Religion & Spirituality
After judging Israel 20 years, Samson was now around 40 years old. Being unmarried, undisciplined, and unwise, he risks his life by visiting a Philistine prostitute in the fortified city of Gaza. Trying to trap him, the men lock the massive gate. But after leaving the prostitute late at night, Samson tears off the city gates and drags them nearly 40 miles away to Hebron. Don’t let disappointments lead to flirting with disaster. Later, he starts living with Delilah, a Philistine woman in the Sorek Valley. While there, five Philistine rulers offer her 1100 pieces of silver each to betray Samson (5500 pieces probably worth over $3,000,000—10 pieces/year’s wage; Judg. 17:10). The toxic mixture of loneliness and feeling invincible led Samson to the edge of obedience. Instead of guarding his heart, he remained in a vulnerable situation (Prov. 4:23; 7:4-27; 2 Tim. 2:22). Small cracks in character can lead to catastrophic failure.