Judges Series #18 - Samson
God Empowers the Rebellious
Introduction
Today we conclude our journey through Judges with the final judge and cycle. Three common principles repeat throughout the book. Sin and failure to serve God alone brings bondage and discipline. God restores / delivers the repentant. God uses the seemingly improbable to bring about the impossible. Or God uses the most unlikely to deliver the unworthy.
Today we interact with the account of Samson; one born with every heavenly advantage but pursued every earthly vice. Not only does Israel’s story illustrate our five elements but the very life of Samson graphically illustrates also them.
God called and blessed Israel.
God called and blessed Samson.
SIN
Israel rebelled against God’s rule and engaged in fleshly pursuits.
Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, so that the LORD gave them into the hands of the Philistines forty years. Judges 13:1 (NASB)
Samson rebelled against God’s rule and engaged in fleshly pursuits.
SLAVERY
God sold Israel into bondage.
God sold Samson into bondage.
SUPPLICATION
Israel cried out for deliverance (except in this case Israel does not cry out for deliverance).
Samson cried for God’s help.
SALVATION
God granted Israel deliverance.
God granted Samson deliverance in an unexpected way.
SERVICE
There is not period of rest or service mentioned.
The events of Samson’s life can be organized into three periods.
A supernatural beginning
A self-indulgent life
A sorrowful premature end
The account of Samson’s life covers a significant amount of territory so I will mostly summarize the events and urge you to go back and actually read the whole account.
I. A Supernatural Beginning
A. The Angel of the Lord appeared to a childless woman in Dan
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children. 13:2
Not sure why only Samson’s father is mentioned. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife.
Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines." Judges 13:3-5 (NASB)
Interesting prophecy -- “begin to deliver”. In reality the Philistines troubled Israel right up to King David’s rule. Is also interesting how many leaders were born to barren women.
Sarah, Hannah, Rachael, Elizabeth, Mary.
The Nazirite vow (Found in Number 6) consisted of three basic elements.
1. Never touch a dead body.
2. Abstain from anything associated with the grape.
3. Throw away your razor
The vow could include time limits. Samson’s vow was to be for a life time.
B. Manoah’s wife related the experience with Manoah
C. Manoah asked the Lord for an audience with the Angel.
D. The Angel of the Lord reappeared
E. The Angel confirmed His true identity
This incident reinforced the true identity of the one who had been speaking with them.
This was no ordinary angel and they too perceive they had been in God’s presence.
Now the angel of the LORD did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. Judges 13:21 (NASB)
So Manoah said to his wife, "We will surely die, for we have seen God." But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time." Judges 13:22-23 (NASB)
F. Samson was born
God blessed Samson early on and His Spirit came on him early on. The sin and subsequent slavery cycle actually was a carryover from Jephthah’s time. Israel never really found deliverance. Jephthah dealt a blow to the Ammonites but the Philistine control carried over to Samson’s day. Rather than crying out to God for deliverance, Israel compromised and adapted to their servitude. God, out of mercy, arranged for relief not because the Israelites repented but because He intended to judge the Philistines. The chosen instrument of judgment stumbled right out of the starting gates. Samson is the poster child for the double minded man unstable in all his ways. (James 1:8, 4:8) He tried to serve both God and self. He attempted to do God’s work and satisfy himself at the same time. The reality seems more that he concerned himself with his own things rather than God. Breaking the Philistine oppression was only a side benefit of pursuing his own agenda.
II. A Turbulent life
A. Samson was driven by the lust of the eye
A Philistine woman caught his eye and he demanded that she become his wife. He forced his parent’s hand in the matter over their strenuous objection. A Philistine girl caught his eye.
So he came back and told his father and mother, "I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife." Judges 14:2 (NASB)
He had no business tolling Philistine territory in the first place. Yet God allowed even this flagrant act of rebellion to accomplish His agenda.
However, his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel. Judges 14:4 (NASB)
B. God continually blessed and protected Samson despite his rebellion
Whenever a threat occurred (manor beast), the Spirit of the Lord would come upon Samson providing supernatural strength to eliminate the threat.
C. Samson broke his vow to God
The Nazirite was not to come near a dead carcass let alone eat out of one. Samson’s physical lust not only caused him to despise his heritage and defy his parents but to defile his body and soul. Unbridled lust and passion always destroys relationships, breeds deeper rebellion and selfishness that leads to ultimate ruin.
D. Samson suffered betrayal and separation
What looks good from the outside isn’t always good on the inside. Samson thought he was getting a “head turner” and ended up with a “spine grater”. He thought he picked a winner but married a whiner.
When her realtives pressured her to find out the secret to Samson’s riddle, she nagged Samson.
However she wept before him seven days while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day he told her because she pressed him so hard. She then told the riddle to the sons of her people. Judges 14:17 (NASB)
Even though Samson was God’s choice he suffered the consequences of his own choices.
Betrayed by his wife - Conned by the cons - Controlled by rage - Defrauded by his father-in-law - Betrayed by his own friend
All the while, God continued to bring about His purposes in spite of Samson’s rebellion.
E. Samson’s actions were driven by revenge
God’s ultimate purpose was to alleviate the Philistine oppression on Israel. He used Samson even though he had all the wrong motives for what he did. Revenge, rage, jealousy.
God clearly declares that vengeance is HIS.
F. Samson’s own people isolate & betrayed him
There was no gratitude by the people for deliverance from Philistine harassment. They were not interested in deliverance only compromise. The people rejected Samson’s help. He was left to fight his own battles. He rejected his parents and became rejected by his own people. He was hated and hunted by his enemies and betrayed by his people. Yet God still continued to use Him to bring about His purposes. He killed 30 Philistines to pay his bet. He burned down their cops for taking his wife. He killed 1,000 Philistines for killing his wife and her family. All by the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon him.
G. Samson harbored bitterness toward God
Then he became very thirsty, and he called to the LORD and said, "You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant, and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" But God split the hollow place so that water came out of it. When he drank, his strength returned and he revived. He judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines. 15:8-20
This was the first prayer by Samson but it was filled with resentment and demandingness. In spite of his attitude, God chose to supply his need. Appetites drove Samson’s life. Lust caused him to marry a daughter of the enemy. Hunger (sweet tooth) caused him violate his Nazirite vow. Vengeance caused him to destroy the enemy. Pride caused him to try to deceive the bride’s family. Anger caused him to annihilate 1,000 Philistines. Now thirst causes him to rail against God. Samson completed the lust triangle; lust of the eye, lust of the flesh and the pride of life (lust for power).
Yet God continued to use him in spite of him. Pure grace operated all through Samson’s life. God’s gifting and ministry through Samson didn’t change. However, Samson’s fleshly lifestyle did affect the enjoyment of ministry. There are times in our life that our attitude stinks and our motives are bad but God brings about eternal purposes anyway. It should not be an encouragement to ignore our battle against sin but an incentive to continually engage in ministry to and for God in spite of our sin. Sometimes we realize that God desired to accomplish something through us but we grumbled and complained all through it. We could have enjoyed ministry for God but because of our attitude we lose not only the joy of serving Jesus but the reward as well.
H. Samson’s unbridled desire ultimate leads to destruction
Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.
Samson went from occasional fraternization with the enemy to full scale interaction.
The city of Gaza was a major Philistine city.
When it was told to the Gazites, saying, "Samson has come here," they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. And they kept silent all night, saying, "Let us wait until the morning light, then we will kill him." Now Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron. 16:1-3
After this it came about that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
Sorek means “choice vines”.
The text does not say specifically but it is likely that Samson had no regard for the second aspect of his vow to avoid contact with grapes. There is now only one element of the Nazirite vow left for Samson to break.
The lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and how we may overpower him that we may bind him to afflict him. Then we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver." So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you." Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man." Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now she had men lying in wait in an inner room. And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he snapped the cords as a string of tow snaps when it touches fire. So his strength was not discovered.
More deception, betrayal, stemming from unbridled lust dogged Samson’s miserable life. Because of his lust he chooses to live in denial and ignore the obvious. His unbridled lust obscured his common sense and judgment. It is not told that Delilah was a prostitute but the likelihood was high since she was willing to betray Samson for money. There comes a point when God removes His blessing. We can grieve and quench the Spirit. We can fall short of God’s grace for the moment and resist it and not appropriate it. We can be disqualified from ministry. Paul disciplined his body to avoid disqualification. We can desert the ministry as did Demas having loved this present world. We can reject a good conscience and suffer shipwreck.
We can ignore the warnings of Hebrews not to drift, doubt, default, defect or despise and suffer greater and greater discipline of the Lord. We can sin a sin unto death.
Samson crossed the line. Samson ignored God’s call and special mark on his life and followed his own way too long and lost everything.
Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison. However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off. 16:4-22
How ironic that Samson lost some of the very things he misused for selfish purposes. He lost his eyes. He lost his freedom. He lost his strength. He lost the manifested presence of God.
There are temporal consequences for bad choices. Those bad choices may also affect heavenly reward. Paul referred to a future fire testing the quality of our life here and watching it all burn up. Even though we may be used by God, the choices we make still have consequences.
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8
However, God is love and merciful and stands ready to bless again when we believe again.
God responds to faith. Samson had a supernatural beginning, a self-indulgent life which led to a sad premature end.
III. A Tragic end
A. Samson suffered humiliation
B. Samson showed humility for the first time
Then Samson called to the LORD and said, "O Lord (Master) GOD (Almighty), please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." 16:28
Probably for the first time, Samson called to the LORD with genuine humility recognizing his own helplessness and hopelessness apart from God. Humility is the soil from which genuine faith grows. God resists the proud but grants grace to the humble. This was Samson’s defining moment of faith that, I believe, granted him a place in the Hebrews 11 hall of faith along with Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, David and Samuel. Samson finally recognized God as Master of his life. He addressed him as Lord God (Adonai-Master the Elohim-Almighty.) Even though he appeared to still nurse an underlying desire for personal retribution, he cried out to God to act on his behalf to bring about the impossible. Faith believes God to do what he powerfully promised and that we can’t possibly produce.
He no longer acted proudly on his own strength but called out to God for renewed strength.
No arrogant demand; only a humble request to remember him and use him once again.
Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. 16:29-31
What a tragic end to such a thrilling beginning. Samson traded vital relationship with God for temporal sensual gratification with women. His life was driven by personal revenge rather than national redemption. His life was full of unhappy consequences as a result of unwise choices and unbridled lust. The one chosen and empowered by God to deliver Israel from bondage, himself died in bondage to the ones he was called to defeat. His pursuit of the things that he thought would bring happiness caused him to lose the very things he pursued; lost sexual expression, probably food, and his pride and self-respect.
Even though God used Samson, as defiled as he was, to bring about His purposes, I can’t help but wonder what God might have accomplished through Samson had he learned the lesson of humble trust at the beginning of his life. Someone once said that one of the things over which we will grieve when we see the whole picture is what we did in light of what we could have done had we fully surrendered to God. There are two aspects of the cycle or pattern absent in this last cycle. The people had become so compromised and used to bondage they didn’t cry for deliverance. There is no mention of a period of rest or service after Samson. The rest periods after deliverance lasted 31-80 years; with most at 40 years. Samson judged Israel 20 years none of which consisted of service to God or rest. Rest comes when we trust and obey and neither Samson nor the people did either.
The epilogue of the book recounts just how depraved the nation had become. The author included examples of blatant idolatry, unbridled immorality and chaotic anarchy because every man did that which was right in their own eyes. Since the deliverance was incomplete because the deliverer was insubordinate, the Philistine threat, though restrained for the moment, continued right up to David’s reign.
Lessons to live by
• A godly beginning does not guarantee godly living.
Trust and obedience is a daily individual choice. Everyone is responsible for their own relationship with God.
• God uses us because of His choice and His grace not our greatness.
We must continually remember that just because we had devotions or gave money in the offering or did some good deed that God can use us more. The reality is that he has used donkeys to bring about his purposes. He can call rocks to praise Him and proclaim Him if he has to. If you feel more usable because of some work of yours you don’t understand grace.
So don’t think you are so great that God just has to use you to do great things. Are you struggling today that God could never use you again because of what you have done?
Unless you have committed the sin unto death, there is hope for new life. John said to pray for those sinning and God will give them life. Don’t think you are so awful that God can’t use you to accomplish something wonderful.
• God in His marvelous grace indeed can, and does use unlikely people in spite of our poor life choices, but the choices of life here do affect the consequences of life both here and hereafter.
Does your life feel like Samson’s? It may not be too late. You can exercise faith today. You can come in humility and offer yourself to God as a living sacrifice. Don’t expect God to eliminate consequences of poor choices just because he uses you. Purpose to continually seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
• Unbridled passion always hinders ministry impact and leads to deeper bondage and eventual ruin.
• Bondage to the flesh leads to bondage to the enemy.
Have you allowed the passions of your life to control your life? Do you feel out of control?
So…Walk by faith by the power of the Spirit so you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Make no provision for the flesh in regards to it’s passions but clothe yourself with Christ.
• Friendship with the enemy and his way of doing things brings bondage,
Have you become comfortable with bondage and the things of this world?
SO…Don’t accept less than God’s full promise of freedom. Don’t love the world or its stuff
Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee. Draw near to God and he will draw near.
