The Power of Seduction

Today in my Bible reading I got to spend some time looking at the life of Samson. He was an upstanding guy, dedicated to the Lord from birth...until he saw a pretty girl. 

What is it about a beautiful woman that can turn a guy's head? 

On second thought, don't answer that...

Let's face it. We women have quite a bit of influence over the men in our lives. If you are good, Godly women, you do your best to limit that influence to your husband and only use your powers for good. If you are like Delilah, you use your powers of seduction to find out the source of your man's strength and sell the info to the highest bidder.

Sounds like Samson may have gotten more women than he bargained for. 

What's amazing to me is that Samson didn't see it coming? I'm not sure if he was dimwitted or not, but I kind of doubt it. Any guy that can capture 300 foxes and tie torches to their tails has to be pretty creative. I think it more likely that Delilah was truly blessed in the art of feminine wiles and persistence. 

Because we all know that if seduction doesn't work, persistence and nagging will break down the will of any man. Solomon tells us in Proverbs that it is better to live on the corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife, and considering he had 1000 women in his house, I think he would know!

Of course, this wasn't the first time Samson had been duped by a seductive women. His first marriage was to a women from Timnah who enticed Samson to tell her the secret to a riddle he'd posed to his companions.  He had quite a bit of wealth (and respect) wagered on this riddle, so it was kind of a big deal. 

What does the young lady do? "You hate me! You don't love me!" Sob, Sob, Sob.

After seven days Samson broke down and gave her the answer she was looking for. Like I said, a little crying and a lot of nagging go a long way! Of course, she ratted him out to his companions, and they came to Samson all glib and happy. They had beat him at his own game. 

Then Samson says one of my favorite lines in the whole Bible. Ready for it? 

"If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle." 

There it is ladies. Plain and simple. We can can be upstanding women of God who use our feminine wiles to please, help, and encourage our husbands. 

Or we can be heifers plowing somebody else's field. 

So next time you notice your husband's head turn when you walk by, don't be a Delilah (or some girl from Timnah)! Just smile, keep walking, and praise the Lord that a good marriage is a beautiful thing. 

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