Philistines

Mercy in Pinnacle Moments

“Then Samson prayed to the Lord, ‘Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.’” – Judges 16:28 There’s no doubt that the story of Samson is a sad one. He was endowed by God with a great gift, but his appetite for earthly things led him to an untimely demise. Over a course of years, he broke all three pillars of his Nazarite vow, and when Delilah seduced him into sharing that his long hair was the key to his power, she turned him over to Philistine warriors — the very ones he had been set apart to conquer. After gouging out his eyes and sending him to prison, they held a great feast to thank their god, Dagon, for his help in capturing their enemy. As part of the evening’s festivities,

December 7, 2020 No Comments

Discerning Worldly Deception

“Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, ‘See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.’” – Judges 16:4,5 As we continue looking at the story of Samson, it behooves us to examine the circumstances that ultimately led to his demise. Since he was a source of constant frustration to the Philistines, they wanted more than anything to know the origin of his strength. If they could figure out where his might came from, they could cut him down at his point of weakness. Enter Delilah. She was a beautiful Philistine woman, and Samson was

December 6, 2020 No Comments

The Gift in Sacrifice

“As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.” – Judges 15:14,15 Samson was set apart by God to deliver his people from the evil Philistines, and in return for abstaining from touching anything deceased, drinking no wine, and not cutting his hair, he was endowed with incredible supernatural strength that enabled him to knock down buildings, tear apart gates of iron, and kill 1,000 men with the jawbone of a donkey. This made the Philistines rightfully afraid of him, and it caused them to think twice before coming after God’s people. Strangely, in spite of his superhuman abilities, Samson was constantly tempted to break his Nazarite vow

December 5, 2020 1 Comment

Set Apart

“You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” – Judges 13:5 When we look at those in the Bible who adhered to the ancient Nazarite vow, there’s perhaps none as famous as Samson. This Herculean man of enormous physical strength was consecrated for the work of God when he was born, and from the time he was young, it was “drilled” into his mind that he was not to touch any dead thing, to drink any wine, or to cut his hair. While he understood that he was a warrior set apart to save the Israelites from the Philistines, he was fascinated by the culture of his enemies and found himself constantly

December 4, 2020 No Comments

Speak Victory!

“David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’” – 1 Samuel 17:45 Lest any of us forget, words are powerful, and the things we say to ourselves and to others dramatically impact our outcomes. David was proof of this. Although he was young, inexperienced, and may have looked foolhardy to some, he spoke affirmatively and confidently in the presence of people. In fact, such a leader was he that he used his words to comfort and assure King Saul himself, telling him not to lose heart, and reminding him that the Philistines would ultimately be defeated. Even when Goliath spoke violently and intimidatingly in his hearing, the young shepherd responded with resolve as he invoked the name of His great

November 23, 2020 1 Comment

Giants Fall

“Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.” – 1 Samuel 17:2,3 We learned yesterday that David was a skilled musician, but he was also a skilled warrior. In fact, when the Jews were in a major battle with the Philistines, he was the only one who dared to go out and fight Goliath, who was a giant enemy intimidator. The Bible says that there were two hills with a great valley in between, and on each hill, opposing armies were staged. In an effort to frighten the Jews and get them to back down, every night, they would send Goliath, who was about nine feet tall, to stand at the edge of the hill and hurl insults at the people of

November 20, 2020 No Comments

Mercy in Pinnacle Moments

Discerning Worldly Deception

The Gift in Sacrifice

Set Apart

Speak Victory!

Giants Fall

Receive your daily eDevotional

Don't miss new updates in your email!

WATCH

CONNECT

SHOP

ABOUT

DONATE