Tree Of Life Ministries Association
http://www.treeoflifeinc.org
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To The Church At Anemia
Judges 13-16
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Judges 13-16 is the story of one of the Bible superheroes! It is like most of the Old Testament, a type and shadow of something in the New Testament. It is the story of a man who ascended to leadership in Israel through brute strength. It is the story of Samson.
In looking at Samson we will look at him and his life two ways. Let’s start by looking at him as a man. We will not use a single verse as our text but rather the entire four chapters picking through them as we go.
Judges 13-16
Jdg 13:1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
Jdg 13:2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name [was] Manoah; and his wife [was] barren, and bare not.
Jdg 13:3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou [art] barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
Jdg 13:4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean [thing]:
Jdg 13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Jdg 13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance [was] like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he [was], neither told he me his name:
Jdg 13:7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean [thing]: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
Jdg 13:8 Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
Jdg 13:9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband [was] not with her.
Jdg 13:10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the [other] day.
Jdg 13:11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, [Art] thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I [am].
Jdg 13:12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and [how] shall we do unto him?
Jdg 13:13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
Jdg 13:14 She may not eat of any [thing] that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean [thing]: all that I commanded her let her observe.
Jdg 13:15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.
Jdg 13:16 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he [was] an angel of the LORD.
Jdg 13:17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is] thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?
Jdg 13:18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret?
Jdg 13:19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered [it] upon a rock unto the LORD: and [the angel] did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
Jdg 13:20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on [it], and fell on their faces to the ground.
Jdg 13:21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the LORD.
Jdg 13:22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
Jdg 13:23 But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these [things], nor would as at this time have told us [such things] as these.
Jdg 13:24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
Jdg 13:25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Jdg 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, [Is there] never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it [was] of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
Jdg 14:5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
Jdg 14:6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and [he had] nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.
Jdg 14:7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.
Jdg 14:8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, [there was] a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.
Jdg 14:9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.
Jdg 14:10 So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
Jdg 14:11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
Jdg 14:12 And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find [it] out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
Jdg 14:13 But if ye cannot declare [it] me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.
Jdg 14:14 And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.
Jdg 14:15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson’s wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? [is it] not [so]?
Jdg 14:16 And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told [it] me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told [it] my father nor my mother, and shall I tell [it] thee?
Jdg 14:17 And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.
Jdg 14:18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What [is] sweeter than honey? and what [is] stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.
Jdg 14:19 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house.
Jdg 14:20 But Samson’s wife was [given] to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.
Jdg 15:1 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.
Jdg 15:2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: [is] not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.
Jdg 15:3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.
Jdg 15:4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.
Jdg 15:5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let [them] go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards [and] olives.
Jdg 15:6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
Jdg 15:7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
Jdg 15:8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
Jdg 15:9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
Jdg 15:10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.
Jdg 15:11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines [are] rulers over us? what [is] this [that] thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.
Jdg 15:12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.
Jdg 15:13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
Jdg 15:14 [And] when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that [were] upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
Jdg 15:15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
Jdg 15:16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
Jdg 15:17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.
Jdg 15:18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
Jdg 15:19 But God clave an hollow place that [was] in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which [is] in Lehi unto this day.
Jdg 15:20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Jdg 16:1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.
Jdg 16:2 [And it was told] the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed [him] in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.
Jdg 16:3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put [them] upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that [is] before Hebron.
Jdg 16:4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name [was] Delilah.
Jdg 16:5 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.
Jdg 16:6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength [lieth], and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
Jdg 16:7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
Jdg 16:8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
Jdg 16:9 Now [there were] men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
Jdg 16:10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
Jdg 16:11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
Jdg 16:12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And [there were] liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.
Jdg 16:13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
Jdg 16:14 And she fastened [it] with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
Jdg 16:15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart [is] not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength [lieth].
Jdg 16:16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, [so] that his soul was vexed unto death;
Jdg 16:17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I [have been] a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any [other] man.
Jdg 16:18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
Jdg 16:19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
Jdg 16:20 And she said, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.
Jdg 16:21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
Jdg 16:22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
Jdg 16:23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
Jdg 16:24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.
Jdg 16:25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
Jdg 16:26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.
Jdg 16:27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines [were] there; and [there were] upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
Jdg 16:28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
Jdg 16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
Jdg 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with [all his] might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that [were] therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than [they] which he slew in his life.
Jdg 16:31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought [him] up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
In Exodus 34:6 we see where GOD is longsuffering.
