Samson – Birth of a Strong (Part A)

If he took it more seriously than he did, what would have happened? What kind of hero would Samson have been?

Well, we're not going to find out, but we don't want to be too hard on him. Because remember, David crossed bigger lines than Samson. God still loved David and used him even after and still held up his name as a righteous man in the days of Christ. Those are lessons for us on grace and kindness, that the mission is to find solutions to problems in Christ, in the flesh, and not look to take our wounded out and stone them. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Rick is currently teaching through the Book of Judges.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the Book of Judges, Chapter 13, as he begins his message, Samson, Birth of a Strong. Judges, Chapter 13. As we begin our study on Samson, I think it's a pleasant chapter, a story with great promise. Most of us know the story, that it has great promise but a tragic ending. It certainly falls short of the hope that we would anticipate if you were reading Judges 13 for the first time.

You'd be, boy, this is going to be nice. And it really doesn't turn out that way. A lot of lessons. Samson is a great man of God in spite of failures. His story is a book by itself. And coming to the 13th chapter I feel like I'm introducing another book. But we're still in Judges and we've got a ways to go once we're past the story of this final judge in the Book of Judges. He's the last one we come to.

We get Eli and Samson in Samuel. But four chapters are devoted to him. That's a lot to say. And he is truly a superman physically, but he has a fallen nature. And he gets the upper hand on him. He is on such a level that he doesn't do well taking the blessings in his life less than serious.

And that's what he did. He had this torch that burned so hot and so bright but it got out of control because he didn't take it seriously. And it comes out at the end of the story. As you know, Delilah, I don't feel like I'm spoiling the end so I can... But, you know, tell me your strength.

And he's, you know, playing games. And that's indicative of how he treated his faith. And there are lessons to be had when we get there also. But his mighty deeds, the strength that he had, the God-given strength that he had, it demonstrated to Israel, you could have this strength too as a people, as a nation.

I can give you this strength as a people. Nobody would touch you. But they would not allow it because they would not adhere to God.

They would not stay with him. In fact, where the story begins, they had 31 years of peace since the judgeship of Jephthah to Abdon. And then 40 years of oppression followed. And what is remarkable is we don't hear them cry out for the Lord while the Philistines are oppressing them.

God has to interfere and insert himself. And, of course, the righteous are very glad about that. But what does that say for everyone else? Well, we look at verse 1, Judges 13 again, the children of Israel did evil in the sight of Yahweh and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for 40 years. This is the eighth time we read that again the children of Israel did evil. Maybe not in the exact same way. Sometimes it's just they did evil, then other times it's again they did evil.

But it's about eight times up to this point, recidivism. They just won't leave it alone as a people. Now, always there's a righteous remnant.

There are always those that have to suffer this. It says here in verse 1, and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for 40 years. It says it right out, very clear for us. But I read it again because we want to talk about these Philistines because they become a dominant enemy through the books of Samuel. They're around even into the age of the Maccabees and then by the time the Romans come along, they're pretty much gone. They were in the Promised Land during the days of Abraham and a large amount of them migrated from the Aegean Sea and they wanted to enter into Egypt. Some had already come into what is now Israel in the Middle East there, but Egypt refused them, denied them access. And so they landed in Israel, a large body of them that where some others already were. And there on that coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Israel, they began to establish themselves as a people. And they took some of the finest pieces of the land, fertile pieces of Israel's territory that the King's Highway, which was a very important trade route, the Philistines got that. That's why they were so strong.

They could finance their wars. They were a developed people. And they really weren't a problem, at least not in the Scriptures. They don't show up as a problem until we get to chapter 6 in Judges and Shem God lays a beat down on them.

One time he takes out 600 of them with a pole, an ox goad. That may have begun the cycles of revenge. It escalates again and when we get to chapter 10 in Judges in the seventh verse, we read, so the anger of Yahweh was hot against Israel and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the people of Ammon.

Now the Ammonites were beaten back. Jephthah of course was raised up to do that, but the Philistines were there. It was there in chapter 10 and chapter 6 of Judges, an ominous mention. If you know anything about the story of Israel, when you come across that name, the Philistines, you know it's connected to Goliath and the death of Samson and all the other struggles about the death of Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa.

