The Humiliation of the Proud

In the previous sessions, we saw how God uses unexpected people and circumstances to accomplish His purposes. But how does God work with those who seem to have their lives put together: the successful, strong, and spiritual? In this session, we will look to Samson, a man who appeared to be able to succeed on his own by relying on his own cleverness and strength. We will see that while he seemed to have all the puzzle pieces of his life in the right arrangement, he forgot whose image he was supposed to follow. We will also see that often we aren’t much different. Our strong personalities and abilities to muscle through life sometimes leads us to forget who it is on whom we depend. As with Samson, sometimes God’s gift of grace comes in the form of being humbled, in order to remind us upon whom we depend. God’s act of humbling the proud is more a gift of grace than it is an act of chastisement, and will accomplish His plan and purpose.

Session Outline

++1. Pride and lust lead to destructive disobedience (Judg. 14:1-3,8-9).

++2. Pride and lust lead to destructive relationships (Judg. 16:4-5,16-17).

++3. God’s gracious gift of humility leads to relying on God and the Risen Christ (Judg. 16:21-22,26-30).

Session in a Sentence

God’s act of humbling the proud is more a gift of grace than it is an act of chastisement, and will accomplish God’s plan and purpose.

Christ Connection

Samson’s downfall was the result of his own pride and disobedience, and yet, God used his death to begin the deliverance of His people.

Jesus’ humiliation (Phil. 2) and death was the result of His perfect obedience to pay for our disobedience. God used Christ’s death to bring deliverance “once for all” for His people.

Missional Application

Because we have experienced victory over sin through Christ’s humility and sacrifice, we live in humility before others as we call them to put away their sins and turn to God for deliverance.

America’s Funniest Home Videos...decades of being on air...

Ask the question p. 112 DDG.

What are moments you remember that, if recorded, might have won AFH?

(be prepared to give an answer of your own to jump-start the conversation)

Read DDG (p. 112).

All of us have experienced something we wish we could have avoided. While there are some humiliating moments we couldn’t have stopped, there are others we could have dodged but for whatever reason we did not.

When our pride flares and we deviate from God’s commands, we dive headlong into trouble. Humility will arrive one way or another, sooner or later.

Know that God opposes the proud, but know that He also gives grace to the humble (Jas. 4:6).

James 4:6 NASB

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Rightly understood, humiliation under the care of God is a gift of grace.

Today we are going to read about Samson, a man who appeared to be able to succeed on his own by relying on his own cleverness and strength.

While he seemed to have all the puzzle pieces of his life in the right arrangement, he forgot whose image he was supposed to follow.

Often we aren’t much different. Our strong personalities and abilities to muscle through life lead us to forget on whom we depend. As with Samson, God humbles the proud, and that is a gift of grace.

Point 1: Pride and lust lead to destructive disobedience (Judg. 14:1-3,8-9).

Pack Item 12: The Judges Handout: Recall this handout to help you make the following point: By the time we reach Judges 14, God had provided the Israelites with a number of judges to rescue them from the affliction of their enemies.

Many of the judges didn’t look the part, but then came along Samson. It seemed God had finally given the Israelites the leader they truly needed. It wouldn’t take long, however, to realize that this man was strong on the outside but quite weak on the inside.

Read Judges 14:1-3 (DDG p. 113).

1 Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

DDG (p. 113)

From birth, Samson had been dedicated to God as a Nazirite. He wasn’t to drink wine or beer, cut his hair, or touch dead bodies, but more than that, he was to have a heightened sense of God’s word and God’s mission to spread God’s glory. Samson’s impulses, however, led him to be rebellious about what God wanted. Everyone else—his parents, this Philistine woman, and even God—took a backseat to his selfish desires.

· It didn’t matter to Samson that God prohibited inter-faith marriages with the peoples surrounding them in the promised land (Ex. 34:15-16);

Exodus 34:15–16 NASB

lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they play the harlot with their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invite you to eat of his sacrifice;and you take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods, and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods.

Nor did it matter to him that God’s plan for him from before his conception and birth was to save his people from the Philistines (Judg. 13:5).

Judges 13:5 NASB

“For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

He wanted this Philistine woman he saw, and nothing else mattered. His parents tried to discourage him from following his impulses, but they failed. In his own eyes, she was the right one for him to marry.

Commentary: “The Hebrew term [for Nazirite] means consecration, devotion, and separation. Two traditional forms of the Nazirite are found. One was based on a vow by the individual for a specific period; the other was a lifelong devotion following the revelatory experience of a parent that announced the impending birth of a child. The Nazirite’s outward signs—the growth of hair, abstention from wine and other alcoholic products, the avoidance of contact with the dead—are illustrative of devotion to God. Violation of these signs resulted in defilement and the need for purification so the vow could be completed. Numbers 6:1-21 regulated the practice.” 1

Fill in the blanks: DDG (p. 113).

