolding. That there are greater depths still for me to plumb. And there is joy upon joy in knowing Him more.

Tested and Tried

Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them... They were for testing Israel, to find out if they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers through Moses. 

Judges 3:1a & 4, 

We live in a world of temptation! And it seems like temptation is always becoming more easily accessible to us. Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which we are currently in, some pornography providers decided to offer their service for free to those under quarantine. As though developing an addiction to pornography would help people out. Yes, there is temptation all around us, and isn't just sexual temptation. There is greed for riches. There's fame and longing after the approval of men. There's hatred and the incessant temptation to blame your problems on some other group of people. There are temptations to violence and theft and lying and living only for yourself. 

These temptations surround us and there is nowhere on this green earth we can go to flee from them. I know because the monks tried. They retreated into lonely wastelands to avoid temptation, but it didn't work. Recently, I read the story of St. Benedict who was so overtaken by lust in his desert hideaway that he stripped off his clothes and ran naked into thorn bushes to combat temptation. 

We must accept that temptation is unavoidable in this world. But have you ever stopped to ask why? Certainly, some of it is a result of the Fall, but even before the Fall God chose to place the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden. Why? 

Scripture tells us that God often tests His people (Genesis 22:1-19, Exodus 16:4, Deuteronomy 8:2). Now if you think of this testing like a kind of entrapment then you understand it wrongly. The word for "test" in the passage above can mean to prove something. In other words, what God is doing when He tests us is to bring out and prove what is truly in our hearts. He isn't tricking us or tripping us up. He is proving who we really are. And in our struggle against the temptation of the world every single one of us have heard the message Daniel interpreted for King Belshazzar off the writing on the wall. "You have been weighed on the scales (tested) and found wanting" (Daniel 5:27) We all fail the test. We all prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that what is in our hearts is wickedness and lust and greed and selfishness. 

What are we to do then? When our actions leave no doubt at all what is in us? We can either try to hide our true nature or we can drag it into the light and confess it before God asking for His forgiveness and grace. This is what the believer does over and over again. This is what I hope you will do. If you'll do this, Scripture promises that God will change you and give you a new heart. And as God transforms you more and more into His image you will win more and more victories over temptation. But you must be careful to never grow too comfortable. All of us still live in the flesh and none of us are beyond failing the test. So turn to God and ask for strength and help to pass whatever tests He will place in your path today.

Aksah Asks a Favor (W.o.W. rewind)

And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?” She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

Joshua 15:16-19

This is an obscure little story hidden in a portion of the Old Testament that details the boundaries of the tracts of land given to each of the twelve tribes of Israel in the Promised Land. It isn’t likely to garner much attention today, yet God saw fit to include this short story not once but twice in Scripture. It is recorded again, almost word for word in Judges 1:12-15. Why? Because it has a tremendous little lesson to teach God’s children.

Aksah’s father, Caleb, was a faithful, God-fearing man. You may remember that he was one of only two of the twelve men who spied out the land of Canaan to bring back a good report. Caleb stands out in Scripture as an example of faith, courage and wisdom. In this passage we find Caleb carefully crafting a situation to provide a strong, brave man for his daughter to marry. It worked. Aksah’s husband, Othniel, later becomes the first judge whom God raises up to deliver His people (see Judges 3:7-11). From this (and many other examples I am sure) Aksah knows that her father loves her. She can see that he wants to provide for her, and she begins taking an interest in her own provision as well.

Aksah is a shrewd young woman who knows where she stands with her father and is not afraid to take initiative. Knowing that the land her father has given her would do well to have a source of water, she musters some of the courage her father was famous for and makes a request. She knows her father wants to be a blessing to her, so she asks him for something specific, springs of water. Caleb gives her a double blessing, two springs of water! Imagine how fruitful this land must have been for her family.

In the New Testament Jesus says,

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)

What are you asking God for right now? He has shown that He wants to bless you with good things. So what are you asking Him for? Pause and ask God for something specific. But ask wisely, not selfishly. Consider these words of James:

You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:2-3)

Don't Fall Asleep in Delilah's Lap

When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.

