SAMSON Epic Promise Judges 13

SAMSON Epic Promise Judges 13 When we think about doing God s work many of us think primarily about what happens inside the walls of the church building. But if doing God s work is limited to our time in church, we have a very small ministry window. A committed church-goer will be in church, on average, somewhere around 2,500 hours between the ages of 25 and 65, while during that same stretch of time they ll spend approximately 90,000 hours at their place of employment. We tend to draw hard lines of distinction between what s sacred connected with church and what s secular everything else but I don t think God views our lives through that same lens? I recently heard Adam Hamilton, a United Methodist pastor from Kansas City, challenge pastors with this statement: Quit worrying about getting people into your church and start finding opportunities to move the people who are already there out into God s service. Hamilton s challenge is consistent with the Apostle Paul s words in Ephesians chapter 4 words that I believe explain my job description as a pastor: It was [God] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Several years ago it occurred to me that if equipping, inspiring and releasing people for ministry was truly my job description, then that should be reflected in the sermons I preach, not just as a passing illustration or a challenge I occasionally give at the end of a sermon. At that time I committed to preaching 2 sermon series each year (one in January and one in September) which help our church family explore the subject of doing God s work in our world. Over the past 3-4 years we ve looked at Bible characters like Moses, Esther, Nehemiah, Daniel, Joseph and most recently, Elijah. As we ve explored the lives of these people we ve asked ourselves the question, What can we learn from their lives about what it looks like for us to partner with God in accomplishing his purposes in our world? Today we re starting a series on the life of a man named Samson. Samson s story is told in the Old Testament Book of Judges in chapters 13-16. Unlike other Bible characters we ve looked at, Samson s example is mostly negative. Examining his life, we learn what not to do. 1

The sermon titles in this series all contain the word EPIC (which I admit is an overused word), because Samson was truly larger than life. But even though Samson s example is primarily negative, God did work through his life and in Hebrews chapter 11 the Heroes Hall of Fame in the Bible we read these words: I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who conquered kingdoms, administered justice and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Hebrews 11:32-34 In spite of his shortcomings, Samson is listed in some pretty good company. I find it encouraging to be reminded that God can use us and find good in our lives even when we mess up badly. The fact that God worked in Samson s life in spite of his flaws and that He works with us even though we re messed up people highlights the truth that our stories are ultimately God s story. Samson s story isn t just about him if it were, it would be a colossal disappointment. Keep in mind that God worked through Samson to accomplish his purposes and He works in your life and in my life in spite of our shortcomings. I invite you to turn with me to Judges chapter 13 Judges is the 7 th book in the Bible just after Joshua and just before the Book of Ruth. In Judges chapter 13 verse 1 we read Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. The Book of Judges took place in a very dark period of Israel s history a time when Israel had strayed away from following God. This era is summed up well by the last verse of the Book of Judges. In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. Judges 21:25 God had miraculously led the Israelites, under Moses leadership, to the edge of the Promised Land of Canaan and then Moses protégé Joshua had led the Israelites to conquer most of the Promised Land. But true to human nature, after Joshua s death the Israelites quickly forgot about God. They forgot the miracles He had performed leading them across the Red Sea on dry ground, feeding them with manna and quail and bringing water from a rock to quench their thirst, and enabling them to defeat armies that were much larger and stronger than they 2

were and fell into worshipping the pagan gods and goddesses worshipped by the peoples of another nations around them. The events in Samson s life took place at the end of the 12 th Century or at the beginning of the 11 th Century A.D. approximately 200 years after the death of Joshua. As the first verse of Samson s story tells us, the Israelites were in an up and down cycle of straying from God and being oppressed by their enemies and then calling out to God and having Him supply a leader (a judge) who would deliver them. This pattern of pushing God to the margins when life is good and then crying out to Him for his help when things go bad is one many of us can relate to. Verse 2, which we ll read in a moment, tells us that Samson s parents lived in Zorah. (Map) Zorah was an especially violent region located in the Jewish lowlands on the border between Israel and Philistia Israel s arch enemy. For the Philistines, occupying this area was the 1 st step in conquering the Judean hill country. Interestingly, this valley was in the same area where some time later David confronted and defeated the Philistine giant, Goliath. As we begin our look at Samson s life I want us to recognize that God is always looking to bring deliverance, hope, life and healing through his people. Our nation, our community, our school, our workplace, or our family situation may not be as dismal as Israel s at that time, but God has a plan for you and for me, just as he did for Samson. I ve titled today s message: Epic Promise, because as we ll see in a moment great promise and possibility surrounded Samson s life from the moment he was conceived. I ll start reading at verse 2: A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines. Judges 13:2-5 The angel s appearance to Samson s soon to be mother reminds me of the angel Gabriel s appearance to Jesus mother Mary. In the Bible sterility and barrenness is often an arena God chooses to use when He s going to do great things Abraham s wife Sarah; Isaac s wife Rebekah; Jacob s wife Rachel; and, later Hannah the mother of Samuel had been unable to have a child for years, but God miraculously blessed these women with children. 3

