Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8
Prowling, distracting, slithering, enticing, deceiving, compelling, capturing.
Always looking for an occasion to coerce us to follow him
or another fleshly creature, including ourselves.
That’s what Satan did in the Garden of Eden,
he was a slithery snake, enticing, getting them to latch on to his thoughts,
and to believe the way he twisted God’s word.
That still happens today in many forms, in many circumstances,
over and over again.
His tricks have not changed, but we mortals keep falling for them.
Look at Samson. He married a Philistine woman
who tricked him into telling her the answer to a riddle.
And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted:
and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her,
because she lay sore upon him:
and she told the riddle to the children of her people. Judges 14:17
Samson lost his wife and lost the battle he was having with the wicked men.
Then, he got entangled with Delilah, another Philistine woman,
who finally got him to tell her where he got his great strength.
And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart,
she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying,
Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart.
Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her,
and brought money in their hand.
And she made him sleep upon her knees;
and she called for a man,
and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head;
and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. Judges 16:18-19
Samson lost his strength and the Philistines captured him.
This was a multi-person task force,
all working together to bring Samson down.
There were many wicked participants, including the woman he loved.
Their wicked hearts were enticed by that old devil.
Jesus was also a victim to a scheme to try to destroy His strength.
God let it happen as it was for His purpose.
The Pharisees and Sadducees worked together,
along with Judas to cause Jesus to be crucified.
Jesus was not a party to this, but He was the target of the scheme.
The Son of man goeth as it is written of him:
but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed!
it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Matthew 26:24
Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Ghost.
Not sure how anyone thinks they can lie to God and not be found out.
Then Peter said unto her,
How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?
behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door,
and shall carry thee out. Acts 5:9
Satan loves to get us off track.
If he can do that enough, we might get discouraged and follow him.
He is allowed to go so far.
And, if we have any breaches in our armour, we are at risk.
So, keep things sealed up, don’t hide from God like Adam and Eve did.
Bring your sins and faults before His throne.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16