Episode Transcript
WEBVTT
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We asked this in Christ glorious name. Amen. Well, my task was
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to finish the Samson story, and
uh, that's not wasn't going to be
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really easy. But it means I'm
reading a long text. I noticed morning
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it seemed I went a little long, but I found out we also started
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quite late and there were some other
features. So that way I can go
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even longer tonight. At least that's
how my logic works. I'm not sure
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about all of you, but now
we come to God's word, and so
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here I remind you, is God's
word. Sampson went to Gaza, and
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there he saw a prostitute and he
went into her. The guy's lights were
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told Samson has come here, and
they surrounded the place and set an ambush
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for him all night. At the
gate of the city. They kept quiet
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all night, saying let's wait till
the light of morning, then we'll kill
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him. But Samson late till midnight, and at midnight he rose and took
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hold of the doors at the gate
of the city and the two posts,
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and he pulled them up bar and
all put them on his shoulders and carry
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them to the top of the hill
that is in front of Hebron. After
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this, he loved a woman in
the valley of Stork, whose name was
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Delilah, And the lords of the
Philistines came up to her and said to
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her, seduce him, and see
where his great strength lies, and by
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what means we may overpower him,
that we may bind him to humble him,
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and we will each give you eleven
hundred pieces of silver. So Delilah
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said that the Samson, please tell
me where your great strength lies and how
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you might be bound. The one
could subdue you. Sampson said to her,
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if they bind me with seven fresh
bowstrings that have not been dried,
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then I shall become weak and be
like other men. Then the lords of
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the Philistines brought up tour seven fresh
bowstrings that had not been dried, and
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she bound him with them. She
had men lined in ambush and in inner
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chamber, and she said, the
Philistines are upon you, Sampson. But
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he snapped the bowstrings as a thread
of flax snap when it touches the fire.
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So the secret of his strength was
not known. Then Delilah said to
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Samson, behold, you have mocked
me and told me lies. Please tell
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me how you might be bound and
he said to her, if they bind
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me with new ropes that have not
been used, I'll become weak and be
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like other men. So Delilah took
new ropes and bound him with them,
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and said to him, the Philistines
are upon you. Samson and the man
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line in ambush were in an inner
chamber. But he snapped the ropes off
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his arms like a thread. Then
Delilah said to Samson, and tell now.
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You have mocked me and told me
lies. Tell me how you might
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be bound. And he said to
her, if you weave the seven locks
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of my head with the web and
fastened it tight with a pin, then
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I shall become weak and be like
other men. So while he slept,
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Delilah took the seven locks of his
head and wove them into the web,
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and she made them tight with the
pin, and said, the Philistines are
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upon you, Samson. But he
awoke from his sleep and pulled away the
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pin the loom in the web.
She said to him, how can you
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say I love you when your heart
is not with me. You mocked me
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these three times, and you have
not told me where your strength lies.
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And when she pressed him hard with
her words, day after day and urged
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him. It's so was vexed to
death. And he told her all his
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heart and said to her, a
razor has never come on my head,
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for I had been a nasa right
to God from my mother's womb. If
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my head is shaved and my strength
will leave me, and I shall become
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weak and be like any other man. When Delilah saw that he had told
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him told her all his heart,
she sent and called the lords of the
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Philistines, saying, come up again, for he has told me all his
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heart. Then the lords of the
Philistines came up and brought the money in
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her hands. She made him sleep
on her knees, and she called a
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man and had him shave off the
seven locks of his head, and she
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began to torment him, and his
strength left him, and she said,
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the Philistines are upon you, Samson. And he awoke from his sleep and
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said, I will go out at
other times and shake myself free. But
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he did not know the Lord had
left him, and the Philistine seized him
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and gouged out his eyes, and
brought him down to Gaza and bound him
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with bronze shackles, and he ground
at the mill in the prison. But
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the hair of his head began to
grow again after it had been shaved.
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Now the words of the Philistines gathered
to offer a great sacrifice to day go
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on their God and to rejoice.
And they said, our God has given
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Samson, our enemy, into our
hand. And when the people saw him,
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they praised their God. For they
said, our God has given our
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enemy into the hand, the ravager
of our country, who has killed many
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of us. And when their hearts
were mary, they said, call Samson,
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that he may entertain us. So
they called Samson out of the prison,
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and he entertained them. They made
him stand between the pillars, and
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Sampson said to the young man who
held him by the hand, let me
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feel the pillars on which the house
rest, that I may lean against them.
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Now the house was full of men
and women. All the lords of
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the Philistines were there, and on
the roof for about three thousand men and
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women, who looked on while Samson
entertained. And Sampson called to the Lord
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and said, Oh Lord God,
please remember me, and please strengthen me
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only this once, oh God,
that I may be avenged on the Philistines,
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for my two eyes. And Samson
grasped the two middle pillars on which
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the house rested, and he leaned
his weight against them, his right hand
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on one on one and his left
hand on the other. And Sampson led,
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let me die with the Philistines.
And he bowed with all his strength,
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and the house fell upon the lords
and all the people who were in
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it. So the dead whom he
killed at his death were more than those
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whom he had killed during his lifetime. Then his brothers and all his family
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came down and took him and brought
him up and buried in between Zora and
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Eshtell in the tomb of Minoi's father. He had judged Israel twenty years.
