Fri.’s Devo - Binding the Strongman

Read Judges 15:1-16:31, John 2:1-25, Ps. 103:1-22 Pr. 14:17-19 The first sentence reads: “…at the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a kid.” Wheat harvest is the time of Penticost so it could read: “on Pentecost, God presented his wife, the church, with the perfect gift, the Holy Spirit.” In the life of Samson we see the reason the Holy Spirit was given us. It is to bind the strong man, fight our enemies, and to move in supernatural power. The number 3,000 is used in the story. The first Pentecost was on Mt. Sinai when God gave Moses the 10 Commandments. As a result, 3,000 were killed when they made the golden calf. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit was given on Pentecost and 3,000 were saved when Peter stood up, filled with the Holy Spirit, and preached. Another interesting tidbit in today’s reading was how Delilah brought Samson down. Samson in this story is the picture of the strongman. Mark 3:27 says, “No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.” Delilah needed to know how to bind this strong man, Samson, so when she kept failing she had to find the secret of his strength. When she did, she could bind him and subdue him. Sometimes in our lives we need to know the source of our problem before we can successfully fight and win. If you are fighting depression, then you might want to find out how it started. If it was passed down from your mother, then you need to find the source of why she was depressed. Then you have the tools to bind it successfully. It’s like pulling weeds. If you don’t get the root, you will continue to fight weeds, but if you can kill the root, you have gotten rid of your weed problem. In John we see another picture of the Holy Spirit which is wine. The Holy Spirit is the new wine, the new covenant that was better than the old. God saved the best for last! Lord, thank you for the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit. May we honor His presence in our lives today.