We cannot bypass it. It certainly translates into the enemies that we face in our life and this ominous mention is on purpose by God. Samson is being brought into the picture to deal with the Philistines, to begin the process of officially dealing with the Philistines and the angel of the Lord will say that. By the time he comes along and is born and which we get his birth in this chapter 13 if we ever get to it, but we get his birth, it's like introducing a new book, but we don't get him as a man in his strength. When he does come into strength and he begins to mess with the Philistines, the Jewish people really don't want him rocking the boat.

They've surrendered. It's sort of like, we've got enough of the Holy Spirit, don't go bringing any more in. And we get that in chapter 15 where they tell him right out, you know, don't make trouble for us Samson, can you just live and let live. Ultimately, Samuel in his day will increase the wars with the Philistines. Saul, he had it in for the Philistines too, not in a righteous way, just in a carnal, you know, you're my enemy, I'm going to kill you kind of way. David, of course, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that so dares you know and he just comes on the scene, he slays Goliath and he subdues them as a people.

The Jews never really get him out of the land. Then comes Tiglath-Pileser, the Assyrians and they conquer the Philistines and subdue them further. Then Nebuchadnezzar comes and further subdues them so they're just sort of whittling down as a people until finally again they're gone. They're mentioned in the Maccabees third chapter of the first Maccabean document. They're mentioned a little bit by the prophets that come, Ezekiel and Zechariah after Nebuchadnezzar. But that's it and then they're gone.

They disappear as an ethnic group and so you won't see on an application ethnic check the box if you're a Philistine because they're gone. Verse 2, now there was a certain man from Zorah of the family of the Danites whose name was Manoah and his wife was barren and had no children. I love this couple, Manoah and his wife. We don't have her name. Probably the historian could not confirm what her name was by the time he compiled this document or the historian's plural but it is not a slight. It is not, well she doesn't really count who needs to know her name because she is held up in such a positive light.

Everything positive to say about her. So that's likely why. Manoah, yeah the men were dominant figures. It would be easier to retain his name when the story is told.

His name would be out there all the time. But anyway, that's just some of the background. So she's Mrs. Manoah and that's the best we can do. But here Dan had turned out to be the weakest of all the tribes of Israel by this time. In fact, they could not subdue the Philistines and anybody else had messed with them so a large group of them moved about a hundred miles north and took territory up there. We'll get that in the latter chapters.

It's a sad six story actually. But anyway, what we're finding out here is true to form, God is raising up the strongest man from the weakest tribe. And it's just what he does. Not all the time.

Sometimes he takes the strong and he just uses them. But here's an example of, no, he's not bound by human weakness. Verse three, and the angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman and said to her, indeed now you are barren and have no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. This angel of the Lord is, of course, a Christophany. It's an appearance of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, God in human form. Now we covered this a little bit more in detail in Judges six, part two of kicking the hornet's nest, or the hornet's nest as I think it was entitled. And so if you want to go back and hear more about my understanding of the angel of the Lord in scripture, then that's where you would go rather than go into it again here. God had appeared to others, of course, Isaac, to announce the conception of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah, the angel of God. It says the Lord appeared to Abraham, and that's in Genesis 18. But as for Mrs. Manoah here in Judges 13, her conception is divinely appointed.

I would add that's true of everyone's. We just don't get it to be, to have it read in the scripture. My parents, you know, don't have it written in scripture and his name will be Rick and he will be handsome and debonair and distinguished and all the things that other men wish they could be, he will be.

That's how it would probably go if I wrote it. Anyway, this life that is not yet is spoken as though it already is, because to God life begins when he says it does, and that is before conception. And this is an example of that very thing. One great pastor had said this, what a tragedy that we live in a society that sees the unborn baby as a menace instead of a miracle, as an intruder instead of an inheritance. Well, they become intruders when they're old enough to eat you out of house and home, you know, like who ate the last, you know, Oreo cookies or something? The intruders did. But of course, as far as the birth of a child, they are not intruders, they are blessings and they bring so much light, you know, breath of life.

I remember when my oldest daughter was coming, back in those days we used a stork. All right. Anyway, I remember one of my cousins older than me and she said, oh, she is going to be like such a breath of fresh air and that was so true. It was just so true and I would think about it all the time. Anyway, this is what's going to happen here.

