Reading the Bible through with me? Then read Judges 16-18. In Judges 16:20, you will find one of the saddest and most haunting verses in the Bible.
Samson had been set apart for service to Yahweh and His people from conception. He was to be a Nazirite. You can find the basis for a Nazirite vow in Numbers 6. A Nazirite lived under a vow to God (temporary or permanent) that was symbolized by uncut hair, abstention from wine, and never to eat anything Yahweh said was unclean.
Samson’s strength was NOT in the length of his hair. It was in this vow to Yahweh God that his long hair symbolized. When he revealed this to Delilah and she cut his hair, the scriptures say that he awoke and said, “I will escape as I did before.” He had already escaped his enemies twice. This time was different.
There comes the woeful commentary in verse 20. “But he did not know that the Lord had left him.” When he betrayed his covenant vow to God, he forfeited the power and the Spirit of Yahweh. Many religious people are like Samson — shallow faith, worldly appetites, skills and abilities that lean toward self-sufficiency.
If we aren’t making and taking the time to cultivate an abiding relationship with God the Father, we too can begin to “go through the motions” of genuine faith while lacking power, conviction, and evidence of a Spirit-filled life.
In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he writes about the last days in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. He ends that section declaring that many will hold to a form of godliness while denying it’s power. Don’t be one of those whose claim to faith is an effort to appear good. Don’t get so comfortable with OR caught in pursuing the things of the world that you crowd the presence of God out of your life.
The difference between a religious person and a child of God is simple. A religious person does all he or she can to appear good. A true child of God has a relationship with Jesus, the Son of God. Pursue that relationship with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. It is the most important thing that you can do in this life!
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all that you need will be given to you.” Matthew 6:33