Sin as Selfishness: When we sin, we are acting out of a selfish attitude and mind-set that assumes our action will lead us to more happiness than if we were to obey God.

Essential Doctrine “Sin as Selfishness”: When we sin, we are acting out of a selfish attitude and mind-set that assumes our action will lead us to more happiness than if we were to obey God. Because sin is manifested in our tendency to be “curved inward” toward self, it is the opposite of love. Love looks outwardly to place others before oneself, operating from the mind-set that others are more important (Phil. 2:3).

Philippians 2:3 NASB

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself;

Where sin selfishly seeks personal gratification and happiness...love works for the joy of others in the hopes of making others happy in God.

Read Judges 14:8-9 (DDG p. 113).

8 After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. 9 He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.

DDG (p. 113)

By the power of God’s Spirit, Samson had killed a lion with his bare hands while on the way to make his wedding arrangements with the Philistine woman. Later he found honey in the lion’s carcass, so he scooped some to eat and gave some to his parents too. The problem? Touching a dead animal, including eating out of one, violated Samson’s Nazirite vow, and it also defiled his parents without their knowledge or consent. Samson’s impulsiveness ruled his life, and his careless living affected those around him.

Ask the following question.

Why is impulsive, careless living contrary to God’s way?

(impulsive living reflects our selfish hearts rather than obedience to the commands of God; as sinners, our natural, impulsive instinct in life is to sin and do what is right in our own eyes, not God’s; impulsive living takes advantage of and hurts others in one’s quest to fulfill his or her own desires)

Point 2: Pride and lust lead to destructive relationships (Judg. 16:4-5,16-17).

Samson’s marriage didn’t go as he had planned, but it was part of God’s plan to force a confrontation between His judge, Samson, and the people His judge was supposed to fight, the Philistines (14:4).

Though Samson’s motives were impulsive, careless, and selfish toward his wife and in his retaliation against the Philistines, the Lord was with him and strengthened him to fight the people’s oppressors (14:19; 15:14).

Read: Judges 16:4-5,16-17 (DDG p. 114).

4 After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”

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16 And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 17 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”

DDG (p. 114)

In time, Samson found a new love interest, Delilah, and the Philistines bribed her to discover the secret of Samson’s strength. Three times Delilah asked, and three times Samson lied about the source of his strength, not out of concern but seemingly out of pride and play.

Delilah persisted and eventually Samson told her. His pride spoke so loudly that he could not hear the warning siren preceding his fall (Prov. 16:18).

· Because Samson had despised God’s commands, ignored the pleas of his parents, chased his lusts, and lived like his enemies, his life was about to fall apart. The woman he loved would sell him out, literally. She herself would have his hair cut and then call the Philistines so He would be captured, mocked, and mauled. Samson’s strength may have been out-muscled only by his pride. He finally met his match in his irresponsible pursuit of sin, and the Lord left him (Judg. 16:20).

Judges 16:20 NASB

And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

· Pride puts us in problematic scenarios, and left unchecked, it only gets worse.

We neglect God’s Word and then wonder why our souls feel malnourished. Many husbands and wives fail to recognize the threat and danger of adultery that could come from spending time with a member of the opposite sex. Many allow their egos and selfish desires to make success, material wealth, or comfort...their god, causing them to work to the detriment of their families? Like Samson, we can run full steam ahead in pride only to crash and burn.

DDG (p. 114)

Delilah, with her nagging, wore down a man with God’s great strength. Why? Because Samson’s great idols in his life were his own comfort and pleasure. He compromised over and over again merely to be comfortable and to satisfy his whims.

If we turn personal comfort into a current version of heaven, then discomfort becomes our hell and we will do whatever we can to get out of it.

++But if knowing God is heaven, then no amount of discomfort will lead us to compromise our faith in Christ.

Why? Because we know in whom we have believed—Jesus Christ, who endured the cross for the joy set before Him (Heb. 12:2-3).

Hebrews 12:2–3 NASB

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.

SKIP THE VOICES...

Voices from Church History

“All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The *will* never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.” 2 –Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Think about Samson’s Response to Discomfort: “Eat honey out of a dead carcass? No problem, I’m hungry.” “Marry a woman I’m not supposed to? As long as she looks good to me.” “Tell Delilah my hair is tied to my strength? Who cares, she’s exhausting—I just want to be comfortable.”

· Jesus’ Response to Discomfort:The humiliation as God, living in human flesh and among sinful flesh. The excruciating discomfort Jesus experienced as He was crucified, along with the added temptations from the crowd and those being crucified next to Him to seek His comfort and get Himself off of the cross were not enough for Him to compromise His calling. He looked past them to the joy that would result from His obedience: the Father’s pleasure and our salvation.

If pride leads to compromise, then humble dependence on God and the risen Christ will lead to a faithful commitment to Him and His glory.

Ask the following question.

What does humble dependence upon God look like?

