Judges 16:1-22
“Hey, didn’t you use to be Samson?”
- Intro.
- Vs. 1-3 Power without purity
- Vs. 4-14 Here we go again
- Vs. 15-22 Blinds, binds and grinds
Intro.
Oscar Wilde once said, “I can resist anything…except temptation”, it sadly described his life. Bill Clinton years after his presidency was asked “Why?” by Dan Rather about his infamous affair with Whitehouse House intern Monica Lewinsky. He responded, “I did something for the worst possible reason—-just because I could. That’s the most morally indefensible reason that anybody could have for doing anything.” Both of these men could stand in line with Samson, this powerful, gifted man who ends up a blinded, chained man, head shaved, eyes gouged out, stumbling through life a man who seemed incapable of letting his temptations pass by him because he could.
Vs. 1-3 Power without purity
Vs. 1-3 Samson travels 45 miles south to Gaza the southernmost city of Philistia all for the sole purpose of self indulgence. Saint’s pay attention here, Samson didn’t fail because the temptation was to strong or inescapable, he failed because he toyed with it, seeking it out until he paid the price (pardon the pun). He burst the fetters of his foes but not the cords of his lusts, burned the crops of his enemies but failed to extinguish the flames kindled by his own lust. We don’t know when this reckless rendezvous occurred but it appears to be some time near the end of his 20 years as judge. Samson had to know that going to Gaza (one of the 5 major cities in Philistia) would put him into a very dangerous situation as he was feared and hated, a wanted man. What this tells us is that Samson deliberately exposed himself to the enemy and that his self-confidence was the spiritual weakness to go along with his moral weakness. The sad reality is that Samson’s confidence was without any regard to the empowerment that he had received from the Lord. He simply acquainted his invincibility to his ability instead of the Lord’s. The Philistines quickly learn of Samson’s whereabouts and post guards outside the brothel and at the city gates. The city gates would have been massive studded with iron and covered in metal to make them fireproof and once locked there would have been no way out of the city. But Samson carried those enormous gates miles up hill and the Philistines must have been terrified upon awakening and finding the gates moved 4 ½ miles. But beneath this amazing feat of strength and courage is a man who had power without purity, strength without self-control. This act although impressive only saved him from what his own moral failing deserved and did nothing to save his people from oppression. Samson believed that God was not concerned with broken promises moral failings and the proof was he was still being used! Oh watch out saints when you think that you are “strong” and “powerful” as you may be able to carry off the gates of the city but you will be captured within the gates of your own folly.
Vs. 4-14 Here we go again
Vs. 4-5 By the time we come to this part of Samson’s life he had become a national problem, (public enemy number 1) and the Philistines were determined to take him down. Samson heads down to yet another boarder town with the name “choice wine” might as well call it “Bourbon Street”. As a Nazirite he was suppose to stay away from the grapes but he again goes to the seedy side of town. There a lot of Christians like this that like to walk the fence of their inheritance in Christ seeing how close they can come into the world before the world won’t let them go.
Samson sees a lady and we are told her name was Delilah and that should have been a clue to him as her name means “to weaken or impoverish”. Each of the 5 major city’s had a lord over it and it seems as though they all band together to make Delilah an offer that was equivalent to 550 years of wages for the average worker. Notice again that the “source” of Samson’s strength wasn’t his massive muscles, bulging biceps and terrific triceps. No the source of Samson’s strength was the power of the Holy Spirit. Delilah was an opportunist, the original “gold digger” and she too had a problem with lust but it was the lust of wealth. There are three reasons for Samson’s failing as it dealt with temptation that we should all pay attention too.
- Compromise always makes us vulnerable: If Samson hadn’t entered into a sinful relationship with Delilah he would have never failed. In Samson’s case this is obvious but that is not always the case in our lives, we don’t succumb to moral failings by falling off a cliff we do so by sliding down a slippery slope until the only way we can stop is by a drastic action. That is why compromise even in our thought lives makes us vulnerable as it starts us down a slippery slope that only gains speed.
- Temptations always come in attractive packages: The Philistines didn’t hire Ugly Betty, they hired a beauty queen. When sin comes (and it will) it will always comes in a package that is desirable and promises to be good and fulfilling.
