Judges 16:14
And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
This verse belongs to Delilah's repeated efforts to test, ensnare, and expose Samson to the Philistines in order to deceive and destroy him. While Samson slept, Delilah fastened his hair into the loom with the pin, beam, and web and cried that the Philistines were upon him, and when he awoke he pulled away with the pin, beam, and web, showing his strength remained. After repeated failed tests, Samson was overcome and disclosed that his hair had never been cut because he was dedicated to God as a Nazarite.
His hair had no power in itself; it was a sign of his loyalty to God, and when he surrendered that sign through sin he forfeited the blessing of strength. Though bound by a lifelong Nazarite vow, he broke his sacred pledge, and Delilah's influence separated him from God. By giving to her the love and service that belonged to God, he committed idolatry and sacrificed his honor, conscience, and other valuable interests to passion. He did not make God his strength nor govern his passions, and his yielding to temptation led to shame, disaster, and death.
Blinded and captivated by Delilah's charms, he was deceived and lulled into danger while unaware of the danger she posed, and through sinful indulgence surrendered the strength God had given him, sacrificing his strength, reputation, and usefulness. Through sexual temptation his strength was betrayed into the hands of the Philistines, leaving him who had been Israel's defense vulnerable to his enemies. His fall warns that self-confidence and failure to guard the affections leave a person vulnerable to temptation, and that continued indulgence can blind people to sin and lead toward ruin, as illustrated when Cornell was blinded by the devil and by a woman's influence and could not discern the danger of lust replacing Christlike love. The account warns that making a spouse the chief concern so that the relationship becomes a snare leads a person farther from God and causes strength to diminish.