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Thus we end the reading of God's
word. You may be seated. So
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last week we looked at the fifteen
chapter of Judges. We looked at some
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of the exploits of Samson among the
Philistines, including his tie together three hundred
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foxes or jackals in pairs with the
tors between them, the slaughter of the
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Philistines using the jaw bone of a
donkey, and ending with God's up Sampson's
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prayer to God asking for water because
of his thirst, and that water came
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somewhere, perhaps it's unclear, but
perhaps from the jaw boning self. Well,
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Normally, like I said, I
would take at least two messages to
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finish the sixteenth chapter, as it's
rather long and there's much to be said.
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But I have decided to abridge it
somewhat so that I can give it
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all in one message, since this
is my last evening message with you.
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But I hope um. This is
just my prayer that this will be a
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message that will stay with you for
a while. But we'll begin with Versus
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one to three. And in this
short story of Samson that we find in
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chapter thirteen through sixteen, we've seen
the same patterns repeating himself again and again.
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It starts here as it started in
chapter sixteen, or excuse me,
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as it started in chapter fourteen with
Sampson not being able to control his passions,
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and so it will go on in
this chapter as well. In verse
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one, for some reason we don't
know. We can't even understand why in
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the world of Sampson want to go
to Gaza. I thought it's the Philistine
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territory. There's no reason for him
to go there that we can tell.
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And it's one of the strongest,
if not the strongest fortified, said the
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Philistines. And again you might remember
also that Sampson had gone down to Ashkelon
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in chapter fourteen to kill thirty Philistines. But like I said, Gaza was
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probably the most fortified. So does
Sampson think he's going to receive like a
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hero's welcome there? There's some great
reason like that that he should go.
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We don't know. But he's doing
what he shouldn't do, which is like
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Israel. And Michael Wilcox notice notices
when Sampson is not saving Israel, he
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is being Israel. And that's what
he is doing here. And so,
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like Israel likes the peaceful coexistence with
the Philistine, that appears like Sampson is
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also doing even though he is seeking
it in a way he should not be
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seeking it. And in chapter fourteen, even though his passions were directed against
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a non covenant women, woman that
his parents tried to seek him uh to
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dissuade him from attempting that marriage.
Here at least uh there, I should
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say, at least he desired to
take this woman's hand in marriage. Here
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he's looking for a one night stand
with no intention of marriage. And so
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in first two somehow, some way, the people of Gaza are told that
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Sampson has come down to them.
We don't know how, but they decide
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they're going to ambush them, but
we're not exactly clear how they're going to
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do it. The E. S
v. Said, they surrounded the place,
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but we don't really know what the
place is that they are surrounding at
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that time. But they set some
kind of ambush for him at the gate
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of the city. And for whatever
reason, they decided it would be better
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for them to wait until morning to
do their ambush. Perhaps they think that
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Sampson would be groggy from the night
before, or because his passion is exhausted,
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that he would be weaker. For
whatever reason, they decide to wait.
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The problem is that Sampson appears to
be an early riser, in fact,
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a very early riser, as he
gets up about midnight and goes to
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the door of the city, takes
the doors of the gates, and takes
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the doors and the poles on the
post of the doors, pulls them up,
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as the E. S V Said, bars and all, lifts them
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on his shoulders and carries them to
the top of a hill. Now the
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text is a little unclear here.
Uh. Some texts make it read like
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he actually took it to the many
miles away to Hebron and actually put it
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on top of a hill there.
But other texts, like our e s
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V. If you're using that tonight, uh, seemed to indicate it wasn't
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necessarily a hill in Hebron, but
a hell that would face Hebron Um.
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So I don't know. I know
that I couldn't even walk the hill,
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much less do it with gates of
the city on my back or the door.
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So I couldn't do it. But
it seems as if Sampson is kind
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of invulnerable to the Philistines, that
he can come and go as he pleases,
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and he can do what he likes. But then we begin to look
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at verse four and once again in
the history of Samson, his passion is
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and to get him into trouble.
The different in this account from the others
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that we've had is now we are
actually given the name of the woman.
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Her name is Delilah, and we
don't really know what her name means.
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There's various theories. Some think it
comes from a Semitic root that means hanging
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refers to hanging curls which Delilah may
have had. Others think it comes from
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a different root, which means amorous
or flirtatious, which also seems to go
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along with the story here. Uh. Some think it comes from the Hebrew
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word for night, which is a
word found twice in uh this chapter,
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and actually midnight also twice in verse
three. Others think it comes from the
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Hebrew word for weaken or impoverished,
which also applies in this story. But
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we're not sure which one of these
is the origin of her name. But
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she lives in the valley of sore
Tech, which is actually the home region
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of Samson. The text never tells
us, however, is she a Philistine
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or not? We don't know.
Again, that's something we'd probably like to
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know, but we're never told uh
concerning that we we most of the writers
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that I consulted assumed that she is, but I don't think that we can
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prove that in any way. And
although we have seen sam since liaisons,
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as I mentioned already in different times, here, this is the first time
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it says he actually loves a woman, but the text doesn't tell us again
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he is. Does he marry her? We don't know. Did he marry
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Delilah or was she just a lover
to him? Since um, I think
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most of us are familiar with this
story. Curious. I'm not gonna ask
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you to raise your hands or anything, but I wonder how many of us
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assume, whenever we think of the
story of Samson Delilah, that they were
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married, and how many of us
assumed that they weren't married. I'm one
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of those that assumed they weren't married
for whatever reason. I don't know why.