(finding joy in doing what is right and pleasing to God; praying for strength to resist temptation; faithful obedience in the face of discomfort and opposition)

Point 3: God’s gracious gift of humility leads to relying on God and the Risen Christ (Judg. 16:21-22,26-30).

Read Judges 16:21-22,26-30 (DDG p. 115).

21 And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. 22 But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

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26 And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” 27 Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.

28 Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. 30 And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.

DDG (p. 115)

Illustration: Imagine a downpour of rain coming out of nowhere leaving your four-door sedan stuck in the mud. You try pushing; no help. You try putting boards underneath the tires, but the only thing that happens is mud gets kicked up behind the car as it sinks deeper and deeper into the wet earth. Finally, you humble yourself and call in a professional. It’s tow-truck time. There may be other sedans all around you, and ropes and chains are not hard to come by. But you know these won’t work; they lack the power to pull your vehicle out of the mud. If you tried with a comparable vehicle, you likely would have two cars to be pulled out. No, you need something stronger. You need a vehicle that was made for times like this—a tow-truck with the power and equipment to pull your car out of its muddy trap.

Samson found himself stuck in chains because of his pride, utterly humiliated. He was now a slave-labor sideshow for the entertainment of the Philistines. But Samson’s hair was growing back, and more importantly, he was coming to his senses. In this moment of brokenness, he recognized he was stuck and powerless to do anything about it. So he did what he should have done all along—he called out to God for help., albeit for what still seemed like selfish reasons for vindication of his own glory rather than God’s.

It’s easy for us to criticize Samson; surely he deserves it. However, we need to be careful to recognize that we often work the same way, if not to the same degree.

We allow our pride to lead us into the ditches of life. We get stuck in situations that we cannot wiggle out of on our own. Here we can learn from Samson.

When we are stuck in our sin, instead of exhausting all other options, all of our ways, ideas, and strategies, and then turning to God, we need to turn to God first.

We should turn to God immediately and watch how He works. In fact, we should turn to Him before we get stuck. There is no need to wait until we feel helpless—we already are helpless on our own.

DDG (p. 115)

Samson’s insight was that his strength had always come from God and he could still fulfill his mission to defeat the Philistines with God’s help.

Samson’s humiliation brought with it what would become a friend to him: clarity.

He understood that if God were with him, he couldn’t fail. So he humbled himself and asked God to give him strength to defeat his enemies, to accomplish the mission he was given before his birth.

His prayer was late and unpolished, but God heard Samson’s cry and answered him. God gave Samson power and he crushed his enemies, even as he died like one of them.

Ask the following question.

What promises of God do many cling to in troubling times?

(be prepared to give an answer of your own to jump-start the conversation)

My Mission

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

God has no issue humbling the proud as part of the process of His grace.

Samson went from physical strength and spiritual weakness to physical weakness and spiritual strength.

This is the track and trajectory of the gospel. Christ humbled Himself to save the proud—us.

We are saved not by flexing our muscles of morality but by exercising faith alone in the risen Christ alone.

Since the grace of God humbles us, when we interact with Samson-types at the office, down the street, or even on Sunday morning, we don’t have to puff up our chests. Like us, they are in need of hearing about the One who didn’t exploit His power but humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross.

Every Samson-like person you meet needs a Savior—the Savior. It may appear as if their life is great, but success and charisma don’t last beyond this life. Instead, let us humbly point others to the One who gives eternal life to all who humble themselves.

Session in a Sentence

God’s act of humbling the proud is more a gift of grace than it is an act of chastisement, and will accomplish God’s plan and purpose.

DDG (p. 116),

Because we have experienced victory over sin through Christ’s humility and sacrifice, we live in humility before others as we call them to put away their sins and turn to God for deliverance.

· In what ways will you humble yourself in light of the destructive nature of pride?

· How can your group work together to address areas of sin and pride in your community with the love of Jesus and the good news of the gospel?

· How will you follow the humble example of Jesus as you share the power of the gospel with Samson-like people in your life this week?

Close in prayer:

References

1. “Nazirite,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, gen. eds. Chad Brand, Charles Draper, and Archie England (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2003) [Wordsearch].

2. Blaise Pascal, Pascal’s Pensées (New York: Start Publishing, 2012) [eBook].

3. Iain M. Duguid, “Judges,” in CSB Study Bible (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2017), 386, n. 14:3-4.

4. Daniel I. Block, Judges, Ruth, vol. 6 in The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2003) [Wordsearch].

5. Iain M. Duguid, “Judges,” in CSB Study Bible, 389, n. 16:4-5.

6. Tokunboh Adeyemo, “Judges,” in Africa Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Tokunboh Adeyemo (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), 312.

7. K. Lawson Younger Jr., “Judges,” in NIV Zondervan Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015), 461, n. 16:18-21.

8. David M. Howard Jr., “Judges,” in ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), 466, n. 16:22.

9. Barry G. Webb, “Judges,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. G. J. Wenham et al. (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 2007) [Wordsearch].

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