Judges 16B. Leading the Philistines to believe they finally had their opportunity learn the secret to Samson s strength

Transcription

1 Judges 16B There s an ld saying abut a wman scrned...yu prbably knw hw it ends Twice nw Samsn has scrned a Philistine wman named Delilah Shwing his lustful weakness again, Samsn tk a liking t her Leading the Philistines t believe they finally had their pprtunity learn the secret t Samsn s strength They asked Delilah t learn what made Samsn s strng. S she simply asked Samsn t reveal the secret But Samsn gave her false answers n tw separate ccasins Samsn s tricks left Delilah unhappy, t say the least But Samsn s success als left him increasingly ccky thinking he culd endlessly utsmart his enemies We stpped las time t wnder why Samsn wuld even be willing t play this dangerus game I cncluded that he has assumed his strength wuld never leave him He presumed that the Lrd had nthing t say abut hw he put his gift t use He has n fear f the Lrd S he cntinues t play arund with evil In spite f Delilah s first tw attempts, Samsn cntinues t ty with her as she seeks a way t defeat him Samsn cntinues t test Gd s patience t a breaking pint Judg. 16:13 Then Delilah said t Samsn, Up t nw yu have deceived me and tld me lies; tell me hw yu may be bund. And he said t her, If yu weave the seven lcks f my hair with the web [and fasten it with a pin, then I will becme weak and be like any ther man. S fr a third time she asks him hw he can be defeated 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Judges 16B 2 f 14 This time Samsn brings her very clse t the true answer by turning her fcus t his hair Remember, a Nazarite was never t cut any hair n his bdy as part f his vw f cnsecratin t serve Gd By this time in Samsn s life, his hair must have been quite lng Samsn mentins seven lcks f hair, which suggests his hair was braided int seven lengths prbably t keep it manageable Samsn tells this wman that if his hair was t be wven by a lm and left lcked int the lm with a pin, he wuld becme weak This is the mst ridiculus prpsal yet by Samsn It s surprising Delilah even bught it But it s getting dangerusly clse t the true answer Samsn is taking bigger risks as he gambles with the Lrd s patience We re left with the impressin that Samsn s has becme bred with easy victries and a lack f wrthy adversary S he s willing t walk up t the edge with his enemy just fr the thrill Remember, the surce f Samsn s pwer is nt the length f his hair r even his Nazarite vw His pwer is a gift f Gd made pssible by the Spirit f Gd Therefre the Lrd appinted t serve His purpse And the Lrd may withdraw that pwer at any time But Samsn hasn t given much thught t that prspect He s playing with fire assuming he can never be burned This is the inherent danger f being used in a mighty way by Gd The mst the Lrd chses t accmplish thrugh us, the greater the danger we may ne day wake up and think it s all us We see the amazing things happening arund us and thrugh us 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Judges 16B 3 f 14 Maybe it s a persnal ministry that reaches millins peple Leading a persn t be filled with pride t think they have smething special within them that s respnsible fr the success And at that pint, they stp serving the Lrd and start serving themselves And they test the Lrd s patience...hw lng will He tlerate such prideful self-delusin and reclaim His glry? But just as ften we see this pattern happening in the big fish in a small pnd scenari An Sunday schl teacher, a deacn, an elder, a church secretary...smene wh has pprtunities t serve the kingdm They have been equipped and placed in a psitin t serve Christ and His sheep And ne day they wake up and cnclude that Gd s sheep exist t serve them They frget their place as their pride and eg take the place f the servant s heart Gd requires This scenari can play ut a millin ways, s we must all take great care as we seek t use the gifts and pprtunities the Lrd appints T put it simply, it s nt abut us It s abut Christ But if and when we miss that fact and begin t misuse the pprtunities the Lrd gives, then we re testing the Lrd s patience And in that mment, we re like Samsn tying with Delilah daring her t find a way