3rd Week of August 2012 Sunday School Brief, Judges Chapter 16

Judges Chapter 16

As I start this new chapter I want to say that the story of Samson is one of my favorite stories in the Bible as I'm sure the story speaks to most people. Samson was a man that was on fire for the Lord and eager to do what he could to take the yoke of the Philistines off God's people. A trait of mine is to want my heroes to be perfect. I like Alexander Hamilton and I read half way through Ron Chernow's book on Hamilton and quit reading when it got to the part about the affair Alexander had. I like my heroes to be as flawless as possible. I know this is silly, and no one is perfect except Christ Jesus.

Now we are at the part of the story where Samson flirts with the devil one too many times. You can see his slip into immorality in the things he says. This part of the story is a warning but by the end of the chapter it is  inspiring at the same time. Samson journeys down to Gaza, and we don't know why. We know once he was there, he saw a harlot and decided to go in unto her. He doesn't seem to go just for that reason, but whatever the reason was, he decided to take a sinful opportunity while he was there. The Philistines, who by this time are always looking to get the upper hand on Samson, lie in wait to catch him. Samson awakes, either by distress of his sin, warning of God, or wanting to leave before he is caught by the shame revealed in the sunlight, decides to take the doors off the gate of the city as he leaves. It was a warning to the Philistines that he was onto them and their plans.

Now we see where Samson meets another woman who catches his eye. The bible does not expressly say that she is a prostitute, but we quickly find out that her loyalty can be bought for a price. The Philistines approach her with an offer she can't refuse and she begins to temp Samson into telling her his secret of secrets. Of course at first, Samson loving a game, doesn't give her the answer she seeks. Odd that Samson never thinks to himself that if he does give up the answer, his life is in jeopardy. I refuse to believe he doesn't know about the Philistines plan to take him. He may be blinded by sin and a little by love, but he already went down this road with his espoused bride, and that ended horribly. He keeps playing her game and keeps getting further away from where God wants him. Samson doesn't give up his secret overnight, and we usually don't give up our walk with God overnight. We let it slip away day by day, hour by hour until we turn around one day and we're far, far away from the light of home.

Samson does the unthinkable, he gives away his special place before the Lord. It goes downhill fast after that, the Philistines pluck out his eyes and throw him into prison with hard labor. The Philistines also suffer from short memory disease. They forget what gave Samson his strength (you and I know that his strength is from God and his relationship with God. Put a blind man on a grindstone all day and he has nothing but time to ask for God's forgiveness), and they let his hair grow back.

Some might argue that what Samson does next is suicide; I heartily disagree. Israel was not the country it would later become under David and Solomon, but it was still this loose set of tribes that many considered one people. They were, or the tribes closest to the coast, at war with the Philistines. What happens when Samson cries out to God and asks for one final victory it just that, a victory in a war against a vowed enemy of God's people.

After this great hall comes down and kills most everyone in it, Samson's brothers come down and get his body to bury it with his father and their people. The way this happens leads me to believe that the Israelites had peace from the Philistines at least for a little while, or his family wouldn't be able to retrieve his body. The story of Samson is tragic, but also uplifting. How many of us, if we let our lives drift away from God, would like to have a great victory for Jesus at the end of our lives?

5th Week of July Adult Sunday School Class

Judges chapter 13

Israel, after the many judges named at the end of the twelfth chapter, decided it would go after other gods again. Now it is the Philistines turn to rule over the Hebrew children. You can't help but wonder how disjointed the tribes of Israel are. They fight against one another, and then fight together against a common foe. One tribe will try to throw off their persecutors, then another tribe will not lend a hand until it looks like they are almost delivered. Many authors and scholars will talk about the burden that David and Solomon put on the other tribes in preparing and then building the temple. Many accuse their actions of causing the kingdom to split after Solomon's reign. While there may be some truth to that, it is also true that once the twelve tribes went into the land of Canaan, they were never really united until Saul reigned, and then David and Solomon. How can a people be united when they are serving other gods?

Back to this chapter. Forty years the Israelites are put under the rule of the Philistines. Now these are the people from the West, along the coast. History says they were decedents of what would eventually be the Greek people from Asia Minor. They were a seafaring people and that explains the fish like appearance of their god. God is longsuffering; and he allows us to continue in sin, but God's heart can be changed and he does not like to hear the continual lamentation of his people. God had a plan to deliver Israel, and he has a plan and a Gospel way to deliver us out of the bondage of sin.

We don't learn the name of Samson's mother, but what a God-fearing woman she must have been. It mentions Samson's father name; Manoah; but never mentions her name. The angel appears to her first, and her again the second time. We don't know her name, but we know her character, and that she was in some ways a forerunner of Mary, Jesus' mother. She was barren, like Sarah before her and Hannah after her. Also  just like these two women, God had other plans for the patient souls. The angel tells her that she will not only bare a son, but will also bring him up in the vows of Nazarite found in Numbers the sixth chapter. Samson also is a forerunner for another great person, John the Baptist. John wasn't given the full Nazarite vow, at least in name, but there are similarities.

Manoah's wife is excited and tells her husband with enthusiasm what has transpired. What I like about this story is it appears that Manoah trusts his wife whole heartily and takes her for her word. Women were not always given the same respect as men; obvious in this case because we don't have her name; but Manoah trusted his wife. He is also excited because this helps their cause because it was a shame to not have any male heirs to the family. Little did they realize at this point that this bundle of joy would not only be Israel's deliverer, but do it in amazing deeds.

We soon learn of Manoah's character, too. After he gets the news, the first thing he does is pray to God. When something good happens in our lives, going to God in prayer is a fine habit to have. God hears and then answers his prayer. The angel shows up again, but he's not there, and his wife runs to give him the news of their guest. When all parties are finally together, the angel repeats the story to Manoah. Manoah wants to make a sacrifice, which is good, but the angel has to remind him that the sacrifice is for God, and that is who all the glory should go to. The same thing when Manoah asks the angels name, which I myself would have wanted to know, but the angel again deflects and says the glory goes to God. The angel goes up into the offering in dramatic fashion, leaving Manoah and his wife to bow in fear and trembling.

As the chapter ends, we get another glimpse of the wisdom of Manoah's wife. He insists that because they have seen such a great thing that now God will kill them. His wife on the other hand states the many reasons they wouldn't die now. God had made a vow with them, and for them to die now, (I don't blame Manaoh for being frightened, I would be too), would make that vow of none effect. The same goes with our lives as well. Christ made a commitment and sacrifice on the cross for our lives, why would he let us be defeated if we sought him with our whole hearts?

So Samson is born, and one of my favorite passages appears in the Bible, and 'Spirit of the Lord began to move him'. Oh that the Spirit of the Lord would move our lives in God's work.