The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 22 April 2023 – TOPIC: SIN KILLS
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THE DAILY FOUNTAIN
DAILY DEVOTIONAL OF THE
CHURCH OF NIGERIA (ANGLICAN COMMUNION)
DATE: SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2023
TOPIC: SIN KILLS
16:1. Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.
16:2. [When] the Gazites [were told,] “Samson has come here!” they surrounded [the place] and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him.”
16:3. And Samson lay [low] till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put [them] on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
16:4. Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name [was] Delilah.
16:5. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength [lies,] and by what [means] we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred [pieces] of silver.”
16:6. So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength [lies,] and with what you may be bound to afflict you.”
16:7. And Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any [other] man.”
16:8. So the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings, not yet dried, and she bound him with them.
16:9. Now [men were] lying in wait, staying with her in the room. And she said to him, “The Philistines [are] upon you, Samson!” But he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
16:10. Then Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now, please tell me what you may be bound with.”
16:11. So he said to her, “If they bind me securely with new ropes that have never been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any [other] man.”
16:12. Therefore Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, “The Philistines [are] upon you, Samson!” And [men were] lying in wait, staying in the room. But he broke them off his arms like a thread.
16:13. Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me what you may be bound with.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom” —
16:14. So she wove [it] tightly with the batten of the loom, and said to him, “The Philistines [are] upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled out the batten and the web from the loom.
16:15. Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart [is] not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength [lies.”]
16:16. And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, [so] that his soul was vexed to death,
16:17. that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I [have been] a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any [other] man.”
16:18. When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.
16:19. Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.
16:20. And she said, “The Philistines [are] upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.
16:21. Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.
16:22. However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven.
23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to lDagon their god, and to rejoice. And they said:
“Our god has delivered into our hands
Samson our enemy!”
24 When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said: “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy,
The destroyer of our land, And the one who multiplied our dead.”
25 So it happened, when their hearts were nmerry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars.
26 Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them.”
27 Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there—about three thousand men and women on the oroof watching while Samson performed.
28 Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord God, premember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!”
29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left.
30 Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.
31 And his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and qburied him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel rtwenty years.
THE MESSAGE:
Samson’s weakness for women took him to a Philistine harlot in Gaza and a demonic Philistine woman, Delilah at Sorek. Both relationships were sinful and that with Delilah led to his downfall, loss of anointing and death. Delilah asked for the secret of his strength and Samson told her lies thrice, but when she pestered him, he told her the truth. Delilah, who claimed to love him, got his hair shaved and called in the Philistines who captured him, removed his eyes and took him to Gaza. With time, his hair grew and during a Philistine feast, Samson was brought to entertain them. Samson prayed that he would die with the Philistines and God granted gave him strength to pull down the pillars and the house collapsed and killed Samson and 3,000 Philistines.
Beware of your weaknesses so that Satan does not use them to arrange for your downfall. Samson’s weakness for women terminated his great destiny and rare anointing. What is yours? It may be women, men, money, land, alcohol, fashion, position, title, cars, properties, phones, computers, television, etc. Anything that you pursue passionately and spend undue time on is your weakness. Learn to overcome your weakness by confessing it to God; ask for forgiveness and cleansing by Jesus’ blood. Meddling with sin will gradually terminate your great destiny. Therefore, kill sin before it kills you.
PRAYER: Father, help me to overcome my weakness by Jesus’ blood and live a holy life in Jesus’ name. Amen
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