t discver ur weakness And if dn t repent, sner r later the Lrd may let Delilah have her way s that we are brught lw Judg. 16:14 S while he slept, Delilah tk the seven lcks f his hair and wve them int the web]. And she fastened it with the pin and said t him, The Philistines are upn yu, Samsn! But he awke frm his sleep and pulled ut the pin f the lm and the web Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Judges 16B 4 f 14 S Delilah find a chance while Samsn is sleeping t weave his hair The reference t him sleeping gives us a clue t what s truly ging n here If Samsn is sleeping in a wman s presence, then it s likely he has been enjying her cmpany in an intimate sense If s, then perhaps Samsn has been willing t play alng with her schemes s that he might gain access t her bedrm He cntinues t prpse false answers t prlng this relatinship and ensure cntinued access t her Once again, his fleshly weakness is leading him dwn a path f self-destructin S as Samsn sleeps she weaves his hair Samsn is clearly enjying making a fl f her And he s acting as if he s immrtal But f curse, weaving his hair isn t the secret, s when the trap is sprung n Samsn he escapes I m nt sure which Philistines Delilah was t recruit t ambush Samsn this time I m sure wrd was ut abut Samsn s trickery S we might think the Philistines wuld be wary f trying t ambush Samsn a third time But evidently sme still were willing t try Only t be disappinted again Of curse, weaving Samsn s hair hasn t the answer His pwer came frm the Spirit s aninting, nt frm anything physical Samsn enjyed that aninting frm birth And it was given in cnnectin with a Nazarite vw That vw centered n three restrictins, tw f which Samsn has already vilated 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Judges 16B 5 f 14 S we can say that in this mment Samsn s vw t serve Gd was hanging by a single thread But the purpse f his vw wasn t s that Samsn wuld have miraculus pwer Rather, Samsn s bservance f his vw was t be evidence f a heart dedicated t living a life fr Gd s purpses This f the gas gauge in yur car When that gauge pints t Empty, the car is ging t stp But the gauge desn t cntrl whether r nt yur car runs Similarly, Samsn s willingness t abide by his vws didn t cntrl his pwer His vw was an indicatin f whether he was willing t serve the Lrd His willingness t keep his vw indicated he was willing t serve the Lrd with his gifting But ver the years, we ve seen him setting aside thse restrictins t serve his flesh And this setting aside was like a gas gauge mving t empty It was evidence f his slipping cmmitment t serving the Lrd Therefre, if Samsn wuld nt serve the Lrd with the pwer the Lrd gave him, then there was n lnger a reasn fr the Lrd t equipment him s mightily All that remains at this pint his his vw nt t cut his hair He s already tssed aside tw thirds f what marked him as a servant f the Living Gd And it s n cincidence that he s fund himself in the bedrm f a Philistines wman wrking t defeat him Sin s deceitfulness has cluded Samsn s judgment and deadened his cnscience Each step away frm Gd has left him weaker and mre enslaved t his fleshly desires 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Judges 16B 6 f 14 S nw he s s bred and s ccky and s enslaved by his lustful desires that he s willing t risk breaking the final vw The mment we decide we can enjy the pleasures f sin while als enjying the privileges f serving the Lrd is the mment we begin t g it alne We just dn t knw it right away And this is where we find Samsn s heart Judg. 16:15 Then she said t him, Hw can yu say, I lve yu, when yur heart is nt with me? Yu have deceived me these three times and have nt tld me where yur great strength is. Judg. 16:16 It came abut when she pressed him daily with her wrds and urged him, that his sul was annyed t death. Judg. 16:17 S he tld her all that was in his heart and said t her, A razr has never cme n my head, fr I have been a Nazirite t Gd frm my mther s wmb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will becme weak and be like any ther man. Delilah cmes back a furth time asking fr the secret She is pressing him daily with her wrds pleading with him fr the answer The Hebrew says literally that