I'm not trying to take time to shine the spotlight on me, I'm just trying to say what we're reading is down to earth. This is human stuff, it's very real. And it's just that God pulls back the veil a little bit and says, let me show you what happens behind the scenes.

That doesn't mean it didn't happen and it certainly did. He says, indeed, now you're barren, okay, in that society. It was often considered a curse. Well, you needed children, they were utility.

I mean, the livestock, the work to be done, you know, in the fields, in the kitchens, and just so much work just to survive. The more kids you had, the more servants you had. And that wasn't a bad thing.

It's a good thing. And if you didn't have them, you were considered again to be frowned upon at the least. That, of course, is not true, but that is stigma that was attached to the barren in that society and often today, too.

Some have tried to revive it in Christianity and they need to be shoved a little bit upside their heads if you catch them doing that. Well, there are several important figures of the Bible who were born to formerly barren women and the announcement that came along with them was significant. We can't go into all of them, but I'll just mention five. Sarah, Rebecca. What's outstanding about Rebecca is Isaac prayed that she would conceive. He felt it for her and he, you know, he prayed for Rebecca and God granted the prayer. Rachel, of course, and Hannah.

Hannah poured out her heart and Eli, lacking discernment, thought she was drunk and she had to set that straight a little bit with him and he received it and that was good for him. And then, of course, Elizabeth in the New Testament. In verse four now of Judges 13. Now, therefore, please be careful.

Do not drink wine or similar drink and do not eat anything unclean. Did you catch that now, therefore, please be careful part? Like, you know, you people on earth are messed up. You just can't get it right. I didn't give you some encouragement here.

It's a gentle stroke, but it is, you know, where does it come from? Why would you put that? Why not just say no strong drink and no nasty food? He doesn't say that.

He just says, please, therefore, be careful and the prohibitions begin. So mom is placed under a dietary restriction. You know, you could just see her and she's a little sweetheart. We know that as it will come out later, but all she probably heard was you're going to have a child. How she remembered anything else in the story is another miracle. So the restriction is in the interest of her calling.

This is a calling for her as it is for any parent to rear the child, as God has said. And this is a particular, of course. You cannot just, this is not a one size fits all. It's not for everyone. And if you tried to make it for everyone, you would cause a problem. But the child would not indirectly, even before conception, the child abstained from banned consumables. His mother would not be able to, you know, have a glass of grape juice. She was totally good with that. The husband was good too because it meant more for him.

She didn't tell me I can't have it. Anyway, verse, verse five, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son and no razor shall come upon his head. For the child shall be a Nazarite from God from the womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. Well, let's not confuse a Nazarite with a Nazarene. The Nazarene from Nazareth, the Nazarite, one who is dedicated for a period of time or in the case of Samson, possibly Samuel, John the Baptist, a lifetime. But Samson is clearly distinguished as a Nazarite from birth. Now, the Levites, they were priests, or they were assistants to the priest.

If they were of Aaron's line, they were born priests. That was their duty. But a Nazarite served out of devotion, in a voluntary sense. It wasn't their duty. They did not have to be this way, except for Samson. Now, in Samuel's case, his mother Hannah placed him, you know, Lord, I'll dedicate it. He didn't have a say so in the matter.

It's kind of remarkable when you begin to think about how little we have to do with showing up on earth. Well, Numbers, chapter six, God gives the instructions for one who wants to draw closer to God in this type of way. He speaks to the children of Israel and say to them, when either a man or a woman consecrates an offering to take a vow of a Nazarite to separate himself to Yahweh, he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink. He shall neither drink vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink, neither shall he drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. Grape popsicles would be out.

That would be a tough one to say no in the summer. But anyhow, the lifestyle of the Nazareth, Nazarite, sorry, was to be this living proclamation that I'm drawing close to God, that I must decrease so God can increase in my life. And no razor was to touch the head. I like a good clean shave. I think most men that shave, you appreciate one.

Well, if you were a Nazarite, you could rent space out to the birds to nest in certain seasons of the year. No razor. This prohibition is emphasized because it is the one that got Samson to really mess up.

He was already messed up, but it just came, that was the one that was, that stood out. And his long hair, of course, was a proclamation of his devotion to God. So, can't you just get a haircut? You know, the Marine Corps will never take you that way. And so, I don't want them to. I'm devoted to the Lord, and this is how it would be. I don't know what the other branches do.

