SAMSON: ELEVEN VERSUS ELEVEN HUNDRED

And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. Judges 16:5 KJV

The fall of Samson was the fall of any Michael. Samson the might man whose great strength equalled the machines of our Day, fell on a woman's lap, a loose woman for that matter, one Delilah. She lived by the brook, in the valley of choices, the Sorek of life. None that ever patronized her returned to the path of life.

In this treatise, especially the chapter Sixteen of the book Judges, I'll be looking more intently at, Samson as a Michael and how God helped him. He might have fallen many times but like a righteous man, he stood tall. Besides, this chapter demarcates between the life and ministry of Michaels from the jovial miniature of Dragons. They both claim to worship God.

Now, Delilah could have overcome her challenges of becoming a stumbling block on the path of others, of some mighty men, if not for the money! The five lords of whole Philistines promised to pay her ELEVEN hundred pieces of silver each, if she could uncover the Source of Samson's strength. Though I doubt she ever got more than an eleven hundred pieces from all of them instead of fifty-five hundred in pieces, a tricky offer.

The Lord in His days on earth raised a team of Michaels and designated them "Apostles" which means "Sent", mainly to be with Him and probably help in propagating the Good news - they were ELEVEN plus one devil. These were the founding fathers of today's church, the present day artillery, apostles, who dared the devil, dragons, old serpent, Satan and their angels which also lived in dread of them.

This Twelve minus one - the office of money, formed the formidable indomitable army of the righteous living God on earth - the Eleven. These little ones worked without a purse and lacked nothing. They walked without staffs or Google maps and were never lost. They had no change of raiments and weren't naked. They had their swords always, strapped to their thighs underneath their clothing, and like Ehud - Judges 3:12-30, made wars on the insatiable King Eglon, some dragon, who wanted something more, some God's holy things for self aggrandizement.

Dragons are always there for the money. They do nothing except for "Eleven Hundred Pieces" in view. To them, that's better - the hundreds! God can't impel or even compel them to do any work. They labour for profiting only. They aren't reliable neither can they be trusted....When the Lord God considered the pros and cons of having them in heaven, their havocs by far outweighed their existence and so, deleted the need for them, their place and relevance, for they could not be sent - they were more or less useless entities.

That's the disadvantage to money and its vain promises, an empty chasing after the wind. It robs you of God's eminent presence, soothes you calmly, making you feel comfortable to bask in its false security. It just kinda make you feel like, "all things are damn possible!" Delilah fell under its anointing and became a clog in the wheels of those panting after God, the Davids of this life. The wisdom is, Anyone that'll be commended by God must despise money and its deadly threats which are quite obvious.

For Michaels, the Eleven, God is all-in-all. If not for God, they do nothing, nothing for their Self. "Silver and gold, having none, they'd continue in their service to humanity and God. Neither gold nor silver is their priority but the souls of men and their preservations. The zeal for the salvation of men and people eat them up, not the thoughts of becoming rich and reacher than others, amassing public funds.

Are you a Mike or Drag, a rag or Mic? Do you love God or money? Be decisive, knowing you cannot serve two masters, right? You'll either hate one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. Let me ask you this once, last: Which of them inspires you to work and sweat? Which motivates you? Who do you live for - God or money? Are you of the Eleven or for Eleven Hundred? Do you work for peace or the pieces? Does silver and gold appeal to you than God your Creator?

Be clear in your own mind. Choose who you'll follow today - God or money. Don't stay in the valley of Sorek, of choices with the Delilahs and Balaams of this world who work for gain. Lest they captivate you with their juicy offers and capture you for captivity. Make you decision known today, for Eleven or against Eleven Hundred?

Michaels