Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - What Sin Leads To | Judges | Judges 16:1-22

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to Tim Minna Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. And I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we're going through the Book of Judges. Hey, Patrick and I are starting a new podcast. It's called Truth Over Tribe, where we talk about cultural and political issues from a Christian point of view. If you're interested, subscribe to Truth Over Tribe on your podcast player, so you won't miss any of the episodes.

Starting point is 00:00:32 Why do I do things I don't want to do? I wish I could answer that question because doing what I don't want to do or the reverse, not doing what I do want to do, is one of the most frustrating things in my life. Which of us hasn't said that we want to save more money or eat healthier or watch less television or read our Bibles more or listen to Tim Minut Bible talks more, only to find ourselves falling back into the same bad habits that we sincerely disavowed. There is an addictive element to sin. Now, my personal working definition of addiction is the inability to break a habit that I know is harming me. Now, look, I know that my definition of addiction wouldn't pass muster with a licensed counselor, but it helps me understand the power of habits, vices, and sin in my life.

Starting point is 00:01:22 Sins are addictive, at least according to my definition, because I keep doing them even though I know they are damaging me and the people around me. I don't know how you can read. the story of Samson in the book of judges and not see that he's addicted to sin. And I don't know how you can look at Samson and not see yourself in him. Chapter 16, verse one. One day, Samson went to Gaza where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. You just want to yell at Samson.

Starting point is 00:01:54 After all you've been through Samson, after all you've learned, you're going to go back to the Philistines. You're going to go back to a woman who isn't your wife? Will you never learn? But it's even worse than it sounds. The rush for pleasure is demanding that Samson take more and more risks. This time he's gone to Gaza, which is the capital city of the Philistines, and he's sleeping with a prostitute. That's how sin always works. It starts small, but eventually demands everything. What starts out as fun or interesting or not that big a deal grows into the monster that ruins you. That's why every moral compromise is so important. That's why every

Starting point is 00:02:38 sin, no matter how small, should be exposed and confessed and repented of. Our hearts and consciences get used to turning away from God, and before long, we don't care. Verse 4. Sometime later, he fell in love with a woman whose name was Delilah. So now he's moved on past the prostitute, and he's with this new woman, Delilah. Verse 5. The ruler of the Philistines went to her and said, See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Delilah is motivated by her own personal ambition.

Starting point is 00:03:19 These rulers of the Philistines will reward her if she can hand Samson over to them. The first thing they promised to do is give her a bunch of money. Now, Delilah is used to getting what she wants, so she straightforwardly asked Samson to tell her the secret of his great strength and how he could be tied up and subdued. Look, she's not hiding the ball. She's not being subtle. She's obviously asking for inside knowledge so she can use that knowledge against him and hand him over to his enemy. Samson answers that if he's tied up by seven fresh bowstrings, he will lose his superhuman strength. What in the world is he doing? Why is he having this conversation with Delilah? Now it turns out that he's lied to Delilah and when she ties him up, he just snaps the court. But the bigger problem is that he's playing with danger. Is Samson addicted to sex? Is Samson addicted to the adrenaline rush that danger brings? Is Samson overconfident? All three of these seem likely.

Starting point is 00:04:24 Samson and Delilah go back and forth some more. She asked what will take away his strength and he gives her wrong answers. Now we get down to verse 15. Then she said to him, how can you say I love you when you won't confide in me? This is the third time you made a fool of me and haven't told me the secret of your great strength. With such nagging, she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it. Sin is relentless. It just keeps nagging.

Starting point is 00:04:54 at us. It keeps making promises. It keeps pestering us. Since Samson stayed engaged in this conversation with Delilah, even though he knew what she was up to, he eventually breaks down and tells her where his strength comes from. Verse 17. So we told her everything. No razor has ever been used on my head, he said. Because I have been a Nazarite dedicated to God from my mother's womb, if my head were shaved, my strength would leave me and I would become as weak as. any other man. Delilah had his head shaved while he is sleeping, and verse 19 says that Samson's strength left him. Once again, Delilah yells out that the Philistines are upon him. Verse 20. He awoke from his sleep and thought, I'll go out as before and shake myself free. But he did not know that the

Starting point is 00:05:44 Lord had left him. So let's make sure we get what happened. Samson tells Delilah the truth about where his strength comes from, and then he goes to sleep in her presence. What's he thinking? He knows what she's going to do. He knows that she's trying to hand him over to the Philistines. How dumb can he be? Okay, life lesson here. Sin makes you stupid. Sin makes you unthinkful and complaining in light of all that God has blessed you with. Sin makes you think that the grass is greener somewhere else with someone else. Sin makes you think that divorce isn't hard on kids. Sin makes you think that you haven't had too much to drink. Sin makes you stupid.

Starting point is 00:06:28 And in Samson's case, sin led him to believe that his strength was from himself, that he was not dependent on God. Samson thought that no matter what he did, he'd never lose that strength. That's why even after he knew his head had been shaved, he thought he would just go out as before and shake himself free and defeat his enemies. Verse 21. Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and took him down to Gaza, binding in with bronze shackles. They set him to grinding grain in the prison. See where sin led him? It led him to being enslaved. Sin led him to prison. Sin always leads us

Starting point is 00:07:11 down a bad path. Sin wants to defeat you in your life. Don't entertain sin. Don't think you can control sin. Instead, expose sin, confess sin, repent of sin, fight against sin. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps others find this podcast more easily. Also ask yourself who you could share this podcast with. Texting an episode to a friend or family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually.

Starting point is 00:07:43 If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - What Sin Leads To | Judges | Judges 16:1-22

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