Today’s passage: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=judges%2013-15&version=NIV
Our passage begins with the same phrase that is repeated over and over again in the book of Judges, ch 13:1, “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.” This time, God chooses to bring up Samson to begin the deliverance of the Israelites from the hands of the enemy.
Samson comes from a pretty amazing beginning. He was divinely announced by an angel of the Lord and miraculously conceived by a barren woman. He was raised by parents with a desire to be obedient to the Lord. He was called by the Lord to be a Nazarite, from birth (Nazarites took a vow to abstain from alcohol, practice extraordinary purity, and refrain from cutting their hair). He was blessed with the Spirit of the Lord from childhood. We should expect a pretty amazing example in Samson, but we are quickly disappointed.
Instead, we read about a guy who did not honor his parents, but instead orders them around and disregards their wishes. He did not practice purification after killing the lion and even went as far as to eat the unclean honey out of the carcass. He had a lot of brute strength, but was weak in his fleshly desires. He was self indulgent and acted out of anger and vengeance.
Can you believe that this is the guy that God chose to begin the deliverance of the Israelites from the hands of the enemy? We get a little bit of an explanation of God’s choice when Samson chose a Philistine to be his wife. His parents objected to the union, but Judges 14:4 explains, “(His parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.). God would use Samson’s choices for His own purpose. Our amazing and sovereign God knows what we are going to do before we even think about doing it. We cannot thwart God’s plan no matter what choices we make. He’s planned for our decisions. Remember back in Genesis when Joseph’s brothers came before him and apologized for selling him into slavery. Joseph’s response was “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Joseph knew that God had a plan and that his brothers’ choice to do evil was factored into that plan. In the same way, God had planned for the choices that Samson would make and would use them to fulfill his purposes. The thing is, if God waited around for someone who was perfect to use for the purpose of fulfilling His will, he'd be waiting a long time. We are all sinners and all fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23).
Does that mean that we shouldn’t bother striving for a life of obedience and purity? Of course not! For one, we don’t want to end up like Samson, whose choices left him feeling unsatisfied. For example – with all the time and effort he spent acquiring his wife, he ended up with a nagging wife who ultimately betrayed him. After the disastrous wedding, his father in law ends up giving his wife to his best man and later, her own people burn her to death. Not exactly a satisfying fulfillment of his desire to marry the Philistine, huh? Also, we’ve already seen many other examples of the consequences associated with sin and disobedience. We’ve also seen that often blessings are associated with obedience. But the most important reason for striving to live a life of obedience and purity is so that our lives can serve as a testimony to others. Matthew 5:16 says “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” The people we meet should get a glimpse of Jesus when they cross our paths. Do you love Jesus so much that you want everyone to see Him in you?
How does it feel to know that God can take our character flaws and sins and use them for his purpose? Has God ever used your sin or disobedience and turned it in to something good? Share with us on the blog!
Today’s post submitted by Kelly Coxe
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Like Samson, my life seems to be ups and downs. One day doing well with God and other days not so well. Samson is an example of an inconsistent Christian. Over time, I have learned to be quick to repent and ask God to renew my fellowship with him again. About 10 years ago, I made an unannounced visit to my friend’s house. He had just gotten drunk and I caught him in this condition. He asked me to pray for him. We spent some time praying for God to stir up our hearts toward the things of God and to break up the hardness in our hearts. My friend got sober real fast as he was praying to God. What I thought was a prayer for my friend was really a prayer for me too. Why do I remember this experience so well even after 10 years? Over the following weeks and months, I noticed in my life a new zeal for the things of God. Without realizing it, I was backslidden in my heart too. I had drifted away from the things of God. My first love for Christ was gone and my heart grew cold. My daily Bible reading stopped and I was just drifting through life doing my religious duties such as going to church and attending Bible studies. Looking back at this prayer time, it was a turning point in my walk with God even though I didn’t sense it at the time. This is what I love about the Lord. He doesn’t make it hard to restore our fellowship with Him. We just need to repent as He convicts us and ask God to fill us again with His Spirit something God is eager to do as we humble ourselves before Him.
ReplyDeleteSamson is a type or forshadow of Christ BUT without sin. Samson must have looked like any other ordinary man because no one could figure out where his incredible strength originated from. Through our natural viewpoint there was nothing special about Samson! Likewise, Jesus looked like any other ordinary man yet He was God in the flesh and filled with the Spirit of God without measure. From the natural viewpoint was nothing special about Jesus, but when He spoke they marveled at His wisdom. As He walked the dusty roads of Galilee, they were astonished at His miracles and the power of God working through Him. Little did they realize, all the power and wisdom of God dwelt in Jesus Christ and by His death He destroyed him who had the power of death - the devil. (Heb 2:14) What a man! What a God!
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