Supporting Cast Samson Downward Spiral God s Choice for Leader Engaging with the Enemy

Transcription

1 Supprting Cast Samsn Dwnward Spiral The Cycle Evil in the Lrd s eyes. Gd allws ppressin. Peple cry ut t Gd. Gd sends judge/leader t deliver. Gd s Chice fr Leader Judges 13:1-25 Here we g again Judges 13:1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes f the LORD, s the LORD delivered them int the hands f the Philistines fr frty years. Called t be Separate 13:2-23 Judges 13:2-5 2 A certain man f Zrah, named Manah, frm the clan f the Danites, had a wife wh was childless, unable t give birth. 3 The angel f the LORD appeared t her and said, Yu are barren and childless, but yu are ging t becme pregnant and give birth t a sn. 4 Nw see t it that yu drink n wine r ther fermented drink and that yu d nt eat anything unclean. 5 Yu will becme pregnant and have a sn whse head is never t be tuched by a razr because the by is t be a Nazirite, dedicated t Gd frm the wmb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel frm the hands f the Philistines. He s Here Judges 13: The wman gave birth t a by and named him Samsn. He grew and the LORD blessed him, 25 and the Spirit f the LORD began t stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zrah and Eshtal. Engaging with the Enemy Judges 14:1-9 I want the wrld Judges 14:1-4 Samsn went dwn t Timnah and saw there a yung Philistine wman. 2 When he returned, he said t his father and mther, I have seen a Philistine wman in Timnah; nw get her fr me as my wife. 3 His father and mther replied, Isn t there an acceptable wman amng yur relatives r amng all ur peple? Must yu g t the uncircumcised Philistines t get a wife? But Samsn said t his father, Get her fr me. She s the right ne fr me. 4 (His parents did nt knw that this was frm the LORD, wh was seeking an ccasin t cnfrnt the Philistines; fr at that time they were ruling ver Israel.)

2 The Lrd, The Lin and The Lady The Riddler Judges 14:10-19 (Samsn had a feast as was custmary fr yung men. Given 30 cmpanins that Samsn decided t make a wager with ver his riddle. 30 linen garments and 30 changes f clthes if they gt it but 30 & 30 fr him if they didn t.) Strng & Sweat Judges 14:14 14 He replied, Out f the eater, smething t eat; ut f the strng, smething sweet. Fr three days they culd nt give the answer. (The men can t get it s they threaten his wife fr the answer r they will burn her and her father. He tells her and she in turn tells the men.) Outcme f the Wager Judges 14: Befre sunset n the seventh day the men f the twn said t him, What is sweeter than hney? What is strnger than a lin? Samsn said t them, If yu had nt plwed with my heifer, yu wuld nt have slved my riddle. 19 Then the Spirit f the LORD came pwerfully upn him. He went dwn t Ashkeln, struck dwn thirty f their men, stripped them f everything and gave their clthes t thse wh had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he returned t his father s hme. 20 And Samsn s wife was given t ne f his cmpanins wh had attended him at the feast. Revenge n Replay Judges 15:1-20 (Samsn finds ut that his wife was given away.) Jackal-lanterns Judges 15:3-5 3 Samsn said t them, This time I have a right t get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them. 4 S he went ut and caught three hundred fxes and tied them tail t tail in pairs. He then fastened a trch t every pair f tails, 5 lit the trches and let the fxes lse in the standing grain f the Philistines. He burned up the shcks and standing grain, tgether with the vineyards and live grves.

3 Fight Fire with Fire Judges 15:6 6 When the Philistines asked, Wh did this? they were tld, Samsn, the Timnite s sn-in-law, because his wife was given t his cmpanin. S the Philistines went up and burned her and her father t death. Because f That, This Judges 15:7-8 7 Samsn said t them, Since yu ve acted like this, I swear that I wn t stp until I get my revenge n yu. 8 He attacked them viciusly and slaughtered many f them. Then he went dwn and stayed in a cave in the rck f Etam. G Get Him (The Philistines pursue Samsn and Judah hands him ver) Jawbne Hill Judges 15: As he apprached Lehi, the Philistines came tward him shuting. The Spirit f the LORD came pwerfully upn him. The rpes n his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings drpped frm his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbne f a dnkey, he grabbed it and struck dwn a thusand men. 16 Then Samsn said, With a dnkey s jawbne I have made dnkeys f them. [a] With a dnkey s jawbne I have killed a thusand men. 17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbne; and the place was called Ramath Lehi. (Gd prvides water t a thirsty Samsn.) 2 Decades Strng Judges 15:20 20 Samsn led [d] Israel fr twenty years in the days f the Philistines. Great Strength & N Strength Judges 16:1-3 (Prstitute in Gaza. Peple find ut and surrund the place waiting at the city gates. Samsn ges ut the drs t the gate and takes them with him 40 miles!!)

