Series: Samson!
The book of Judges:
It is the history of the Judges of Israel and is connected with the previous book of Joshua, as a “link in the chain of books.” It describes the history of Israel under different leaderships, governments and their deliverances from other powers for about 410 years of history.
Purpose of the book of Judges:
The book of Judges aims to demonstrate that defection from Jehovah God incurs severe punishment and servitude. Only by turning back to God can restoration be enjoyed. Thus the judges were charismatic leaders, raised up by God to deliver His theocratic people. Only by heeding their Spirit-directed message and following them in deliverance against their enemies could restoration be accomplished. The OT judges performed two functions. By divine power and Spirit-anointed leadership they delivered the people from enemy oppression. Having accomplished this, they ruled over them and administered government in the name of Israel’s God… Since the book reports seven apostasies, seven servitudes to seven heathen nations, and seven deliverances, it is evidently put in a symmetrical form (From: The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary).
Author: Is believed to be the Prophet Samuel.
Key Verses of book:
Judges 2:16: “Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders.”
Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25: “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”
Sermon: Samson a fallen Nazirite
Introduction:
Today and the next few weeks we are going to be looking into the life of Samson. He is a hero of the Jewish nation and known specifically for his supernatural strength. He is trumpeted as a hero of the Jewish nation in the Bible.
Brian Bill from sermoncentral.com says this about our hero of the faith, “Sometimes we read the stories of Hannah or Gideon or Ruth and we think, “I could never be like them.” Not so with Samson. He’s a lot like us. Most of us know what it means to be tempted. (I add, a lot of us knows what it means to yield to temptation and its impact on our souls). All of us struggle at times with the desire for revenge and many struggle in unhealthy relationships. We’ve been there, we understand, and when we see Samson struggling and falling, we have an idea of what he’s going through. The truth of the matter is that there’s a little bit of Samson in all of us, and a whole lot of Samson in most of us. One of the things we learn from Samson’s life is that sin will always take us further than we want to go.”
Can you relate to Samson? Do you know the whole story of Samson or just the strength part?
Key point of Samson’s story, “Sin will always take us further than we want to go!
Do you agree with this statement?
But let me expand this statement a little bit more as I have heard it said and quoted from others, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay.”
This statement – which is a profound biblical truth describes the life of our Bible character Samson.
T.S. - Let’s first read the story of Samson’s calling by the Lord:
Scripture Text: Judges 13:1-25
The Birth of Samson
1Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
2A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless.
3The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, “You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son.
4Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean,
5because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
6Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name.
7But he said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth until the day of his death.’”
8Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: “O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”
9God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her.
10The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!”
11Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the one who talked to my wife?” “I am,” he said.
12So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy’s life and work?”
13The angel of the LORD answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her.
14She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”
15Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.”
16The angel of the LORD replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.)
17Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”
18He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.”
19Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched:
20As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.
21When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD.
22“We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!”
23But his wife answered, “If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”
24The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him,
25and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
T.S. – Observations from our text:
I. Samson’s divine calling (Judges 13)
a. Samson was called by God (through the angel of the Lord) to be a Nazirite and his parents were given specific instructions on what to do and not to do.
i. I imagine they taught these to their son but it seemed as if he did not listen to their wise and prophetic advice all the time.
1. Samson is a lot like all of us – we don’t always listen and do what we are supposed to do for the Lord.
2. And many of us – if not all of us - don’t always listen to the wise advice of our godly parents.
ii. The angel of the Lord – who was and is He?
1. Verse 16-22 - 17Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?” 18He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” 19Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame.
2. I believe as do many other scholars The Angel of The Lord is Jesus- manifested in the OT!
a. John 1: 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
i. Question: "Who is the angel of the Lord?"
1. From http://www.gotquestions.org/angel-of-the-Lord.html
ii. Answer: The precise identity of the “angel of the Lord” is not given in the Bible. However, there are many important “clues” to his identity. There are Old and New Testament references to “angels of the Lord,” “an angel of the Lord,” and “the angel of the Lord.” It seems when the definite article “the” is used, it is specifying a unique being, separate from the other angels. The angel of the Lord speaks as God, identifies Himself with God, and exercises the responsibilities of God (Genesis 16:7-12; 21:17-18; 22:11-18; Exodus 3:2; Judges 2:1-4; 5:23; 6:11-24; 13:3-22; 2 Samuel 24:16; Zechariah 1:12; 3:1; 12:8). In several of these appearances, those who saw the angel of the Lord feared for their lives because they had “seen the Lord.” Therefore, it is clear that in at least some instances, the angel of the Lord is a theophany, an appearance of God in physical form.
iii. The appearances of the angel of the Lord cease after the incarnation of Christ. Angels are mentioned numerous times in the New Testament, but “the angel of the Lord” is never mentioned in the New Testament after the birth of Christ. It is possible that appearances of the angel of the Lord were manifestations of Jesus before His incarnation. Jesus declared Himself to be existent “before Abraham” (John 8:58), so it is logical that He would be active and manifest in the world. Whatever the case, whether the angel of the Lord was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (Christophany) or an appearance of God the Father (theophany), it is highly likely that the phrase “the angel of the Lord” usually identifies a physical appearance of God.
iv. Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/angel-of-the-Lord.html#ixzz3eYFtwuF4
v. I believe The Angel of The Lord is Jesus!
