The Book of Judges #19

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:03.200 If you can turn with me in the Bible, and then I will pray. 2 00:00:03.279 --> 00:00:08.320 But we're going to look beginning at Judges thirteen one, and we'll be 3 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:16.359 going through Judges fourteen four. Judges thirteen one will be going through Judges fourteen 4 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:21.440 four. Let's pray, Lord, as we come to your word. Now 5 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:27.120 again we do ask one more time that you would illuminate it to us, 6 00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:32.479 that you would make it clear that's your word would be a lamp onto our 7 00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:36.960 feet and light into our path. That's your word would direct us and guide 8 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:41.280 us. And Lord, as we look at a very very complicated and tragic 9 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:46.399 figure this evening, that it may exhort us to watch over our own lives 10 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:49.759 and to make sure that we are not ruled by things that we should not 11 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:53.560 be ruled by. But Lord, tonight, as we look at your word, 12 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:58.759 help us also to see your overruling providence and how you work all things 13 00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:02.479 out according to the cons of your will. And so Lord, we thank 14 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:06.200 you for your word, and again we ask you to bless it, and 15 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:10.120 Lord to illuminate it to us, for we prayed in Christ name. Amen. 16 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:18.799 Judges chapter beginning with verse one year is God's word and the people of 17 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:21.560 Israel again did what was evil in the side of the Lord. So the 18 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:25.719 Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. It was 19 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:29.319 a certain man of Zorah of the tribe of Danites, whose name was Manoah, 20 00:01:29.959 --> 00:01:33.239 and his wife was barren and had no children. And the Angel of 21 00:01:33.239 --> 00:01:36.120 the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, behold, you are 22 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:40.760 barren and have not had, have not born children. But you shall conceive 23 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:44.799 and bear a son. Therefore, be careful and drink no wine or strong. 24 00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:48.799 Drink and eat nothing unclean. For behold you shall conceive and bear a 25 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:53.159 son. No razors shall come upon his head, for the child shall be 26 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:56.879 in nasright to God from his womb, from the womb, and he shall 27 00:01:56.959 --> 00:02:00.359 begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. Then a woman came 28 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:04.319 and told her husband. A man of God came to me, And his 29 00:02:04.359 --> 00:02:07.159 appearance was like the appearance of an angel of God, very awesome. I 30 00:02:07.199 --> 00:02:10.199 did not ask him maria is from, And he did not tell me his 31 00:02:10.280 --> 00:02:14.520 name. But he said to me, behold, you shall conceive in Paris 32 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:19.199 son. So then drink no wine or strong, drink and eat nothing unclean. 33 00:02:19.319 --> 00:02:21.960 For the child shall be in Nazareth to God from the womb to the 34 00:02:22.039 --> 00:02:24.639 day of his death. Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, Oh 35 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:29.039 Lord, please let the man of God whom he sent, come again to 36 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:31.080 us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be 37 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:35.520 born. And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of 38 00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:38.159 God came again to the woman as she sat in a field. But Minoah, 39 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:42.680 her husband, was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and 40 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:46.199 told her husband, behold the man who came to me the other day as 41 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:49.919 appeared to me. And Minoah arose and went after his wife and came to 42 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:52.879 the man and said to him, are you the man who spoke to this 43 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:57.080 woman? And he said I am. And Minoah said, now, when 44 00:02:57.080 --> 00:03:00.800 your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life? 45 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:04.680 And what is his mission? And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, 46 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:07.159 of all that I said to the woman, let her be careful. 47 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:09.520 She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine. Neither let her 48 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:14.520 drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I 49 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:17.479 commanded her, let her observe. Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, 50 00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:21.719 please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you. And 51 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:23.560 the Angel of the Lord said to Minoah, if you detain me, I 52 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:27.800 will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, 53 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:30.759 then offer it to the Lord. For Minoah did not know that he was 54 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:35.120 the Angel of the Lord. And Minoah said to the Angel of the Lord, 55 00:03:35.639 --> 00:03:38.840 what is your name? So when your words come true, we may 56 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:42.000 honor you. And the Angel of the Lord said to him, why do 57 00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:46.520 you ask my name? Seeing it's wonderful. So Manoah took the young goat 58 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:49.360 with the great offering and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to 59 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:53.680 the one who works wonders. And Manoah and his wife were watching. And 60 00:03:53.719 --> 00:03:57.120 when the flame went up towards Heaven from the altar, the Angel of the 61 00:03:57.159 --> 00:04:00.680 Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now mino and his wife 62 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:03.479 were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground. The