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
This means that HE is slow to anger. Well, in Judges 13:1 HE has reached the end of HIS rope (so to speak)! “ … the children of Israel did evil again.” Thus to teach them a lesson HE is forced to punish them. It is better for HIM to punish them, then to let them continue and die in their sin. Therefore HE turns them over to the control of the Philistines. HE allows them to be enslaved just as sometimes we become to our sins. If you remember the life of Joseph this is how the children of Israel got into the bondage of Egypt. Joseph was born after Israel (Jacob) had, had sinful relationships with three other women. Then his other sons, from those sinful relationships were jealous of him and his special relationship with his father so they conspired against him and eventually sold him into slavery. This then prepared the way for them to move to Egypt but the evil they had committed was not punished until Joseph had died.
In Judges 13:4 we see how smart doctors really are! It took doctors a little more than 6000 years to learn this but in the last forty years we have seen them start warning women not to drink alcohol when they are pregnant.
Jdg 13:4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean [thing]:
In this verse we see that GOD is establishing a special relationship between HIMSELF and the yet unborn Samson. HE knows all of us before we are born and HE predestines all of us to be conformed into the image of HIS SON but, just as in the story, HE then allows us to make choices. These choices we make then determine how much effort HE will use in an attempt to get us to conform to that image. HE will continually add as much force as HE deems necessary to get us to conform but just like in the story of Joseph and again in Judges 13:1 if we insist on making the wrong choices HE will punish us! It is however, not HIS desire that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9) but HE will allow it if we so choose. It is also true that if GOD wanted to force us to serve HIM, HE could! This however would eliminate the reason for the battle between HIM and satan. It would have eliminated us from having any choice as to whether we will do good or evil or as to who we will serve (Joshua 24:15). This would then in turn eliminate love! For without choice there is no love, only obligation! Love is the desire to lay down a part of who you are in order to be a part of someone else. Satan couldn’t do this! He was self-involved, self-centered. (Isa 14:11-15) We are called to lay down our self and become GOD-centered and self-sacrificing.
When first confronted with it Peter couldn’t do it (John 13:37-38)! History tells us that only after being baptized in the HOLY SPIRIT was he able to boldly proclaim CHRIST as his LORD and SAVIOR (Acts 1:8). Only then, in the same town where JESUS had been crucified and even in front of the same people who had called for the crucifixion of CHRIST, would he be able to perform miraculous acts (Acts 3).
John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Matt 16:24-26 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mat 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Mat 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
As we read on in Judges 13 we see the story of why Samson let his hair grow. While we read this section when his mother and his father (Manoah) were engaged in a couple of conversations with an angel, we need to keep in mind the scripture found in Hebrews 13:2 which reads, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
Look, now at verses 21-22 of Judges 13! Men, I’m not going to go into the fullness of this now but if GOD never changes! If HE is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever (Heb 13:8). If HE can use a donkey to speak to Balaam, a bush to speak to Moses and Samson’s mother to speak to Manoah then HE can use a woman to teach you a thing or two also!
In chapter 14 Samson has become a young man and being led by his flesh, starts to get into trouble. How often can we say that we have seen this exemplified in the life of some young person we know? He wanders out into the world and lets his eyes dictate his desires. He lets satan influence him through his flesh!
Like any parents they want only the best for their son and when he tells them that he found a woman that he desires to marry they are concerned. They are concerned because she is from a different nation! Her nation worships a different god! In GOD’s eyes that is the only difference between people. It has nothing to do with skin tone but only whom do you worship! Ever since the Jews came out of the bondage of Egypt and were formed into a nation through the purging of the desert, GOD had warned them to keep the nations separated. When they entered the Promised Land they were supposed to destroy all who worshipped a strange or different god (Deut 7;1-11). Because they didn’t do this, they have never had the peace and rest they should have had.
Manoah tries to direct his son in the right way (Judges 14:3), in the way he should go! Samson however shows a bit of his nature and the nature of his relationship with his parents. Instead of listening and taking their advice, he insists on and gets his way! In verse 4 we are told that this marriage is going to be used by GOD to start the deliverance of his people from the hands of the Philistines.
