NOTES:
Samson: Anointed Son Judges 13
- We started Judges 4 mo’s ago (Deborah, Gideon, Samson)
Samson
1. Last of the 12 Judges
2. Best known character in Judges, & one of best known in Bible.
French Grand Opera “Samson & Delilah” – played by Placido Domingo as Samson
3. 4 chapters, 96 verses, most air time of anyone in Judges
4. Hebrews 11:33-34 he makes the heroes list
5. Least preached – no arc to his life. Physically strong, morally & spiritually weak
= Lived like hell. Went to heaven. Pure grace – trinity of alcohol, prostitutes, murder
6. Hulk? Was he gigantic?
-Archives of General Psychiatry from DSM “APSD
-Antisocial Personality Disorder” = mainly criminals & politicians
-7 criteria, need 3. Samson had 6/7 (failure to conform to social norms, lying, fighting, bullying, impulsivity, cruelty animals, murder)
=no wife, kids, friends, coworkers
Judges covers 1st 300 years new nation/land. US is around 250 years
The Rise and Fall of Civilizations
(Scottish philosopher Alexander Tyler)
Step 1: From bondage to spiritual growth because of suffering
Step 2: From spiritual growth to great courage hardened by suffering
Step 3: From courage to liberty as evil is defeated
Step 4: From liberty to abundance and prosperity
Step 5: From abundancy to complacency and indifference
Step 6: From complacency to apathy and laziness
Step 7: From apathy to dependance on government
Step 8: From dependance back to bondage
=The problem is spiritual more than political.
Judges 13:1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
- Progressive myth
- 40 years – A. longest oppression B. no crying out
- Philistines – never defeated/displaced (Joshua 13:2-3) = JUDGMENT
4 Pillars of Apostasy
1. Universalism – everyone goes to “Heaven” in the end.
2. Pluralism – there are many paths to God.
3. Syncretism – Christians and churches remove God’s lines between the Church and the world.
4. Apostasy – people who say they were Christians deny Christ in word or deed.
Pressures
- Personal – your struggle (everyone has 1 thing they’d like out of Bible)
- Relational – someone you love (grandpa died)
- Cultural – pressure to surrender (job, school, family, friend group)
=Answer? Stay “churchy”
Judges 13:2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, 5 for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” 6 Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, 7 but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ” 8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.” 9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” 11 And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.” 12 And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child’s manner of life, and what is his mission?” 13 And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14 She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.”
- Angel of the Lord – Jesus comes down uninvited
- Father “Manoah” – means judge
- Jesus told them how to raise Samson, but he prayed for Jesus to do it again
- Jesus kindly returned (JESUS DOES PROCESS)
- Mother “unnamed” – woman & nation barren (eg Ab & Sarah, Zach & Elizabeth)
=Parents believers, love son, decent parents (mom is wiser than dad)
- Samson
- Name means “sunny” but he’s not bright
- Military calling to fight Philistines – God gives some a warrior calling
Nazirite vow (Num. 6) – no 1. Alcohol 2. Unclean foods 3. Hair cuts 4. Corpses
= Breaks every Nazirite vow
??? Commitment to personal holiness???
Judges 13:15 Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.” 16 And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.) 17 And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” 18 And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” 19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the LORD, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching. 20 And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.
21 The angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. 22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” 23 But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.”
1. Father “Manoah” – wanted to eat meal w/Jesus (unaware it’s God)
-sometimes God shows up & we don’t see Him
2. Jesus’
-name “Wonderful” – Is. 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful…”
-Went up in flames of sacrifice
-Couple fell on face in fear of Lord. Wife said they would not die.
Anointing -Temporary power – break shackles, kill lion bare hands, kill 1000’s
Judges 13:24 And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the LORD blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Judges 14:6 Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him…
Judges 14:19 the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him…
Judges 15:14 the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him…
Close. Band Up
- Judging & Judges
-Jesus says to not judge until we have judged ourselves (plank – speck)
-we cannot see what’s wrong w/world until we clean out our eye
- Anointing
-God gives power. You cultivate character.
- Nazirite Vow
- Personal Holiness (Jesus came down to meet w/couple & us)
