All of a sudden we see Samson in prayer. It's the first time, and the only time, that we see Sampson. In prayer. In that foolish soul of Samson lay the embers of faith in Yahweh. And the last thing that Samson did.
was the best thing. that he did. He delivers Israel from their enemies by sacrificing himself. How is it that Samson, a man whose life was filled with vices and sin, finds himself in the hole of faith in Hebrews 11? I'm Nathan W.
Bingham, and thanks for joining us for this Wednesday edition of Renewing Your Mind. Over the next three days, you'll hear messages from Derek Thomas' series, Imprisoned, Faith in All Circumstances. And we'll send it to you on DVD and unlock the series and study guide in the free Ligonier app when you make a donation in support of the global gospel outreach of Ligonier Ministries before midnight Friday. Today, Dr. Thomas considers Samson, and we'll discover why he's recorded there in Hebrews 11.
and also learned some important lessons, not only from his life, but also from his death. Here's Ligoneer Teaching Fellow, Derek Thomas. Today's character is Samson. And we are in judges. Chapter 16.
I'm not going to read all 31. Verses of Judges 16, but I'm going to pick it up at verse 27. And we read Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there. and on the roof there were about three thousand men and women who looked on while Samson entertained.
Then Samson called to the Lord and said, O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once. Oh God. that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes. and Samson grasped the two middle pillars which the house rested. And he leaned his weight against them, His right hand on the one and his left hand on the other.
And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. Then he bowed with all his strength. And the house fell upon the Lords and upon all the people who were in it.
So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his death. his life.
Well, there's a story of a park ranger in Yellowstone National. Yeah. who had uh turned off his a two way radio because it was distracting him as he led a party of visitors along a certain path. And when he finally got to the tower, the man who had been trying to contact him said to him in a breathless manner, why on earth did you turn off the two-way radio? Because he was trying to tell this park ranger that there was a bear following this party.
And when you turn out or tune out. The Holy Spirit. Uh you put yourself and others. uh in danger And that, I think, is the story. uh of Samson.
Proverbs 28 and verse 26. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely. will be delivered.
Well, everyone thinks they know the story of Samson. how he encountered a lion and kills it. Later finds honey in the carcass of that lion. How he slew a thousand with the jawbone of an ass. Uh how he's Set Philistine crops on fire by tying together the tails of foxes, and of course.
Delilah. Yeah. And uh perhaps you love that duet that Saint-Sons composed in his opera on Samson and Delilah, Moncre Souvre Atavoie, Softly Awakens the Heart, and it's one of the most beautiful duets, I think, in all of opera. Uh Dr. Bob Godfrey.
Writes on judges that he and his wife were at the opera house in San Diego, in California, to see and hear Saint-Sonces, Samson, and Delilah. And he was fascinated that the notes provided for this concert were written by a rabbi. Who informed his readers that the Jews never read the story of Samson, not on Shabbat and not on holy days, because Samson, in the eyes of the Jews, is not a righteous man, and the story is not at all inspiring and helpful.
Well, the problem with that, as Dr. Godfrey pointed out, was and is. That Samson occurs in the great list of worthies in Hebrews chapter 11 who lived, or in Samson's case, died, by faith. Uh trusting in uh God. In chapter 13 and verse 5, we are told that Samson had one job.
Uh to rescue Israel. And that is all. He did. He had one job to do, and he fulfilled that one job. There are noble judges.
Like Othniel? There are impressive judges like Uh Deborah. Yeah. There are attractive judges like Gideon. There are blunts.
Confused During the Judges like Jeffer. And then In the words of Alec Muttia, There is a buffoon. And that is Sampson. God's Plan And God's Man And in this instance, God's men... Is Samson?
Who is, if you pardon the expression? An idiot. Who never really got past First base. He lived in a culture where everyone did that which was right. in his own eyes and that is Mostly, 99% of Samson's life.
