Upwards Church

According to Hebrews 11:32, Samson was a man of faith. But he wasn’t always a faithful man. He wasn’t faithful to his parents’ teaching, his Nazirite vow, or the laws of the Lord. It didn’t take long for Samson to lose almost everything the Lord had given him, except his great strength; and he finally lost that as well.

 He lost his respect for his parents (vv. 1-4). The Lord had given Samson a godly heritage, and he had been raised to honor the Lord; but when Samson fell in love, he wouldn’t listen to his parents when they warned him. Samson had wandered four miles into enemy territory where he was captivated by a Philistine woman and decided to marry her. This, of course, was contrary to God’s Law (Ex. 34:12-16; Deut. 7:1-3; and see 2 Cor. 6:14-18).

Samson was living by sight and not by faith. He was controlled by “the lust of the eyes” (1 John 2:16) rather than by the Law of the Lord. The important thing to Samson was not pleasing the Lord, or even pleasing his parents, but pleasing himself (Judges 14:3, 7; see 2 Cor. 5:14-15).

When God isn’t permitted to rule in our lives, He overrules and works out His will in spite of our decisions. Of course, we’re the losers for rebelling against Him; but God will accomplish His purposes either with us or in spite of us (Es. 4:10-14). Samson should have been going to a war instead of to a wedding, but God used this event to give Samson occasion to attack the enemy. Because of this event, Samson killed thirty men (Judg. 14:19), burned up the enemy crops (15:1-5), slaughtered a great number of Philistines (vv. 7-8), and slew 1,000 men (v. 15). Samson hadn’t planned these things, but God worked them out just the same.

 He lost his Nazirite separation (vv. 5-9). When Samson and his parents went down to Timnah to make arrangements for the marriage, it appears that Samson left the main road (and his parents) and went on a detour into the vineyards; and there a lion attacked him. A vineyard was a dangerous place for a man who was not supposed to have anything to do with grapes (Num. 6:1-4). Did God send the lion as a warning to Samson that he was walking on the wrong path? The Holy Spirit gave Samson power to defeat the enemy, but Samson persisted on his path of disobedience into enemy territory and an unlawful wedding.

Some weeks later, when Samson returned to claim his bride, he once again turned aside into the vineyard, this time to look at his trophy and perhaps gloat over his victory. His sin began with “the lust of the flesh” and “the lust of the eyes,” and now it included “the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). When Samson ate the honey from the lion’s carcass, he was defiled by a dead body; and that part of his Nazirite dedication was destroyed. In fact, two thirds of his vow was now gone; for he had defiled himself by going into the vineyard and by eating food from a dead body.

 He lost control of his tongue (vv. 10-18). Since Samson hadn’t brought any men with him to serve as “friends of the bridegroom” (Matt. 9:15, NKJV), the Philistines rounded up thirty men to do the job for him. These men may also have served as guards for the Philistines; for Samson’s reputation had preceded him, and they were never sure what he would do next. Since the atmosphere must have been tense at the beginning of the feast, Samson sought to liven things up by posing a riddle. Sad to say, he constructed the riddle out of the experience of his sin! He didn’t take seriously the fact that he had violated his Nazirite vows. It’s bad enough to disobey God, but when you make a joke out of it, you’ve sunk to new depths of spiritual insensitivity.

It would have been an expensive thing for the thirty guests to supply Samson with sixty garments, so they were desperate to learn the answer to the riddle. Their only recourse was to enlist the help of Samson’s wife. Thus they threatened to kill her and burn down her father’s house if she didn’t supply the answer before the week was up. Samson resolutely refused to tell her; but on the seventh day, he relented. Since the marriage was to be consummated on the seventh day, perhaps that had something to do with it. First the Philistine woman enticed him (Judg. 14:1), then she controlled him (v. 17), and then she betrayed him (v. 17), which is the way the world always treats the compromising believer. Samson could kill lions and break ropes, but he couldn’t overcome the power of a woman’s tears.