I don't think they get haircuts. All right. It's just a little fun. We don't mean anything about it.

It's mighty quiet in here right now. Anyway, the duration of the vow, again, that was up to the individual, except in the case of Samson. So just to summarize, he was to abstain from contact with the fruit of the vine. That's important because we're going to catch him in the vineyard, or the vine yard, however you like to pronounce it.

Where I come from, it's vineyard, but I like when people say vine yard. I figure you've been working all day. You could use a little attempt at humor, but evidently, I won't try again, maybe. Anyway, from contact with the razor, of course, that would've been an obvious violation if he had shown his hair or something like that. No contact with the dead, even the nearest and dearest. If you were under the vow, you were to abstain from this contact. And again, this was a proclamation of your affection and your dedication, your desire for God in your life, your desire to not be so self-interested, but to be centered in God. And your love for God under this rite was making this proclamation that other loves are lesser loves.

You can have other loves, you still love your children just as much, for example, but God is God and your children and anybody else is not. And that belonged to the vow, keeping the body under submission. He says, for the child should be announced as a rite to God from the womb. This is a high honor, but it's a demanding responsibility. And just like, you know, no one should take this unto themselves. When we serve the Lord, we want the Lord to be in it, we want his leading.

He has to be in it, or else the flesh is pushing something up a hill, it cannot get up to the top and it's going to roll back on them. And so being led by the Spirit is difficult because of our flesh, but it is an imperative to wrestle. Don't think that being led by the Lord is going to be handed to you.

Sometimes it will be, many times it's not. You've got to fight for it. I don't mean in the flesh at all. It involves waiting, it involves being denied, it involves a lot of things that are burning off the dross to get to where you stand in the matter that you're looking to receive instruction from God. It can be grueling, but I'd rather have that in my life than just living like a pig that has returned to the slop, as Peter talks about. I'd rather have my struggles in the Spirit with the Lord, those struggles of born out of my flesh, not out of his reluctance.

I'd rather have that than to just live without the Lord. This is the way it is. There are just rules and laws that we don't know all about. We know some. We know enough.

We don't know it all. Well, unlike the other judges, Samson is not going to rally an army. He doesn't need one. He is one. The guy kills a thousand men in one swoop. So it tells you something about his personality.

He had friends, he seems to have been a jolly guy, you know, kind of fun-loving guy, kind of like your athlete types, and that's not necessarily a compliment. It didn't work out well for him in the end. And so what he did, as he is told here, and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

That is exactly what happened. He began the process. He did not finish the process. What would he have been had he adhered to his calling, to his vow? If he took it more seriously than he did, what would have happened? What kind of hero would Samson have been?

Well, we're not going to find out. But we don't want to be too hard on him. Because remember, David crossed bigger lines than Samson. God still loved David and used him even after and still held up his name as a righteous man in the days of Christ. Those are lessons for us on grace and kindness, that the mission is to find solutions to problems in Christ, in the flesh, and not look to take our wounded out and stone them. Verse 6, to do that without, I mean, they have to repent.

I mean, I don't want to sound careless, reckless here. There are rules, and we want to try to abide by them. One of the rules in church discipline or Christian discipline is grace, to look for opportunities to show grace and mercy. Verse 6, so the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God.

Very awesome. But I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me. I just love this whole story here. A man of God came. So she's assuming he's a prophet, more than likely.

She doesn't catch that this is, of course, and how could she? There was really nothing given to her to say, I'm more than just a man. I'm not a mortal. I'm God. So there's God in human form, and he's giving this promise. She says he was very awesome.

That's when you can use the word in the proper context. Thanks for tuning in to Cross-Reference Radio for this study in the book of Judges. Cross-Reference Radio is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. If you'd like more information about this ministry, we invite you to visit our website, crossreferenceradio.com. You'll find additional teachings from Pastor Rick available there, and we encourage you to subscribe to our podcast. By doing so, you'll be notified of each new edition of Cross-Reference Radio. You can search for Cross-Reference Radio on your favorite podcast app or just follow the links at crossreferenceradio.com. That's all the time we have for today. Join us next time to continue learning more from the book of Judges right here on Cross-Reference Radio.