He did that which was right. In his own Yeah. He is a man given to addictions. And vices Sex Reckless behaviour. He loved Danger.
He loved to be in the midst of danger.
So let's look at. Samson. First of all, Faltering Faith. of a foolish man. faltering Face.
of a foolish man. He is overly self-confident. Yeah. Chapter 16 begins in Gaza. uh the territory of the Philistines.
Why is he there at all? Why did he spend the night? And why Oh, why is he with a prostitute? He has a wife. His wife was a Philistine.
And when he went back to get her, her father said no. And in a fit of anger, Samson lit the crops. on fire by tying uh foxes tails Together and some brush, and lighting the brush. And as these foxes ran through the crops, it set the crops on fire. The Philistines, as you can understand, were ready to kill him, waiting till dawn.
but he can't resist A joke. And he lifts the city gates. Early in the morning before the Philistines are up, he Walks out to the city, lifts the city gates, and carries them for Forty miles. He doesn't take life seriously. The header verse of Judges 16 should be Titus 2 and verse 2.
Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled.
Sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness, and Samson is none. of those He judges Israel for twenty years. He meets Delilah. He can't resist a pretty face. His mother, Manor, Was told that at his birth, Samson would be.
a Nazarite like John the Baptist. And for a Nazarite, three things would be necessary. He must touch no alcohol so that his joy would be fully in the Lord.
Okay. At his wedding in chapter 14 and verse 10 in the Hebrew, we read of a banquet of wine. Secondly, he must have uncut hair. It was a sign of consecration. And thirdly, he was to keep from all that defiles.
And the jawbone was something of a corpse, of a dead animal, was defiling according to Jewish law.
So in other words, he broke all three of the Nazarete vows. He makes absolutely no attempt at all to avoid temptation. On the contrary, he walks into it. He flirts. With it.
Is this Stupidity. Is it arrogance? Is it impishness? Did he really think that he could play fast and loose with God and with Nazarite vows and suffer no consequences whatsoever. His name in Hebrew means son.
Because He has a sunny disposition. Yeah. He was fun to be around. He was always descending into superficiality. Delilah, of course.
as you will remember, had been solicited by the Philistines in order to get the secret of Samson's strength. For Samson. It was another game of riddles. He was an Enigma file. A logo file.
A jokester. His strength is supernatural. His strength was given to him by the Holy Spirit. But he is prepared. to broker His soul.
For a pretty face. The Puritan John Milton in his epic poem Samson Aganistes. agony or struggle. Uh says of Samson, he is the mirror of our fickle state. Samson reflects Something of us too, Milton is saying.
He's a mirror of our fickle state. John Updike refers to Sampson as an enigmatic brute. He loved riddles and he is himself. A riddle. When he lets Delilah know the secret of his strength.
The Hair. There comes a point when you see you give Yeah. Yourself to sin. And you lose sight of God. He didn't even know, I think, that Yahweh had left Him.
And so he is imprisoned. They cut off his hair. He loses his strength. And he is imprisoned. And blinded.
Grinding flour. On a mill. like a slave. Like a menial. Beast.
There's a lesson here, and it's not a pretty one. If you recklessly and defiantly walk into temptation, Yeah. Don't be surprised if God says Okay. Then go. But I will not be there.
To stop you. You can fall flat on your face. and you'll have no one to blame. But yourself. the faltering Face.
Of a foolish Man. Then secondly, The glorious grip. of a gracious God. The glorious grip. of a gracious God.
Before we take a look at that, I simply want to point out the stupidity of the Philistines. They gathered together in their temple with Dagon, their god. And there are four things here that I want us to quickly see. They failed to note that Samson's hair was growing back. They praise Dagon, their idolatrous god.
but can't prevent his throne from becoming His and their grave. They summon Samson. Into their presents for their amusement. And the place is packed. Yeah.
Not just with people. But with important people, the most important people. are there. the stupidity of the Philistines. But there's a About God moment.
in this story. God works all things together for the good of those. who love him. And there's one Final. Practical joke.