We wonder how his wife felt being compared to a heifer? The proverb simply means, “You couldn’t have done what you did if you hadn’t broken the rules,” because heifers weren’t used for plowing. Since the guests had played foul, technically Samson could have refused to pay the prize; but he generously agreed to keep his promise. Perhaps he found out that his wife’s life had been threatened and he didn’t want to put her and her family into jeopardy again.

Those who can’t control their tongue can’t control their bodies (James 3:2); and in Samson’s case, the consequences of this lack of discipline were disastrous.

 *Life Application : Samson impulsively used the special gift God gave him for selfish purposes. Today, God distributes abilities and skills throughout the church (1Corinthians 12:1ff). The apostle Paul states that these gifts are to be used “that the body of Christ may be built up;” that is, to build up the church (Ephesians 4:12). To use these abilities for selfish purposes is to rob the church and fellow believers of strength. As you use the gifts God has given you, be sure you are helping others, not just yourself.

Samson lost his temper (vv. 19-20). He went twenty miles away to Ashkelon so the news of the slaughter wouldn’t get back to Timnah too soon. His joke about the lion and the honey ceased to be a joke, for it led to the death of thirty men whose garments Samson confiscated. Samson was so angry that he didn’t even consummate the marriage but went back to Zorah and stayed with his parents. While he was away from Timnah, his wife was given to his best man. The Lord used this turn of events to motivate Samson to decide to fight the Philistines instead of entertaining them.

If Samson had won his way and married a Philistine woman, that relationship would have crippled the work God had called him to do. Believers today who enter into unholy alliances are sinning and hindering the work of the Lord too (2 Cor. 6:14-18). If Samson had sought God’s leading, the Lord would have directed him. Instead, Samson went his own way, and the Lord had to overrule his selfish decisions.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you” (Ps. 32:8-9, NKVJ). If we’re looking by faith into the face of the Lord, He can guide us with His eye, the way parents guide their children. But if we turn our backs on Him, he has to treat us like animals and harness us. Samson was either impetuously rushing ahead like the horse or stubbornly holding back like the mule, and God had to deal with him.  Next time we’ll look at chapter 15.

We can be strong with God’s help.

Darrell  

www.RidgeFellowship.com

Sources:

Bible Exposition Commentary (BE Series) – Old Testament

Life Application Bible Notes

We are in a series called Live Stronger.  The life of Samson is our topic. Please join us in reading along in Judges Chapters 13-16.  Today we’ll look more at God’s plan for his life and how his parents were involved.

In our last post (click here), we saw an angel appear to Samson’s parents.  Before Samson was born he was given responsibilities to serve the Lord and his nation.  Consider the last responsibility he would have:

A home to honor (vv. 6-23). Manoah’s wife immediately told her husband about the stranger’s visit and message, although neither of them yet knew that the visitor was the Lord (v. 16). Manoah assumed that he was “a man of God,” perhaps a visiting prophet; and he prayed that the Lord would send the man back. We can’t help but be impressed with the devotion of this husband and wife to each other and to the Lord. The time of the judges was one of apostasy and anarchy, but there were still Jewish homes that were dedicated to the Lord and that believed in prayer; and God was still working through them.

God answered Manoah’s prayer and gave him an opportunity to ask an important question, which the angel of the Lord never answered: “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy’s life and work?” (v. 12, NIV) The Old Testament Law not only gave instructions concerning Nazirites and clean and unclean foods, but also it told parents how to raise their children (Deut. 6). It wasn’t necessary for the Lord to give Manoah and his wife additional instructions when the Word of God already told them what to do. The messenger simply repeated the warning he had already given to Manoah’s wife.

Wanting to be a good and appreciative host, Manoah asked the guest to wait while he and his wife prepared a meal for him (6:18-19; Gen. 18:1-8). The stranger’s cryptic reply was that he wouldn’t eat their food but would permit them to offer a burnt offering to the Lord. After all, their promised son was a gift from God, and they owed the Lord their worship and thanks.