Samsn s life was shrtened t the pint f death It gets t the pint that her nagging begins t anny Samsn t death (n amens frm the husbands, please) This reminds us f the earlier mment when a crying wman cnvinced him t give up the answer t the riddle As strng as Samsn maybe n the utside, he s bviusly weak spiritually and emtinally Such that merely a crying r nagging wman is enugh t cause him t turn away frm the Lrd Samsn willingly frfeited his dignity and pwer t smene wh had n right t have it and n pwer t cmpel him In the end, he gives up infrmatin that will lead t his wn death 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Judges 16B 7 f 14 Irnically, he s s wrried abut being nagged t death that he s willing t risk literal death Hw flish can a man be? He tells her that if she cuts his hair, he s dne, and ntice in v.17 we re tld This is what lies in Samsn s heart In ther wrds, Samsn speaks as he truly believes Samsn is indicating he feels it s his hair that has given him his strength He feels that s lng as he desn t break the final part f his Nazarite vw, he is invincible It seems Samsn recgnized he had already brken his ther vws leaving nly ne remaining And he s resting in this final vw Ntice he desn t say the pwer cmes frm the aninting f Gd Samsn has cme t think that the surce f his pwer was smething he cntrlled, smething abut himself But his Nazarite vws were simply an utward display f an inward cmmitment t serving the Lrd The vws themselves weren t the surce f his gifting They were the signs f his gifting His statement is further evidence that he has left Gd behind His view is barely different than a pagan s view f their gds Pagans lived as if they pssessed a degree f cntrl ver their gds based n what they said r did t please their gds If they did the right things, and their gds wuld respnd in predicable ways t bless them Like a genie in a bttle, rub it the right way and get yur wish Obviusly, this is nt hw the Living Gd wrks He has plans and purpses f His wn, in which He graciusly allws us t participate 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Judges 16B 8 f 14 We dn t manipulate, cntrl r therwise cause Gd t d anything that He wasn t already inclined t d In fact, ur relatinship with the Lrd is exactly the ppsite f the pagan view The Lrd calls upn His children t bey His wrd, and we must respnd t see His pleasure Samsn has frgtten these things He s frgtten that it s nt his hair that assures him f his strength and success It was the Lrd s Spirit wrking in him Gd gave Samsn that gift t ensure Samsn s success in accmplishing great things fr the Lrd and His peple Therefre, his pwer wuld nly persist s lng as He set his mind t serving the Lrd As he has set aside each f his vws, Samsn has mved farther away frm serving the Lrd And because f his departure frm the Lrd, the Lrd will withdraw His Spirit and with Him, Samsn s pwer Why did Samsn take this risk in the first place? I can nly assume Samsn culdn t imagine hw the Philistines wuld ever be in a psitin t hld him dwn lng enugh t cut his hair Samsn wuld simply use his strength t prevent them frm getting that pprtunity But he was frgetting that the Lrd has the pwer t bring abut any circumstances, especially ne s we can t fresee Persistent sin can lead a persn t cnclude that there are n cnsequences fr ur chices We cme t believe we can handle whatever sin brings ur way That s what Paul means when he speaks f the deceitfulness f sin Our sin nature lies even t urselves abut what it will bring 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Judges 16B 9 f 14 In the end, Samsn s sinful pride lied in telling him he culd cntrl the situatin n matter what he tld Delilah S the Lrd brings abut circumstances t permit Samsn s hair t be cut despite his strength t prevent it The Lrd used Samsn s pride and lust t bring him dwn Judg. 16:18 When Delilah saw that he had tld her all that was in his heart, she sent and called the lrds f the Philistines, saying, Cme up nce mre, fr he has tld me all that is in his heart. Then the lrds f the Philistines came up t her and brught the mney in their hands. Judg. 16:19 She made him sleep n her knees, and called fr a man and had him shave ff the seven lcks f his hair. Then