- Temptation comes when we hang around the wrong people: Samson first fell in love with a Philistine temptress from Timnah (tinsel town), then he hooked up with a geisha from Gaza and finally he became delighted with Delilah. See the pattern? 1 Cor. 15:33 says, “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Vs. 6-9 Delilah had her master’s degree, in seduction and she knew Samson better than he knew himself. She realized he was a cocky guy so rather than trying to be subtle she went for the direct approach in her questioning knowing that Samson’s weakness was in the fact that he thought that he was strong. And for Samson this kind of talk was foreplay. The NIV renders Samson’s response in verse 7 as “If anyone ties me with seven fresh thongs… I’ll become as weak as any other man.” Though Samson is speaking of bowstrings I can’t help but read that word in light of today’s usage. Yet again we see that Samson was compromising his Nazirite vow by allowing himself to be tied with that which is dead but to him he was just toying with playmate Delilah.
Vs. 10-12 Samson didn’t learn and he has matched wits with a gal that won’t quit. So this time she uses anger as her approach and again Samson sees it as flirting and offers up the same “new ropes” that he had done years earlier which led to a 1,000 dead. But even though he tore apart the ropes as if they were strings his heart strings were tightly clamping down upon his common sense.
Vs. 13-14 Now she tries less anger and more pouting approach which is getting closer as he suggest that the secret is in his hair and if it were to be woven in a rug that he would be helpless. So Delilah wove his hair leaving it pined in the loom but again he escaped. There are two other lessons we can learn from Samson’s temptation that can keep us from losing more than our hair.
- When we toy with temptation it will trap us: There are many verses that tell us to “flee temptation” but you will not find one that says to toy with temptation. Saints there are times that the smartest thing that you can do is don’t walk run away. It is always a smart decision to leave it all behind if you are running towards character!
- Self-confidence blinds us to reality: One of the scariest sentences in all the world is “Don’t worry I can handle this!” Samson didn’t realize that the game he was playing with Delilah was “Russian roulette”.
Vs. 15-22 Blinds, binds and grinds
Vs. 15-17 Delilah persistence is good reminder that our enemy doesn’t give up and this time she tries the emotional response and kept it going a long time. There is nothing as powerful to men than a woman’s tears and they eventually rusted away Samson’s resolve just as her predecessor had in chapter 14! Samson gave Delilah the outward sign of his consecration to the Lord of which the Philistines paid in advance for. Saints there are two things that make us ordinary folks strong:
1. The power of the Holy Spirit: Over and over we read that the Holy Spirit came upon Samson.
2. A consistent separation from the things of this world and to the things of God: In this Samson continually compromised.
Christians often make the mistake in thinking that being empowered with the Holy Spirit will enable them to live a victorious life but the truth is that the Holy Spirit doesn’t empower us to live in the areas of the flesh! Despite all the evidence of her betrayal he not only refuses to leave but tells her the secret. What this tells us is that his problem was not ignorance, in fact for 40 years he had broken every part of that vow except one, “the cutting of his hair”. His life had been hanging by a thread of that hair for a long time. There was no magic in his hair it was a symbol of his supposed separation to God but with is shaved his weak relationship would crumble.
Vs. 18-20 Have you noticed that every time Samson gets tied up he is sleeping? There is a spiritual dynamic here: We are most vulnerable to getting tied up with the world when we are tiered and weary! When you are getting beat up by life it’s not the time to pull away from fellowship and the things of God, it’s the time to draw near to Him. You will never be able to refresh your spirit by going down to Gaza and hanging out with the Delilah’s of this world. Samson is lulled to sleep on Delilah’s knees instead of resting in prayer on his! The secret of Samson’s life was the Power of the Spirit of God combined with consecrated disciplined life that was dedicated to God, and therein lies his downfall.
One of the most tragic verses in the Bible is here in verse 20 where we read “But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.” How could he be so dumb not to see that Delilah was setting him up after three attempts? You have to see this from a slow compromise as he touched grapes and dead things over a period of time with no consequences.
Vs. 21 This verse is a great illustration of what sin does in our lives:
1. “Put out his eyes”: First sin “blinds” us to the fact there are consequences for the sinful choices we make. When we don’t experience immediate consequences of sinful choices we feel a false sense of security and travel deeper into sin. It was Samson’s eyes that had gotten him I trouble as he was already morally and spiritually blinded finally had the physical blindness to go with it.
2. “They bound him with bronze fetters”: Second we see that sin “binds” as our choices come in and confine us holding us captive and we are no longer able to move around as we once did. Sin offers its self as “freedom” but it is those very “freedoms” that eventually hold us captive.
3. “He became a grinder in the prison”: Finally we see that sin “grinds” and around and around we go grinding our lives away to that which at first presented its self as freedom. He became a circus attraction chained doing the work of a slave women because he was a slave to women.