Angel 63 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:06.840 of the Lord appeared, uh no more to Manoah and to his wife. 64 00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:11.000 Then Minoah knew that he was the Angel of the Lord. And Minoah said 65 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:13.919 to his wife, we shall surely die, for we have seen God. 66 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:16.160 But his wife said to him, if the Lord had meant to kill us, 67 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:19.519 he would not have accepted it. Burnt offering and a grain offering at 68 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:24.319 our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us 69 00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:27.920 such things as these. And the woman bore a son and called his name 70 00:04:27.959 --> 00:04:30.759 Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him, and 71 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:35.399 the spirit of the Lord began to stir, began to stir him in Mohanna 72 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:42.839 declin between Zorah and est Sampson went down to Timna. And at Timna he 73 00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:46.040 saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up and told 74 00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:47.800 his father and mother, I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at 75 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:51.800 Timna. Now get her from my wife. But his father and mother said 76 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:56.199 to him, is there not yet a woman among the daughters of your relatives, 77 00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:59.800 among all your people, that you must go take a wife from the 78 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:02.959 circumcised Philistines. But Sampson said to his father, get her for me, 79 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:06.560 for she is right in my eyes. His father and mother did not know 80 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:11.360 that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the 81 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:15.600 Philistines, and at that time the Philistines ruled over Israel. Thus ends the 82 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:27.000 reading of God's word please be seated. So we are looking at the story 83 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:30.639 of perhaps the most famous judge of all the judges of Israel. I was 84 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:34.800 asked tonight by Heather whether I was going to be able to finish the Sampson 85 00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:41.000 story before we departed Tucson, and I responded, I'm not entirely sure. 86 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:45.199 I think I can, but then once I get into a tech sometimes I 87 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:47.040 find out I'm going to spend a lot more time than I thought. And 88 00:05:47.079 --> 00:05:54.279 I haven't planned out these next three weeks as to exactly what will be done. 89 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:58.639 But it is certainly a very famous story. I'm sure most of us, 90 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:01.160 even the children here, no thing about the story of Samson. It's 91 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:05.759 not the story that we sometimes thought we knew from Sunday School, but it 92 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:11.160 is a story that we are at least somewhat familiar with. I want to 93 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:14.399 start by covering some verses that I actually dealt with last week, but I 94 00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:16.279 want to go back and touch on a couple of things. One or two 95 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:20.000 may one. I think one is a repetitive thing and the others are different 96 00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:23.920 but I do want to touch on them. Uh. First of all, 97 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:27.360 let me point out the interesting thing and I did I do think I mentioned, 98 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:31.199 is maybe not that even though we are told that Israel again does evil 99 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:35.040 in the side of the Lord, and the Lord delivers them into the hands 100 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:43.639 of the Philistines, we are not told anywhere in this account that they cried 101 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:47.240 to the Lord for deliverance, that to ask God to deliver them from the 102 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:53.600 Philistines. Barry Webb on his chapter on Samson, I think I mentioned this. 103 00:06:53.720 --> 00:06:59.480 He called the chapter title the Savior that No one asked for? That 104 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:02.399 was that Sampson. In another book that he wrote on Judges, he said, 105 00:07:02.439 --> 00:07:09.360 the people showed little sign of even wanting to be rescued. And it 106 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:14.879 seems when you read the story, it seems to us that not only did 107 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:17.680 they really not I mean they fought against Sampson, they were seemed to be 108 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:21.480 against Sampson. They were more than willing to give up Sampson so that they 109 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:27.240 could live in peace with the Philistines. And so we have this very very 110 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:31.680 complicated time that is going on uh in Israel. And even it tells us 111 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:36.759 in our text that Sampson will begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. You 112 00:07:36.839 --> 00:07:44.319 know from your Bible history and and from Love Samuel and kings and chronicles, 113 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:48.759 that Israel does not get completely delivered from the Philistines and judges, it will 114 00:07:48.839 --> 00:07:53.480 have to wait and tell. Another judge by the name of Samuel arises, 115 00:07:53.839 --> 00:07:58.600 and after that to other kings by the name of Saul, and David will 116 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:03.879 come. In verse two we note that Samson again is the only judge that 117 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:09.399 we know of that comes from the tribe of Dan. And in the beginning 118 00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:13.120 of the Book of Judges, we found that Dan had been forced out of 119 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:18.040 the land which was their inheritance. They were not able to live in their 120 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:22.079 inherited land, and uh in Judges wanted says, the Amorrds pressed the people 121 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:26.879 of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to 122 