she began t afflict him, and his strength left him. Judg. 16:20 She said, The Philistines are upn yu, Samsn! And he awke frm his sleep and said, I will g ut as at ther times and shake myself free. But he did nt knw that the Lrd had departed frm him. Judg. 16:21 Then the Philistines seized him and guged ut his eyes; and they brught him dwn t Gaza and bund him with brnze chains, and he was a grinder in the prisn. Delilah fr her part recgnizes that there was smething different in Samsn s stry this time She sensed that this time he spke a true statement, s she persuades the Philistines men t bring mney and prepare t defeat Samsn S a wman wh previusly kissed Samsn will nw betray him int the hands f his enemies fr pieces f silver In v.19 we re tld she makes him t sleep n her knees, which again suggests an intimate situatin S it seems that Samsn gt what he wanted, then Delilah set abut getting what she wanted She calls a man int the rm t cut his hair Evidently Samsn is a sund sleeper, because he sleeps thrugh having his hair shaved ff Or perhaps Samsn has been drinking again? As sn as his hair was gne, Delilah began t afflict Samsn we re tld It seems the Philistines made Delilah be the first t test Samsn s strength this time 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Judges 16B 10 f 14 And as Delilah begins t afflict Samsn, Samsn awakes t discver his enemies upn him At first he thinks t himself that he will just defeat them as usual S ntice Samsn isn t aware at first that his strength has gne It s nt as thugh he can feel the wrking f the Hly Spirit inside him He nly discvers the situatin has changed when he ges t wrk in the pwer f Gd Ntice at the end f v.20 Samsn s weakness was the result f the Spirit leaving him, nt his hair being cut Nw certainly, the Lrd s decisin t depart is cnnected t the hair But this nly as a cnfirmatin f what was in Samsn s heart When he gave Delilah the secret in his heart, Samsn was chsing Delilah ver his cmmitment t serve the Lrd And s that became the mment the Lrd chse t make an example f Samsn by withdrawing the Spirit Gary Inrig said: "Frty years, Samsn had kept ne part f his vw. He had brken all the ther parts, but he had kept his hair unshaven, as a sign f his cmmitment t Gd. He had nt made a very strng cmmitment r felt a deep faith, but he had trusted Gd at least in this. There was n magic in his hair. It was nly a symbl f his separatin t Gd. But if his hair was shaved, Samsn's feeble dedicatin wuld crumble cmpletely. As Samsn illustrates, men dn t sense the Hly Spirit in us as a general rule Instead, we see the Lrd s pwer reflected in the fruit f His wrk bth in us and thrugh us His hand in ur effrts will be evident t us and thers as we put ur shulder t the wrk He appints That wrk may be difficult, f curse But the results will testify t the Lrd s pwer wrking in us 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Judges 16B 11 f 14 On the ther hand, shuld we ever decide we can wrk withut the Lrd, as Samsn has dne, we wn t necessarily detect a change at first Achievements accmplished with merely human effrt can still lk impressive While a man speaking with the pwer f Gd can fill a stadium with wrshippers S can a man speaking lying and seductive wrds f wrldly wisdm S it can be hard t tell the difference between the tw, especially if we nly judge by physical appearances This is Samsn s situatin at this mment He s been living in his flesh, acting by his wn will and failing t carry ut the will f Gd Yet he s still achieved impressive results, at least in physical terms But eventually, the difference will becme apparent as the fruit f ur effrt plays ut t cnclusin The wrk we accmplish in ur wn pwer wn t prduce lasting spiritual grwth It nly serves t increase pride, arrgance and selfishness Ultimately, it desn t glrify the Lrd This is Samsn S when the Lrd withdraws His Spirit, Samsn desn t realize at first that he s nw alne and withut Gd s pwer Only when he sught t accmplish the wrk Gd assigned him des he discver he can t d it The task was nw t much fr him The very thing Samsn was equipped t accmplish, the very thing his life was devted t accmplishing was nw the very thing he culdn t d 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Judges 