The remainder of the chapter deals with a riddle that Samson speaks at his wedding feast. It’s a riddle about a time where he got honey from the remains of a lion. This is also where we can really see how in these chapters, Samson typifies the church, “The Church at Anemia!” His flesh has led him into a relationship outside of the will of GOD. GOD is going to use it for HIS glory but it is not the perfect way HE wanted things to happen. HIS perfect way would have been for Samson to lead his people to freedom in HIM by their return to HIS ways. Instead Samson, just like the church, turns to their flesh for leadership! The New Testament description of this is found in 2 Tim 4:3-4 where we read;
3)“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4) And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” This is exactly what we find today in most North American churches and in most North American CHRISTians! The “Church”, those who call upon the name of CHRIST have very little knowledge of the WORD but they feel good! They feel good because their flesh takes them to the assembly house every time the doors are open! They feel good because they pay tithes and give offerings! They feel good because they are a deacon, Sunday school teacher, they serve in the choir or whatever! They feel good because they know the story of Samson and Delilah. They know the fables. They know what their church doctrine teaches. They have a Pastor who can whoop and holler with the best of them and their music is second to none. They guarantee that if you visit their church that when you leave you will feel good. But, what they don’t “know” is the WORD of GOD! They don’t know how to live victoriously over satan no matter what the circumstances of life throw at them. What they don’t know is how to rightly divide the WORD for them selves and piece it together to show them selves approved! What they don’t know is how to bankrupt them selves for the LORD! What they don’t know is how to be holy as HE is holy! What they don’t know is how to do the work of the ministry! The laying on of hands upon the sick and seeing them recover. The deliverance of those oppressed by the devil! The way to raise the dead! They aren’t able to speak to GOD in a language that only HE understands! What they really don’t know and seek new every morning is GOD! They have a form of GODliness but deny the power there of (2 Tim 3:5-7 paraphrase)! What they are, is Anemic! They look like the “church”! They sound like the “church” but they have no power! They lack the “breath of life” breathed within them! They lack the SPIRIT of GOD moving upon the face of their deep parts! They lack GOD! They are little more than a “feel good” social club on the road to perdition!
After the seven days of the wedding feast, Samson did as he had promised and re-pays the debt but his flesh has cost him so much more. While he is gone to acquire the payment due, his father-in-law thinks he is mad at his bride and since the wedding vows were never consummated he gives her away to another. To one of the Philistines who was used as the “Best Man” for the wedding (Judges 14:19-20).
In chapter 15 Samson shows that he is still controlled by his flesh. He acts and re-acts according to how he feels. This fuels a war between the Philistines and Samson. He then goes to Gaza as noted in chapter 16 where he sees and goes into a harlot. The Philistines lay in wait to ambush him in the morning. Though unsaid, here we also see that there is another reason why Samson is the judge over Israel for twenty years. Apparently while he was being raised his parents had instilled within him enough of GOD that he knew how to listen to GOD. Thus when midnight comes he knows to get up and leave Gaza.
Next the story of Samson and Delilah! Here we see the battle of all of mankind, the battle of the flesh attempting to gain control over our soul and our spirit! Delilah, being led by her flesh, tries to ascertain the secret of Samson’s strength so that her fellow countrymen can overpower and capture him. For her help, Delilah will of course be well paid! I can only conclude that it must have been common practice by this time for everyone to try and learn the secret of Samson’s strength! If not, then why when Delilah starts on him in verse 6, does he not even seem to bat an eye but simply takes it in stride?
Another thing that I must conclude is that Samson must not have been the brightest crayon in the box! Again in verse 6 Delilah says that she wants to know the secret of his strength so that one might bind and afflict him. Then he wakes up to find that she has tried it and has the Philistines waiting to afflict him and yet he stays with her. He then let’s her repeat this basic theme several times. Not what I would call bright even though he is obviously having fun at her expense. All brawn, no brain! Girls let this be a lesson to you! Before you marry or date, be sure there is more than that which meets the eye!
Jdg 16:16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, [so] that his soul was vexed unto death;
Your words have the power to kill! If you are a nag or if someone is nagging you, stop it or get away from it! A nag is doing satan’s work! They are trying to kill you!
In chapter 13:5 we saw the angel declaring unto Samson’s mother that he will be anointed from conception to start the process of deliverance from the Philistines. From a barren womb GOD brings forth deliverance. HE does the same thing in the life of JESUS. Deliverance comes from a barren womb! If you need deliverance then you must first present to GOD a barren womb! One void of harmful pollutants as described by these things listed in 13:5,” For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” You must empty yourself of your best efforts and allow GOD to do the work within you. You must allow HIM to create something within you.
You must then protect that which HE gives to you. At first in chapter 16 Samson was doing that but because he was carnally minded or led by his flesh, he was weak. He was Anemic! He was unable to resist the nagging of Delilah. We know he was carnal minded because with all of his women he “saw” them and made the decision that he wanted them. This is however, a normal tendency for men. They are generally sight oriented! Men also tend to be the leaders of the institutional church! Thus it is also normal that they spend too much money on what the church buildings look like rather than on their functionality. The institution of the church creates within the body of the church an anemia because and/or when it’s focus is wrong. Only after his power is gone and the things which had created his problems, (his eyes) are removed does Samson see clearly the reason he was to be a deliverer. Only then does he see what we need to see today. That it is not about us but about HIM, HIS purpose and HIS calling in our lives! What was the purpose and calling of your church? Of you? “To preach the gospel to the poor? Maybe it was to heal the broken-hearted? Perhaps it was to preach deliverance to the captives? Could it have been what Samson needed, the recovery of sight to the blind? Should you be about setting at liberty those which have been bruised? Or maybe you should be proclaiming to others that this is the acceptable year of the LORD? That right now, GOD is willing to give them their year of Jubilee. Their freedom from all their debt of sin! “(Isa 61:1, Luke 4:18-19 paraphrased) In 2 Tim 1:6 Paul tells Timothy to, “stir up the gift of GOD, which is in thee ….“ Is that what you need to do today?
