Today's OT passage covers a fairly large portion of Samson's life. I find it interesting that, in the book of Judges, some of the characters are practically glossed over in the span of one verse, while others, like Samson, are given 4 chapters! Obviously there are lessons we are to be learning from Samson's life.
The biggest one that jumped out at me today was Samson's wasted potential. Here was a man chosen by God to do great things. The beginning of his life reminds us very much of the beginning of John the Baptist's life (and other great men of faith, for that matter). He was born to a godly but barren couple after an angelic announcement, and he was to be a Nazarite. He was to begin to conquer the Philistines (John the Baptist prepared the way for the Messiah) and he was given supernatural strength in order to accomplish what God wanted him to accomplish.
Unfortunately for Samson, that's where the similarities end.
Even though both of these men started strong, only one ran the race to completion as to win the prize.
In his sermon Samson, the Promising Start, Pastor David Legge says....
I believe Samson's history is an illustration of Paul's warning that we find in 1 Corinthians 9:27 that reads: 'But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway'. Samson was a castaway as Paul has cited it. Now I know that in Hebrews 11 and verse 32 the writer tells us that Samson was a great man of faith. He had faith in God's word, but apart from that reference to him there's very little else can be said to his credit right throughout the word of God. What I'm saying to you this morning is this: you could have your faith in God, as Samson did, and many people today do. They profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they have trusted in God for their salvation, but their life doesn't go anywhere after that. They receive from God all His provision, they are blessed with everything in the Lord Jesus Christ, but they neglect their spiritual lives and the enemy overcomes them.
We as Christians, once we come to faith in the Lord Jesus, have great potential. There are great prospects ahead of us, and yet the question I'm asking us today in the light of this life of Samson is: what have you done with your potential in Christ? I know you have faith in God, but what are you doing with the resources that God has given to you? What are you doing with the prospects that God has set ahead of you as His divine sovereign will, if you would only obey and follow Him? Paul says: 'Whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning', and this is a great lesson to us - the promising start of Samson, and we need to look at it in great detail, and take heed if we think we stand, lest we fall. (emphasis mine)
We want all the benefits with none of the responsibility. But in order to live a victorious Christian life, it just doesn't work that way.
The spiritual lives of the Israelites had degenerated so badly that they didn't even see their need for a rescuer (sound familiar?!). How did the Philistines get such a strangle hold on them?
Slowly, through business and pleasure, through trade and intermarriage, they were choking them to death - and it was through compromise and assimilation with the Philistines that God's people were being overcome. Now please note this: it was not military might and dominance that conquered God's people here, but it was both spiritual and cultural seduction. Not the sword! What was it that caused God's people not even to feel the need to cry out to God for deliverance, and look for a saviour? It was materialism, and it was sensuality! Spiritual and cultural seduction, assimilating with the background of the world, compromising in its principles. The two results that we find from that were spiritual apathy - they didn't even see their need, they didn't see themselves as God saw them, and even when Samson tried to deliver them they were trying to hold him back! (emphasis mine)
Spiritual apathy and loss of distinction. Yup, very familiar all right.
He also issues a challenge to both children and parents...
I want to ask you, in the light of Samson having not only the best spiritual start he could have in life, he had the best family start, the best family background that anybody could want - but the question is: what did he do with it? Children, you're here this morning: what have you done with your home life? The family heritage, the parental example that you have been given through God's Spirit in your parent's life - what have you done with it? Even if you don't literally have Christian parents, I'm sure that there is some godly example that has been in your life: how have you reacted and related to it? Those that have prayed for you, sacrificed for you, tried to instruct you? Parents, have you done your best, with God's help? Now I know that many of you have, and many of your children are wayward today - but can I just say to you that the devil can use this as a great instrument of punishment in your mind and heart, by telling you that you must have done something wrong if your children are not following the Lord today. Can I say this: you could do everything that Samson's parents did, and more, and your children will still not necessarily follow the Lord. Do you hear that? It does not mean that they will go the right way, even if you do right by them. (emphasis mine)
That's a lot of lessons and I didn't even finish going through that entire sermon, nevermind the additional ones dealing with today's passage: Samson, the Broken Vows and Samson, the Vengeful Victor.
Samson flirted with what was forbidden him and it was his downfall. He took for granted the fact that he had been chosen, his godly heritage, his vows of consecration (of being separate, being distinct) and the power of the Holy Spirit. He had this all, and he wasted it.
We have all those blessings as well. If you are a Christian, you have been chosen by God. You have a godly heritage (even if not Christian parents, you have the Word as your heritage). You have been set apart from this world. And you have, dwelling within you, the power of the Holy Spirit.
Will we flirt with the forbidden, take our blessings for granted, keep God at Saviour status alone and deny Him Lordship of our lives?
Or will we press on in His power, using all the gifts He has graciously given us and be able to say at the end that we fought the good fight?
The choice is ours. May we choose wisely.
Tomorrow's passage: Judges 16-18, Luke 15:11-32
5 comments:
So right that we often want to keep God at Saviour status and deny Him Lordship of our lives! The story of Samson made me sad reading it today. I could totally picture this big strong man submitted to Delilah as he fell asleep with his head in her lap and she betrayed him. Seriouly how could he NOT have seen right through her? Obviously women were a weakness for him and he allowed himself to fall blindly into that temptation. It really got me thinking of my own blindness. There are things of this world I fall blindly into because they are my temptation, and can just as swiftly and silently destroy me. They can difuse the power and potential that God has impressed upon me. Thanks for the great post Tammy!
Great post, Tammy! Things sure didn't go well for Samson for the most part, except when it came to killing Philistines. At that he excelled - through the gift of God and the Spirit.
Spiritual apathy and loss of distinction... sure does sound familiar. And it happens so easily!
I'm always disgusted with Samson, too, especially when it should have been VERY obvious what Delilah was up to! I mean, COME ON, man! THREE times she asks what the secret to your strength is ~ and tests it out with your enemies hiding in the next room!! ~ and yet you actually TELL her what it is??! Seriously.
But a couple of things stand out for me in this story:
Firstly, the angel specifically told his parents Samson would only BEGIN to throw off the Philistine rule (Tammy highlighted that as well). Despite all his failings, that is precisely what he did. He fulfilled his calling in life, no matter how disgracefully!
Secondly, of all the judges/leaders we've seen so far, their story ends with "...and they judged in/led Israel for XX years and the people had peace," ~ or some version of that phrase. With Samson, that verse occurs in the middle of his story. I get the impression that for 20 years, he was probably a good, fair leader of the nation. Nothing about those 20 years stands out. But then he met Delilah and that was then end of his good, unremarkable years. But I think those 20 years are why he makes it into the "Hall of Faith." All through the book of Judges so far, we've been saying that we're supposed to be focusing on God and what HE is doing, not on the people He's using, and yet our temptation really is to focus on these fallen humans. But God did exactly what He said He would with Samson's life.
Oops, I guess I'm getting a little ahead of myself ~ I read all four chapters of Samson's story this morning without realizing that we weren't actually looking at the Delilah part of his life! Sorry!!
My thoughts about him remain the same, but these comments might have been better left for tomorrow!
Excellent post. I loved this:
Now please note this: it was not military might and dominance that conquered God's people here, but it was both spiritual and cultural seduction. Not the sword!
I think that is true of society today. The slow fade of tolerance and apathy.
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