Anglican Devotional 21 April 2023 – Interventions Of God

The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 21 April 2023 – Interventions Of God

TOPIC: Interventions Of God

READ: Judges 15:1-20 (NKJV)

1 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.

6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.

10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.

17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.

18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?

19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

 

Also Read; anglican-devotional-19-april-2023-born-to-deliver

THE MESSAGE:

Samson’s destiny was to be a deliverer to Israel. However, his wrong attitude in seeking to marry a Philistine wife brought him at loggerheads with the Philistines. His discovery that his wife was given to someone else made him destroy the Philistines crops. The Philistines burnt Samson’s wife and her father and Samson retaliated by slaughtering them and withdrawing to the rock of Etam. The Philistines deployed their men for Samson’s arrest.

The men of Judah handed Samson over to them peacefully. At the battle of Lehi, the Spirit of the Lord intervened and enabled Samson to kill 1,000 Philistines. Samson became so thirsty that he was near death but God intervened on his behalf and water came out at Lehi, which he drank and became revived. Beloved, God can still split open hollow places to meet your need, like He did for Samson, if you call upon Him.

God has a plan for your life (Jeremiah 29:11). Discover this plan and go ahead to fulfill it. However, you need His Spirit to succeed and burn off the ropes that hinder your freedom. Be focused on your God-given destiny. Decide to live to please God and He will always intervene and give you victory over your enemies (Isaiah 54: 17). May God intervene for you today and grant you success as you walk in His will.

PRAYER: My faith looks up to You, my Lord. Help me fulfil my destiny in Jesus’ name. Amen.