In the end Samson, though weak or anemic was still able to sense within himself enough of the anointing to fulfill his calling. As stated in Judges 13:5, he was set apart or to live as a Nazarite in order to “begin to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines.” Apparently his parents had done their job with him at an early age. They had placed within him enough of the Word that he knew who had provided for him all through the years. He knew who had anointed him to be a judge over the children of Israel. He knew who had kept him alive through all of his mistakes. He knew who to turn to now! Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Prov. 22:6)
In Deuteronomy 4, as Moses is addressing the nation of Israel he tells them much the same thing.
Deu 4:5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
Deu 4:6 Keep therefore and do [them]; for this [is] your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation [is] a wise and understanding people.
Deu 4:7 For what nation [is there so] great, who [hath] God [so] nigh unto them, as the LORD our God [is] in all [things that] we call upon him [for]?
Deu 4:8 And what nation [is there so] great, that hath statutes and judgments [so] righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Deu 4:9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
Deu 4:10 [Specially] the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and [that] they may teach their children.
Notice that in verse 9 we are told to teach our sons and our son’s sons. We are responsible to teach the next generation and the generation to follow how to be strong in the LORD. One of the great tragedies of the North American institution of the church is mobility. Our entire society has become so mobile that after school, children marry and often move away from the grandparents. Or after the kids are gone the grandparents can then retire and they move away. This causes the kids to send their children (the grandchildren) off during the working hours to be raised by strangers. This destroys that link of strength designed by GOD to teach the “sons, and thy son’s sons.”
Not only is this anemia prevalent within our society, as a whole but it is also an issue within the institution of the church. We see teachers having problems getting others to teach. We have problems getting people out of their pews to witness or evangelize others. We have problems getting people to work in the nursery or any other part of the body. Why is this? Because we’ve not raised them!
The children of Israel when brought out of Egypt had not been taught how to be free from bondage. They therefore murmured and lamented for all the provision they had left in Egypt. Thus GOD made them a society on the move for forty years. Instead of having a generation of slaves raising the next generation HE placed that responsibility upon HIMSELF, Moses, Caleb and Joshua. Thus when they became ready to follow HIM and lead the next generation that is when HE took them into the Promised Land.
Today, in general, we are the Church at Anemia! We have not been raised to be strong in the LORD! Recently I had the TV on while I was doing some work on the computer and on was a show that I think was called, “Classic Men of the Faith.” On it they were teaching and telling a story of one of the classic preachers of CHRISTianity. I think it was John Wesley but I may be wrong, so don’t quote me on this! The point is that in a letter this preacher wrote that he discovered that as he got emotional in his sermon delivery so did the people get emotional that were listening to him. As a result, the more emotional he could get them the more they would give to his work. Therein lies some of the anemia today! The root of all evil! The love of money! As preachers we have become so enamored by the need for money to keep all of “our” efforts going that all we really give the congregation is stir-fry. A lot of filler and very little meat! We whip the people into a fury by pushing an emotional button here and another there but we really don’t teach them the fear (respect) and admonition of the LORD. We make them feel better but we don’t make them better! We give them old sermons that were written three or four years earlier that we noted evoked a great response. This is really easy to see when you apply it to guest speakers or missionaries!
The institution of the church has become like Samson! It looks strong and from time to time it can do great things but for the most part it is anemic! It is carnally minded! “What about my feelings, my emotions?” This place, this Pastor, these people, that music, they make me feel so good! There is nothing wrong with that but what did it cost you? What did you learn? How are you stronger? What will you have to pass on to your son’s sons?
In Ephesians 4:11-13 we are told to raise-up the body to do the work of the ministry. If you are having problems in your assembly getting others to teach classes or evangelize or work in the nursery or sing in the choir. It’s because they haven’t been raised right! When they were young and needed milk they were given whipped cream (a little milk and allot of emotional hot air). Now that they are older they eat mostly stir-fry because they can’t digest that much meat.
The best that most churches at Anemia can hope for is that before they die they will remember enough to turn to the LORD one more time and ask that HE anoint them just once more to accomplish their purpose!
If recognized early enough anemia can be overcome! Are you willing to eat more meat and less filler? Are you willing to drink more milk and less of the sweet tasting, hot air of emotionalism? Are you willing to “deny (yourself) and take up (your) cross daily, and follow (JESUS)?” (Luke 9:23b paraphrased)
