Judges 16:4
"And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah."
Here, we have a chapter concerning Samson and Delilah. When we read here about Samson, this is the accusation that many bring against him—that if he had not been in that place at that time, he would not have suffered the consequences that he did for his attraction to Delilah. We know, as we read this, that this is what led to him being blinded, his eyes put out, and then ultimately his death. How could Samson be called in Scripture a man of faith (Hebrews 11:32) ? He is a type of the LORD Jesus, and yet how could it be, being such a sinner? There are two things to say by way of introduction, and should the LORD teach us by His Spirit, He will bless it to our understanding.
The first is simply that sin is sin and can never be excused. When it is said in Judges 16:1, "Then Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her." This "going in unto her" is how the Scriptures recorded that Samson, at this particular time in his life, did what he did. Sin is sin and can never be excused, and throughout Scripture, we find no justification for Samson's sin from the Spirit. None that are the LORD's make any justification for their sins. David, when he went in unto Bathsheba and the LORD exposed his sin, said in his prayer unto the LORD, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight" (Psalm 51:4). The LORD brought him to see that this was a sin before Him. The Scriptures say that some people's sins are obvious, they are outward, others hidden, but that all sins, unforgiven by God, lead to certain judgment. Samson's sin, as grievous as it was, did not lead however to his eternal condemnation. There is no way that Samson could have been called a man of faith, as declared in Hebrews 11, and yet be appointed by God to eternal condemnation. And when it is said here, for example, that his hair was cut, he did not know that the Spirit of the LORD had departed from him, but that was only by way of chastening. He did not lose his salvation.
It must be that God was forbearing with him, in his sin, because He had purposed that when Christ would come into the world and lay down His life, it would be to pay his sin debt, just like all the LORD'S people in the Old Testament, as well as all His elect since the cross, at one place, and one time, in Christ's sacrifice (Hebrews 9:15). He was every bit the LORD's even here in this situation, as any one of the LORD's elected children.
Here is the point that we all need to consider: Who among us is any different when it comes to being a sinner? "For by grace are ye saved" (Ephesians 2:8). Samson is an example of the grace of God. There is no case too hard for the LORD And even in Samson's case, the LORD restored him. The LORD worked even through his falls to bring glory and honor to His name and, ultimately, to bring down the enemy. We do not find anywhere in the Scriptures where sin is excused, and yet, God, in His sovereign purpose, uses even sin for His glory. God is the master of it. He directs all things to His honor and glory.
The second point to underscore is that not only is sin, sin and can never be excused, but grace is grace and can never be measured (Romans 5:19-21). There will never be one sin that causes God to cast away one of His own. No matter how grievous that sin appears to men and how much they condemn them, just like they brought that adulterous woman, the LORD said, "Where are those thine accusers?... Go and sin no more" (John 8:11). He spoke peace to that woman, despite all the accusations of those who brought her. They, in their legalistic self-righteousness, brought her to the LORD Jesus for judgment, but God purposed that they bring her to Christ, and He was thereby drawing her to Himself to manifest His grace in her and forgive her. They meant it for evil, but God purposed it for good (Genesis 50:20).
Samson, in what men call this fatal attraction, actually prefigured what our LORD Jesus Christ Himself would endure as the Righteous Judge identifying with sinners. You say, "How so?" Here in verses 1 through 4, even as there was this attraction of Samson for Delilah and his entering in unto her, so our LORD Jesus Christ came in the flesh and identified with what kinds of sinners? You take your dictionary, your Strong's Concordance, and look up the word "harlot". Look up the word "adulterer". For such, the LORD Jesus Christ came into this world. Now, that does not mean that He ever became sinful, but the reality is that the type we see here in Samson is one of the LORD Jesus Christ and the types of sinners He came to save. This is where the fatal attraction comes in, which ultimately led Him to the cross. It was not for any sin of His own that He died on the cross, but the Scriptures say He was numbered with transgressors (Isaiah 53:12). People are aghast. Oh! Samson saw the harlot and went in unto her. It is the same sort of reaction the Pharisees had: "How is it that He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?" (Mark 2:16).
Even as Samson's enemies sought to ensnare him and bring him to condemnation through the sinners with whom he identified, how many times did they approach the disciples, condemn the LORD, and seek to ensnare Him? The enemies of Christ sought to weaken Him. How many times did they seek His death? But it was not going to happen before His time. And that is what we read here in Judges. He took the gates of the city on his shoulders and ran up to the top of the mountain. Such was the work of the Spirit. They sought to render him powerless but could not.
Stop and consider who the sinners are for whom the LORD Jesus Christ interceded before His Father. In Psalm 2:8, the Father said to the Son, "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance..." The word "heathen" means the nations. The Father told the Son that He would give to Him as an inheritance sinners from every tribe, nation, and tongue. Christ gets everyone He asks of the Father. He did not ask for every sinner in the world, but for those that the Father chose from eternity and gave to Him to save (John 17:9).
Therefore, the LORD Jesus would not ask for one more than what the Father purposed that He should have. But He will have every single sinner that He has asked of His Father because they are one in purpose and will. But for whom does He ask? There was not one righteous among them. That is why He said, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32).
The word, "Delilah" means "feeble one". Here we see that although Samson was living in this fallen world, there was one such upon whom he set his love. That word "love" means "to desire, to breathe after." There would have been no relationship between Delilah and Samson had he not sought her, loved her, and drawn her to himself, even in all of her weakness. And there we see a comparison with ourselves. He loved. This was not just a lustful, physical love. But the word there is even used of God's love for His own. In Deuteronomy 4:37, the same word is used. It says, "And because He loved thy fathers, therefore He chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in His sight with His mighty power out of Egypt." That is unconditional love. When the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, there was nothing that they were doing right. They were enslaved. They were in bondage. And yet it pleased God to bring them out. All of that was typical of what God would do centuries later when He would bring His Son to identify with such sinners and bring them out with a mighty hand.
When the Lord is pleased to truly teach us of this love, our mouths are stopped. We will be flat on our faces before the Lord, asking, "Why me, LORD? How can it be that Thou, my God, should love me so?" It is not anything in us, but it is in Him. Just as Samson loved this woman, Delilah, in her weakness, there is a picture of how Christ has loved His own. "Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end" (John 13:1). And again, the fatal attraction, even unto death.
How much did Samson love Delilah? Even unto his death. Consider how many other women were in the land. Yet, he only set his love upon Delilah. Consider further how many other sinners there are in this world, but Christ set His love upon the Delilahs of this world. And it is for them that He came and paid their sin debt.
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