Samson and Delilah AGAIN!

Interesting 'additions' to the Bible...
Which verse of the Bible tells us that Samson had sex with Delilah?
N-O-N-E!
You can swear he did, right? So could I till I read Judges 16 CAREFULLY!
I'll try to explain where the confusion came from...Let's read Judges 16:1-4
"Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron. And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah." (Judges 16:1-4).
Delilah and the harlot in verse 1 were two different women. Please, don't get me wrong, I have ABSOLUTELY no doubt in my mind that Delilah was EVIL!
However, the Bible did not tell us Delilah was a harlot. Of course, she was having a weird relationship with a man who was not her husband. The Philistines knew she could entice Samson, otherwise, they would not have come to her. For whatever it is worth, the harlot lived in Gaza while Delilah lived in the valley of Sorek. (Some have speculated that the valley of Sorek was a 'Red Light District'. Uhmmm...I believe if Delilah was a harlot, the Bible would have said so PLAINLY...)

I am not convinced that sex was what made Delilah appealing to Samson. I believe that when you look up 'Strange Woman' in the dictionary, Delilah's picture should be posted there. That is why I was DEEPLY annoyed when someone flippantly said 'There is a Delilah in all of us'...Please, speak for yourself!

Why do I detest Delilah so much? Because she was EVIL! She was a terrible 'unfriendly friend'. I've seen posts where people have advised married women to learn from Delilah how to 'handle' their men. Uhmmm, I am pretty uncomfortable with such counsel...

I think there was something terribly wrong with Samson. He shows us how being full of self, listening to no one else 'forming strong man/woman' and not being able to bridle one's passion would quickly lead one into the arms of strange women/sons of Belial.

Judges 16:19 gives me shivers...The Bible says she made him sleep upon her knees. I wonder how. Some have speculated that she slept with him. I doubt that he would have slept ON HER KNEES while making love...I'm thinking more of the way Jael made Sisera sleep by giving him milk when he asked for water...systematic destruction, uhm...
She got someone to shave his hair. Then, the Bible says she began to afflict him...HOW? I'm equally as interested in the answer as you probably are. The Bible tells us that his strength went from him...
Today, I have a burden for someone. You've been so confident in your natural abilities. You've been doing your own thing and 'showing yourself'. You are currently in the custody of an 'unfriendly friend' aka Delilah. You have revealed the source of your strength with your loose lips/fingers. They're currently shaving your head and you are being afflicted; your strength is going...
Thankfully, your story does not need to end like Samson's...
"Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses." (Psalm 107:17-19).
"Is any among you afflicted? let him pray..." (James 5:13a).

It's time to cry to the Lord from the pits of affliction. Call on Him and He will answer. It's time to come back home...
Have a blessed and productive day.