“D’lilah said to Shimshon, ‘Till now you’ve been making fun of me and telling me lies. Tell me what it takes to tie you up.’ He said, ‘If you weave the seven locks of my hair across thread on a loom.’ So she fastened her cloth work in the loom with a pin and wove his hair in, then said to him, ‘Shimshon! The P’lishtim have come for you!’ He awoke from his sleep and pulled away the loom pin and the interwoven cloth.”-Judges 16:13-14
So Samson tells Delilah to weave his hair into 7 braids and then weave the braids into the cloth of a loom.
Notice the number 7 again.
Although Biblically speaking, 7 is the number of completion, it was also considered a magic number in the pagan world.
So what Samson said to Delilah would’ve made sense to her.
Let’s talk about that loom for a sec.
If you’re carrying any images of some portable sewing machine manufactured by Toyota or something, instantly perish that thought.
The loom was a humongous and heavy weaving machine that made cloth.
And it was firmly affixed to the ground.
If Samson was telling the truth (which he wasn’t) that his strength would disappear once his hair was woven into the loom, then he would indeed be trapped like a rat caught in a mouse trap.
But that was not to be the case.
Pretty much a replay of everything that happened before occurred.
Delilah shouts out:
…”Samson, the Philistines have come upon you”!
And Samson instantly reacts and breaks free from whatever trap he had let Delilah put him into.
In this case, Samson easily broke away from the loom pin and the cloth interwoven into it.
Now there’s some interesting psychology going on here we should take a good look at.
While Samson thought he had the situation under control, there was also an element of him being completely taken in by Delilah’s outward beauty and sexy flirtations.
In fact, the whole sex industry is based on this premise.
I’ve seen men go to some hostess club here in Tokyo where I live and get suckered into emptying their bank accounts…
Just for one night of pleasure with a girl (or a couple of girls) who treated them like a loaf of bread.
Men can be that blinded by a seductive female.
And it doesn’t really matter if the guy is married or not…
Studies show that most men who visit prostitutes regularly are married guys.
In fact, I personally know a couple of married guys out here who confess they visit whores regularly behind their wives’ backs because they’re just not getting their needs met at home.
That’s what they tell me anyway.
Or they say they want “variety”.
Well, these guys aren’t believers anyway.
So what else do they have to live for?
Absolutely nothing…to be honest with you.
Getting back to Samson, since he was an only child, he never had a sister or a family friend who was a girl.
Therefore, he really had no experience interacting with a woman as a real and normal human being.
If he had, perhaps he would’ve been able to see through Delilah’s insincerity.
To him, women were just objects to be used to serve his selfish needs.
It seemed like all he wanted from them was sex.
That’s probably why we don’t ever read of Samson interacting with any Israelite girls…
Because the Laws of Moses strictly forbid immoral sexual relationships among God’s people.
Sex is one of the most powerful forces that exist between humans…
And if not controlled in a Godly way, it can and will lead to one’s destruction physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified:
that you should avoid sexual immorality;
that each of you should learn to control your own body
in a way that is holy and honorable,
not in passionate lust like the pagans,
who do not know God“
-1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
How is him going with a prostitute an immoral sexual relation if it was not a sin. It’s not considered adultery. And what are your views on married men having sex with prostitutes for relief. Like every once in a while
Hi Kurt,
As you point out, true.
Technically, it was not a sin.
But not wise either.
Here’s a weird analogy to try and explain what I mean.
Eating a double cheese extra large pizza every night before going to bed isn’t a sin either…
But neither is it wise.
It could lead to obesity and other complications such as diabetes.
Same with sex with prostitutes…
You’re wasting time and energy that could be better spent on more Godly pursuits.
Not to mention the risk of disease.
To answer your second question, about a married man having sex with a prostitute, the answer is the same.
If that prostitute is unattached (meaning not married to another man or living in her father’s house)…
Or if the sex he’s having with the prostitute isn’t part of some worship ritual to another God, then I don’t see it as a sin.
It is neither adultery nor idolatry per the strict Torah definition on the matter.
But we still have to ask ourselves the question, is it a wise thing to do?
How would you your wife feel if you were bedding down with prostitutes?
Having said that, I will say the attitudes in the west (especially North America) differ from the rest of the world.
I’ve been living in Asia for the past 20 years and I will say they don’t seem to have the guilt and repressive attitudes towards sex that exist in the West.
Here are 3 examples to explain what I mean.
EXAMPLE 1:
I was once talking with an elderly Japanese lady and she shared with me how with her permission her husband sometimes visits one of the many brothels that exist in the Tokyo area (there are tons out here). Apparently she didn’t have a problem with it. But I think in the USA, it’s unthinkable.
EXAMPLE 2:
I was once conversing with an Indian professional and he told me that he was married but every once in a while visits brothels for “relief” as you put it. When I asked him why didn’t he just get “relief” from his wife, he answered me with one word: “variety”. He said he wanted more variety and there wasn’t any sense of shame and guilt on his face whatsoever.
EXAMPLE 3:
On a more personal level, I remember one incident in my late teens when I was having a private heart-to-heart conversation with my dad who is Japanese (not Japanese-American, but 100%-born-and-raised-in-Japan Japanese). I was feeling insecure and nervous about my manhood with a girlfriend I was seeing at the time and wanted some fatherly advice. Well, he suggested I visit a brothel to get over my nervousness and become more familiar with sex.
Now I’m not condoning any of the above.
My point is the prudish attitudes towards sex that exist in the gentile American version of Biblical Christianity (which is so ridiculously far removed from what Scripture really says on a variety of topics) is not the end all be all of the Creator’s mind on sexual matters. America ain’t the only country in the world. And with a divorce rate that’s over 50%, I don’t think the USA has a lot to boast about in this area (I say this as an American by the way).
Remember, Yeshua said that “I assure you: Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you! …
A lot of people think Yeshua meant repentant prostitutes or those who have stopped being prostitutes.
I’m not so sure about that man.
I mean was it so easy for a prostitute who made her living by selling erotic services to all of a sudden become like an accountant or something in those days?
Anyways, to close this comment, here are some interesting resources, to check out:
http://www.godrules.net/articles/harlotry.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC6ci2PC8qo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfjmW4EILFI