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I assume that we're really not told
why this. We just have to
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kind of go on our guesswork there
in verse five, the fix, as
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they say, is in Delilah is
offered fifty five hundred pieces of silver because
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there are five lords of the Philistines, and they each offered to give her
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eleven hundred, which in my math
I went to public school, but in
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my math that comes to and so
they're gonna pay her that much of silver.
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And again I said earlier, I
just want to stress again, I
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don't think Sampson looked very muscular.
Again, I think that that if he
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did, nobody would be questioning where
his strength lies. They know where his
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strength lies. They'd see all his
muscles but I don't think he had that
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many, and that's why people could
not understand why he seemed to have the
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great strength that he did have at
that time. And so again we have,
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as I noted last week with you, in the story, there's foreshadowing
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that happens again. And again the
things that pop up earlier in Judges,
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things that pop up earlier in the
story of Samson, are foreshadowing what happens
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here. We see a lot of
this happening actually in the Book of Judges.
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So uh, in chapter fourteen,
remember his bride uh that he had
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for the wedding, sought to get
the secret of his riddle that he had
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told the Philistine young man, and
she tried to get that out of him,
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and she worked on him. And
so we have the same thing here
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with the Lilah trying to get the
secret of his strength. They're both trying
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to figure out a riddle, and
they're both bothering him. Uh. The
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difference in the two accounts says that
in chapter fourteen, the Philistines threatened to
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kill the bride and father if she
didn't find out, and here, instead
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of punishment, they use reward and
say they'll give pieces of silver, which,
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by the way, is a lot
more money than Judas got for betraying
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Jesus. Dr McGee says, you
may be sure that the Lilah was more
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interested in the silver than she was
in Samson, and that's probably true.
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We don't read of any resistance like
it seems like we might have thought in
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chapter fourteen. Doesn't seem like there's
any resistance on Delilah's part to do this,
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and the text doesn't even give us
her answer to the Philistine lords,
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but simply moves on in the verse
six where she's doing what they asked her
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to do. So we assume she
assented, and verse seven give us Sampson's
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first deception, or to put it
more bluntly, lie that if he was
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to be tied with seven fresh bowstrings, he would be like other men.
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So in verse eight that's what de
Lila does, the Philistines bringing those seven
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bowstrings, and Samson sleeps. She
binds them with the bowstrings, and because
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they were fresh bowstrings, the assumption
is they will tighten as they dry.
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But of course in verse nine we're
told something, but we have to be
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careful. I had misconceptions about this
all for many years about what really happened
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here, because I always wondered you
she shows she shouts out, the Philistines
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are upon you, and then uh, and then I think, well,
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the Philistines come out and go heah, and then he's pulls off you know,
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the bat bonds, and they all
walk away, and then that this
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goes on several times. But I
realized in studying this, I always thought
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that was really foolish should think Sampson
were caught on by some point. Um
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and even now you might think he
should have caught on, But there's nothing
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in the text that indicates the Philistines
revealed themselves. Since the fact, it
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seems that they really didn't reveal themselves
at that time. And uh So in
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verse ten, the lilac Usa Sampson
of mocking her and again asked for the
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method how she can counteract his strength. And this time he goes back to
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what he had said earlier. We
had this again foreshadow before the New Ropes.
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Remember when the men of Judah delivered
him up to the Philistines, he
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said, buy me with new ropes, and he said, just don't kill
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me, and they didn't. But
now again we're foreshadowed into this, and
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we see the same thing, the
new ropes, and again he gets up
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and breaks them off like they're nothing. And the Philistines against in their hiding
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place, so never wanted to give
up. Verse thirteen, Delilah again accuses
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Samson of mocking her, telling her
lies, and Sampson apparently having run out
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of ideas of what to bind his
arms with. There's only so many materials,
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I suppose it you can come up
with and in order to do that.
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Uh, And so now he says
that, well, uh, there
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there's another method. But now again, what's what's happening here is again been
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foreshadowed earlier in Judges in the story
of Jail and Sisera. Remember when she
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actually drove the tent peg through his
tempo and we saw, So this is
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kind of foreshadowing Dad, but it's
also becoming more ominous because Sampson is getting
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dangerously close to the truth in this
one. The others were really no accord
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in that sense, but now it
appears that he's getting very very close to
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what he is saying, and so
uh, he's telling her what to do
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here and again she does put the
web in his hair again, and all
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of this and Uh. Perhaps again, because he said the seven strands of
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his hair, that might have been
a clue if he'd been in messages I'd
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preached he you know, maybe Delilah
had caught on that seven was important.
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But uh again, Um, that
doesn't work. So in verse fifteen and
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sixteen, again she puts more pressure
on Sampson to tell her the secret of
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his strength. And even though we
are told that Sampson loves Delilah earlier in
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the account, we see now that
Delilah is really questioning whether or not they
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love because if two people really love
each other, don't they share their secrets?
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Don't they share the mysteries together?
