Scripture to Read: Judges 16:18–31
Samson gave in to Delilah’s relentless badgering, and it cost him everything. Samson’s head had been shaved while he slept, and according to Judges 16:20, “he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.” Samson was alone and the Philistines came and “gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison” (Judges 16:21). Sin is costly and Samson’s sin cost him God’s strength through the Holy Spirit who had left him. The Philistines praised their false god Dagon for their victory over Samson. Samson was brought from prison to the Philistines place of worship and about 3,000 men and women were present. In Judges 16:26, Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” The only place recorded in Scripture where Samson ever calls upon the Lord is in Judges 16:28 and 30. Samson finally humbled himself before the Lord and asked Him in verse 28, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” Samson grabbed the two middle pillars of the place where the Philistines worshipped their false god and Samson asked the Lord in Judges 16:30, “Let me die with the Philistines!” God answered his prayer. Samson’s unwise decisions cost him his life. We must guard our hearts daily and live for our Lord.
Challenge & Application
What did Samson’s lust cost him in the end?
How do we live to honor our Lord daily and to finish well in this life?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!