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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Saturday, 5 July 2025:
Judges 16:1-3 — Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her.
Samson, though called by God to serve Him mightily, completely defied God’s commands, something for which God will certainly hold him accountable as we continue to read. Likewise, God will not tolerate any unrepentant sin in your life. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)
Despite being a judge of Israel and a man set apart from birth, Samson continues his pattern of indulgence and disregard for God’s law. His visit to a prostitute in Gaza, the heart of Philistine territory, is not just a personal sin but a spiritual betrayal. Though he escapes capture, the deeper tragedy is how lightly he treats his calling. Samson confuses God’s patience with God’s approval. Like many today, he believes that because judgment is delayed, his choices are acceptable. But sin always has consequences.
– Proverbs 6:32 — He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself.
– 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 — For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality…
Judges 16:4-5 — After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
Samson’s weakness for ungodly women leads him to Delilah. The Philistine rulers offer her a fortune to discover the source of his strength. She represents a world system that flatters, tempts, and then betrays in order to control and destroy.
– 1 John 2:16 — For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.
Judges 16:5 — Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies….
Samson’s relationships were not godly or loving; therefore, he was not treated with love and faithfulness by those to whom he made himself vulnerable.
Judges 16:15 — And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me?”
The ungodly talk about love, but they have no idea what love really is. Love can only emanate from the Source, which is God Himself. We don’t create love, we only share, in our unique way, the love that flows from God through us. He is the Vine, we are but branches.
Judges 16:6-16 — And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.”
Delilah repeatedly asks Samson the secret of his strength, and he lies to her three times. Each time, she tests his answers by setting him up for capture, yet he continues to play along. Sin makes us foolish. He is so confident in his gifting that he becomes careless with it. Samson plays with sin until he is trapped by it. What we flirt with will eventually dominate us if we do not flee from it.
– Proverbs 7:21-23 — With much seductive speech she persuades him… all at once he follows her… little knowing it will cost him his life.
– Galatians 6:7 — Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
Judges 16:17-21 — But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
Finally, Samson tells Delilah the truth: his strength lies in his Nazarite vow to God, symbolized by his uncut hair. She shaves his head while he sleeps, and the Spirit of the Lord departs from him. He wakes expecting to fight as before, but finds himself powerless, captured, blinded, and enslaved.
This is the most tragic verse in Samson’s story: “he did not know that the Lord had left him.” Sin dulls our sensitivity to God until we do not even notice His absence.
– Romans 1:21-22 — For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God… Claiming to be wise, they became fools.
– Revelation 3:17 — You say, I am rich… not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
– Isaiah 55:6 — “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near….”
“One of the signs of a heart that has shifted from God is the absence of spiritual power. If you are like Samson, you will not be immediately aware that God’s power has left you. Only after he tried to defeat his enemies did Samson recognize that something was wrong. He went against the Philistines as before, expecting their swift defeat. But this time the Philistines easily prevailed over him.
If you allow sin to creep into your life, if you refuse to obey your Lord, if you do not reconcile with those who have hurt you, your spiritual vitality is waning. You may assume everything is fine, but when you pray, answers do not come as they once did. You once had a positive effect on those around you, but now your influence is negligible or even harmful. Your life once brought reconciliation, but now you experience problems in your relationships. Those around you who have relied upon your strength are discovering that you are not as helpful to them as you once were. Your lack of spiritual power is not crying out for attention; but you are seeing subtle changes in your spirit and in your relationship with God.
How can you stop this spiritual decline? You must regularly repent of any sin. You must invite God to search your life to see if there are attitudes, relationships, or activities that need to be removed. You must fervently obey His will. If you walk with God in this manner, you will grow in spiritual strength and be used mightily by Him.” (Henry T. Blackaby)
Judges 16:22-30 — Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God…”
In the end, blind and broken, Samson finally prays. It is the first time in the book that he sincerely cries out for strength from God for God’s purposes rather than his own glory. God hears his prayer, and Samson brings the temple of Dagon crashing down, killing more Philistines in his death than in his life. Samson’s story ends not in glory but in grace. His strength had always been God’s gift, not his own. Only when stripped of everything does he truly trust God.
Again, the key takeaway from the life is Samson is that spiritual fruit (Galatians 5) is essential for spiritual gifts to be beneficial. Spiritual gifts without spiritual fruit leads only to death and destruction, despite how impressive gifts might appear. Spiritual fruit reveals a real life in Christ, without of which there is no real life, only death (see John 15).
– 2 Corinthians 12:9 — “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
– Hebrews 11:32-34 — …Samson, who through faith conquered kingdoms… whose weakness was turned to strength.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 5 July 2025: Samson had strength but not self-control, gifting but not godliness. He used his calling to serve himself until he lost it. But God’s mercy met him in the lowest place. He was never the hero—God was.
Today: Ask God to search your heart. Are there areas where you’re depending on gifting but not cultivating godly character? Are you flirting with sin instead of fleeing it? Come back to the cross. True strength comes from total surrender.
Pray: “Father, I confess that I have often relied on my own strength, gifts, and personality while neglecting holiness and humility. Forgive me. Teach me to fear You, to flee sin, and to serve You in Spirit and in truth. May my life point to Your grace and not my greatness. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 