16B 12 f 14 Samsn pssessed this strength his whle life, but didn t use it t glrify the Lrd S the Lrd s Spirit departed frm him Because even Gd s patience has a limit The Gd f ur Bible lves irny, r s it wuld seem, and this is the ultimate irny in the stry f Samsn Because Samsn wuldn t d what he was cmmanded t d fr Gd s glry, Gd prevented him frm ding the very same thing when Samsn chse t d it fr his wn glry The Lrd allwed the Philistines t exact a series f severe and symblic punishments upn Samsn First, the Lrd matched Samsn s spiritual weakness with physical weakness Samsn has lst his amazing strength Secndly, the Lrd matched Samsn s spiritual blindness with physical blindness when the Philistines guge ut Samsn s eyes Samsn s greatest weakness was ging astray whenever a Philistine wman caught his eye S the Lrd eliminated Samsn s ability t sin in that way He will never again be able t find lustful pleasure in lking upn a wman Finally, Samsn becmes a slave in bndage t the Philistines Samsn was a slave spiritually t his sin Nw he sits in physical chains grinding grain Grinding a hand mill was the hardest and lwest frm f slave labr in the ancient wrld It was mind-numbing and cnsidered humiliating, since it was the wrk f a female servant It wuld be easy t feel sympathy fr Samsn at this pint, but dn t frget all that he did t bring himself t this pint Fr years he has put aside the calling f Gd t pursue his wn desires 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Judges 16B 13 f 14 He had a unique rle t judge Israel And he pssessed unique abilities t defeat Israel s enemies And yet he did virtually nthing t bring abut that result Instead, he tyed with the enemy and dared the Lrd t d smething abut We can t test the Lrd frever in this way and nt expect severe cnsequences These cnsequences were intended t teach Samsn the errr f his behavir And at the same time t make Samsn an example t the rest f us That t whm much is given, much is expected Ntice the differences in Samsn s life cmpared t past judges Past judges may have failed in ne way r anther But in the end, they defeated their enemies and lived securely in the land f Israel, t varying degrees But nw the pattern has cmpletely brken apart Samsn never raises an army He hasn t defeated the Philistines And in the end, he can t even preserve himself, r s it seems at this pint He s the defeated, nt the victr Samsn is emblematic f the entire natin f Israel Frm the birth f this natin at Mt Sinai, the Jewish peple have lived under a special calling frm Gd They were given great pwer t defeat superir natins and prmises f great blessing Had they lived in light f that calling, they culd never be defeated 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Judges 16B 14 f 14 But when they began t seek fr relatinships with the wrld rather than with the Lrd, they grew weaker T the pint that nw they are under their enemy s pwer Nevertheless, the Lrd has nt departed frm Israel, and at the first sign f repentance, He has been faithful t restre them each time And s it ges in the stry f Samsn as well Judg. 16:22 Hwever, the hair f his head began t grw again after it was shaved ff. While he s sitting in prisn, his hair begins t grw back Samsn s hair has becme a useful symbl in this stry When Samsn s hair was cut, it became a symbl fr his spiritual unfaithfulness t the Lrd Likewise, Samsn s hair nw becmes a symbl f Samsn s heart turning back t the Lrd It s been said that there is n such thing as an atheist in a fxhle Meaning when a persn cmes t the end f himself, that s the pint he will finally turn his heart t Gd in desperatin That s where Samsn is nw, sitting in a prisn, blind and chained He sees his situatin fr what it truly is and his heart turns back t Gd S the authr, Samuel, indicates this change by nting that Samsn s hair begins t grw back Once again, Samuel isn t suggesting that the pwer f Samsn is in the hair itself Samuel is reflecting that as Samsn humbled himself befre Gd, the Lrd hnred His servant by restring him at least t a degree Next week, we ll see the cnclusin f the stry and take a little time t reflect n Samsn s time as judge 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.