Samson

Samson • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

0 ratings

· 13 views

Notes

Transcript

Judges 13:2–3 NASB95

2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children. 3 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son.

Judges 13:2 NASB95

2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children.

Judges 13-

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Chapter II: Revelation (Judges 13:2–25)

SAMSON IS UNIQUE among the judges written of in the book of Judges. All the other judges are introduced in Scripture when they are in their adult life and ready to take up their office as Israel’s judge. But Samson is introduced at the beginning of his life. In fact, it goes even beyond his beginning. For not only is his birth recorded but also recorded is a Divine revelation announcing his coming which was given to his parents before he was even conceived.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Chapter II: Revelation (Judges 13:2–25)

The account of this Divine revelation given to Samson’s parents announcing Samson’s coming takes up a surprisingly large amount of Samson’s story in Scripture.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man A. The Receiving of the Revelation

A. THE RECEIVING OF THE REVELATION

In considering the receiving of the revelation, we will note who first received the revelation, Whom the revelation was received from, and what was received from the revelation.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Chapter II: Revelation (Judges 13:2–25)

The account of this Divine revelation given to Samson’s parents announcing Samson’s coming takes up a surprisingly large amount of Samson’s story in Scripture. This revelation event takes up 24 of the 96 verses in Judges which comprise the record of Samson. This is exactly one-fourth of the verses of Samson’s story. With the revelation taking up this amount of space, we should not be surprised to discover that the revelation is very significant to a proper understanding of the life and ministry of Samson. Any study of Samson which leaves out this revelation will have some serious deficiencies.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man A. The Receiving of the Revelation

A. THE RECEIVING OF THE REVELATION

In considering the receiving of the revelation, we will note who first received the revelation, Whom the revelation was received from, and what was received from the revelation.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man 1. Who First Received the Revelation

1. Who First Received the Revelation

Samson: The Weak Strong Man 1. Who First Received the Revelation

1. Who First Received the Revelation

“And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not; but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son” (vv. 2, 3). The revelation announcing Samson’s coming birth was first received by Samson’s mother-to-be. She and her husband Manoah lived in the town of Zorah which was located in the small territory allotted the tribe of Dan at that time (several chapters after Samson’s story in Judges is the record of the tribe of Dan expanding their territory into northern Israel). This small tribal territory bordered the Mediterranean Sea, and, more significantly for the story of Samson, it also bordered the land of Philistia which then oppressed Israel—the town of Zorah was only a few miles from Philistia’s border.

Two significant things are immediately noticed about this woman in these two verses: she was nameless and she was childless.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man 1. Who First Received the Revelation

son” (vv. 2, 3). The revelation announcing Samson’s coming birth was first received by Samson’s mother-to-be. She and her husband Manoah lived in the town of Zorah which was located in the small territory allotted the tribe of Dan at that time (several chapters after Samson’s story in Judges is the record of the tribe of Dan expanding their territory into northern Israel). This small tribal territory bordered the Mediterranean Sea, and, more significantly for the story of Samson, it also bordered the land of Philistia which then oppressed Israel—the town of Zorah was only a few miles from Philistia’s border.

Two significant things are immediately noticed about this woman in these two verses: she was nameless and she was childless.

Nameless. This woman’s name is never given in Scripture, though her husband’s name, Manoah, shows up eighteen times in this story of Samson.

But regardless of the fact that her name does not appear in Scripture, she was still a recipient of special Divine blessing. Unlike the host of Israelites around her, she experienced great favor from God.

It is not necessary for our name to be well-known to obtain God’s blessings. Fame is not a qualification for Divine favor, but faith certainly is; and the woman did indeed have faith though she lacked considerably in the area of fame at the time. One of our problems today is that we are more concerned about our fame than our faith. We are more concerned about people hearing and seeing our name than we are about people hearing and seeing the Name of names. Such an unholy concern will leave us lacking where it counts the most.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Childless

Childless. The second significant fact about this future mother of Samson was that she was “barren, and bare not” (v. 2). Barrenness was a great reproach for a woman in Old Testament times. To be barren could subject one to ridicule and great disrespect (cp. Genesis 16:4 and 1 Samuel 1:6). To be childless was just about the worst thing that could happen to a woman then. So this revelation, which would promise her a son, would be all that more special in blessing to her.

