Samson s Riddle Judges part 10

Transcription

1 Samson s Riddle Judges part 10 Last time, we saw the events leading up to Samson s birth. The Lord approached a man named Manoah and his wife and told them they will have a son. The Lord also told them that he will be a Nazarite. We also learned last time what a Nazarite is. It s someone who made a vow to the Lord and they are not supposed to do certain things during a certain period of time. We also learned that these rituals are symbols of our immaturity and in the end, they really don t please the Lord. What are some of the rituals of today s churches that are not really pleasing to the Lord? Water baptisms the Catholics do it by sprinkling a baby with water, the Protestants do it by dunking a child or an adult in a river or in a bathtub. Breaking bread and drinking wine the Catholics give their members a thin wafer and the priest drink some wine, other false Christian churches have their version of this ritual. Speaking in tongues People imagining that they are getting filled with the holy spirit and speaking some unknown language. These false churches of Babylon did not come up with these rituals on their own. They based these traditions in some verses of the Bible. But unknown to these people, the Bible is full of physical symbols that have spiritual meaning. When the Lord broke bread and drank wine with His disciples before His arrest, He wasn t telling them to literally break some bread and drink some wine or grape juice to remember Him. He was telling them to remember His words and teach them to others. He was telling them to apply His words in their life and to love one another as He had loved them. That s how we remember the Lord. As we continue the story of Samson, we will see some more symbols that will point us to the spiritual lessons God wants us to learn from this story. Let s read the second part of Samson s story. Jdg 14:1 (ERV) Samson went down to the city of Timnah. He saw a young Philistine woman there. Jdg 14:2 When he returned home, he said to his father and mother, "I saw a Philistine woman in Timnah. I want you to get her for me. I want to marry her." Jdg 14:3 (MKJV) And his father and his mother said to him, Is there no woman among the daughters of your brothers, or among all my people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said to his father, Get her for me, for she pleases me very much. Jdg 14:4 (ESV) His father and mother did not know that it was from the

2 LORD, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel. Jdg 14:5 (KJV) 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. Jdg 14:6 (ERV) The Spirit of the LORD came on Samson with great power. He tore the lion apart with his bare hands. It seemed easy to him. It was as easy as tearing apart a young goat. But Samson did not tell his father or mother what he had done. Jdg 14:7 So Samson went down to the city and talked to the Philistine woman. She pleased him. Jdg 14:8 Several days later, Samson came back to marry her. On his way, he went over to look at the dead lion. He found a swarm of bees in its body. They had made some honey. Jdg 14:9 Samson got some of the honey with his hands. He walked along eating the honey. When he came to his parents, he gave them some of the honey, and they ate it too. But Samson did not tell his parents that he had taken the honey from the body of the dead lion. Jdg 14:10 Samson's father went down to see the Philistine woman. The custom was for the bridegroom to give a party. So Samson gave a party. Jdg 14:11 (ESV) As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. Jdg 14:12 (ERV) Then Samson said to the 30 men, "I want to tell you a story. This party will last for seven days. Try to find the answer during that time. If you can answer the riddle in that time, I will give you 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes. Jdg 14:13 But if you cannot find the answer, you must give me 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes." So the 30 men said, "Tell us your riddle, we want to hear it." Jdg 14:14 Samson told them this riddle: "Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet." The 30 men tried for three days to find the answer, but they couldn't. Jdg 14:15 On the fourth day, the men came to Samson's wife. They said, "Did you invite us here just to make us poor? You must trick your husband into telling us the answer to the riddle. If you don't get the answer for us, we will burn you and everyone in your father's house to death."

3 Jdg 14:16 So Samson's wife went to him and began crying. She said, "You just hate me! You don't really love me! You told my people a riddle, and you will not tell me the answer." Samson said to her, "Look, I have not even told my father and mother. So why should I tell you?" Jdg 14:17 Samson's wife cried for the rest of the seven days of the party. So he finally gave her the answer to the riddle on the seventh day. He told her because she kept bothering him. Then she went to her people and told them the answer to the riddle. Jdg 14:18 So before the sun went down on the seventh day of the party, the Philistine men had the answer. They came to Samson and said, "What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?" Then Samson said to them, "If you had not plowed with my cow, you would not have solved my riddle!" Jdg 14:19 Samson was very angry. The Spirit of the LORD came on Samson with great power. He went down to the city of Ashkelon and killed 30 Philistine men. He took all the clothes and property from the dead bodies and gave them to the men who had answered his riddle. Then he went to his father's house. Jdg 14:20 (CEV) The father of the bride had Samson's wife marry one of the thirty young men that had been at Samson's party. Now let s look more closely at some of the verses we just read and see their spiritual meaning. Jdg 14:3 (MKJV) And his father and his mother said to him, Is there no woman among the daughters of your brothers, or among all my people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said to his father, Get her for me, for she pleases me very much. Samson is a very disrespectful child, he doesn t listen to his parents. He insists on getting what he wants, and we saw how this disobedience turned up for him. His parents were not very wise parents either. They let their child dictate them what to do. They didn t have this wisdom from the Lord: Pro 29:15 (KJV) The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. You want to be wise? Listen to your parents advice, specially when they correct you. The natural tendency of children is to hate their parents when they are getting corrected, specially when they are getting spanked. Resist that urge to fight your parents, that urge is coming from the devil.