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:31.960 come down to the plane. The Amorords persisted in dwelling in Mount Harris, 123 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:37.720 in Angelon and in shall Being, but the hand of the House of Joseph 124 00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:43.320 rested heavily on them, and they became subject to force labor. So Dan 125 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:48.480 wasn't even able to keep their land that had been allotted onto them. Judges 126 00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:52.480 eighteen one says, and in those days the tribe of the people of Dan 127 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:58.960 was seeking for itself and inheritance to dwell in for and tell them no inheritance 128 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:01.440 among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. Well, there had been 129 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:05.720 inheritance, but they didn't keep it, and so they didn't have it. 130 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:09.720 There's also the curious fact that you may be aware of that when we have 131 00:09:09.879 --> 00:09:15.440 the listing of the tribes and Revelation chapter seven, there is no mention of 132 00:09:15.480 --> 00:09:18.879 the tribe of Dan. It's always difficult because they're trying to list in these 133 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:24.320 various places the twelve tribes of Israel, the problem being that there's thirteen of 134 00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:28.559 them, so they always have to leave one out. Uh, And it's 135 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:33.799 different in different listings. But in Revelation seven, Dan is left out. 136 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:37.919 And uh why that is? I will leave that for you to discover or 137 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:41.879 figure it out, and then come and tell me so I'll know. Uh. 138 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:45.600 But anyway, they're not there. And then verses three through five, 139 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:50.600 we noticed that the Angel of the Lord appeared to Samson's mother, who is, 140 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:54.120 as I mentioned, the star of the story. There's no question about 141 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:56.519 it. She keeps coming back again and again. But the curious thing is 142 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:01.480 we are never once given her name. We don't know who she is. 143 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:03.919 So let me begin now with where I left off last time, with verse 144 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:09.600 six. And so Sampson's mother goes to Sampson's father Uh to tell her about 145 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:13.440 the visit of the angel, and uh As or as she calls him, 146 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:18.360 the Man of God came to her. And we see in a sense that 147 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:22.840 all of these judges are in some ways types of Christ and in some ways 148 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:26.399 obviously not Uh. And we'll see that in Samson clearly. But again, 149 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:31.240 remember it was the Angel of the Lord that came to the mother of Jesus 150 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:35.279 first as well and announced that she would have this child that would be born. 151 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:39.879 And so here again this is prefigured as Sampson's mother receives a visit first 152 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:45.279 from the angel that tells her she is going to bear a child. But 153 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:48.240 for whatever reason, she forgets to ask two questions that we usually ask of 154 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:52.960 people when we get to know them or when we first meet them. And 155 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:56.200 those two questions are, uh, well, what what's your name? And 156 00:10:56.480 --> 00:11:00.480 where are you from? Those are two questions we often asked, but the 157 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:05.039 woman we're told to not ask it here and so in verse seven, she 158 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:09.759 basically recounts the Minoah what we've already been told up to this time. And 159 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:13.320 so in verse eight, Manoah, praise to the Lord that the same man 160 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:18.279 of God will now appear to them again and teach them how they should bring 161 00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:22.000 up the child, so that they might know how they should do that. 162 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:26.159 Certainly a very very good prayer. That's a good prayer to prayer to God, 163 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:30.080 God, help me to know how to raise this child. For you 164 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:35.039 that are in those years of childhood and have your children still with you and 165 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:37.559 maybe young and maybe yet to come, Uh, that you would pray that 166 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:41.759 prayer as well, that you would know how to bring up the child the 167 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:45.759 right way. Those of us have been through it know that wasn't very easy, 168 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:48.440 and we did it the wrong way. That's about all we know. 169 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:54.200 UM on that. So it's a good prayer for us to do that and 170 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:56.399 um and and so it's it's a prayer of Minoah. Let's let the Man 171 00:11:56.440 --> 00:12:00.759 of God come back to me and tell us how we should he's this child. 