If they really really love And she's
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saying to him, if you really
love me, how can you keep something
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from me? Doesn't make any sense? And so one version translates verse sixteen
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with such nagging she prodded him day
after to day until he was tired to
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death. That refers to what she
did as nagging in that version. So
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in verse seventeen, Sampson finally gives
in and tells Delilah everything, and for
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some reason, somehow, Delilah realizes
that Sampson has finally told her the truth,
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and so she arranges for the Philistines
to come, and she makes sure
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she gets her money up front,
and she does. And then in verse
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nineteen she puts Sampson asleep on her
lap, and she calls for a barber
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to cut off the locks of his
hair. And so in verse twenty she
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cries out once more the Philistines are
upon him, and this time they really
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will be. And perhaps in some
way she'd also bound him as well as
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what she did with his hair,
and so uh she uh. He thought
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when he awoke, for some reason
that he would do be as other times
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he must have. Seems like he
must have and bound something that he thought
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he could just break the bonds of
whatever has he always had. Sort appears
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that that would have also happened,
but he didn't realize that his strength had
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left him. I mentioned early on
in my judgestory or in the Sampson story,
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that there is a theme of ignorance. You see it in the beginning
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when Samson doesn't you know that the
man and wife don't realize they're ignorant of
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who's coming to tell them about the
birth of a child. And later Sampson
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is doesn't tell them he doesn't tell
him about killing the line, per say
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how it happened. He doesn't tell
them about the honey and where you got
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the honey found, And they're ignorant
about everything. They don't know who for
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the woman is for sure all of
these things. There's always his ignorance that
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goes through this. But here it's
going to be Sampson himself who's going to
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show ignorance, as he does not
realize his strength has left him, and
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since it hasn't seemed to bother him
at all when he's broken his vowel up
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to this point, he thinks,
why should it be any different this time.
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I already broke my vow in several
times, so why would this matter?
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But that does come a time when
judgment must come and come to the
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House of God, and indeed come
it does so in verse twenty one,
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the Philistine sees him, and they
gouge out his eyes to make sure,
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no matter what, he won't be
able to cause them any more trouble,
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or so they think. They bind
him with bronze shackles, a different method
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of binding but appears that they think
would make him more secure, and they
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bring him down to the prison to
be a grinder in the mill there,
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and again Sampson is going down to
Gaza one more time, but this time
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in a much worse condition. As
he goes and John Milton's poem Simon agonists,
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he writes of Sam's should be Samson. Agnesti's mad typing was wrong there,
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but he writes of Samson and what
he puts it in this poetic form
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promise was that I should deliver Israel
from Philistine yoke. Deliver ask for this
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great deliverer now and find him.
And here's the line that is memorable.
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Elis in Gaza at the mill with
slaves. Ilis in Gaza at the mill
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with slaves. Someone is said,
and has been repeated many times from this
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story that Samson endured a binding,
a blinding, and a grinding. And
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I don't know who first came up
with that, but it's clever and it's
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true. And that's what sin does
to us. It binds us, it
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blinds us, and it causes us
to be grinders as well. So before
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I move on to the last section
in the application tonight, there is something
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I'd like to know. I know
you can't tell me, and I can't
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tell you, but It's something I
wonder about this story. Is whatever happens
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to the Lilah? Does she end
up like her namesake in the song?
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And why? Why? Why?
Delilah? I don't know. Does she
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live out her life in peace with
the pieces of silver? Does her conscience
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ever smite her for what she has
done? Does she ever feel terrible about
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doing what she did? Or is
she like many other evil people who just
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keep doing evil and it never seemed
to bother them at all? And so,
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unfortunately, I can't tell you the
answer because as far as I know,
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there's nothing in the scripture that tells
us. Well, let's look at
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the end of the story before we
moved to application versus one. There are
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several scriptures in the Bible. Well, I love a lot of scriptures in
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the Bible. I love them all, Okay, just so you're clear,
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But if you can love some more
than others, Uh, there are some
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that I really love. I I
call them um. I don't know why
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I came up with his name.
I call them goose pimple scriptures because when
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you read them, they kind of
give you goose pimples about something that's going
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to happen. And uh, there's
several of those. One of my favorites
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which has nothing to do with Samson. But in Mark eleven eleven, we
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read this about Jesus. He entered
Jerusalem and went into the temple, and
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when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he
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went out to Bethany with the twelve
don't you love that scripture? He goes
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into temple, he looks around and
walks out, But you know what's going
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to happen the next day right in
the temple. And so it's just one
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of those scriptures you go, oh, something's gonna happen here, and so
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it kind of gives you goose pimples
when when you read it. But my
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probably my favorite scripture like that is
verse twenty two. Here, but the
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hair of his head began to grow
again after it had been shaved. It's
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a wonderful scripture. The hair of
his head began to grow again after it's
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been shaved. I'm going to refer
to that a few times. I think
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that phrase can give you goose pimples. In verse twenty three, there's a
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great gathering the Philistines and their lords
because they want to celebrate what they believe
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their god, Dagon has accomplished.
Dagon is not a true god, is
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a false god. Um. There's
a beautiful, humorous story later in the
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historical books about Dagon and the Ark
of the Covenant, which you may be
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familiar with. But they state in
his terms, our God has given Samson,
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our enemy, into our hand,
which is basically repeated in verse twenty
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four. But they're going to realize
very shortly the reverse of this is true.
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Michael Wilcox says they attributed it to
the wrong god, and then as
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without warning the house collapsed about their
ears, they must have realized with blinding
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clarity that the other God had turned
the whole thing inside out, and that
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it would be Israel that would cry
out our God has given our enemy into
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our hand. And so apparently they
have been drinking. Appears that is a
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drinking or drunkenfest to vote for.