The angel made it clear to Manoah s wife (we re not given her name) that her son wasn t going to be an ordinary child. He was going to be a Nazirite set apart to God from birth. And he was going to begin to bring about the deliverance of the Israelites from their arch enemies, the Philistines. Nazirites were people who made vows to God as an act of devotion or worship. A Nazirite willingly imposed 3 restrictions upon himself: he would drink no wine; he wouldn t cut his hair; and, he would refrain from touching a dead body even the body of a family member who would die. Keep these Nazirite restrictions in mind, because over the course of Samson s life we ll see that he routinely broke these vows. Typically a Nazirite vow was taken for a period of months or for a year, and if the vow was broken, the person would have his head shaved and begin again. But the angel told Manoah s wife that her son was to be a Nazirite who was set apart to God for life. This unnamed child was clearly a child of promise whom God had great plans for! I ll start reading again at verse 6: Then the woman went to her husband and told him, A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn t ask him where he came from, and he didn t tell me his name. But he said to me, You will conceive and give birth to a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth until the day of his death. Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born. God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. The woman hurried to tell her husband, He s here! The man who appeared to me the other day! Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, Are you the one who talked to my wife? I am, he said. So Manoah asked him, When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy s life and work? The angel of the LORD answered, Your wife must do all that I have told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her. Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you. The angel of the LORD replied, Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD. (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.) Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true? He replied, Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding. Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD. We are doomed to die! he said to his wife. We have seen 4

God! But his wife answered, If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this. Vv. 6-23 In the time of the Judges women weren t looked to for decision-making. In fact, any important decision a wife made needed to be affirmed by her husband. But as we see throughout the Scriptures, God isn t bound by the cultural restrictions people try to impose on Him. He appeared to Manoah s wife with this news. When Manoah heard what had supposedly occurred he wanted to meet with the angel himself. The angel appeared to Manoah s wife a second time and this time she ran to bring her husband. When he arrived he asked the angel to explain what was happening and the angel said, Your wife must do all that I have told her. Finally, the angel did recount all that he had said to Manoah. As these events were unfolding, neither Manoah nor his wife realized who they were interacting with an angel of the Lord. They asked for the being s name and then offered a sacrifice to him. And as the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame to heaven, Manoah and his wife finally realized who they were talking to. Manoah assumed they were going to die, because no human can handle being in the presence of God, but his wife brought some common sense to him with her statement: If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering form our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this. And the chapter we ve been looking at closes with these words: The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him, and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. Vv. 24-25 When you were younger, did you ever hear anyone say, When I was a boy, I was so bright, my parents called me, Sonny. I know that s pretty goofy. Well for Samson that would have been a true statement. The name Samson means, sunny or bright, and he was given that name because of the expectations that came with the angel s words to his parents. Listen to what author Mark Atteberry has to say about Samson s name in his book, The Samson Syndrome: Samson s name, which means sunny, was well chosen by his parents. They knew he was to be a bright ray of hope bursting through the dismal existence that his people were enduring. P. xviii 5

If you know Samson s story, you already know that his epic promise and potential was never realized we ll hear a lot more about that in the weeks to come but today I want to focus on Samson s promise. Neither Samson, nor his parents did anything to earn the tremendous promise and potential that was part of Samson s life from the moment he was conceived. God, in his sovereignty, imbued Samson with promise at the moment of his conception and God blessed him as he grew and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir in him. When I think about God s plans for Samson, I m reminded of the Psalmist s words in Psalm 139:13-16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. It s easy for us to feel small, insignificant and irrelevant. After all, who are we to make a difference in our world? My guess is that some of kind of tune out when you hear me talk about partnering with God to make a difference in our world. That sounds so grandiose. But it s true. Our Heavenly Father has a plan for your life and mine and He s waiting for us to accept and embrace his call. In a moment we re going to watch a video featuring a young man named Russell Woleslagle. In the video Russell talks about the call God is placing on his heart. Russell is a senior at Messiah College who returned several weeks ago from a summer missions experience in Panama, and he s sensing that God may be calling him to be a full-time missionary after he graduates from Messiah next spring. As I ve talked with Russell he marvels at the way God used baseball in his life to be positioned to receive God s call. He played high school baseball at Mechanicsburg and accepted a baseball scholarship to a Christian school in Tennessee, where he grew in his faith and really made it his own. After a year or two he transferred to Messiah College where he continued to play baseball. At Messiah he kept growing in Christ and because of baseball he had the opportunity to participate in a sports missions trip to Panama. It was there that God began to speak to Russell s heart about his future, and looking back he sees that baseball was kind of the constant in that journey. Listen to Russell s journey 6

RUSSELL WOLESLAGLE S JOURNEY Often the journey God takes us on is full of twists and turns and surprises, and it s easy to think that our life is just passing by randomly, but when we view our lives in hindsight we can see the surprising and amazing ways God works to fulfill his plans through us. The events of our lives even ones we regret or don t understand aren t meaningless, random or without purpose. God is always with us and He s at work even when we don t see it or understand it. We re going to conclude our time today by singing a song, From the Inside Out. I invite you to make this song your prayer, and if there is something you d like to pray with someone about, there are prayer team people along the side aisles who would love to pray with you. 7