MEMORISE: And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. – Judges 16:20
BIBLE READING: Judges 13:1-8
1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
3 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
8 Then Manoah intreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
MESSAGE:
I studied Samson’s character and realised that contrary to the belief that Delilah was mainly responsible for his downfall, Samson fell because he was undisciplined. He always wanted to do whatever he liked at any time, irrespective of his parent’s instructions. In Judges 14:1-2, he told his parents that he would marry a Philistine lady, even though God had instructed the Israelites not to marry their enemies.
Samson was born at a time when the children of Israel needed a saviour to deliver them from the hands of their enemies – the Philistines. God’s purpose for him was to judge his people and deliver them from bondage; however, he failed in his assignment because of lust and indiscipline.
Are there instructions you are disobeying now because of the lust in your heart? Are you bent on getting your will at all costs, irrespective of elderly counsel? If you are, you need to commit to making a change today. My dear child, you must be teachable and disciplined like Jesus to fulfil God’s purpose for your life. Do not allow any form of indiscipline to hinder you from fulfilling your destiny.
KEY POINT:
Indiscipline can prevent you from fulfilling your destiny.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Job 28:1-30:31 2 Corinthians 2:12-17