In verse twenty five we read their heart
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for maid marry and they call for
Sampson to entertain them, which he apparently
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did does in some fashion. And
again, in an instance of foreshadowing,
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we are told that Sampson stands between
the two pillars of the temple, and
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so in verse twenty six, Sampson
asked the young man who is accompanying him
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to let him feel the pillars on
each side with his left and his right
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hand. In verse seven we found
find out not only are the lords of
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the Philistines there, but also about
three thousand more people that are made up
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of both men and women, in
particular mention of children there. And so
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in verse twenty eight, for the
second time in the Samson story that we
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know of Samson praise we mentioned.
The first time was at the end of
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the last chapter, where he was
very, very thirsty and prayed God to
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give him water, and God answered
that prayer. Now some would again criticize
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Sampson here, saying what he's doing
is out of vengeance, because he says,
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you know that that I want to
be avenged for my loss of my
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two eyes. But I do think
that this prayer is a good prayer,
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and I mentioned and tell you why
in a little bit. But having prayed,
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in verse twenty nine, he grasps
the two middle pillars which the house
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stood upon, and leans his weight
upon them. And it's interesting that throughout
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this account it has been Samson's eyes
that have gotten him into trouble, So
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it's somewhat ironic that his greatest feat
happens when he is blind and takes place
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there. And so the last prayer
in verse thirty is that he may die
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with the Philistines. And whatever you
want to say about his prayer, I
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can tell you something for sure.
Whatever you think, God answered his prayer.
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And that tells me a couple of
things. The Psalmas said, if
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I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me. So
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this tells me I don't think this
is an ungodly prayer at all. That
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Sampson is praying to prayer according to
the will of God, which of course
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is verified by what happens afterwards.
And I also think that he prays it
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in faith, because without faith it
is impossible to please God. And so
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I do believe this is a good
prayer. And the greatest moment of Samson's
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life is Samson's death, so that
he kills more in his death that he
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did in his life. And even
if you want to characterize his death as
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a suicide, which perhaps it is, it's different than any other suicide in
385
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the Bible, as this one is
a suicide of heroism, as he seeks
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to kill the enemy, and as
he does indeed do so. The chapter
387
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ends with Samson's family coming to get
his body and to bury it in the
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family tomb. We're told that he
judged Israel. The last thing we're told
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as he judged Israel for twenty years. And the ironic thing is, we
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really don't even know if Israel realized
that he had been judging them for those
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twenty years. But I want to
move on tonight to Application because I have
392
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I don't want to scare it's not
that much, but I do have quite
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a bit to say about Application.
I think, as we read this account
394
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is very possible. We become puzzled
by Samson's behavior. Why does he go
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to Gaza, Why does he go
in to a prostitute? Why does he
396
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love Delilah? Why does he trust
her enough to prove to tell him the
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secretive, tell her the secret of
his strength when obviously she's been deceiving him
398
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several times. And we wonder about
that, and we think about all the
399
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things he didn't We think, why
did he do that? And we read
400
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the story and we kind of scratch
our head until the answer. So the
401
00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:03.920
riddle becomes plain, and we start
thinking about ourselves, and we think,
402
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why did I go to that place, why did I say that to that
403
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person, Why did I do that
thing that I shouldn't have done, and
404
00:29:12.119 --> 00:29:17.200
why couldn't I have figured out what
was going on back then? And then
405
00:29:17.240 --> 00:29:22.039
all of a sudden, Sampson's character
becomes much more easier for us to understand
406
00:29:22.119 --> 00:29:26.720
Sampson in a sense as every man, every man, and every woman,
407
00:29:27.480 --> 00:29:33.599
he represents all of us. At
times, at his best, he's delivering
408
00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:37.799
Israel in marvelous ways. We have
our best moments, but at the other
409
00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:42.480
times we see him at his worse, as we do with Delilah. But
410
00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:47.440
when we judge Sampson, like the
old saying, when you're pointing to one
411
00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:51.480
finger, you have three pointing back
at you. When we judge Sampson,
412
00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:56.119
we find we're also judging ourselves.
I've told you before on Sunday nights,
413
00:29:56.240 --> 00:30:03.359
whenever God takes an Old Testament character
that we think it's flawed and brings up
414
00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:07.519
that Old Testament character in the New
Testament, he always does it in a
415
00:30:07.559 --> 00:30:11.599
positive way. And I used a
lot you might remember as an example.
416
00:30:12.880 --> 00:30:18.680
But now I want you to notice
this about Sampson. With everything we've seen
417
00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:25.000
about Samson, breaking vows, always
satisfying personal revenge, getting into trouble with
418
00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:30.480
his physical lust, and trapped by
the women he trust, what does God
419
00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:33.319
say about him? In the New
Testament? Does God condemn him? Does
420
00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:38.400
God write words that like I have
told you tonight about him? Now?