Vs. 22 “However”! Oh, how thankful I am for the “Howevers” in the bible! Even in this failed state God had not abandoned him as his hair begins to grow back and this to me is an indication of God’s abounding grace and Samson’s willing repentance! Saints have you been shaved in your shame and failure? God is not the God of just the 2nd chance but the 2 billionth chances.
Judges 16:23-31
“Turning the consequences of sin into the instrument of His glory”
- Intro.
- Vs. 23-25 The Hall of Reclaimed Failures
- Vs. 26-28 Samson, the “Cross Trainer”
- Vs. 29-31 The victory of death
Intro.
Thomas Edison, (who at the end of his life had 1,093 patents), inventor of the incandescent light bulb (a brilliant idea) had an amazing knack of staying at things and would often come to the dinner table with enthusiasm announcing, “I had good results today. Now I know one more way it can’t be done.”
Samson also was a man with amazing potential:
- A prophetic birth announced by none other than Jesus
- Raised in a godly home
- Blessed and empowered by the Spirit of God
He could have had at very least the most dynamic ministry of all the judges and perhaps in all the Old Testament. But in the end his life is mediocre at best and some would call it a failure. Yet even with all his missed opportunities Samson still landed himself in the Hebrew 11 “Hall of Faith”. Which means that even though most of Samson’s life is made up of “what should have been; what could have been”, God saw enough to select him as a giant of the faith and an example for us. As far as Samson fell remember he never fell outside of God’s restoring grace!
Saint’s Jesus chose another proud and arrogant man as an illustration of the greatest truth in the Bible. In Matthew 12:40 Jesus said “For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so I, the Son of Man, will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.” Jesus not only used Jonah he used Jonah’s biggest blunder to speak of His greatest triumph. Samson failure didn’t mark his end it merely marked a fork in the road as he choose confession and remorse instead of self-pity and excuses. Saint’s you can’t learn from what you won’t admit.
Vs. 23-25 The Hall of reclaimed failures
Vs. 23-25 Samson had lived never learning from his repeated mistakes and it appears that he was so preoccupied with himself that he never saw himself as failing. He had broken his vows, sinned against the word of God and in so doing never lived up to his God-given potential. In verses 20-22 the chickens had come home to roost and he was now reaping what he had sowed for 20 years. Though God had empowered Samson he had lived like such power would enable him to walk in the fields of his flesh. Three things collided the day of his down fall: Best illustrated in John words in 1 John 2:16
“The lust of the flesh”: Samson’s continual struggle with lust
“The lust of the eyes”: Delilah’s seduction
“The pride of life”: Samson’s stubborn self confidence
When Samson awoke his hair was gone, his strengthen had vanished and his fellowship with God was broken and to make matters worse Samson was unaware of all three!
- He had followed the lust of eyes: Now the Philistines had gouged them out.
- He had refused to discipline his life: Now he was a slave and prisoner of the enemy.
- He had visited a prostitute in Gaza: Now he was a prisoner in Gaza.
Dear ones, when we fall into temptation not only do we shame ourselves we give rise to the ungodly to blaspheme our Lord. But Samson’s humility didn’t stop there as his Philistine captives decided to hold a religious celebration in honor of their god Dagon and Samson was forced to be the featured entertainer. The Philistines god “Dagon the fish and grain god” came from the Assyrians which adds color not to this story but to the book of Jonah as he was sent the capital of Assyria (Neiva) by way of a great fish.
The auditorium was a Double Decker and the place was packed, the atmosphere “merry” as they were all drunk when the chant rang out “Samson, Samson, Samson”. And in came this once feared man, chained led by a child. Oh how sweet the revenge of the Philistines as they had Samson defeated and broken making him perform cruel sadistic tricks.
It amazes me how God can take the most humbling experiences and use them for the syringe to distribute His grace. God had to strip him from his flesh before He could cloth him in His righteousness. Folks, when we don’t listen to the whispers of His love we will listen to the shouts of His discipline. In verse 22 we were told that the “hair of his head began to grow again” no doubt there are many who have seen the only thing grown on their heads is their foreheads and would like to know cure Samson had. But this verse doesn’t offer the cure for male baldness it offers the cure for spiritual baldness as the growing of his hair was the indicator that his fellowship with God was growing.
Vs. 26-28 Samson, the “cross trainer”
Vs. 26-27 Samson is a man who:
- Had dedication without devotion: It is only in the last part of his life that Samson seems to understand what devotion is as he sacrifices his life for the glory of God.
