SAMSON A WEAK STRONG MAN
Texts: selected verses from Judges 13, 16
Intro: Judge Othinel, Judge Gideon, Judge Samson--Our teachers have taught us
the judges were raised up by God to bring deliverance and leadership to
Israel.
As a teenager I envied Samson’s STRENGTH.
As a married young adult I wondered at Samson’s LUSTS, INFIDIELITY,
& DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD.
As a senior adult I admire the GRACE & LONGSUFFERING OF GOD.
Job made a covenant with his eyes (Job 31:1 I made a covenant with mine eyes;
why then should I think upon a maid?)
Joseph ran (Gen 39:12 And she caught him by his garment, saying,
Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand,
and fled, and got him out.
David goofed.
Samson blew it.
Central Truth: Christians are to live by the Spirit, not gratifying the desires of the sinful
nature, i.e., Galatians 5:16 (KJV) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and
ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
I. Outline
A. Consecrated for Service (Judges 13:1-5, 24, 25)
B. Weakened by Compromise (Judges 16:1-21)
C. Restored to God’s Purpose (Judges 16: 22-31)
II. Consecrated for Service (Jd 13:1-5, 24, 25)
A. Nazarites in Bible
1. Samson
2. Samuel
3. John The Baptist
B. Nazarite Vow (means dedication/consecration unto God) ( Numbers 6:1-8)
1. touch no dead thing (Sampson touched the lion’s carcase, the mule’s carcase
2. drink no wine or grape juice
3. Do not shave the head
C. Judges 13:5, "...he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."
1. Samson only began this deliverance, for it was not till the days of David
that the Israelites were completely redeemed from the power of the Philistines.
2. Names of Israel’s Judges
Othniel, the son of Kenaz from the tribe of Judah
Ehud, the son of Gerah from the tribe of Benjamin
Shamgar, the son of Anath from the tribe of Levi
Deborah (and Barak)
Gideon (also named Jerubbaal), the son of Joash from the tribe of Manasseh
Tola, the son of Puah from the tribe of Issachar
Jair, from the tribe of Gilead
Jephthah, from the tribe of Gilead
Ibzan, from the tribe of Judah
Elon, from the tribe of Zebulun
Abdon, the son of Hillel, the Piratoni, from the tribe of Ephraim
Samson, the son of Manoah, from the tribe of Dan
Eli
Samuel
___________Wickipedia
III. Weakened By Compromise (Judges 16:1-21)
A. Judges 16:5 (KJV) And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
1. The lords of the Philistines were the five following:
Gaza, Gath, Askelon, Ekron, and Ashdod.
All these considered Samson as a public enemy;
and they promised this bad woman a large sum of money
if she would obtain from him the important secret wherein his strength lay,
that, depriving him of this supernatural power,
they might be able to reduce him to bondage.
2. Samson loved Delilah-Delilah loved money.
3. Illu: Written on a cemetary grave marker:
"Ma loved Pa,
Pa loved women,
Ma caught Pa
with two in swimming,
Here lies Pa!"
4. Much pain and ruin came into Samson’s life because he would not guard his heart.
5. No wonder Proverbs 4:23 says Keep (literally, guard or protect) your heart with
all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. If we don’t guard our hearts, we
can end up in trouble
B. Judges 16:16
1. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words,
and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
2. After trifling with her, and lying three times, he at last commits to her his fatal secret,
and thus becomes a traitor to himself and to his God.
C. Judges 16:17-21
1. "...told her all his heart,..." it must have been an exceedingly sad scene;
he had to have known what was coming. He was faced with a choice:
Delilah or the Lord, and he chose her
2. There are times when our commitment to God demands that we say,
even to those we love the most, "I will not turn my back on my God,
and you will just have to live with that."
3. Verse 17. If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me.
The miraculous strength of Samson must not be supposed to reside either
in his hair or in his muscles, but in that relation in which he stood
to God as a Nazarite, such a person being bound by a solemn
vow to walk in a strict obedience to the laws of his Maker.
D. Samson’s arrest and death
1. (20) Samson is seized by the Philistines
a. Samson didn’t know that things had changed; he had lived in
compromise for so long, he thought it would never make a difference.
b. They put out his eyes. Because men are attracted to women first through
the eye, and because it was Samson’s failure to restrain his attraction to women,
it was fitting that he was blinded in prison.
c. They bound him with BRONZE fetters: Samson wouldn’t humble himself in
obedience before God - he insisted on the "freedom" of doing what he
wanted to do. Now he is totally humiliated by Satan, and has no freedom at all.
2. Samson is like everyone who thinks they are "getting away" with sin.
They misinterpret the merciful delay of God’s judgment or correction
as a sign that He really doesn’t care; thus presuming on God’s mercy,
they continue on and ultimately make things far, far worse
3. You don’t have to go far to see people broken, blind,
and in bondage because of their sin.
4. illu on compromise:
A New York family bought a ranch out West where they intended
to raise cattle. Friends visited and asked if the ranch had a name.
"Well," said the would-be cattleman, "I wanted to name it the Bar-J.
My wife favored Suzy-Q, one son liked the Flying-W, and the other
wanted the Lazy-Y. So we’re calling it the Bar-J-Suzy-Q-Flying-W-Lazy-Y."
"But where are all your cattle?" the friends asked. "None survived the branding."
Moral--compromise can cost lives.
5. In the end, Samson’s problem was not with his hair, but his heart -
and his heart problem caught up with him eventually, because he
never heeded God’s merciful warnings and got things set straight
IV. Restored to God’s Purpose (Judges 16: 22-31)
Samson brought out to make sport;
requests to be placed between the two pillars which supported the roof of the house
He prays to God to strengthen him
pulls down the pillars
the house falls
He and the lords of the Philistines, and a vast multitude of the people, are slain
(this self-sacrificing attitude should have been Samson’s throughout.)
His relatives come and take away his body, and bury it.
(Can we be reminded that God is merciful and forgiving to
the sincerely repentant?)
Concl:
A. Consecrated for Service (Judges 13:1-5, 24, 25)
B. Weakened by Compromise (Judges 16:1-21)
C. Restored to God’s Purpose (Judges 16: 22-31)
We are not to allow ourselves to be overtaken by the spiritual & moral
weaknesses that led to Samson’s tragic failure.
An outpouring of the Holy Spirit does not automatically make us more godly.
He gives the resources to be more godly, but it doesn’t "do it to us."
A person can be wonderfully gifted by the Holy Spirit and yet very spiritually
immature.___Guzik
All such gifts are in the hands of any man must have his passions
under proper discipline,
and the fear of God continually before his eyes.
God will even make the evil of man to serve His purposes; however,
the evil that man does is never justifiable___Guzik
The Holy Spirit of God wants to come upon us and give us power;
but power for something far more important than ripping apart lions.
The Holy Spirit comes upon to empower us to live for God as we should,
and for the power to tell others about Jesus effectively.___Guzik
God did use Samson mightily; but God used Samson despite his sin,
not because of it.
Samson could have been used by God in a far
greater way if he had made himself a clean vessel ---Guzik