But Manoah thought to himself, If I can’t honor this man of God now, perhaps I can do it in the future after his words come true and the baby boy has been born. (Note that Manoah believed the announcement and said “when” and not “if.”) Manoah would have to know the man’s name so he could locate him nine months later, but the man wouldn’t tell his name except to say it was “wonderful.” (See Gen. 32:29.)

This is the same word used to name the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6; it is translated “wondrously” in Judges 13:19 of KJV, (NIV says “an amazing thing”).

Ordinarily, Jewish worshipers had to bring their offerings to the tabernacle altar at Shiloh; but since the “man of God” commanded Manoah to offer the burnt offering, it was permissible to do it there, using a rock as the altar. Suddenly, the visitor ascended to heaven in the flame! Only then did Manoah and his wife discover that their visitor was an angel from the Lord. This frightened Manoah, because the Jews believed that nobody could look upon God and live (see 6:19-23). Using common sense, Manoah’s wife convinced him that they couldn’t die and fulfill God’s promises at the same time.

*Life Application:  Perhaps there are things that stir your heart. These may indicate areas where God wants to use you. God uses a variety of means to develop and prepare us: hereditary traits, environmental influences, and personal experiences. As with Samson, this preparation often begins long before adulthood. Work at being sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading and the tasks God has prepared for you. Your past may be more useful to you than you imagine.

We cam be strong with God’s help.

Darrell  

www.RidgeFellowship.com

Sources:

Bible Exposition Commentary (BE Series) – Old Testament

Life Application Bible Notes

In our series Be Strong, the life of Samson is our topic. Please join us in reading along in Judges Chapters 13-16.  Today we’ll look at God’s plan for his life and how his parents were involved.  (Judges 13: 1-5) 

Consider two great responsibilities that were given to Samson. He had:

1. A nation to serve (v. 1). With monotonous regularity we’ve read this phrase in the Book of Judges, “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD” Judges 13:1 NIV

This phrase is also found in (3:7, 12; 4:1-2; 6:1; 10:6-7), and here it appears for the last time. It introduces the longest period of oppression that God sent to His people, forty years of Philistine domination.

* Life Application: The Israelites would not turn to God unless they had been stunned by suffering, oppression, and death. This suffering was not caused by God, but resulted from the fact that the people ignored God, their Judge and Ruler. What will it take for you to follow God? The warnings in God’s Word are clear: if we continue to harden our hearts against God, we can expect the same fate as Israel.

The Philistines were among the “sea people” who, in the twelfth century B.C., migrated from an area of Greece to the coastal plain of Canaan. The Jews weren’t able to occupy that territory during their conquest of the land (Josh. 13:1-2).  As you study a map, you’ll note that their national life focused around the five key cities of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron (1 Sam. 6:17). The land between Israel’s hill country and the coastal plain was called the “Shephelah,” which means “low country”; and it separated Philistia from Israel. Samson was born in Zorah, a city in Dan near the Philistine border; and he often crossed that border either to serve God or satisfy his appetites.

Samson judged Israel “in the days of the Philistines” (Judg. 15:20), which means that his twenty years in office were during the forty years of Philistine rule. Dr. Leon Wood dates the beginning of the Philistine oppression about 1095 B.C. and the end in 1055 B.C. with Israel’s victory at Mizpeh (1 Sam. 7). About the middle of this period occurred the battle of Aphek when Israel was ignominiously defeated by the Philistines and lost the Ark and three priests (1 Sam. 4). Dr. Wood suggests that Samson’s judgeship started about the time of the tragedy at Aphek and that his main job was to harass the Philistines and keep them from successfully overrunning the land and menacing the people.

It’s worth noting that there is no evidence given in the text that Israel cried out to God for deliverance at any time during the forty years of Philistine domination. The Philistines disarmed the Jews (1 Sam. 13:19-23) and therefore had little fear of a rebellion. Judges 15:9-13 indicates that the Jews were apparently content with their lot and didn’t want Samson to “rock the boat.” It’s frightening how quickly we can get accustomed to bondage and learn to accept the status quo. Had the Philistines been more severe on the Jews, perhaps the Jews would have prayed to Jehovah for help.