172 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:05.480 People have various commentators and things that waited on us and something it wasn't 173 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:07.919 a good prayer. And so I think it was a good prayer that Minoa 174 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:11.720 made and some and I would just note that, well, maybe the best 175 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:16.519 answer is it got answered, so it might have been a good prayer because 176 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:20.200 he got his prayer I answered, so it wasn't completely off base. And 177 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:26.720 then in a calico twist, God answers the prayer and appears again. But 178 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:31.000 again he appears to Samson's mother and Minoah isn't there, And so that's kind 179 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:35.120 of an interesting way to uh to do that. Um In our complex where 180 00:12:35.159 --> 00:12:39.360 we are living, after I've been there a couple of weeks, I was 181 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:41.879 able to see a bobcat walk by our patio when I was outside, but 182 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:45.960 my wife was not with me at the time, and you know, she's 183 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:50.159 been wanting to see a bobcat since then. And there's been at least twice 184 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:54.279 in our complex that we've been walking and somebody has stopped us and said, 185 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:56.759 oh, be careful, there's a bobcat right ahead there, and or there's 186 00:12:56.759 --> 00:13:00.879 a bobcat. To bobcats, they said, behind that tree, and but 187 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:05.039 we we've never never seen them there at the complex. But but she's seen 188 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:11.840 a bob kat now, so thank you Desert Museum. So but in verse 189 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:15.320 ten, his wife, being a good wife, goes and gets him and 190 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:16.879 goes to get him. And in verse eleven, Minoah, being a good 191 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:22.879 husband, goes with his wife to go see this heavenly being that is there. 192 00:13:22.519 --> 00:13:26.679 And as they come to where the heavenly being is, Manoah asked the 193 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:31.759 question, which seems to be quite obvious that many of these questions are asking 194 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:35.440 in this chapter seemed to have obvious answers. But he says, are you 195 00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:39.759 the man of God that appeared to my wife before? And of course it 196 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:43.720 was the man of God. But in verse twelve, it's one of those 197 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:48.039 verses that really cut out set the tone we have. We have a few 198 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:52.039 verses and judges that give us a clue that Manoah and his wife, whatever 199 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:54.360 her name was, is we're very godly people. But we have the most 200 00:13:54.360 --> 00:13:58.879 wonderful words of Manoah in verse twelve, where he says to the heavenly being, 201 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:05.039 now when your words come true, he doesn't say if this actually is 202 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:09.399 going to happen, if my wife's actually going to have a child, but 203 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:13.759 he says, when my wife has a child, And so he has faith. 204 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:18.879 He's not like Zachariah who wouldn't believe in restruct numb. He has someone 205 00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:24.240 who firmly believes that exactly what has been said is going to happen. And 206 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:28.759 again he asked about the upbringing of the child and what will be the mission. 207 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:31.960 So in verses thirteen and fourteen, for the third time, the Man 208 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:35.840 of God now repeats the instruction that he has given concerning the upbringing. And 209 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:41.840 it is important, um that in all the stipulations that we have, they 210 00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:46.320 are incumbent upon the mother as well. And we'll also note as we go 211 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:50.759 through the Book of Judges that Samson will break all of them. He will 212 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:54.720 not keep any of these parts of his vow that he is supposed to. 213 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:58.480 So beginning in verse fifteen, we might be reminded of another story in Judges, 214 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:01.919 and that is the story of Gideon, because it's very very similar what 215 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:09.320 happens here. Manoah offers to prepare a goat for this heavenly visitor, Um, 216 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:13.360 which Dideon also did asked the same question, but in Gideon's case he 217 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:18.360 was um allowed to do that. But in Manoah's case, Uh, the 218 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:22.720 Angel says, no, don't. You can prepare it, but offer it 219 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:26.559 as a burnt offering, Uh, don't offer it to me to eat it 220 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:30.440 as well. And we might also remember Abraham when he had the three heavenly 221 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:33.200 beans come to him, and he had a meal prepared for them, and 222 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:37.440 in that case, the heavenly beans partook of the meal. So kind of 223 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:41.759 mysterious the way that all works in these different stories. And we may be 224 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:46.039 reminded of Hebrews thirteen two in this case, where the writer exhorts us to 225 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:54.000 be not forgetful to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels 226 00:15:54.360 --> 00:15:58.399 unaware. And so all of these stories are alike in that the people show 227 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:04.720 hospital pality to these beings who turn out to be at the very least angels. 228 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:08.720 I think more, and I'll mention that in verse sixteen, the angel 229 00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:15.080 declines to eat, but says again that um Minoah should prepare a burnt offering. 230 00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:18.679 And again you might note that at this time the law would have said 231 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:25.399 that sacrifices were to be offered at the temple or where where the priests were 232 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:26.799 it. So this is kind of a different thing. But since it is 233 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:32.320 being commanded by the Angel of the Lord, it is not disobedience. For 234 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:36.799 Minoah to do this, and so in verse seventeen, Minoah decides to ask 235 00:16:36.840 --> 00:16:41.120 the question that his wife had not asked, and so he wants to know 236 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:42.759 the name of this being. So he says, I want to know your 237 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:48.519 name. So when these words come true against sing, When when these words 238 00:16:48.519 --> 00:16:52.519 come true, we will know who we should honor. And so we have 239 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:57.559 this very intriguing response in