Judges 16:18-19

Samson's life wasn't an easy one. He lived during a time when Israel was oppressed by the Philistines. He constantly found himself in opposition to and in conflict with his oppressors. Of course, some of the difficulties he experienced were of his own making, but it was a hard life still. Unfortunately, Samson made matters worse by seeking comfort in all the wrong places. First, he sought comfort food in the wrong place when he turned aside to eat honey from a lion's carcass in Judges 14. But it's in chapter 16 that Samson's bad habit reaches its zenith. At the beginning of the chapter he seeks comfort in the arms of a prostitute. It nearly cost him his life. The rest of the chapter is dedicated to the worst mistake of Samson's life... seeking comfort and love from a woman named Delilah. What the Philistines were never able to take from Samson by sword, military strategy or might this woman stole by deception, manipulation and persistent nagging. And where was this strong man, this greatest of warriors when Delilah delivered the fatal blow that robbed him of his strength? He was curled up sleeping comfortably in her lap, lulled into a false sense of security as his life was betrayed for money. 

Learn a lesson from Samson. He sought comfort in the arms of the enemy. He gave her his heart. He listened to her lies and deceptions. Don't do the same! 

Believer, you have an Enemy. He is a master of deception, a dealer in the finest comforts this world has to offer, and he is currently working patiently and persistently to lull you into a false sense of security. He would have you curl up comfortably and fall asleep in his velvet-covered bear trap before he springs it on you. He will manipulate and deceive you. Be on your guard! Don't fall asleep in Delilah's lap!

All of us have tasted the forbidden fruit in one way or another and it has made fools of us all. We have sought comfort in alcohol, drugs, pornography, money, sex outside of marriage, or the approval of men only to have them be our downfall. Don't repeat your mistakes! The comforts this world offers have nothing for you. Don't be deceived. There is no rest for you in the things the Lord calls sin. Find comfort and rest in Him alone. Let the Lord be your refuge and strength. He alone is your source of every good thing in this world. 

When God is Against You

So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.

Judges 2:14-15

Many believers act as though God doesn't care about our sin. "After all," one might think, "Jesus has already paid for my sin so why does it matter?" This attitude leads many Christians today handle their sin with a kind of a wink and a smile, but not so with God. God hates sin! He is Holy, pure, and perfect. Sin is an affront to His very nature. It is rebellion against Him. It is an insult to Him. God never deals with sin lightly. He never overlooks it. The atonement proves this. God's unwillingness to overlook our sin is why Jesus had to die. The only way any of our sins could be forgiven was for God's wrath against those sins to be fully satisfied. God poured out the punishment for our sins on Jesus as our substitute on the cross. But do not be so mistaken as to think that just because the eternal punishment of our sin has been dealt with that God no longer cares about your sin or that there will be no consequences to your sin. 

The above passage from Judges reveals that God set His face against His people because of their sin. He turned against them and put them in great distress. Don't think He won't do the same to you if you harbor sin in your life and in your heart. But even here there is good news, for our God is good. Even as God punished His people He showed them mercy and felt compassion for their suffering. The New Testament teaches that God disciplines believers like a Father disciplines the son whom He loves (Hebrews 12:5-7). He punishes us to bring us back to Himself. Punishment isn't reserved for the lost, rather redemptive punishment shows that you are a beloved child of God.

Does it seem as though God has been against you lately? Search your heart and your life for unconfessed sins and sins you have asked forgiveness for but aren't turning away from. Don't dare to ask God to forgive you of some sin, while having no intention to stop committing it. Instead take Scripture's advice. Fear God and fear His punishment (Proverbs 1:7, 3:7, & 16:6). Even though we know God's discipline is merciful and compassionate, it is still dreadful. So turn from the sin in your life and double your commitment to walk closely with the Lord.

Imperfect but available

The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.