421
00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:42.119
Actually, in Hebrews two, the
Faith chapter, the writer goes on to
422
00:30:42.200 --> 00:30:48.039
say in eleven two, what more
shall I say? For time would fail
423
00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:52.480
me to tell you of Gideon Barrick, Samson, Jeff, the David,
424
00:30:52.599 --> 00:30:57.799
Samuel, and the Prophets. And
there is another clear reference to Samson two
425
00:30:57.880 --> 00:31:03.240
verses later, where it say as
others were made strong out of weakness,
426
00:31:04.119 --> 00:31:10.759
and who else could that be but
Samson? So he represents us in our
427
00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:18.759
failings, but he also allows us
to see the grace of God. I've
428
00:31:18.839 --> 00:31:22.680
spoken to you in these messages about
Samson being a type of Christ. Of
429
00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:26.200
course, he isn't a perfect type
of Christ. He isn't even really a
430
00:31:26.279 --> 00:31:33.960
very good type of Christ. But
he is a type of Christ. Sampson
431
00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:37.799
possessed the gates of his enemies.
As we read in the account tonight,
432
00:31:38.640 --> 00:31:44.440
Jesus possessed the gate of his enemy, so that he said that he would
433
00:31:44.440 --> 00:31:51.279
build his church and the gates of
Hell would not prevail against it. Samson
434
00:31:51.319 --> 00:31:56.640
and Jesus were both betrayed by a
person who appeared to them as a friend,
435
00:31:56.359 --> 00:32:01.559
Samson by Delilah, and Jesus,
of course, by Judas. Both
436
00:32:01.640 --> 00:32:07.000
of them were portrayed, were betrayed
ultimately into the hands of the Gentiles,
437
00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:13.720
Samson to the Philistines, Jesus into
the hands of the Romans. Both of
438
00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:19.359
them were tortured and mocked by those
who they were betrayed into, and as
439
00:32:19.400 --> 00:32:22.480
Tim Keller points out, both were
asked to perform in front of the crowds,
440
00:32:22.519 --> 00:32:28.559
although Jesus refused to do what they
asked. And the greatest type of
441
00:32:28.599 --> 00:32:31.839
all, of course, is in
their death. Both of them, in
442
00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:38.880
their deaths become saviors of their people, and both of them were saviors by
443
00:32:38.920 --> 00:32:45.880
themselves. We have many saviors and
judges, but not saviors by themselves,
444
00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.400
per say, all of them had
other armies and people that would joined them.
445
00:32:49.400 --> 00:32:52.839
They might have done individual acts,
but they were joined together. But
446
00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:58.400
Sampson always acted alone. As I
mentioned last week, what would it have
447
00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:02.400
been if someone had come alongside him? But Samson always acted alone. Edward
448
00:33:02.400 --> 00:33:07.720
Clowney writes, Edmund clown excuse me. God has shown that he could deliver
449
00:33:07.880 --> 00:33:12.720
Israel with an army of willing volunteers. He's shown that he could save with
450
00:33:12.839 --> 00:33:16.000
a few as three hundred. But
when the spirit of God came upon Samson,
451
00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:21.599
the Lord showed that he had no
need for even three. He could
452
00:33:21.640 --> 00:33:24.599
deliver by one. And so in
that way, perhaps more than any other,
453
00:33:25.240 --> 00:33:31.119
Sampanson typifies our Lord Jesus Christ,
who saved us, and no one
454
00:33:31.799 --> 00:33:38.160
can share in that salvation. And
perhaps the best it's probably the statement of
455
00:33:38.279 --> 00:33:44.359
verse thirty. I will quote from
the literal standard version. And the dead
456
00:33:44.480 --> 00:33:47.680
whom he has put to death in
his death are more than those whom he
457
00:33:47.759 --> 00:33:52.200
put to death in his life.
I know some of you are familiar with
458
00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:54.680
the great John Owen worked the death
of death in the death of Christ,
459
00:33:54.799 --> 00:34:00.400
and how Christ destroyed death. But
Samson is a type of our Lord doing
460
00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:07.720
that, and what he does here, the devil is saying I won Sampson's
461
00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:13.079
bound. He's become a grinder at
the mill I have one. But God
462
00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:19.880
is saying it's not over yet.
But there is a big difference between Samson
463
00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:24.559
and our lord as well. When
Samson died, he was buried, it
464
00:34:24.679 --> 00:34:30.440
was all over. There was nothing
more he could do. But when Jesus
465
00:34:30.440 --> 00:34:32.880
died and was buried, there was
more to do. He has to live,
466
00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:37.159
he has to be resurrected, he
has to ever live to intercede for
467
00:34:37.199 --> 00:34:43.880
his saints. But there are indeed
types. But as we come to the
468
00:34:43.960 --> 00:34:46.159
end of the story of Samson,
let me posit something to you this evening.
469
00:34:47.800 --> 00:34:54.840
Why did the Philistines allow Samson's hair
to grow back? Why didn't they
470
00:34:54.920 --> 00:34:59.559
hire a barber to come into his
cell every morning and shave his head?
471
00:35:00.360 --> 00:35:05.920
Why wouldn't Why wouldn't they do that? I want you to notice that up
472
00:35:05.960 --> 00:35:12.199
to this time in a story,
Samson has broken every part of the Nazarete
473
00:35:12.280 --> 00:35:16.880
vowel. He's been in the vineyard
wasn't supposed to be. He's touched the
474
00:35:16.920 --> 00:35:22.360
dead carcass of a lion and a
donkey, and he's had his hair cut.