verse eighteen, and the response in the King James 240 00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:04.640 is why askest thou thus after my name? Seeing it is secret? But 241 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:07.400 I do like the e s V better here because it says, why do 242 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:14.000 you ask my name? Seeing it is wonderful? It's hard not to see 243 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:17.279 Christ here. Now some might argue it's not, but to me, it 244 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:21.440 seems like Christ is here. This is the word we're told in Isaiah nine 245 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:23.960 six of the child that would be born, the son that would be given, 246 00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:27.279 and the government would be upon a shoulder, and his name shall be 247 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:34.359 called wonderful counselor Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. So I 248 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:38.200 believe here what we have is another one of those Theophanes, those pre incarnate 249 00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:44.799 appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, some would say that all that 250 00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:49.400 being means is that his name is beyond understanding, and couldn't understand it would 251 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:53.240 quote verse I referred to earlier this morning and so on one thirty nine. 252 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:57.119 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain 253 00:17:57.160 --> 00:18:00.599 it. But somehow, and you can leave what you would, But somehow, 254 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:04.359 to me, this is Christ. And my view is bolstered in a 255 00:18:04.359 --> 00:18:10.720 couple of ways in verse nineteen, where it says that Manoah offers a sacrifice 256 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:15.519 to the Lord or in Hebrew Yahweh, So it appears to me that that 257 00:18:15.559 --> 00:18:19.599 would indicate the being is indeed the Lord. We also see that in Gideon 258 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:22.640 in six two, after Gideon had offered the food on the rock, we 259 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:26.079 read a last, Oh, Lord God, for now I have seen the 260 00:18:26.119 --> 00:18:32.240 Angel of the Lord face to face. In both stories, of being disappears 261 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:37.240 after the offering, which causes them they realize to realize that they have seen 262 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:41.680 the Lord and because of that they are probably going to die. And again 263 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:45.559 this bolsters the idea that this is Christ. They have they believe they have 264 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:52.359 actually seen the Lord, and in uh in this case, in Gideon's case, 265 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:56.839 the Lord actually comforted him and said to Gideon, peace be to you, 266 00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:02.400 dun't not fear, you shall not die. But in Minoah's case, 267 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:06.640 it's his wife who comforts him, and she comforts him with great logic. 268 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:11.359 She uses this logic on her husband. She says, if the Lord had 269 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:15.640 meant to kill us, he wouldn't have accepted a bird offering in our hands 270 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:18.640 and a grain offering in our hands, and he wouldn't have shown us all 271 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:22.000 these things, and he wouldn't have announced all these things. In other words, 272 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:25.279 if the Lord made a special point to appear to us, to tell 273 00:19:25.319 --> 00:19:27.440 us we're gonna have a child and that that's going to happen, it's highly 274 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:30.960 unlikely he's going to kill us. Uh. That would pretty much defeat the 275 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:34.400 whole purpose of why he's appeared. So I think I think she uses very 276 00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:40.880 good logic in that case. So we're gonna go down to fourteen and look 277 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:45.480 at the beginning of the I don't know what to call it. We it's 278 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:48.680 not even really a judge ship. And nobody knows if for a long time 279 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:52.559 here nobody knows Sampson's supposed to be a judge of Israel. We don't we 280 00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:56.759 don't know this. We're perhaps in on it because we've read the Book of 281 00:19:56.839 --> 00:20:00.400 Judges, but it's really not clear. So it's hard to exactly explain what's 282 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:04.720 going on here. I mean, is this Samson ruling over Israel. It 283 00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:10.799 doesn't appear that he's ruling over Israel, but he's certainly going after the Philistines, 284 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:14.079 and God will give him occasion to do that. So he goes down 285 00:20:14.119 --> 00:20:18.880 in verse one to Timna, and this was actually Timna is part of the 286 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:22.079 inheritance that was originally in the Book of Joshua given to Dan. So he's 287 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:29.200 going to a part of the land that actually he should possess. And so 288 00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:33.200 in verse two he comes to his parents after his return from Timna, and 289 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:37.880 he says he's found a woman in Timna whom he wants, and so he 290 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:41.599 wants his parents to get her for him. In those days, the parents 291 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:48.960 were responsible for arranging the marriage of their children and taking care of those things. 292 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:52.000 But there seems to be I don't know if you pick it up, 293 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:52.920 but I kind of pick it up. There seems to be a bit of 294 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:59.599 a belligerent tone in Samson when he speaks to his parents, and uh, 295 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:02.680 and he, you know, says get her for me in that way. 296 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:07.599 And and so it doesn't seem to very kindly words that he says. And 297 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:11.799 here began Sampson's besetting sin in his life. He doesn't seem to be able 298 00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:17.279 to control his passions, but he is driven by his passions. And we'll 299 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:21.799 see that again and again. In verse three, his parents asked what I 300 00:21:21.839 --> 00:21:26.200 considered to be a very good question, which is, aren't there women here 301 00:21:26.200 --> 00:21:30.240 in our covenant community that you could marry? Why do you have to go 302 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:34.759 outside of our community to find a wife. Now, it's very important we 303 00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:40.119 understand the issue here because it's still the issue today. It's never changed. 