SATURDAY 14TH APRIL, 2018 MORNING PRAYER DEVOTION
SCRIPTURE READING:- JUDGES 16
TOPIC:- DELILAH MUST DIE IN YOUR LIFE
TEXT:- JUDGES 16:4
The meaning of Delilah in Hebrew language is delicate or dainty one. That means, the name Delilah is, “She who weakened”. Another meaning of the name Delilah is, amorous; delight; languishing; temptress. Which makes the name of Delilah a Biblical baby name. i.e. the Biblical meaning of the name Delilah is, poor; small; head of hair.
The story of Samson and Delilah reminds us just how important it is to guard our hearts and follow God’s way! Delilah is a woman in the book of Judges, where she is the “Woman in the valley of Sorek” whom Samson loved, and who was his downfall.
The summary from scripture starts with Samson’s birth which was announced by an angel during a dark time for the Israelites. Samson fell in love with her and then the Philistines used her to learn the secret of his strength, this leaves us with more questions than answers about Delilah because she betrayed him to the enemies of Israel.
She was bribed by the “Lords of the Philistines” to obtain from Samson the secret of his strength and the means of overcoming it. She tried on three occasions to obtain from him this secret in vain. On the fourth occasion she wrung it from him. She made him sleep upon her knees, and then called the man who was waiting to help her; who “Cut off the seven locks of his head,” and so his “strength went from him.”
The record of Delilah, the heartless wrecker of a mighty man, is given in eighteen verses; and the description of Samson’s betrayal, fall, bondage and death is one of the most graphic in the Bible. We cannot, of course, write of Delilah without mentioning Samson.
What a contrast they present, and how symbolic they are of characters in the world today! Samson was physically strong but morally weak. Although able to rend a lion, he could not fight his lusts. He could break his bonds, but not his habits. He could conquer Philistines but not his passions.
Delilah was a woman who used her personal charm to lure a man to his spiritual and physical destruction, and she stands out as one of the lowest, meanest women of the Bible. The female Judas of the Old Testament. See Judges 16:4-20.
This Philistine courtesan was a woman of unholy persistence and devilish deceit, who had personal charm, mental ability, self-command, and nerve, but who used all her qualities for one purpose, i.e. money. She and womanly honor and love had never met, for behind her beautiful face was a heart as dark as hell, and full of viperous treachery. “Her supreme wickedness lay not in betraying Samson to his enemies but in causing him to break faith with his ideals.”
Deluding Samson into believing she really loved him, Delilah sold him to blindness, bondage and death. The ease with which she betrayed her husband revealed that she belonged to the enemies of God’s people, the people of whom Samson was the recognized leader at that time.
The Philistines did not like Samson around because he was the champion of Israel and as such interfered with their practices. Therefore he must be got rid of, and in Delilah, the Philistine prostitute they trusted.
The Philistines had one who was willing to be bribed to act as their agent. She had one purpose and that was to secure money, and had no qualms of conscience to trifle with love for the sake of wealth.
To Samson himself, he could not resist a woman’s charm. First one woman and then another took advantage of this deep-seated weakness and he fell.
If we claim to know Jesus, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting scripture and going to Church. It’s actually living the word as life unfolds day to day.
You are the apple of His eye even though you, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and I up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.
As Christians, we need to watch and pray. The Bible says we should abstain from all appearances of evil and at the same time learn how to keep our secret, we should be not be too loose.
Prayer Points:-
1. O Lord God, deliver me from the spirit of Delilah, in the name of Jesus Christ.
2. I refuse to release my secret to the known and unknown enemies of my life, in the name of Jesus Christ.
3. O Lord God, disagree and scatter evil gang-up plowing with my heifer to get me, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Have A Beautiful Saturday!