4 Jdg 14:4 (ESV) His father and mother did not know that it was from the LORD, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel. Now there s the reason Samson s parents were not wise enough to stop their son from marrying a Philistine woman. The Lord was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. What s wrong with the Philistines? They were uncircumcised. The covenant or agreement of circumcision was given to Israel through Abraham as a sign that they are God s people. As with the physical things that we saw earlier, circumcision or the cutting off of some flesh from a baby boy has a spiritual meaning. Physical circumcision doesn t please God. Rom 2:28 (ESV) For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. Rom 2:29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. Physical circumcision, just like water baptism, literal breaking bread and drinking wine, and speaking in tongues does not benefit us. True circumcision is a matter of the heart. It is when we are given a change of heart and we cut off the flesh by not giving in to what it wants. Here we have Samson who is a physical Israelite (who will be later called Jews), but he s not a true Jew in God s eyes because he hasn t been given a change of heart yet. He is doing what he wants instead of listening to his parents. Isa 30:1 (KJV) Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: When we are rebellious children, our sins pile up on top of each other! More troubles come our way and we bring more shame to ourselves and to our parents. On their way to get the Philistine woman, something scary happened to Samson. Jdg 14:5 (KJV) 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. Jdg 14:6 (ERV) The Spirit of the LORD came on Samson with great power. He tore the lion apart with his bare hands. It seemed easy to him. It was as easy as tearing apart a young goat. But Samson did not tell his father or mother what he had done. Samson tore the lion with his bare hands. It was so easy to him that it was like tearing apart a young goat. What does the lion symbolize? 1Pe 5:8 (CEV) Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is

5 like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. Be on your guard. Stay awake means be alert, not stay up all night. Why do we need to be alert? Because our enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion who is actively looking for someone to attack. Should we be afraid of him? No! When we pray to God to protect us, He will give us the strength of Samson to kill this mighty lion like nothing. We will be able to resist the devil and all his lies. Some of you may ask, But I thought Samson was being rebellious? Why was he given strength to kill the lion?. That s a good question. The Lord could have easily have him eaten by the lion for lunch. But we must remember, the Lord was doing all of this for a purpose, which is to seek an occasion against the uncircumcised Philistines. Jdg 14:8 (ERV) Several days later, Samson came back to marry her. On his way, he went over to look at the dead lion. He found a swarm of bees in its body. They had made some honey. Jdg 14:9 Samson got some of the honey with his hands. He walked along eating the honey. When he came to his parents, he gave them some of the honey, and they ate it too. But Samson did not tell his parents that he had taken the honey from the body of the dead lion. More symbols here: bees and honey. What is the spiritual meaning of bees? Psa 118:12 (ESV) They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! Who is surrounded by these bees, and who are these bees? Psa 118:1 (ESV) Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Psa 118:2 Let Israel say, His steadfast love endures forever. Psa 118:10 All nations surrounded me; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! Psa 118:11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! Psa 118:12 They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! There it is! The bees are the enemy nations surrounding Israel. The writer of the psalms we just read said In the name of the Lord I cut them off! But what did Samson do? He didn t cut off the enemy. He ate the honey the bees were making, and he also gave some to his mom and dad. Eating is a symbol of believing a teaching. Eating the bees honey is

6 a symbol of believing the teachings of Babylon. Instead of cutting off the enemy, Samson made friends with them. Instead of destroying them, he was seduced by one of them and he married her. In his pride, he made a bet with people whom he thought were his friends. Jdg 14:11 (ESV) As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. Jdg 14:12 (ERV) Then Samson said to the 30 men, "I want to tell you a story. This party will last for seven days. Try to find the answer during that time. If you can answer the riddle in that time, I will give you 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes. Clothing is a symbol of righteousness. The righteousness of Babylon is self-righteous, and God is not impressed with it. The righteousness of false churches who do water baptisms, speaking in tongues, breaking physical bread and drinking physical wine are all like dirty rags to Him. That is what Samson was after when he made this bet with the Philistine men pretending to be his friends. What happened in the end of this part of Samson s story? His wife betrayed him and he lost the bet. Granted his wife was threatened by these men, but she should have trusted her husband to defend her. But she doesn t trust her husband, as Babylon doesn t trust the Lord. They say they do, but they buy guns to protect themselves and they rely on the military to protect their nation. This all happened as part of God s plan in showing Samson that we should never trust the enemy. This all happened to show us that we should trust our Lord to protect us and not ourselves or any worldly leaders. Psa 118:6 (ESV) The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? Psa 118:7 The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. Psa 118:8 (KJV) It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. Psa 118:9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. Psa 118:10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them. Psa 118:11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. Psa 118:12 They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as