In this revelation, Samson’s mother-to-be learned that being a reproach before man does not necessarily mean we are a reproach before God. Though folk of her day would tend to despise her because of barrenness, yet she was not despised of God. She, in fact, obtained great favor from God in this revelation and in the conception of Samson. We need to remember this truth when we come under the scorn of man’s opinion. What really matters is not what men think of us but what God thinks of us. Samson’s future mother had obviously lived a life that kept her from being a reproach to God. She could not keep people from despising her, but she could keep God from despising her. Too often today we live just the opposite. We do not seem to care what God thinks of us. What we are concerned about is whether or not man esteems us. But any time the reproach of this world carries more weight than the reproach of God, we are headed for serious trouble in life. We can survive the reproach of man, but not the reproach of God.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man 2. Whom the Revelation Was Received From

2. Whom the Revelation was Received From

The revelation came from “the angel of the LORD” who “appeared unto the woman” (v. 3). Twenty-three times in the book of Judges we read of “the angel of the LORD.” Thirteen of those times, “the angel of the LORD” is mentioned in this account of the revelation before us. Seven of the remaining ten times “the angel of the LORD” is mentioned in Judges, it occurs in the account of Gideon. So the two judges, Gideon and Samson, who have more written of them in Judges than any of the other judges and who are the most famous of the judges of the book of Judges, take up twenty of the twenty-three mentions of “the angel of the LORD” in the book of Judges.

The term “the angel of the LORD” is best described as a theophany, namely, a visible manifestation of the invisible God. That the parents of Samson actually saw God is attested by Manoah’s statement, “We have seen God” (v. 22), which we will note more about later in this chapter. In view of such passages as Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3, John 1:18, and John 14:9, we have to conclude that “the angel of the LORD” in the Old Testament is none other than Jesus Christ of the New Testament.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man 3. What Was Received from the Revelation

3. What was Received From the Revelation

Here we look at the message which “the angel of the LORD” gave Samson’s mother-to-be. “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not; but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing. For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (vv. 3–5). The message in the revelation speaks of four things: the woman’s condition, conception, conduct, and child.

