ESOCS Devotional 16 July 2023: Be Careful

ESOCS Devotional 16 July 2023

MEMORY VERSE: “Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her.” Judges 16:1

TEXT: JUDGES 16:4-31 (KJV)

⁴And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

⁵And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

⁶And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

⁷And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

⁸Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

⁹Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

¹⁰And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.

¹¹And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

¹²Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.

¹³And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.

¹⁴And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.

¹⁵And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.

¹⁶And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

¹⁷That 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 become weak, and be like any other man.

¹⁸And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

¹⁹And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

²⁰And 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.

²¹But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

²²Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

²³Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.

²⁴And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.

²⁵And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.

²⁶And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.

²⁷Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

²⁸And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

²⁹And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

³⁰And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

³¹Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here

Carelessness brings disastrous calamity. Anywhere people are careless, danger is eminent. Lives have been lost on the altar of carelessness, the (Nurses, Medical Doctors, Drivers, Sailors, Pilot and Parents) can explain better. Several marriages shattered and homes broken because someone was careless. So many destinies have been scattered and battered, thanks to carelessness. There are ministries that are packed up and glory lost at the frequency of careless. Sadly, so many anointed servants of God have lost their voice and ministry because they were careless at one point or the other.

This was the case with Samson; the man ordained from the womb for great ministerial assignment but failed the test of carefulness and eventually became a prey. What were the issues of carefulness with Samson and the lessons we must learn. Here are few:

PLACE CAREFULNESS: “Then went Samson to Gaza…” Where you go determines what you get. Your place determines your pay. To be in the wrong place is to get the wrong pay. Samson had issues with place carefulness and that ruined him and his ministry. Unfortunately, we most times move to places out of our own volition without getting directives from God. The place may be good in your eyes, but how good is it in God’s eyes? Isaac was stopped from leaving Gerar for Egypt (Gen. 26:1-3). Elimelech lost his life and that of his two sons when he left Bethlehem for Moab (Ruth 1:1-5). Sometimes, we are shocked when believers and ministers alike frequent clubs, bars, shrines, etc. Place carelessness is bound to consume a man; there are so many victims today.

SIGHT CAREFULNESS: “… and saw there an harlot…” What we see plays a major role in helping us form opinion about issu-es. It also goes a long way to define our thoughts and actions. No wonder God blinded the eyes of Adam and Eve from seeing the fruits of the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden. The exact day they saw it, they ate it. (Gen. 3:6). Never send the information of what you look at to your brain and heart. David looked, saw and never recovered (2Sam. 11:1-end). Be careful with what you see in life (Luke 11:34).
ACTION CAREFULNESS: “… and went in unto her.” Whatever takes you to the wrong place will fuel the wrong vision that will propel the wrong action. We need to be careful of the actions we take today; they may either make or mar us. Samson’s ministry was grounded because of one singular action. Be careful!

Carefulness is not a gift of the spirit but a deliberate decision taken and executed by man.