Judges 15:14b-15

Samson wasn't particularly righteous. He was sexually immoral, flippant towards God's law, fairly deceitful, and foolish in his dealings with women. No, Samson wasn't righteous, but he was available. He was ticked off at the same people God was ticked off at, and he was willing to fight. When his greatest military victory came he had been bound with ropes by his own people and handed over to the Philistines. He had no weapons at his disposal and was surrounded by his enemies. But when God's Spirit rushed on him Samson was given supernatural strength. He broke free of his bonds as though they were nothing and looked around for any weapon he could lay a hand on. What he found was the jawbone of a donkey and with it he killed one thousand men.

One of the many lessons we learn from Samson's life is that God can do impossible things through imperfect people. This is what God has done all throughout human history. He used Martin Luther to stand alone against a Catholic Church that had become so corrupt that it actually sold salvation. He used William Tyndale to translate the Bible into English from the original Greek and Hebrew texts even as the Catholic Church in his country said common Christians didn't need to read the Bible and persecuted and hunted him. And were it not for God's work in William Carey's life the modern missions movement might have never started and millions of souls might be lost to Hell. In his lifetime, Carey was a lone voice arguing that Christians still have a responsibility to take the good news of Jesus to the nations. God used him to start a movement. 

None of these men were perfect, but they were all aligned with God's will for their lives. Each of them stepped out in faith and acted. If you and I will do the same, then God will accomplish all He pleases through us. Who knows what the great author has written for you in His book? Will you preach the gospel, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, fight for the oppressed, start a movement, or raise up the next generation of Christians? Only God knows and only you can find out, if you'll step out in faith and see.

Are We Losing the Battle for Our Own Children?

After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.

Judges 2:10

How did they not know? God had left specific instructions for teaching children about Himself (Deut. 6:4-9) and He had provided natural opportunities to do so both in physical landmarks (e.g. ebenezers or monuments to the Lord's deeds- see Josh. 4:1-9) and in the Israelite calendar (e.g. the Passover festival among others- see Ex. 12:21-27).  Somewhere along the line the Israelite parents neglected their duty to teach their own children about God and his deeds. That, combined with the powerful influence of the pagan culture around them, seduced their children away from the Lord. This failure cost the Israelite community dearly over hundreds of years. They fell into a pattern of sin that resulted in God's punishment. They would cry out to God for deliverance, and mercifully God would rescue them from the hand of their enemies. But after a short-lived peace, the people would once again fall into sin.

Judges 2:10 has a sobering effect on me as a dad and as a minister to youth and children. As I look around at our churches and families I fear that the church in America may be falling prey to the same shortcoming that plagued the Israelites so long ago. How can we win the world if we are losing the battle for the hearts of our own children? 

We send our children to secular schools for seven or eight hours a day. They spend countless hours practicing and competing in secular sports leagues. Every second of every day they are inundated with information about which starlet went braless at what premier and which running back will be starting for their team. Our children are growing up in an environment that is arguably filled with more information and entertainment than any other society in history. In the swirl of all this distraction we cannot allow our homes to become secular environments as well. Our homes should not be filled with secular movies, music and TV shows; but with the gospel of Christ lived out every day in the context of family. They should be filled with family Bible study, Christian music, worship, and careful individual instruction in the Word. 

I am not suggesting that we retreat from our task of winning the world for Christ and hide our children away in little Christian monasteries. What I am saying is that if we cannot win our own children for Christ then I think we have very little of hope of winning the world for Him either. We must begin here. We must win this battle if we hope to fare well in the war. And right now I fear that we are losing the battle for our own children.

For further reading...

• Deut. 6:4-9- The quintessential passage in the Bible on teaching our children about God.
• Josh. 4:1-9- A physical monument to God's work can be a great discussion starter for teaching kids about God.
• Ex. 12:21-27- Work natural opportunities to teach your children about God into you yearly calendar. Use holidays like Easter, Good Friday, Christmas, and Martin Luther King Jr. day as learning opportunities for your family.