Judges 3–5 NASB95

1 Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan; 2 only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly). 3 These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for testing Israel, to find out if they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers through Moses. 5 The sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; 6 and they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods. 7 The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 When the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, so that he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 Then the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died. 12 Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and defeated Israel, and they possessed the city of the palm trees. 14 The sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15 But when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak. 17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 It came about when he had finished presenting the tribute, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who attended him left him. 20 Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 Ehud stretched out his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. 22 The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them. 24 When he had gone out, his servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “He is only relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 They waited until they became anxious; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the floor dead. 26 Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 It came about when he had arrived, that he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them. 28 He said to them, “Pursue them, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hands.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan opposite Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross. 29 They struck down at that time about ten thousand Moabites, all robust and valiant men; and no one escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was undisturbed for eighty years. 31 After him came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel. 1 Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died. 2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 The sons of Israel cried to the Lord; for he had nine hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 She used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 Now she sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, “Behold, the Lord, the God of Israel, has commanded, ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun. 7 ‘I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his many troops to the river Kishon, and I will give him into your hand.’ ” 8 Then Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 She said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh, and ten thousand men went up with him; Deborah also went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 Then they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. 13 Sisera called together all his chariots, nine hundred iron chariots, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 Deborah said to Barak, “Arise! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hands; behold, the Lord has gone out before you.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 15 The Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left. 17 Now Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my master, turn aside to me! Do not be afraid.” And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a bottle of milk and gave him a drink; then she covered him. 20 He said to her, “Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there anyone here?’ that you shall say, ‘No.’ ” 21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and seized a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And he entered with her, and behold Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel. 24 The hand of the sons of Israel pressed heavier and heavier upon Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin the king of Canaan. 1 Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying, 2 “That the leaders led in Israel, That the people volunteered, Bless the Lord! 3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers! I—to the Lord, I will sing, I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel. 4 “Lord, when You went out from Seir, When You marched from the field of Edom, The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped, Even the clouds dripped water. 5 “The mountains quaked at the presence of the Lord, This Sinai, at the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel. 6 “In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, In the days of Jael, the highways were deserted, And travelers went by roundabout ways. 7 “The peasantry ceased, they ceased in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Until I arose, a mother in Israel. 8 “New gods were chosen; Then war was in the gates. Not a shield or a spear was seen Among forty thousand in Israel. 9 “My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel, The volunteers among the people; Bless the Lord! 10 “You who ride on white donkeys, You who sit on rich carpets, And you who travel on the road—sing! 11 “At the sound of those who divide flocks among the watering places, There they shall recount the righteous deeds of the Lord, The righteous deeds for His peasantry in Israel. Then the people of the Lord went down to the gates. 12 “Awake, awake, Deborah; Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, Barak, and take away your captives, O son of Abinoam. 13 “Then survivors came down to the nobles; The people of the Lord came down to me as warriors. 14 “From Ephraim those whose root is in Amalek came down, Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples; From Machir commanders came down, And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of office. 15 “And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As was Issachar, so was Barak; Into the valley they rushed at his heels; Among the divisions of Reuben There were great resolves of heart. 16 “Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the piping for the flocks? Among the divisions of Reuben There were great searchings of heart. 17 “Gilead remained across the Jordan; And why did Dan stay in ships? Asher sat at the seashore, And remained by its landings. 18 “Zebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death, And Naphtali also, on the high places of the field. 19 “The kings came and fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan At Taanach near the waters of Megiddo; They took no plunder in silver. 20 “The stars fought from heaven, From their courses they fought against Sisera. 21 “The torrent of Kishon swept them away, The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength. 22 “Then the horses’ hoofs beat From the dashing, the dashing of his valiant steeds. 23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord, ‘Utterly curse its inhabitants; Because they did not come to the help of the Lord, To the help of the Lord against the warriors.’ 24 “Most blessed of women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Most blessed is she of women in the tent. 25 “He asked for water and she gave him milk; In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds. 26 “She reached out her hand for the tent peg, And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer. Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head; And she shattered and pierced his temple. 27 “Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay; Between her feet he bowed, he fell; Where he bowed, there he fell dead. 28 “Out of the window she looked and lamented, The mother of Sisera through the lattice, ‘Why does his chariot delay in coming? Why do the hoofbeats of his chariots tarry?’ 29 “Her wise princesses would answer her, Indeed she repeats her words to herself, 30 ‘Are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoil? A maiden, two maidens for every warrior; To Sisera a spoil of dyed work, A spoil of dyed work embroidered, Dyed work of double embroidery on the neck of the spoiler?’ 31 “Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Lord; But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.” And the land was undisturbed for forty years.

Judges 13:3–5 NASB95

3 Then the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. 4 “Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. 5 “For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Condition

Her condition. Scripture really emphasizes this woman’s barrenness. In verse two it is “barren, and bare not.” In verse three it is “barren, and bearest not.” We have already noted her barrenness in the introductory remarks Scripture makes about the woman. Now the Angel of God addresses the problem when He appears to her.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Condition

So the very first thing “the angel of the LORD” spoke about in this revelation to the woman was her barrenness. The very first thing she heard from God was about her lack. Then after He had addressed her deficiency, He then gave her the promise that she would “bear a son” (v. 5). Being made acutely aware of her lack and then having it filled so

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Conception

Her conception. “Thou shalt conceive, and bear a son” (v. 3) were some of the most welcomed words this woman ever heard. Stigmatized because of barrenness, she would now lose the reproach of reproaches of a woman and rejoice in a son. She would understand well the message Isaiah gave his people centuries later, “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child”

