Delilah: The Secret of your Weakness

Judges 16

Did they not warn you,
o Man,
that woman is dangerous?
Did they not tell you
she would lure you into her web,
wrap you round her little finger,
conquer you to be her slave?
Did they not warn you,
o Man?

But you thought yourself strong,
and thought womankind weak.
You thought you conquered me,
thought you possessed my heart,
thought I was yours,
trembling in your hand.
Did they not warn you,
o Man?

Tell me, o Man,
the secret of your strength,
and I will tell you
the secret of my weakness.
Tell me, o Man -
let it slip
like honey from your lips,
like the kisses you give
unsparingly -
they prove nothing,
they cannot prove your love.
Tell me, o Man,
if you truly love me,
the secret of your strength.
Did they not warn you,
o Man?

You thought yourself strong -
but you are weak.
You thought me weak -
but I am strong.
You thought you had me captured,
but I had captured you,
ensnared you in my web,
wrapped around my little finger.
You thought my heart
was trembling in your hand -
now you are trembling under mine,
stripped of your power.
O Man,
did they not warn you?

This is the secret
of your weakness:
that you forgot
the secret of your strength.

__________________________________________________________________________

[January 2013]

Don't overestimate yourself.
Don't underestimate women.
And be careful of anyone saying "you don't love me if you don't do (...)". It's what finally made Samson snap and tell Delilah his secret.
Though I think Samson's biggest mistake was that he overestimated himself and forgot that God gave him his strength, and that it didn't just grow on him with his hair. Growing his hair was a sign of belonging to God - by giving himself to Delilah he actually left that calling already, in a way.

The very last bit used to be "you forgot / the secret of my strength" - I changed it today (24. Feb 2014) because I think Samson was not only underestimating Delilah, but not estimating with God.

I must confess I had fun writing this. ;-)