' Samson,
Notes
Transcript
Heroes Of The Faith.
Heroes Of The Faith.
Today we begin an interesting series of studies on different characters of the Bible.
We will explore the good things they did for God, we will look a the the bad things as well.
Who are these famous people of the Bible that we tell our kids about?
Are they to be considered Heroes of the Faith? or are they more o f an example of what NOT to do?
We are going to start with a famous man in the Bible, Samson.
Ruger and I are going to take you through the history, facts, and life of Samson.
Our journey begins in Judges chapter 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.
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.
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.
*open prayer*
----Ruger---
We start with Israel in trouble… again.
But there is a plan God has put in place to redeem them.
We see a lot of details about who this baby will be.
In verse 24 we see his name is Samson.
24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
So who is Samson and what makes him special?
Here is what we know...
1. A judge in Israel whose strength was famously unmatched.
2. His strength was arguably only matched by his moral weakness.
3. Samson was born with a specific purpose, to save the people of God from the Philistines.
4. He was to take the Nazarene vowel.
------Justin-------
As a Judge, Samson was tasked with punishing evil.
What is the Nazarene vowel?
NAZIRITE (נָזִיר, nazir, ναζιραίους, naziraious). A man or woman who has taken the Nazirite vow, which is distinguished by abstinence from certain actions. Primarily seen in the Old Testament among the Israelites with possible New Testament examples.
------Ruger------
As a verb, it literally means “to separate”
In the O.T. it basically refers to these three things;
• abstaining from anything related to grapes and/or alcohol
• refraining from cutting one’s hair
• avoiding dead people (even family members)
That even means he could not go to a funeral if he lost a family member.
----Justin----
Something interesting about these vowels is that usually they were temporary.
To be released from the vowels you had to do a few things:
After bringing multiple prescribed offerings, the Nazirite would shave his or her head at the entrance to the tent of meeting and burn the hair. The priest would then offer the waive offering, and the Nazirite would be released from his or her vow.
Samson and even Samuel were apparently an exception here in that they were life long devotees.
So with that, lets get into the story of Samson.
----Ruger----
During a trip to Timnath (also called Timnah) Samson met a philistine women, and he eventually married her. Yet, because she was a Philistine, his parents did not approve. God allowed the marriage, however, in order to weaken the Philistines.
God had a greater purpose that may have been hard for Samson’s parents to understand.
But just because it did not make sense to them, doesn’t mean God wasn’t in it.
While on this very same trip, Samson was attacked by a lion which he ended up killing with his bare hands.
-----Justin-------
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.
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.
7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.
Ruger-
So as you can see, Samson loved chasing the Ladies....
And he had plenty of stories to entertain them.
In this chapter Samson seeks a philistine wife
1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
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.
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.
Ruger-
This meant she was beautiful in his eyes.
Love at first sight if you will. And they were married.
However these Philistine women knew how to manipulate Samson.
His first wife is no exception.
Samson poses a riddle and look at the wording here in verse 16.
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?
Samson is observed to be a man of passion, and anger when wronged.
After he was manipulated by his wife, he ended up killing 30 Palestines.
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.
20 But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.
Even though Samson was manipulated and ended up killing 30 men in anger, God was using Samson in a much bigger way than he could even imagine.
Samson is thinking its a personal thing.
God is using this to cause a movement against the Philitstines.
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.
Chapter 15 we see his wife, in retaliation is given to another man.
A friend of samson.
So here is his retaliation
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.
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.
Samson literally caught there tails on fire and let them run, thus burning down the philistine crops.
So then we see the Philistines reaction in verse 6
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.
So they killed Samson’s wife and father in law by burning them to death.
The response’
7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
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.
Samson therefore killed them, then went to be alone on the rock of Etam.
Since the philistines ruled over the jews at this time, this obviously did not sit well.
So 3000 men of judah go to capture Samson and deliver him to the philistines in order to keep the peace.
When they got to the philistines that were in Lehi, and Samson heard the cheers of those waiting for him, something amazing happened.
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.
15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
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.
1000 Philistine men were taken out by this one man.
The strength on Samson is clearly something never seen before or since.
This chapter ends like this.
20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
In chapter 16 we see the philistines tried to set an ambush to kill Samson in Gaza.
It didn’t work.
1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.
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.
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.
Samson literally picked up the locked door of the city and ripped it out of the ground on his way out!
There plan wasn’t working.
Enter Delilah.
4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
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.
Samson and Delilah can be summarized in 4 acts.
Four cycles in which Delilah questions Samson about the key to his strength.
The first three tests fail.
1. Judges 16:6-9. Samson snaps the 7 green withs (fresh bow strings) with which Delilah binds him.
2. Judges 16:10-12. Samson breaks the new ropes with which Delilah binds him.
3. Judges 16:13–14 Samson breaks away when Delilah weaves his hair into fabric on a loom.
4. Judges 16:17. Samson finally tells Delilah the truth.
17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a rasor 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.
This of course leads to his capture.
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.
Its interesting that Delilah’s name disappears after this point.
Was she in the building that Samson brought down?
Was she Micah’s mother in chapter 17?
The bible does not say.
Its also interesting that Samson’s eyes for the ladies was always getting him in trouble, and that is the first thing the Philistines did, was pluck them out.
And of course you are familiar with the story of what happens next.
We pick up at the celebration of the Philistines in vers 26.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
As we see Samson could be viewed as “hot-headed”.
Easily tricked and even vain at times.
But God used him, flaws in all, for a greater purpose.
He is mentioned in Hebrews along with other judges, David, Samuel, and the prophets.
32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Aliens of course, meaning outsiders.
Questions?
Even though Samson had a violent and rough life, God used him in a mighty way.
I think it is clear, even with all of his short comings, he is a hero of the faith.
*closing prayer*