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Conception

Samson’s mother belongs in an unique category of mothers who all experienced a long time of barrenness before they bore a famous son. Sarah was barren and in her nineties without hope when she conceived and bore Isaac; Rachel had watched her sister and handmaids produce son after son before she ever conceived and bore Joseph. Hannah saw her rival wife bare many sons while she wept over her barrenness. Then God gave her Samuel. Elizabeth had suffered the reproach of barrenness for many years when the announcement came that she would conceive and bare John the Baptist.

All of these women learned some important lessons in their experience which we need to learn today. We note two of these lessons here.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Conception

First, they learned that quality is better than quantity. Many of those who have much do not have quality.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Conception

Second, they learned that patience is needed to obtain God’s best. God’s best seldom comes on the first train. God does not spoil His children. If He wills to give them great blessing, He will prepare their hearts and lives to receive it so they will greatly appreciate the blessing and be a good steward of it. Too often blessings that come too fast are not appreciated and, therefore, not taken care of well.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Conduct

Her Conduct. “Therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing” (v. 4). Samson’s future mother was given a great promise, but it was not without precepts. The promise of her conception was accompanied by the proclamation of her commandments. She was to watch her diet. Particularly was she to stay away from such things as wine, strong drink, and unclean food (cp. Leviticus 11 on what constitutes unclean food).

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Child

(v. 5). Two important things are said about Samson before he was ever conceived—things which we must be acquainted with if the story of Samson is going to be properly understood. One had to do with his separation; the other had to do with his service.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Child

First, his separation is spoken of when God said, “the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb.” The law of the Nazarite was particularly characterized by separation. In fact, separation is mentioned sixteen times in the Nazarite passage in Numbers 6. A Nazarite lived differently, ate differently, and had a number of restrictions regarding his conduct and lifestyle. One of the restrictions spoken of in our text—“no razor shall come on his head”—was an important (the most important in Samson’s case) outward symbol of being a Nazarite. Samson’s failure to observe that restriction played a very significant part in his downfall, as we will see in later chapters.

Judges 13:5 NASB95

5 “For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

Judges 7 NASB95

1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early and camped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me.’ 3 “Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’ ” So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained. 4 Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink.” 6 Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his home.” 8 So the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 Now the same night it came about that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands. 10 “But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp, 11 and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant down to the outposts of the army that was in the camp. 12 Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.” 14 His friend replied, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand.” 15 When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the camp of Midian into your hands.” 16 He divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers. 17 He said to them, “Look at me and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 “When I and all who are with me blow the trumpet, then you also blow the trumpets all around the camp and say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’ ” 19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 When the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled. 22 When they blew 300 trumpets, the Lord set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 The men of Israel were summoned from Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against Midian and take the waters before them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were summoned and they took the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. 25 They captured the two leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb, while they pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from across the Jordan.

Judges 13:7 NASB95

7 “But he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”

Judges

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Child

There were two types of Nazarites. One was a Nazarite temporarily, and the other was the Nazarite for life. Samson was to be a Nazarite “from the womb” (vv. 5, 7) and “to the day of his death” (v. 7) which meant he was to be a Nazarite all his life.

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Child

However, the downfall of Samson was that he was not faithful to his Nazarite calling. That which God said was to be permanent, Samson made temporary

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Child

Second, his service is spoken of when God said, “he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Child

This statement says Samson’s work as a judge will be a contrast to what the other judges did for Israel. The other judges delivered Israel from their foes, but Samson would only “begin” to deliver Israel. He did not break the yoke of the Philistines; he only shook it. There was no complete deliverance by Samson; he only started it. He did not finish it.

START HERE NEXT WEEK

Samson: The Weak Strong Man Her Child

Samson: The Weak Strong Man B. The Reporting of the Revelation

B. THE REPORTING OF THE REVELATION

Related Media

Related Sermons