304 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:44.880 The issue has never changed on this. The issue isn't interracial marriage. That 305 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:48.000 has never been an issue in the Bible. There's no issue of that at 306 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:52.880 all. The issue is what we'd call inter faith marriage. That is always 307 00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:57.119 the issue. The issue is that God's people shouldn't go outside the covenant. 308 00:21:57.160 --> 00:22:00.400 So as believers, we should not, as Paul would tell us in second 309 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:04.559 grade and six, we should not marry an unbeliever. That is the stipulation. 310 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:08.640 That is what we are warned against in the Bible. And it's always 311 00:22:08.680 --> 00:22:12.799 as I said, it's always been that way, it's a person's faith that 312 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:18.920 matters. And Sampson's reply is what we'll see is a typical reply for him. 313 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:22.519 He basically says, I really don't care what you think, just get 314 00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:26.039 her, and that's pretty much what he says. And the next statement he 315 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:32.799 repeats something that also Israel will will be said of Israel in this section he 316 00:22:32.920 --> 00:22:37.599 says, she is right in my eyes. Later in Judges will read in 317 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:41.319 chapter seventeen and verse six, in those days there was no king in Israel. 318 00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:47.960 Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. In the very last 319 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:52.880 statement of the Book of Judges, jud and those days there was no king 320 00:22:52.920 --> 00:22:56.839 in Israel, everyone did what was right in his own eyes, which is 321 00:22:56.839 --> 00:23:00.480 basically the same thing of what thirt one said, is that Israel again did 322 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:06.880 evil in the sight of the Lord. So Samson's behavior is a judge is 323 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:11.920 mirroring Israel's behavior as a nation. And so by seeking to marry this woman, 324 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:17.079 Samuel seems to be going against which I mentioned. This is the issue 325 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:21.240 what God had commanded in Deuteronomy seven. He said, and when the Lord 326 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:23.920 your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you may 327 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:29.000 devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them, and 328 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:33.559 show no mercy to them. You shall not intermarry with them, giving your 329 00:23:33.640 --> 00:23:37.160 daughters to their sons, or taking their daughters for your sons. Now some 330 00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:40.759 might say, well, wait a minute, that's that's about the Canaanites and 331 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:45.519 Philistines weren't part of that, and you'd be right. But nonetheless, I 332 00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:49.440 think it's clear that the prohibition remains true to all of these groups that are 333 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:56.759 outside of the covenant. So verse four gives us one of those confusing theological 334 00:23:56.839 --> 00:24:02.519 statements that we find at times in the Bible. It says his father and 335 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:06.160 his mother did not know it was from the Lord, for he was seeking 336 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:14.200 an opportunity against the Philistines. Now I puzzled over this, and I searched 337 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:19.680 all my different commentaries, and I found that different commentaries had different views. 338 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:25.039 They took different sides on exactly what has been said in this verse, but 339 00:24:25.160 --> 00:24:30.119 they didn't even acknowledge the other views. So whatever the view they took of 340 00:24:30.200 --> 00:24:33.079 this, they they mentioned that, but they didn't mention the other view at 341 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:38.960 all. So I didn't find any real convincing things on this concerning what is 342 00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:45.400 this He for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. Is that he 343 00:24:45.640 --> 00:24:48.599 the Lord? If you read the verse carefully, it's hard to tell is 344 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:52.559 the is the he the Lord? Or is the he Samson? But every 345 00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:56.559 commentary, like I said, gave its own opinion Jamison and Fawcett Brown says, 346 00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:00.440 literally, she is right in my not. He's not by her beautiful 347 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:06.400 countenance or handsome figure, but right or fit for his purpose. So they 348 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:10.960 take the view that it was Sampson who was seeking an occasion against the Philistines, 349 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:15.640 that he is using this woman as a means of doing that. But 350 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:21.400 Albert Barnes says his father and mother very properly opposed Sampson's marriage with a pagan 351 00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:25.559 woman, the daughter of the oppressors of the race, But they could not 352 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:30.279 prevail because it was the secret purpose of God by these means to seek occasion 353 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:34.799 against the Philistines, in other words, to make them misconduct of the father 354 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:40.720 of Sampson's wife, which he foresaw the occasion of destruction to the Philistines. 