4 That Girl is Pisn Judges 16:4-21 (Samsn falls in lve with Delilah, a Philistine wman. Philistine leaders ffer Delilah 1,100 shekels f silver t get answer t Samsn s strength. Delilah asks Samsn fr secret f yur great strength and hw yu can be tied up and subdued. Samsn: Tied w/ 7 fresh bwstrings, I becme as weak as any ther man. Philistines brught bwstrings, Delilah tied him up, men hid in rm, Samsn, the Philistines are upn yu!, Samsn snaps bwstrings like it s nthing. Delilah cmplains and asks him again. Samsn: Tied securely with new rpes, never used, I ll becme weak. Delilah tied him with new rpes, men hid in rm, Samsn, the Philistines are upn yu!, Samsn snaps rpes like threads. Delilah cmplains and asks him again. Samsn: Weave my 7 braids int the fabric f the lm & tighten it with pin, I ll becme weak as any ther man. Delilah wve his braids int the fabric & tightened with the pin, Samsn, the Philistines are upn yu!, Samsn awke and pulled up the pin & lm.) Crazy Lve Judges 16: Then she said t him, Hw can yu say, I lve yu, when yu wn t cnfide in me? This is the third time yu have made a fl f me and haven t tld me the secret f yur great strength. 16 With such nagging she prdded him day after day until he was sick t death f it. (He tld her everything. n razr has tuched my head because I have been a Nazirite dedicated t the Lrd. If my head was shaved I wuld becme weak. Delilah runs ff t tell the Philistines, they return with silver, Delilah gets Samsn t fall asleep n her lap and has smene cme in t shave his head. And his strength left him. ) Things are Different Judges 16: Then she called, Samsn, the Philistines are upn yu! He awke frm his sleep and thught, I ll g ut as befre and shake myself free. But he did nt knw that the LORD had left him. 21 Then the Philistines seized him, guged ut his eyes and tk him dwn t Gaza. Binding him with brnze shackles, they set him t grinding grain in the prisn. 22 But the hair n his head began t grw again after it had been shaved.

5 The Final Push Judges 16:23-31 It s Ging Dwn Judges 16: Nw the rulers f the Philistines assembled t ffer a great sacrifice t Dagn their gd and t celebrate, saying, Our gd has delivered Samsn, ur enemy, int ur hands. 24 When the peple saw him, they praised their gd, saying, Our gd has delivered ur enemy int ur hands, the ne wh laid waste ur land and multiplied ur slain. 25 While they were in high spirits, they shuted, Bring ut Samsn t entertain us. S they called Samsn ut f the prisn, and he perfrmed fr them. When they std him amng the pillars, 26 Samsn said t the servant wh held his hand, Put me where I can feel the pillars that supprt the temple, s that I may lean against them. 27 Nw the temple was crwded with men and wmen; all the rulers f the Philistines were there, and n the rf were abut three thusand men and wmen watching Samsn perfrm. 28 Then Samsn prayed t the LORD, Svereign LORD, remember me. Please, Gd, strengthen me just nce mre, and let me with ne blw get revenge n the Philistines fr my tw eyes. (Samsn braced himself n the tw supprt pillars. Let me die with the Philistines! He pushed and dwn came the temple, killing many mre when he died than while he lived. His family went dwn t get his bdy t bury him with his father. Samsn led/judged Israel fr 20 years.) Imperfect Vessels 2 Crinthians 4:5-7 5 Fr what we preach is nt urselves, but Jesus Christ as Lrd, and urselves as yur servants fr Jesus sake. 6 Fr Gd, wh said, Let light shine ut f darkness, [a] made his light shine in ur hearts t give us the light f the knwledge f Gd s glry displayed in the face f Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars f clay t shw that this all-surpassing pwer is frm Gd and nt frm us. Peace but Nt Excuse Rmans 6:1-4 What shall we say, then? Shall we g n sinning s that grace may increase? 2 By n means! We are thse wh have died t sin; hw can we live in it any lnger? 3 Or dn t yu knw that all f us wh were baptized int Christ Jesus were baptized int his death? 4 We were therefre buried with him thrugh baptism int death in rder that, just as Christ was raised frm the dead thrugh the glry f the Father, we t may live a new life.