Judges 13.docx

Prequel to Saviors that fail: When: Israel was in slavery for 400 years. Then Moses led the Exodus into the desert. His successor, Joshua, let them into the promised land. The 12 tribes of Israel came from Jacob’s (aka Israel) 12 sons. The “Judges” didn’t judge in a courtroom. They were “deliverers” or “saviors”. The Canaanites were the people living in the promised land when the 12 tribes of Israel got there. The various “-ites” (like Perizzites or Midianites) can be thought of as sub-tribes of Canaanites. Last week on Saviors that fail: God raised up Jephthah, a Judge to deliver Israel from the Ammonites. But Jephthah treated God like the pagan gods, trying to bribe and negotiate. He didn’t know enough about God’s grace, so he sacrificed his daughter. This week on Saviors that fail: Israel needs a better savior than Jephthah. The Philistines are bad dudes. Who is strong enough to fight them? Application →Do not forget the Lord your God who has rescued you. .... And will someone finally tell Spain about the Light of the world??? Judges 12:8-13:25 Christian Standard Bible (CSB) Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon By this point in the story, we should begin to realize that the judges/saviors are part of Israel’s problem, not part of a lasting solution. Samson embodies all that is wrong with Israel. 8 Ibzan, who was from Bethlehem, judged Israel after Jephthah 9 and had thirty sons. He gave his thirty daughters in marriage to men outside the tribe and brought back thirty wives for his sons from outside the tribe. Ibzan judged Israel seven years, he died, he was buried in Bethlehem. 10 and when Anyone saved by these dudes? 11 Elon, who was from Zebulun, judged Israel after Ibzan. He judged Israel ten years, 12 and when he died, he was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. 13 After Elon, Abdon son of Hillel, who was from Pirathon, judged Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. Abdon judged Israel eight years, 15 and when he died, he was buried in Pirathon in the land of The evil Ephraim, in the hill country of The author has defined “the the Amalekites. Birth of Samson 13 The Israelites again did what was evil in the LORD’s evil” several times: following other gods. “Evil” is murder/theft/adultery but “the evil” is violating the first commandment—"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. Do not have other gods besides me.” The Philistine Menace Despite our modern pejorative use of “Philistine”, the Philistines invaded from the Mediterranean Sea, probably from Crete and other islands, and settled on the western coast of the Promised Land. They used iron weapons, battle formations, and two-story houses when Israel was basically hanging out with sheep. They were known for beer (seriously) and pork, which was unclean. They were cruel and they tortured whole cities. Legit bad guys with weird hair. sight, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines forty years. 2 There was a certain man from Zorah, from the family of Dan, whose name was Manoah; his wife was unable to conceive and had no children. 3 The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are unable to conceive and have no children, but you will conceive and give birth to a son. 4 Now please be careful not to drink wine or beer, or to eat anything unclean; 5 for indeed, you will conceive and give birth to a son. You must never cut his hair, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth, and he will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.” Nazarite (“devoted one”) from birth A Nazarite vow, usually short-term, is described in Numbers 6:1-21. No shaving or hair-cutting, no grape anything (wine or juice), no alcohol (and specifically no beer), and no touching dead things (even animals). The devotion might be before a battle or before a big decision. Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist were Nazarites (or similar devotion) with these rules from birth—each had an unusual birth and unusual calling. The apostle Paul made a similar vow in Acts 18 and again in 21, both short-term. 6 Then the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the aweinspiring angel of God. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 He said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth Women in Judges Women have played a major role in almost every story so far, and they play a major role in Samson’s life. A faithful woman gives him birth. But foreign women will temp him into sin and destruction, just as foreign gods temp Israel to abandon the Lord. Samson’s tragic personal story is marked by four women: mother, wife prostitute, and enemy. to a son. Therefore, do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth until the day of his death.’” 8 Manoah prayed to the LORD and said, “Please, Lord, let the man of God you sent come again to us and teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born.” 9 God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field, and her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman ran quickly to her husband and told him, “The man who came to me the other day has just come back!” 11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, “Are you the man who Birth stories The Bible frequently tells stories where God intervenes on behalf of a women so that she can bear a child: Sara, Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth, and Mary. But Samson’s birth narrative also has his calling. Unlike Gideon or Moses, who met with God, the call is given to Samson’s parents. spoke to my wife?” “I am,” he said. 12 Then Manoah asked, “When your words come true, what will be the boy’s responsibilities and work?” 13 The angel of the LORD answered Manoah, “Your wife needs to do everything I told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine or drink wine or beer. And she must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must do everything I have commanded her.” 15 “Please stay here,” Manoah told him, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.” 16 The angel of the LORD said to him, “If I stay, I won’t eat your food. But if you want to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” (Manoah did not know he was the angel of the LORD.) 17 Then Manoah said to him, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?” 18 “Why do you ask my name,” the angel of the LORD asked him, “since it is beyond “since it is beyond understanding” understanding.” 19 Manoah took a The name “beyond understanding” has been difficult to translate. Translations vary between variations of “wonderful” and variations of “not understandable”. Is the emphasis on the fact that it can’t be known? Or is the emphasis on the fact that the messenger of the Lord works wonders? Either meaning applies. young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD, who did something miraculous while Manoah and his wife were watching. 20 When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of the LORD went up in its flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown on the ground. 21 The angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD. 22 “We’re certainly going to die,” he said to his wife, “because we have seen God!” 23 But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had intended to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us, and he would not have shown us all these things or spoken to us like this.” 24 So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him. 25 Then the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. Questions for understanding How is Samson’s birth similar to Jesus’ birth? Who had more faith in this story, Manoah or his wife? What reasons did God have to send Samson to this family? How does Samson compare to the other Judges so far? Questions for application • • • Did the Israelites cry out to God this time? Have I? Does God bless when I cry out? Does God bless when I do not? Based on this chapter, does God help those who help themselves? Manoah thought he would die when he saw God. Do I really think that? Why or why not?