JUDGES 16:16-21 – And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 17 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.” 18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. 19 She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. 21 And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.”
THEME OF THE DAY: KEEPING OUR SPIRITUAL GUARDS UP. Samson’s story is a trail of sadness and regret. So favored by the Lord, yet, he failed the Lord. His failures are lessons for us, even warnings, of the need to keep our spiritual guards up in two areas.
First, first be on guard against the company we keep. Read the story of Samson and see him making bad choices by getting involved with a pagan and ungodly crowd, particularly the woman Delilah. Learn this lesson, Christian. The company we keep will be the people we become. Samson didn’t see this coming. He listened to the screams of his sinful flesh, and like an ox led to slaughter, he compromised his faith, wrecked his life, and wore the stain for the remainder of his life. To protect our spiritual lives, choose the right company. The author of the one hundred and nineteenth Psalm wrote “I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts” (Psalm 119:63). Make this our regular practice. Be in the company much with those most acquainted and near Christ. To do so will motivate and sustain Godly living. To not do so by frequenting the company of the ungodly, we will be headed to spiritual disaster. Let Samson instruct us of this sad reality.
Another lesson we learn from Samson about keeping our spiritual guards up is found in today’s scripture – And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death And he told her all his heart (Judges 16:16-17a). What happened? Delilah simply wore Samson’s resistance and resolve down leading to his compromise and demise. The lesson? Ungodly influences, attacks by the devil, an alluring world, and the hounding of our flesh will never cease to assault us. Wave after wave after wave will come with the goal for us to drop our guard leading to spiritual compromise. The words of our Lord are the application against this constant onslaught – “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).
So, the battle is on. All the time. Be mindful of the people we associate with and the influences from them, the devil, world, and our flesh. We are not living in a playground on earth but a battleground so live with a warfare mentality each day!
PRAYER: “Father, keep me aware of the many dangers I face daily that want to bring spiritual defeat in my life.”
QUOTE: “If we let up for one moment in the spiritual war we are called to each day, certain spiritual defeat will occur.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim