The Law of The Pendulum

Text: Judges 16:4-6 Date: Sunday 16th October 2022

A pendulum is a weight which is suspended from a central pivot, which enables the weight or weights to swing to and fro.

It is said that everything in mechanical nature oscillates back and forth and is evolving and devolving.

In our story today, because of Israel’s sins, God delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

After which He rose up Manoah, who was married to an unknown woman, who was barren.

But after 40 years of being oppressed by the Philistines, God would eventually open the womb of Manoah’s wife and she would give birth to Samson.

Judges 13:5 tells us that Samson would be a Nazarite from the womb and he would deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

Samson certainly did not know who he was, do you know who you are?

The Law of the Pendulum:

Verse 4 of our text tells us that Samson loved Delilah, but this was not the first time that he had allowed himself to be engaged by strange women.

Judges 14:1-2 & 16:1 strange women was Samson’s Achilles heel. Samson was slipping down the slippery slope of sin fast, he did not realise that Delilah would be the source and means of his downfall and demise.

• In verse 7 he said bind me with seven withs.
• In verse 11 He said bind me with ropes.
• In verse 13 he said weave the locks of my hair.

And finally; in verse 17 he reveals to Delilah the source of his great strength. He was tricked and seduced into revealing the source of his amazing strength, the result of which was him being humiliated, losing the anointing
of God on his life and ultimately his life.

One of the saddest verses in the Bible has to be Judges 16:20 what a contrast between that verse and Judges 14:6 – Lord have mercy.

God bless,