March 20, 2014 - Thursday

Start Time: 6:17 A.M.

End Time: 7:00 A.M.

Title: Samson and Delilah

Scripture: Judges 16:1 – 31

God’s Message / God’s Promise / God’s Commands:

→ One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn we’ll kill him.”But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.

NOTES:

Ø God gives us the wisdom and strength not to fall under the enemies’ traps for us!  Even with careful planning, the trap that the enemy set for Samson failed because God ensured that him wakes up in the middle of the night.  At times, we are unaware that God wakes us up in the middle of the night or puts us in an ordinary situation that became a habit for us or not, that delivers us from the snares of our enemies.  We continue living without really seeing that God protected or delivered us from the enemy because we thought it was just a regular action in our part.  God brings us out of our trouble many times even without our knowledge at times!  Thank You Jesus!

→Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.  The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels^[a] of silver.”So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.” Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”  Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered. Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.” He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads. Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.” He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric and^[b] tightened it with the pin.  Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric. Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.”  With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it. So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”  When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.^[c] And his strength left him.  Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.  Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. ²² But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

NOTES:

Ø God protects us from our enemy’s traps but most of the time we are the reasons why we fell into their trap, still God made sure that it will work out for our own good in the end!  No matter what the Philistines did or planned, it always backfired but because of our weaknesses, our inability to just trust God completely and our flaw of trusting onto ourselves, we end up walking into the trap ourselves without any luring from our enemies.  Nevertheless, God still allows it to happen for a purpose and a plan!  Praise Jesus!

→Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.” When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain.” While they were in high spirits, they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them. When they stood him among the pillars, Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roofwere about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.  Then Samson prayed to theLord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived. Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led^[d] Israel twenty years.

NOTES:

Ø God hears and sees our miseries and He has a purpose and plan to break us free from it even in times when it seems to be too impossible!  Always remember that everything work out for our own good so no matter how gloom or dark our future seems today, God sees it and He has a plan why we are where we are at the moment so trust Him only at all times!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus Precious God and King!  Thank You for Your undying love for me.  Thank You because no matter what You protect me from my enemies.  Thank You because even when I am stubborn and full of myself, You allow even the darkest of times in my life but always turn it around for my good.  Jesus You are truly undeniably the best Lord and savior because there is none like You.  Thank You because You turn my miseries into joy and victory.  Thank You because instead of condemning or judging me for my foolish acts, You pardon me and turn every negative acts I did into something positive for myself.  Jesus You are truly magnificent.  Help me to fully surrender to You and You only Lord.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen!