OPEN: Commenting on the "Spiderman" movie, a critic noted that the famous kiss (where Spiderman kissed the heroine while hanging upside down in the rain) was actually not a kiss at all. The actor put his mouth up to hers but actually didn’t kiss her because - between having to wear his mask and hanging upside down with the rain running down his face - he had to be able to breath.
ILLUS: An interviewer once asked a famous movie actor and comedian:
"What’s it like when you kiss a girl in a movie? Do you ever get emotionally involved?"
"Oh," he said, "I once kissed a very beautiful actress on the screen, and it meant nothing to either of us. Of course, the ushers pulled me down off the screen and made me go back to my seat... But aside from that..."
APPLY: Love can be a many splendered thing but it can also be very confusing and complicated as well.
I. Samson was a man in love - but he had a very confusing and complicated relationship.
First - his was a forbidden love.
We’re told in Judges 14:2 & 3
"When he returned, he said to his father and mother, ’I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.’
His father and mother replied, ’Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?’
But Samson said to his father, ’Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.’"
Why were Samson’s parent’s concerned?
Because God had decreed that His people should not marry Gentiles.
In Deut.7:3-4 (speaking of the nations they’ll encounter in the Promised Land) "Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.."
Secondly, his was a lost love.
His wife is taken away from him and given to another.
Judges 15:1-2 "At the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, ’I’m going to my wife’s room.’
But her father would not let him go in. ’I was so sure you thoroughly hated her,’ he said, ’that I gave her to your friend. Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.’"
And, not only was Samson’s love a forbidden love and a lost love - it was a tragic love.
After Samson had set fire to the grain, and the vineyards and the olive groves of the Philistines,
Judges 15 tells us:
"the Philistines asked, ’Who did this?’ they were told, ’Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his friend.’ So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death. Samson said to them, ’Since you’ve acted like this, I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.’ He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam" (Judges 15:6-8).
There’s no doubt about it - Samson loved this woman from Timnah. AND his love for her caused him to go to war with Philistines and literally mop the floor with them.
Immediately after the battle, Samson went up into a cave in the rock of Etam to grieve for her.
II. So Samson’s love was forbidden, lost and tragic... But it was also something else.
It was God ordained.
Look again at Judges 14:4. We’re told there that Samson’s "parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel."
In other words: God arranged for Samson to fall in love with the Philistine woman.
NOW WAIT A MINUTE!
That doesn’t make any sense!
You mean to tell me that God caused Samson to fall in love with a Philistine even though He condemned intermarriage with Gentiles in Law?
Well, that’s what it says.
But why would God do that?
The Bible explains: it was because the Lord "was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines." Really?
As I was preparing this sermon, I got to thinking: Since when would God need an occasion to confront the Philistines? He’s God. He doesn’t need an excuse to go picking on the Philistines.
But then I realized, maybe God didn’t need an excuse. Maybe it was Samson who needed the excuse.
III. In the description of Samson in our text today, I can visualize him as a teenager.
He acts like one.
He talks like one.
For pity’s sake - he even seems to be still living with his parents.
Now, Samson knows that he’s special - his mom would make sure of that.
AND he had felt God’s presence. Judges 13:24 & 25 tells us "He grew and the LORD blessed him, and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan."
But, if I’m right, Samson is still a typical teenager. He likes hanging out with his friends. He likes talking with girls. If he were alive today, he’d be at the dances and other gatherings. Life isn’t all that serious for him, and he doesn’t visualize himself as any particular kind of hero. He just wants to have a good time with his friends.
The Philistines would have been the last things on his radar.
God wanted Samson to wage war against the Philistines, but He may have had a hard time getting Samson motivated. I mean, it was probably hard enough to get him to clean his room. So, how would God motivate Samson to take on the Philistines?
In a young man’s life, there’s perhaps no stronger motivation than love for a girl. When a young man is in love he’ll do just about anything - and love will make him do all kinds of crazy things.
ILLUS: When I was a young man, I wanted to go see my girlfriend one night. The problem? Our area had been hit by a terrible snow/ice storm. My parents told me not to go out on that night because I might end up in the ditch. But I went anyway... and ended up putting my car in the ditch.
When I was dating my wife, it happened again. A winter storm made the roads practically impassable. But I had learned my lesson from my earlier episode... so I hired a man with a 4 wheel drive to take me to her house.
Love will make a guy crazy. AM I RIGHT???? (of course I’m right)
God needed Samson to get a little crazy - so He fixed him up with a Philistine girl. BUT I believe God had NO intention of Samson ending up marrying this girl.
Remember what we’re told in Judges 15:1-2? "At the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, ’I’m going to my wife’s room.’
But her father would not let him go in. ’I was so sure you thoroughly hated her,’ he said, ’that I gave her to your friend. Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.’"
Why did that happen? Why would this girl’s father give his intended to someone else? I’m convinced that this was no accident.
Proverbs 16:9 tells us "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."
What that means is this: When a person belongs to God - when they are set apart by God - there are few if any coincidences in their lives. You and I may have a plan set out for our lives but if we belong to God, God will always be in there tinkering bringing influences and circumstances into our lives to remold us and remake us in His image.
As Ephesians 2:10 says: "...we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Now, that doesn’t mean we can’t disobey God or remove His influence from our lives (that’s what next week’s sermon will be about). BUT when we belong to God, we can be confident that our lives are not just aimless meanderings with little meaning or significance. God gives us purpose, and direction and significance. AND the closer we walk with God, the more we’ll feel His influence in every corner of our lives - even in the little things of life.
IV. God wanted an occasion to confront the Philistines - and it worked.
Because of this girl, over a period of a few weeks, Samson progressively destroyed larger and larger groups of Philistines.
* First Samson kills 30 Philistines because of his wedding guests (Judges 15:9)
* Then, he "slaughtered many" of those who had murdered his ex-girl friend and her father.
* Then, when the Philistines went after him to get revenge for that battle, Samson found "a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men." (Judges 15:15)
All of this happened because of that one Philistine girl that Samson fell in love with - a situation that God used to find an occasion to confront the Philistines.
From that day on it appears that the Philistines stayed clear of Israel for about 20 years.
We’re told in Judges 15:20 Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
V. When we hear about Samson many of us do not have a positive attitude towards his place in Bible history.
He’s often viewed as a worthless near-do-well of a judge of Israel. Useless to God until he finally brings down the house in his final moments... but that’s not true.
For 20 years Samson faithfully judged Israel. And repeatedly we’re told that the "Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson."
God didn’t view Samson as worthless and without value.
Samson may have been flawed, but his name is recorded amongst the great people of faith in Hebrews 11.
After talking about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, the writer of Hebrews then says:
"And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies."
Too often, we let the one black mark against a man define his entire life. Sometimes we even look at ourselves that way. But, God doesn’t...
Every one of the heroes in Scripture are flawed, They all stumbled and fell short. Every man and woman listed in Hebrews 11 sinned (some blew it royally) at some point in their lives. AND YET GOD DID NOT CAST THEM ASIDE in the dust bin of history.
CLOSE: The story of "Wrong Way Riegels" is a familiar one, but it bears repeating. On New Year’s Day 1929, Georgia Tech played UCLA in the Rose Bowl. In that game a young man named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for UCLA. Picking up the loose ball, he lost his direction and ran 65 yards toward the wrong goal line. One of his teammates, Beeny Lom, ran him down and tackled him just before he scored for the opposing team. Several plays later the Bruins had to punt. Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety, demoralizing the UCLA team.
The strange play came in the first half. At halftime the UCLA players filed off the field and into the dressing room. As others sat down on the benches and the floor, Riegels put a blanket around his shoulders, sat down in a corner and put his face in his hands.
When the timekeeper came in and announced that there were 3 minutes before playing time, Coach Price looked at the team and said, "Men, the same team that played the 1st half will start the second." The players got up and started out, all but Riegels. He didn’t budge. The coach looked back and called to him. Riegels didn’t move. Coach Price went over to where Riegels sat and said, "Roy, didn’t you hear me?" The same team that played the 1st half will start the 2nd."
Roy Riegels looked up, his cheeks wet with tears. "Coach," he said, "I can’t do it. I’ve ruined myself. I can’t face the crowd out there."
Coach Price reached out, put his hand on Riegel’s shoulder and said, "Roy, get up and go on back. The game is only half over."
Riegels finally get up. He went onto the field, and the fans saw him play hard and play well.
All of us have run a long way in the wrong direction. But because of the forgiveness offered in Jesus Christ, however, the game is only half over.
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES:
Visitor From A Strange Planet = Judges 13:1-13:25
The Man From Smallville = Judges 14:1-15:2
The Superman and his Kryptonite = Judges 16:1-16:31