355 00:25:40.759 --> 00:25:45.599 So they take the opposite view. Warren Wearsby said Samson should have been going 356 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:49.359 to war instead of a wedding. But God used this event to give Samson 357 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:55.279 occasion to attack the enemies. And again that there's others I could quote, 358 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:57.000 but it's not really clear. I don't know that it matters totally. But 359 00:25:57.039 --> 00:26:02.920 we're not sure who it is that a king this case against the Philistines. 360 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:06.519 Is it Samson who wants it or is it the Lord? Well, it 361 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:10.519 is certainly the Lord for sure, but whether Samson is referred to, that's 362 00:26:10.599 --> 00:26:15.240 that's a little difficult to understand. Um. And so we have a similar 363 00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:18.720 statement, by the way, and Judge or Joshua I love in twenty for 364 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:22.000 it was the Lord's doing to harden their hearts, that they should come against 365 00:26:22.119 --> 00:26:26.640 Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should 366 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:32.319 receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the Lord commanded Moses. So 367 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:36.759 here again we see the Lord is hardening their heart to bring about their conquering. 368 00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:38.839 So I I tend to go with that view that it is the Lord 369 00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:42.920 who is seeking the case. But you can you can choose your own adventure 370 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:48.440 there whatever, whatever you'd like. Well, let me make some awesome applications 371 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:52.680 as I close this evening. Samson is certainly a complicated character. As I 372 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:57.920 mentioned, he is a man who does great things for Israel. But yet 373 00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:02.400 it seems every time he does something great, he's doing it for the wrong 374 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:06.400 reason. It seems like he's mad. It seems always like for Samson is 375 00:27:06.440 --> 00:27:10.960 always personal with him. It's always something that he's bothered about that causes him 376 00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:14.079 to want to do it. He's a man full of deep passions, and 377 00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:18.480 his passions always seem to get him into trouble, but they also help him 378 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:22.920 and lead him into delivering Israel from the Philistines. Tim Keller says this about 379 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:26.640 Samson, he is by far the most flawed character in the book, a 380 00:27:26.759 --> 00:27:33.839 violent, impulsive, sexually addicted, emotionally immature, and selfish man. Most 381 00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:37.960 disturbing of all, the spirit of God seems to anoint and use his fits 382 00:27:37.240 --> 00:27:41.799 of peak, pride and temper. Michael Wilcox puts it this way in his 383 00:27:42.119 --> 00:27:48.160 commentary. More than any of his predecessors, Samson will confound our assumptions. 384 00:27:48.200 --> 00:27:52.480 His emergence is as different from that of any of the previous judges as his 385 00:27:52.599 --> 00:27:57.000 call was different from theirs, and the judge that emerges look scarcely like a 386 00:27:57.119 --> 00:28:03.640 judge at all. And yet when we look at ourselves, we see a 387 00:28:03.640 --> 00:28:07.920 bunch of complicated characteristics as well. Right, we wonder why did I do 388 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:10.960 that thing? And we try to think and we wonder what it was our 389 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:15.319 mode of pure Did we really do this out of the best intentions or the 390 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:18.319 best motive? And we realize there's many complications that are in us. Like 391 00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:22.759 Samson, we have our strength, and like Samson, is our strengths that 392 00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:29.519 often get us into trouble. I think of myself as a pretty logical individual. 393 00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:32.720 That's my own view. You're few free to disagree with that, but 394 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:36.960 I I think of myself as that. But yet I find that in my 395 00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:41.400 life it's often what I considered my great logic that has gotten me into trouble 396 00:28:41.440 --> 00:28:45.359 with people. And so oftentimes are well, we think our strength end up 397 00:28:45.400 --> 00:28:51.160 to give us a lot of trouble. And yet as we look at Samson, 398 00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:56.119 it is very possible that the thing we think about Sampson in our minds 399 00:28:56.200 --> 00:29:02.200 that most to us seems right maybe complete be wrong. So what are you? 400 00:29:02.200 --> 00:29:04.799 What are you trying to say? Well, I think when we think 401 00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:10.440 about Samson, and I think kids, you'd have been through Sunday schooling things 402 00:29:10.440 --> 00:29:14.039 and you think about the pictures you've seen the Samson. He's this guy with 403 00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:18.799 gigantic bulging biceps and triceps and quadras, whatever kind of SEPs you've got. 404 00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:26.400 This Sampson is this gigantic figure of a man who just is just bulging strength. 405 00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:30.160 And I can remember as a child. I'm going to date myself to 406 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:32.880 here, and I don't know if anybody else will remember this, but when 407 00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:36.839 I was a young boy, we used to go to the theater on Saturdays 408 00:29:36.839 --> 00:29:40.119 for the Mattenee movies on Saturday because it would be cheap, really cheap, 409 00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:42.839 and you can get like a cheap popcorn or something that the Mattenee movie and 410 00:29:42.880 --> 00:29:48.039 the movies in those days were always these terrible, uh Italian movies. I'm 411 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:52.319 not saying all Italian movies are terrible, but these were really bad. But 412 00:29:52.359 --> 00:29:56.319 they were always of like Hercules or Sampson or one of these great figures. 413 00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:59.839 They were always the star of these things. And of course, as a 414 00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:03.240 the young kid, you love those stories. There weren't terrible movies to me, 415 00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:07.359 they were fantastic and wonderful. And so it's usually some great hero like 416 00:30:07.480 --> 00:30:10.720 usually Steve Reeves. Some of you might remember that name. At all, 417 00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:15.160 but but that that's what it looked like. But actually the Bible gives us 418 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:18.799 no indication Sampson looked anything like that. In fact, probably the opposite. 