475
00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:29.440
So how long did his hair have
to grow back? An inch two
476
00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:35.760
inches a foot? And really was
with Samson's strength even a result of his
477
00:35:35.880 --> 00:35:42.280
hair? Is that really the case? I went to the barber once since
478
00:35:42.320 --> 00:35:45.920
I've been in Tucson, but I
don't feel any more anointed today than I
479
00:35:46.360 --> 00:35:50.480
day that I got my hair cut. So I don't think that works for
480
00:35:50.559 --> 00:35:53.159
me at all, and probably none
of you. But I would suggest,
481
00:35:53.440 --> 00:35:57.119
and this is my thought alone.
I haven't read this anywhere. It's just
482
00:35:57.280 --> 00:36:00.199
something that I think, and so
you don't have to buy into this.
483
00:36:00.599 --> 00:36:05.400
I don't think his strength had anything
to do with his hair. Please hear
484
00:36:05.440 --> 00:36:09.800
me out before you start booing me. I don't believe, and it could
485
00:36:09.800 --> 00:36:14.360
be wrong, but I don't believe
that every day that Samson's hair grew,
486
00:36:15.079 --> 00:36:19.079
he got a little bit stronger.
I don't think that's what was happening.
487
00:36:19.119 --> 00:36:23.199
And I don't think the Philistines thought
that either. I think they thought that
488
00:36:23.239 --> 00:36:30.159
he had broken his vow and was
now ended for his usefulness. But what
489
00:36:30.280 --> 00:36:37.239
I believe is this. I believe
that Samson's hair growing back was a sign
490
00:36:37.280 --> 00:36:40.000
to him. Now. I know
he's blind, can't see his hair,
491
00:36:40.119 --> 00:36:44.679
I understand that, but he can
feel it, and you can know what's
492
00:36:44.719 --> 00:36:50.239
happening there, and you can know
it was coming back. Now. I
493
00:36:50.320 --> 00:36:54.039
hope through these messages that I've done
with you these last four months, that
494
00:36:54.079 --> 00:36:59.440
you've been able to pick up one
theme. There's been others, but there's
495
00:36:59.480 --> 00:37:04.519
one particular tried to emphasize in various
sermons that I preached here, and I've
496
00:37:04.559 --> 00:37:08.639
already referred to it already in the
message tonight. But I want to try
497
00:37:08.760 --> 00:37:15.320
to have one final big pull together
of this theme. And in case you've
498
00:37:15.400 --> 00:37:21.159
missed the theme, let me read
it to you one more time. But
499
00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:27.679
the hair of his head began to
grow again. Some of you are saying,
500
00:37:27.719 --> 00:37:29.519
well, Pastor, that doesn't help
us at all. We don't know
501
00:37:29.519 --> 00:37:35.000
what you're talking about, so let
me try to make it clearer. Samson
502
00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:39.480
goes into the vineyards and violates his
separation, but the hair of his head
503
00:37:39.679 --> 00:37:45.719
began to grow again. He scooped
honey out of the carcass of a dead
504
00:37:45.960 --> 00:37:50.159
lion and violated his vow, which
said he should not touch a dead carcass,
505
00:37:51.360 --> 00:37:54.519
but the hair of his head began
to grow again. He took the
506
00:37:54.599 --> 00:38:00.639
jawbone out of the freshly killed donkey
and use it to kill the Philistines,
507
00:38:00.679 --> 00:38:06.280
again violating his vow a separation,
but the hair of his head began to
508
00:38:06.320 --> 00:38:12.159
grow again. He violated the law
by going into prostitutes and non covenant women,
509
00:38:13.159 --> 00:38:16.880
but the hair of his head began
to grow again. Now some of
510
00:38:16.920 --> 00:38:21.119
you may still be confused, so
let me try to make it a little
511
00:38:21.119 --> 00:38:28.159
clearer. And this, to me
is a blessed thing. Many years before
512
00:38:28.199 --> 00:38:34.079
our story, an angel of the
Lord, perhaps even the Lord himself,
513
00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:42.119
appeared to Samson's mother, and the
angel told his mother many interesting things.
514
00:38:43.920 --> 00:38:47.039
But there is one thing that the
angel said that you might have forgotten.
515
00:38:49.119 --> 00:38:53.920
So please hear this clearly, because
I think it is most important to understand
516
00:38:53.960 --> 00:39:00.800
what Samson would teach us tonight in
Judge seven. And the Angel said to
517
00:39:00.880 --> 00:39:07.000
me, behold, you're pregnant and
burying a son. And now do not
518
00:39:07.159 --> 00:39:13.840
drink wine and strong drink, and
do not eat any unclean thing. For
519
00:39:13.960 --> 00:39:20.679
the youth is a Nazarite to God
from the womb until the day of his
520
00:39:20.760 --> 00:39:25.360
death. I want you to hear
that clearly. He is a Nazarite to
521
00:39:25.519 --> 00:39:36.199
God from the womb until the day
of his death, a Nazrite not until
522
00:39:36.199 --> 00:39:39.360
he breaks the vowel, not until
he first breaks that, our secondly breaks
523
00:39:39.360 --> 00:39:45.159
it, our thirdly breaks it.
He is a Nazareth until the day of
524
00:39:45.239 --> 00:39:50.679
his death. Because Satan comes to
all of us and tries to tell us
525
00:39:50.719 --> 00:39:54.679
it's all over. You've failed too
many times, you've seen too much,
526
00:39:55.320 --> 00:40:00.079
You've been completely whipped. There's no
hope for you anymore. There's no Oh,
527
00:40:00.159 --> 00:40:01.920
grace, you have exhausted the grace
of God. You are done.