- Has authority without accountability: Yet finally Samson sees that authority must always be placed in accountability if it going to glorify the Lord.
- Had power without purity: These things both are linked to humility as it is this quality that bridges dedication to devotion and authority to accountability.
Ah but the story does not just end in forgiveness it ends in restoration! There are two important lessons this teaches us:
- While forgiveness is immediate, restoration is gradual! With every significant failure in life none of them are products of a moment they are accumulations of years of disobedience. The Lord’s purposes are not to just forgive our pasts but to guarantee our future and this kind of restoration doesn’t occur over night.
- The consequences of sin are not erased even when sin is forgiven instantly and restoration is accomplished gradually. Although Samson gradually grew back his hair he didn’t receive back his sight. God restores failures but necessarily our original usefulness. Samson was blind and he never again would be able to do what he had done previously. Yet God clearly still had a ministry for him but He didn’t give back Samson his eyes instead He enable him to do what he could never have done if he were sighted, obey God. God is able to turn the consequences of our sin into the instruments of His glory.
Vs. 28 This is only the 2nd time we hear Samson pray and we can see three things in his prayer that reveal his heart. The first time he prayed it was a cry of complaint this time he has been refined by fire as he is surrounded by 3,000 drunken Philistines as this is the only time we read of his praying before he is used and it took his failure for him to learn this:
- Vs. 28 “O Lord God, remember me, I pray!” Samson prayed as a man who had accepted God’s forgiveness, he wasn’t just remorseful, the past was the past and he wasn’t asking God to strengthen him for the past but rather for the present.
- Vs 28b “Strengthen me, I pray, just this once”: Samson trust was totally in God as he didn’t say, “If I try real hard I know I can do this now that my hair is growing”. He uses three different names for God in verse 28 which emphasize this Yeh-ho-vaw, Ad-o-noy and El-o-heem. That’s a new man talking, a man who is relying upon the Lord and not himself. Yet even in this there is a bit of self-centeredness in his request as it’s about his eyes not God’s honor.
- Vs. 28c “O God that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!” Samson’s request was not done in private but in front of a blood thirsty mob and instead of being paralyzed by regret he saw his situation as an opportunity.
Vs. 29-31 The victory of death
Vs. 29-31 Samson was being led about by a boy and asks if he can be put next to the pillars that held up the stadium which the boy thought nothing of. Folks, the reality is if Samson still had his sight he would have never been allowed anywhere near those pillars. God was better able to use Samson in his weakness than he was in his strength. The grace of God took the results of Samson’s failure and turned them into a great victory! Dear ones listen up, “restoration is not based upon performance!” When Samson had the physical capacity he was a miserable failure but now that “his” powers were gone God could use him. The truth is God uses, blinded, broken, forgiven sinners even when the above is a result of our own down fall. Samson’s death was not a defeat it was a victory and the only thing that died that day was his failure as he died a hero! Based upon Samson’s life I see four things to do if you fail:
- Admit: Dear ones victory hangs on us being able to see ourselves as blind, shaven and chained. Honesty in our self evaluation is always the first step.
- Accept: Next we need to 1 John 1:9 it! “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” We need to make our home at the cross of Calvary as Jesus has already paid for our failure all we need to do is receive forgiveness.
- Abide: Forgiveness happens in an instant but restoration take time as the Lord wants to build into your life habits that will keep us dependent upon Him and His word.
- Ask: Ask the lord to reveal to you how even your scars left by your failure can become instruments to display His glory.
A closer look at Hebrews 11 and the list of names that appear there suggests that perhaps it should be call “The Hall of Reclaimed Failures”. Even though we struggle with mediocrity, are prone to big blunders God can still use us! Have you have messed upped, wasted far too much time on trivial pursuits, dropped the ball, haven’t followed through? Saint’s every one of us has “missed the mark” and haven’t lived up to our full potential. You may have a crowd of detractors on the sidelines of your life booing at you but never forget you have the Lord who has already declared that you have Won and it is finished! Not only that you have a bunch of folks who have finished their race ahead of you who are waiting for you to finish your race and they are cheering you on!
Dear ones, you and I are “cross trainers” and our coach is the one that cried out on that cross “it is finished” as he triumphed over our enemies! The philistine you will need to conquer, the giant you will have to slay is the same one that Samson had to kill, himself! In Matthew 16:24 Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” The greatest impact against the kingdom of hell you can have is when you die to your selfish ways. Remember the sooner you die to self the sooner He can resurrect you into the person He is!
This is a placeholder. Notes will be added