1. So on this premise Jesus came to Samson’s parents and placed a call on Samson’s life! A divine call!
b. Numbers 6 describes the three commitments a Nazirite must keep during the period of their vow and it is reiterated in Judges 13:4-5 by The Angel of The Lord for Samson and he repeats it twice to the mother and once to the father of Samson: What was the purpose of Nazarite Vows – first introduced by Moses in Numbers 6?
i. To separate themselves to the LORD: The vow of the Nazirite was to express one’s special desire to draw close to God and to separate one’s self from the comforts and pleasures of this world.
1. “The English word Nazirite transliterates Hebrew “nazir”, meaning “set apart.” (Wenham)
ii. To take the vow of a Nazirite: There were several remarkable Nazirites in the Bible: Samson (Judges 13:5), John the Baptist (Luke 1:15), and Paul (Acts 18:18); the vow was certainly open to women, but we have no Biblical example of a woman taking the vow, except for Manoah’s wife during her pregnancy with Samson (Judges 13:4).
iii. Here are the three parts of the vow:
1. Avoid any contact with grapes or the drinking of wine (fermented-alcoholic).
a. No fermented or alcoholic drink!
i. My Vineyard friends – some of them do drink – they do have a beer or wine here and there – I however personally believe in abstaining from alcoholic beverages.
1. So my Vineyard friends say, “I have made a Nazarite vow which I will not break.”
a. It’s true I won’t!
b. He shall separate himself from wine and similar drink: The Nazirite was forbidden to eat or drink anything from the grape vine; this was a form of self-denial connected with the idea of a special consecration to God. Generally speaking, wine and grape products were thought to be a blessing (Proverbs 3:10), something to be gratefully received from God (Psalms 104:15).
2. Never touch a dead body of any kind and eat something unclean.
a. Very clear here.
b. He shall not go near a dead body: Dead bodies - even those of a close relative - were not to be approached during the vow of a Nazirite. Separation from death - the effect of sin - was essential during the period of the vow.
3. Let your hair grow and never get it cut.
a. It’s a sign of your vow to the Lord!
i. Some Jewish groups still do this!
b. No razor shall come upon his head: The hair was to be allowed to grow all during the period of the vow, and then cut at the conclusion of the vow. This was a way of outwardly demonstrating to the world that this man or woman was under a special vow.
iv. Samson and the 3 vows – why the call by the Lord:
1. In the case of Samson, his strength came from his Nazirite’s vow of consecration and separation to God - so when Delilah cut his hair (the most public, visible example of the vow), his strength was lost.
a. Samson had broken the vow before - both at drinking parties (Judges 14:10), and at touching a dead carcass (Judges 14:8-9). But not in the most obviously public way of allowing his hair to be cut. There is a sense in which public sins do matter more, because they bring more reproach to the name of God.
c. The definition of a Nazirite from Easton’s Bible Dictionary:
i. (HEB. FORM Nazirite), the name of such Israelites as took on them the vow prescribed in Num. 6:2-21. The word denotes generally one who is separated from others and consecrated to God. Although there is no mention of any Nazarite before Samson, yet it is evident that they existed before the time of Moses. The vow of a Nazarite involved these three things,(1.) abstinence from wine and strong drink,(2.) refraining from cutting the hair off the head during the whole period of the continuance of the vow, and (3.) the avoidance of contact with the dead. When the period of the continuance of the vow came to an end, the Nazarite had to present himself at the door of the sanctuary with (1.) a he lamb of the first year for a burnt-offering, (2.) a ewe lamb of the first year for a sin-offering, and (3.) a ram for a peace-offering. After these sacrifices were offered by the priest, the Nazarite cut off his hair at the door and threw it into the fire under the peace-offering. For some reason, probably in the midst of his work at Corinth, Paul took on himself the Nazarite vow. This could only be terminated by his going up to Jerusalem to offer up the hair which till then was to be left uncut. But it seems to have been allowable for persons at a distance to cut the hair, which was to be brought up to Jerusalem, where the ceremony was completed. This Paul did at Cenchrea just before setting out on his voyage into Syria (Acts 18:18).
ii. Samson was called out by the Spirit of the Lord which for many scholars is believed to be Jesus Himself.