Unlike most of the previous judges, Samson didn’t deliver his people from foreign domination, but he began the work of deliverance that others would finish (13:5). As a powerful and unpredictable hero, Samson frightened and troubled the Philistines (16:24) and kept them from devastating Israel as the other invading nations had done. It would take the prayers of Samuel (1 Sam. 7) and the conquests of David (2 Sam. 5:17-25) to finish the job that Samson started and give Israel complete victory over the Philistines.

2.  A God to serve (vv. 2-5). The tribe of Dan was originally assigned the land adjacent to Judah and Benjamin, extending to the Mediterranean Sea (Josh. 19:40-48). Since the Danites weren’t able to dislodge the coastal inhabitants, however, the tribe relocated and moved north (Judg. 18-19), although some of the people remained in their original location. Zorah is about fifteen miles from Jerusalem in the foothill country near the border of Philistia.

* Life Application:  Samson’s part in subduing the Philistines was just the beginning, but it was important nonetheless. It was the task God had given Samson to do. Be faithful in following God even if you don’t see instant results, because you might be beginning an important job that others will finish.

When God wants to do something really great in His world, He doesn’t send an army but an angel.  The angel often visits a couple and promises to send them a baby. His great plan of salvation got underway when He called Abraham and Sarah and gave them Isaac. When He wanted to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage, God sent baby Moses to Amram and Jochebed (Ex. 6:20); and when in later years Israel desperately needed revival, God gave baby Samuel to Hannah (1 Sam. 1). When the fullness of time arrived, God gave Baby Jesus to Mary; and that baby grew up to die on the cross for the sins of the world.

Babies are fragile, but God uses the weak things of the world to confound the mighty (1 Cor. 1:26-28). Babies must have time to grow up, but God is patient and is never late in accomplishing His will. Each baby God sends is a gift from God, a new beginning, and carries with it tremendous potential. What a tragedy that we live in a society that sees the unborn baby as a menace instead of a miracle, an intruder instead of an inheritance.

We have every reason to believe the “angel of the Lord” who visited Manoah’s wife was Jesus Christ, the Son of God (see Gen. 22:1-18; 31:11-13; Ex. 3:1-6; Judg. 6:11-24). Like Sarah (Gen. 18:9-15), Hannah (1 Sam. 1), and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-25), Manoah’s wife was barren and never expected to have a child. Since it would be the mother who would have the greatest influence on the child, both before and after birth, the angel solemnly charged her what to do.

Like John the Baptist, Samson would be a Nazirite from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:13-15). The word Nazirite comes from a Hebrew word that means “to separate, to consecrate.” Nazirites were persons who, for a stated period of time, consecrated themselves to the Lord in a special way. They abstained from drinking wine and strong drink; they avoided touching dead bodies; and as a mark of their consecration, they allowed their hair to grow. The laws governing the Nazirite vow are given in Numbers 6.

Manoah’s wife had to be careful what she ate and drank because her diet would influence her unborn Nazirite son and could defile him. It’s too bad every expectant mother doesn’t exercise caution; for in recent years, the news media have informed us of the sad consequences babies suffer when their mothers use tobacco, alcohol, and narcotics during a pregnancy. Samson’s Nazirite vow wasn’t something he voluntarily took: God gave it to him; and his mother was a part of the vow of dedication. Not only was she to avoid anything related to the grape, but also she was to avoid foods that were unclean to the Jews (Lev. 11; Deut. 14:3-20).

Ordinarily, a Nazirite vow was for a limited period of time; but in Samson’s case, the vow was to last all his life (Judg. 13:7). This was something Manoah and his wife would have to teach their son, and they would also have to explain why they didn’t cut his hair. The claims of God were upon this child, and it was the obligation of the parents to train him for the work God sent him to do.

We can be strong with God’s help.

Darrell  

www.RidgeFellowship.com

Sources:

Bible Exposition Commentary (BE Series) – Old Testament

Life Application Bible Notes