419 00:30:19.880 --> 00:30:25.079 And that's why I say what we oftentimes think of Sampson might be really, 420 00:30:25.160 --> 00:30:30.920 really wrong. And and so all of those flannel board pictures might not actually 421 00:30:30.920 --> 00:30:33.640 be the way he looked. And why would I say that? Well, 422 00:30:34.200 --> 00:30:38.640 number one, we're not told anywhere that he looked like that. But what 423 00:30:38.839 --> 00:30:45.240 is interesting is Delilah, remember had to ask him all those questions about what's 424 00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:48.160 the secret of your strength? Now, if he's sitting there with these gigantic 425 00:30:48.279 --> 00:30:55.200 muscles and triceps and leg muscle and he's got du I mean, of course 426 00:30:55.400 --> 00:30:59.480 that we know. But but if she's looking at some nine pound weakling that's 427 00:30:59.559 --> 00:31:03.559 laying air as she's going, how can this guy be so strong? There 428 00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:07.599 must be something because I'm not seeing anything here, then it makes sense actually, 429 00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:12.279 And so uh, if when his hair was cut, then why didn't 430 00:31:12.279 --> 00:31:15.920 he have the story? If his strength was in his muscles and his hair 431 00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:21.400 was cut, why would that all of a sudden disappear? But really we 432 00:31:21.480 --> 00:31:25.519 know it was the spirit of the Lord that came upon Samson that gave him 433 00:31:25.640 --> 00:31:29.799 his strength, and without the spirit of the Lord, he would be as 434 00:31:29.880 --> 00:31:33.319 other men. So again, perhaps the thing we think we know best about 435 00:31:33.319 --> 00:31:37.359 Samson we don't really know at all. There are other things I wanted to 436 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:42.119 say about Samson, but I want to end by looking at the statement in 437 00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:47.000 verse four his father and mother did not know what was from the Lord, 438 00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:52.559 for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. The amazing thing about God 439 00:31:53.519 --> 00:32:00.480 is that he can use our weaknesses, indeed, our sins, to about 440 00:32:00.680 --> 00:32:06.759 his greater glory and to bring about his will. That's the amazing thing about 441 00:32:06.799 --> 00:32:12.119 providence. And we could look through the Bible, we could look through history. 442 00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:19.200 We could find several examples of cases where God uses what looks to be 443 00:32:19.319 --> 00:32:23.559 terrible sins and uses them to work out his glory. And indeed, it 444 00:32:23.640 --> 00:32:29.359 is true that in this case it is Samson's passions that start the ball rolling, 445 00:32:30.079 --> 00:32:35.319 but God will use it in order to bring about his will. But 446 00:32:35.400 --> 00:32:40.839 I think there's probably one story I can refer to that illustrates God's ability to 447 00:32:40.920 --> 00:32:45.200 do that more than any other story that we may know, and that is 448 00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:52.000 simply the story of Christ. Dying on the cross. Could we say there's 449 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:58.680 ever been a greater evil in the history of the world than when when mankind 450 00:32:58.799 --> 00:33:04.680 conspired to kill their Savior, to kill their God. Could there be a 451 00:33:04.680 --> 00:33:07.799 worse sin than we could come up with than that sin? Right there, 452 00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:15.200 we'd say, I think it's the greatest evil that has ever been done in 453 00:33:15.240 --> 00:33:22.720 the history of mankind. But also out of this comes the greatest demonstration of 454 00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:27.240 the love of God and the one thing that made it possible for any human 455 00:33:27.279 --> 00:33:32.839 being to ever be saved. God's power in using his providence to bring about 456 00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:38.759 his will is amazing. Acts two twenty three, this Jesus delivered up according 457 00:33:38.799 --> 00:33:45.119 to the definite plan and fore knowledge of God, you crucified and killed by 458 00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:49.400 the hands of lawless men. But then a few verses later, in verse 459 00:33:49.480 --> 00:33:54.240 thirty six, this Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are 460 00:33:54.279 --> 00:34:00.640 witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received 461 00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:05.680 from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this 462 00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:12.320 that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Man meant it for evil, as 463 00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:15.800 Joseph would say to his brothers, you meant it for evil. Mankind. 464 00:34:16.440 --> 00:34:22.159 You meant to do it in an evil way, But all the while our 465 00:34:22.199 --> 00:34:28.320 God was meaning it for good, for the salvation of his people, for 466 00:34:28.440 --> 00:34:35.360 our salvation, because our Lord was delivered by evil men and was put to 467 00:34:35.440 --> 00:34:39.920 death. Therefore we understand the most famous verse in the Bible. For God 468 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:45.960 so love the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth 469 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:52.639 on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Let's pray, Lord, 470 00:34:52.679 --> 00:34:55.159 me thank you for your providence. We thank you that, indeed, 471 00:34:55.159 --> 00:34:59.800 as we will sing, you do work in mysterious ways, your wonders to 472 00:35:00.119 --> 00:35:05.800 form. We thank you for what we have learned from the story of Samson. 473 00:35:05.840 --> 00:35:08.400 And there's more to come and more to learn. But Lord, we 474 00:35:08.480 --> 00:35:12.440 know that you can do all things according to the counsel of your will, 475 00:35:13.559 --> 00:35:16.519 and you are able to use even our weaknesses, our frailties, and yea, 476 00:35:16.760 --> 00:35:22.159 even our sins to bring about your glorious will. We don't understand it, 477 00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:25.599 Lord, it is beyond our comprehension. But yet you do it, 478 00:35:25.719 --> 00:35:30.559 Lord, and we thank you for it. And we pray God as we 479 00:35:30.559 --> 00:35:36.840 look at the cross and see there the greatest evil ever done, that there 480 00:35:36.920 --> 00:35:39.920 might be no one that is here that cannot say, I've been to that 481 00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:45.639 cross, and I've been to Christ, and he is my Lord and he 482 00:35:45.719 --> 00:35:50.840 is my Savior. And because of that evil we can profess that tonight and 483 00:35:50.880 --> 00:35:57.840 say we are believers in Christ, we are children of God. Lord, 484 00:35:57.960 --> 00:36:02.039 what a glorious thing you have done, and we praise you for it in 485 00:36:02.159 --> 00:36:04.960 Christ's name. Amen,