#DailyDevotion Do Not Become Entangled With Unbelievers

July 16th
Read Judg 16:4–30
Jdg 16:16-20 And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. (17) And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.” (18) When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. (19) She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. (20) And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.

2Co 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Part of Samson’s problem his whole adult life was that he was constantly joining himself to women whom he had no business joining himself. They were all people of the land, people whom the Lord had dedicated to destruction. God had warned the Israelites not to make treaties with people in the land. Samson ignored this and made Philistine women his wives or concubines. This last one was the worst of all. She goaded him all the time to reveal the secret of his strength. She must have been a looker or perhaps Samson didn’t believe the secret of his strength himself because he finally told her. Having not trusted the Lord, the Lord left him. He was unable to defend himself. He was captured, blinded and made a fool.

St. Paul warns us Christians to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. There is no greater yoke than marriage. Christians should only marry Christians. True, occasionally an unbeliever may come to faith through their believing spouse but the odds are in favor of the unbeliever converting their believing spouse. More often than not they quit going to Church, being fed with the Word of Truth and they leave. They love their spouses more than they love their Savior Jesus Christ.

Not only should we marry a fellow believer but if I may, you should marry someone of the same faith/denomination. While the temptation is not quite the same, in order to avoid the discussions of where to go to church, when to go, which faith the children will be raised up, you should do this. If you want to marry someone of another Christian faith one of you needs to convert to the other BEFORE you say, “I do.” Perhaps it might not even be a denomination or faith either of you belong. But of course you should be certain you believe together that what that church teaches is the truth. If you don’t, you will find you have the same problems of the believer/unbeliever marriage. Otherwise, no one goes to church and no one perseveres in the faith. Our ultimate allegiance must be Jesus Christ and his Church.

Lord Jesus Christ, do not let us become entangled with unbelievers or those who teach you falsely, but grant us believing spouses who are wholly devoted to you and your truth. Amen.