And all of a sudden, we see Samson. In prayer. It's the first time. And the only time. that we see Samson.
In prayer. In That foolish soul of Samson lay the embers. Of face. In Yahweh. And the last thing.
that Samson did. was the best thing. That he did. He delivers Israel. from their enemies.
By sacrificing himself. Two pillars. And in his blinded state, he has to be helped to reach out. On the left. And the right.
So that you can push these Pillars. And bring the temple Crashing Down.
Now What is this? Was this an act of judgment? Not all events of this nature are acts of judgment, and we should always remember the restraining hand of the book of Job in quickly defining all disasters. as acts of judgment, but sometimes that is precisely what they are.
Okay. In Acts chapter twelve, for example, Herod the king exalted himself by. allowing himself to be called a god. Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory. And he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
Acts twelve and verse twenty three. God Answered. Sampson's Prayer. It seems as though God had not completely abandoned. Sampson.
For Samson, This trial, this imprisonment and his final act. were purifying. rather than punitive. For the Philistines, it was punitive. The same event.
The same set of circumstances can be Punitive for one and purifying Another. The same is true for all of life's trials and tribulations. For one, it might be punishment, but for another, it might be an act of purification to bring us to an end of ourselves so that. All we can do is cry out to the Lord. This, I think, is why Samson.
is in Hebrews chapter 11. In that gallery, portrait gallery of the faithful. He is not the most faithful. Man. in the kingdom of God.
He may well be the least faithful in the kingdom of God. He only had one Yeah. to do. And he did it. It was a partial deliverance for Israel.
It's not the final one. The final deliverance comes not from any of these judges. or any of the kings of Judah and Israel that followed. That final Deliverer. Looks far different from Samson.
And he is of course Lord Jesus. Israel needed a judge. But a perfect George. Israel needed a prophet. But a perfect Profit.
Israel needed A king. But a perfect Okay. Israel needed a priest. But a perfect Priest. Sampson discovered In his prison cell.
Blinded. And having lost his strength. that there was only one thing now. that he could do and that he needed to do. And as his supernatural strength came back to him.
And as the Philistines in their stupidity had brought him uh into their very midst for their amusement.
Sounds so Turned to the Lord. in prayer. and asked for strength and resolved. to fulfil that one thing that God had asked him. To do.
Throughout Sampson's Entire recorded Life. This is the only prayer. that he offered. He's an example of what happens When you trust In your own strength. It's an example.
of what happens when you trust in your own Um Naivety. God had to bind him. and blind him. to make him acknowledge that without God. We are nothing.
I think for me The overwhelming lesson. at the end of the narrative of this Judge Sampson is. Don't be like Samson. Please don't be like Sampson. to go through your life wasting Time.
and opportunity. But you could use For the Lord. But thank God. But Samson did. the one thing.
that God needed him. to do. Yes, may God keep us from being like Samson. And it's actually one of the reasons why we have this daily program, Renewing Your Mind, to help us learn these lessons from God's Word. and why we're making this series titled Imprisoned, Faith in All Circumstances, available for you when you donate today at Renewing Your Mind dot org or when you call us at eight hundred four three five four three four three.
Across 12 messages, you'll learn about Joseph, Jonah, Daniel, John the Baptist, and many others.
So request the DVD set when you donate now at renewingyourmind.org or by using the link in the podcast show notes. We'll also unlock the messages and study guide in the free Ligonier app and at ligoneer.org, so you can stream this series on the go. Please know that your support is helping expand the reach of Renewing Your Mind and bringing truth to more people every single day. And as is the case every day, there is a digital only version of this offer for our global listening audience available at renewingyourmind.org slash global.
Well, tomorrow, Derek Thomas will tell us a tale about complex political relationships, wars, and imprisoned profit. and a king who died at the hands of an apparent random arrow.
So I look forward to you joining us Thursday here on Renewing Your Mind.
