Samson.
Low living destroys. Part two.
Bible Reading: Judges
13:1-7; Judges 13-16.
What went wrong in
Samson’s life?
1.
Samson dishonoured his
parents.
1. Now
Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the
Philistines.
2. So he went up and
told his father and mother, saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the
daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.”
3. Then his father
and mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your
brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the
uncircumcised Philistines?” And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for
she pleases me well” Judges 14:1-3.
“Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be
long upon the land which the LORD
your God is giving you” Exodus 20:12.
This is the first step
in his downward journey. He had godly parents who pleaded with him to do
right and avoid breaking the laws of God and his vows before God.
Yet, he wanted a wife
from the Philistines, Israel’s enemies. He was a man of God playing in the
devil’s playground. See,
a three-fold cord is not easily broken
(husband/wife/God). But when God is not holding the other 2 together, it
is extremely easy for them to come apart. Samson dishonored his Godly
parents.
2. Samson deserted his promise.
“So, Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother
and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Now to his surprise, a young
lion came roaring against him” Judges
14:5.
He took a
Nazarite vow. “He was to have no wine
or drink the fruit of the vine.” So, what is he doing in a vineyard? “Vineyards” = he went to a place he was
not supposed to be. You say, that is just a little thing ... yes, it is! Is
spending Sunday night with other believers in the house of God, and
spending Saturday night with your mates down the pub, is that a little
thing? Are we flirting with sin in our walk with God?
“And the Spirit of the LORD
came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart
a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his
father or his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the
woman; and she pleased Samson well.
After some time, when he returned to get her, he turned
aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were
in the carcass of the lion. He took some of it in his hands and went along,
eating. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and
they also ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the
carcass of the lion” Judges 14:6-9.
Here is
another little slip of Samson. “Carcass” = more
disobedience, his vows says: “He could not come near or touch a dead body,
whether human or animal.” He keeps breaking his vows to God. He is
losing his purpose and promises in God. This is going to end badly with Samson.
See, the deeper you go into sin, the
blinder you get! Samson was spiritual blind, long before he was blinded in the
flesh by his enemies.
3.
Samson distorted his
purpose.
“So,
his father went down to the woman. And Samson gave a feast there, for young men
used to do so.
And it happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty
companions to be with him. Then Samson said to them, “Let me pose a riddle to
you. If you can correctly solve and explain it to me within the seven days of
the feast, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of
clothing. But if you cannot explain it to me, then you shall give me
thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.”
And they said to him, “Pose your riddle, that we may hear
it.” So, he said to them: “Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of
the strong came something sweet.” Now for three days they could not explain the
riddle” Judges 14:10-14.
This is in the wedding
of Samson and his Philistine bride, and all the guests are Philistines, the
enemies of Israel. Samson is now with the wrong crowd. Samson
appears to break his vows, by drinking wine the word used for “feast” here (משׁתה, means “drinking
party.” Still, when you are willing to break one commandment of God, the others
become easier to break.
The riddle he gave was
based on his experience with the lion. There is no way they could figure
it out without knowing of this happening. So, they go to his wife to get
her to persuade him to give up the answer. They threaten her in verses 15-16. When she turned on
the tears, in verse 17 she got her
answer. Samson could stand before an army, but not before a crying woman.
Samson, with all his strength loses.
4.
Samson defiled his
purity.
“Now
Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there and went into her. When the
Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they surrounded the place
and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all
night, saying, “In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him.”
And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at
midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts,
pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them
to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of
Sorek, whose name was Delilah” Judges
16:1-4.
It keeps getting
worse. First a Philistine wife, now a harlot, then Delilah.
Someone said something
like this: “Sin takes you farther that you wanted to go, it will keep you
longer then you planned to stay, and it will cost you far more than you
expected to pay.”
Oh, how the plot
thickens. Samson keeps looking for trashy women and keeps finding their
company pleasing to his fleshly desires. What happened to Samson’s Godly vows? See, “For the wages of sin is death …” Romans 6:23. The devil never shows us the end from the
beginning of sin. The effects go on and on. Forgiveness is still possible, but
the outcomes continue
5.
Samson deluded his
power.
Now he is sitting in
Delilah’s bedroom, and she tries to learn the secret of his strength. He
toys with her, telling her lies (tie my hair in locks, etc.). Notice he is
getting closer to the truth. The devil just tries to get us to take small
steps in his direction.
Finally, he caves in and
tells her the truth. He now breaks the final part of his Nazarite vow: “He
could not cut his hair.” Now it is too late, the point of no return. And
here is the saddest verse spoken of Samson’s life: “And she
said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So, he awoke from his
sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself
free!” But he did not know that the LORD
had departed from him” Judges
16:20.
That night Samson lost more than
his hair, he lost the presence of God in his life, and did not know it. You see
sin binds you, then sin blinds you, and finally sin grinds you. “Then the Philistines took him and put out
his eyes and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and
he became a grinder in the prison” Judges
16:21.
Conclusion:
Some today do not even
know how cold they have become in God, and how far away from God they have
slowly gone.
Along the way Samson made mistakes, but could have
made them right and been restored, but he went all the way with sin.