1. He was born by a divine call
2. He was born for a divine reason to a barren women.
3. He was born to start the deliverance of the people of Israel from the Philistines.
a. The scenario of the announcement and the second appearance and the miracle at the sacrifice.
b. Judges 13: 19-25
i. Notice the phrase “The Spirit of the Lord stirred him.”
d. Samson did great feats but squandered his great gift from God!
i. Killing of the Lion on the way to Timnah – (Judges 14:6).
ii. Slaying thirty men for their clothes to settle a bet – (Judges 14:19).
iii. He caught 300 foxes and burned the crops of the Philistines – (Judges 15:4-5).
iv. The slaying of a thousand men with the jaw bone of a donkey - (Judges 15:16).
v. He collapsed the temple of Dagon killing himself and 3,000+ others – mostly royalty – (Judges 16:30).
1. Thoughts from Pastor Bill from sermoncentral.com - he states the following:
a. Before we leave chapter 13, I want you to observe a key phrase in verse 5. Samson “…will begin the deliverance of Israel…” As we go through the story we’ll discover that in reality he never did any delivering, because he never delivered himself. Since he never dealt with his fatal flaws, he only “began” to deliver Israel. Notice also in verse 25 that “the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him…”
vi. He was set apart and he was stirred by the Spirit of God. Samson had everything he needed to accomplish his task. He was both energized and equipped. Compared to other Biblical heroes, he had more than anyone else. And yet, he let it all slip away” (sermoncentral.com Sermon by Pastor Bill – Samson’s fatal flaws).
II. Sin will always do the following three things to a man or woman of God! We need to know this!
a. SIN WILL ALWAYS TAKE YOU FARTHER THAN YOU WANT TO GO - Judges 16:4-20.
i. Samson's life and call were broken by the constant enticements of sinning!
1. His lustful eyes keep leading him back to sin city and heartache.
2. His addictions led him to revenge and murder.
3. His lust would lead to his destruction in the end.
ii. The allurement of sin must be rejected from the first encounter because the more you play with it the tighter it grips you - Prov. 1:10-16; 4:14-15, 1 Cor. 15:33
iii. Sin, when allowed too, will always progress us further into evil - Psalm 1:1.
1. 2 Tim. 3:13 - Evil grows worse & worse in our life with sin – here this - it will never cause your life to be better.
2. Heb. 6:4-6 – Sin hardens our heart and condemns us before God!
b. SIN WILL ALWAYS KEEP YOU LONGER THAN YOU WANT TO STAY - Judges 16:20-21.
i. Samson in the manipulation game with Delilah had no intention of being placed in bondage – Judges 16: 20.
1. He didn't even know God had left him.
a. How sad is that and how deceived by ourselves can we become
i. When sin allures us in we often don't consider the bondage it will cause us (Prov. 3:29-35)
ii. When we experiment with sin there is curiosity and excitement but it will bite us and maul us.
iii. Sin will always blind our souls and our eyes to see the truth (2 Corinthians 4:4)
iv. Sin has a bondage – a grip that is powerful (1 Peter 2:19)
v. Sin will control us if we continue to play with it (John 8:34; Romans 7:22-23; 6:11-14; 1:18-32)
vi. Sin can only be broke in our lives by the gospel
1. Romans 6:16-18
2. 1 Peter 4:1-4
3. Ephesians 4:22-24
c. SIN WILL ALWAYS COST YOU MORE THAN YOU INTENDED TO PAY - Judges 16:30.
i. Samson's reckless life of sin and even at times God's empowerment cost him his sight, his dignity, his Strength (gift from God), His freedom, and eventually his Life!
1. See Judges 16:21, 25, 30. v. 21, 28-30
2. He really only finally acknowledged God as the source of his strength in the end.
3. Yes, God blessed him one last time in the end but he wasted his life.
ii. Choosing Sin will cost you your life:
1. It will cost you your soul - Rom. 6:23; Lk. 12:20-21; Matt. 16:26.
2. It will cost you God's fellowship and presence in your life - 2 John 9.
3. It will cost you your peace of mind, peace w/ man and w/ God - Phil. 4:6-7; Col. 1:21.
4. It will cost you your dignity and honor - Eph. 5:12.
5. It will cost you Heaven - Rev. 21:7-8, 27.
Conclusion and application of this character study:
Learn from Samson:
We need to know!
“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay.”
Sin will always do these three things to your life and it will cost you everything!
We need to know this so we don’t end up like Samson!
We need to avoid sin, don’t even play with sin! Instead choose the path of the Lord and receive His blessings on life! Follow the direction of “The Angel of The Lord” follow His words and path.
When you do this you will have a blessed and abundant life!
