Proverbs 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility.
Have you ever met a young man who acted like he was invincible? He has not yet had a major accident nor has he seen just how frail he is in this world. Through the hard knocks of life, he will […]
Proverbs 14:16 A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.
How do you respond to temptation? Do you run to temptation or do you flee away? Your response to temptation demonstrates whether you are a fool or a wise individual.
A fool is confident in his or her ability to […]
Judges 16:17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother�s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall be like any other man.
Delilah had been offered a lot of money if she could figure out the source of Samson�s faith and make him weak. Delilah on three other occasions had asked Samson�s the source of his strength and Samson told Delilah a lie. Finally, Delilah wore Samson down and he told her the source of his strength. Delilah knew that he had told her the source and she informed the Philistines to bring their money for she was going to deliver Samson to them. Delilah shaved Samson�s hair and then watched the Philistines take him away. The Philistines put out his eyes and put him in prison.
Samson made the mistake of telling the wrong person something God had shared with him. Samson told Delilah who had no desire to help and support Samson in his duty to God the source of his ability to do God�s work. Delilah used the inside information not to help Samson but to bring him down. Samson did not have to tell Delilah his secret, but he did because he loved his relationship with Delilah more then he desired to serve God.
Samson had already been betrayed once when he told his Philistine wife the answer to the riddle and she told her fellow countrymen. He should have been more careful when telling Delilah the source of his strength. He had a duty to serve God, and he should have realized that Delilah did not really care about Samson destroying the Philistines and delivering Israel. Since Delilah was not interested in a similar calling, Samson had no right sharing special truths that God had given him to someone who was not going to help him fulfill God�s purpose for his life.
Samson had a calling from God and if he was looking for a wife she should have had a similar calling so as to support him. Samson�s calling was to deliver Israel from the Philistines, by looking for love among the Philistine women; Samson was showing his lack of faith by putting himself in a compromising situation. Samson did compromise by telling things that God had shared with him to Delilah.
Not ever deep spiritual truth or word from the Lord needs to be shared with everyone. Jesus commanded you that you should not cast your pearls before swine. Just because God has shared something exciting and new with you, it does not mean that you can rush out and tell everyone what the Lord is doing. Instead, you must be judicious in whom you share deep spiritual truths with. You have an obligation to God to determine if the person you are sharing with has a similar heart for the Lord and whether they will rejoice with you and encourage you to do what the Lord has said. If you do cast great spiritual pearls before swine, then Satan may be able to bring you down as he brought Samson down.
You have an obligation to God to be careful about what you share. You do not have a duty to share everything with everyone. The world does not have a right to know everything about you. By faith you will be slow to answer when you start to share the deeper direction of God. You can share the things that God has done for you, but you must be careful when you start sharing the Lord�s direction and guidance to others. First discover whether the person you are sharing with desires to encourage or destroy you.
Hebrews 11:32c and of Samson,
Samson was a special child. An angel of God foretold his birth. Samson was to be raised a Nazarite and God was going to give him great strength. When Samson matured, he began to make the Philistines life miserable. It did not matter how large a force the Philistines had, Samson seemed to have the strength to overcome extraordinary odds.
However, Samson loved Delilah, a Philistine, and she was able to find the secret of Samson�s strength. After Samson�s hair was cut, he was weak and was easily captured by the Philistines. The Philistines plucked out his eyes and put him prison. Samson demonstrated his faith by asking God to give him strength once more. God answered Samson�s request and he killed about 3,000 Philistines when he pulled down the two center pillars of a house where they were having a feast.