528
00:40:02.159 --> 00:40:06.480
I know it is one of his
devices. Were not ignorant of his devices.
529
00:40:07.639 --> 00:40:12.360
Yes, we've heard that. We've
also heard the word. The hair
530
00:40:12.639 --> 00:40:19.119
of his head began to grow again. The Lord is sat Sampson. You're
531
00:40:19.119 --> 00:40:24.880
still mine, and you're separated onto
me until the day of your death.
532
00:40:27.320 --> 00:40:31.079
On the last page of William Manchester's
first of three volumes that he wrote on
533
00:40:31.119 --> 00:40:36.679
the life of Winston Churchill, which
he entitled those volumes The Last Lion,
534
00:40:37.800 --> 00:40:40.000
he writes a very interesting story that
I think I've shared with a couple of
535
00:40:40.039 --> 00:40:45.960
you that comes from the year two, which is where the first volume ends.
536
00:40:45.960 --> 00:40:51.719
In Churchill's life. Stalin and Russia
was receiving a British delegation led by
537
00:40:51.800 --> 00:41:00.360
Lady Astor. He inquired about particular
politicians in England. Chamberlain, he asked,
538
00:41:00.360 --> 00:41:05.519
her, said, is the coming
man? Stalin asked what about Churchill?
539
00:41:06.320 --> 00:41:10.880
Her eyes widened. Churchill, she
said she gave a scornful little laugh
540
00:41:10.920 --> 00:41:19.599
and said, oh, he's finished. But you say, but Churchill was,
541
00:41:19.639 --> 00:41:24.559
as the biography said, was a
lion. I'm a dog. Yeah.
542
00:41:24.599 --> 00:41:30.280
But Ecclesiastics nine four says a living
dog is better than a dead lion.
543
00:41:31.639 --> 00:41:37.079
Samson praised one more time, one
more time, Lord, one more
544
00:41:37.079 --> 00:41:43.760
time. General Booth was the founder
of the Salvation Army. It was a
545
00:41:43.760 --> 00:41:45.760
great believer in the move of God
and evangelism, reaching out to the Lord.
546
00:41:45.840 --> 00:41:50.599
The Salvation Army, I think was
much different in the beginnings. If
547
00:41:50.599 --> 00:41:52.920
you've heard the stories. We might
not have agreed with him on everything,
548
00:41:53.519 --> 00:42:00.679
but he did want to reach the
lost. One day, many years after
549
00:42:00.719 --> 00:42:04.679
his death, a poor man came
into the museum that was dedicated to General
550
00:42:04.719 --> 00:42:09.239
Booth the Salvation Army. He comes
to the bronze figure of General Booth that
551
00:42:09.239 --> 00:42:14.320
stood in the entry of the museum, and he turned to the attendant and
552
00:42:14.360 --> 00:42:17.960
said, can a man pray here? And the attendant said, well,
553
00:42:17.960 --> 00:42:23.840
certainly you can pray. The poor
man dealt down in front of the statue
554
00:42:23.840 --> 00:42:28.840
of General Booth, and he thought
of everything that had happened in the beginning
555
00:42:28.880 --> 00:42:32.039
of the Salvation Army and kneeling with
his hands raised in the air and tears
556
00:42:32.079 --> 00:42:37.159
streaming down his cheeks. He cried
out, Oh God, do it again,
557
00:42:38.920 --> 00:42:44.000
and can't you just see samps and
tears running down his face, hands
558
00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:49.000
on the pillars, crying, Oh
God, do it again one more time,
559
00:42:49.760 --> 00:42:52.320
like a spirit used to move me
when I judged between Dan and Zora.
560
00:42:52.960 --> 00:42:59.599
Oh God, just one more time. It's not over. God says
561
00:43:00.119 --> 00:43:04.840
that it's over. If there was
hope for a man like Samson, there's
562
00:43:04.880 --> 00:43:07.079
hope for us. And that's what
I want you to see tonight. And
563
00:43:07.159 --> 00:43:10.480
that's the theme I've tried to continue
to tell you in the messages I preached
564
00:43:10.480 --> 00:43:15.880
here. Please don't give up.
Don't think it's over. God's grace is
565
00:43:15.920 --> 00:43:20.840
sufficient, and God can change things, and God can do great things in
566
00:43:20.920 --> 00:43:24.239
your life when the enemy tells you
it's too late for that. So believe
567
00:43:24.360 --> 00:43:30.280
in Christ, trust in his grace, and don't doubt that He can use
568
00:43:30.320 --> 00:43:34.559
you even though the enemy wants to
lie to you. But look at Samson
569
00:43:35.519 --> 00:43:40.360
and understand God's grace is greater than
any sin that we have committed. Let's
570
00:43:40.400 --> 00:43:45.079
pray. Lord, we thank you
for your word. I mean thank you
571
00:43:45.159 --> 00:43:50.840
for Samson and what he teaches us
about your graves and God, we are
572
00:43:50.920 --> 00:43:55.239
people that can be easily tempted to
discouragement, even about our own lives and
573
00:43:55.280 --> 00:44:00.760
even about the time we have left
what we have done to this point,
574
00:44:00.719 --> 00:44:05.119
and we look at ourselves and think, well, I guess it's too late
575
00:44:05.159 --> 00:44:08.119
for any of that. But Lord, I pray for these people that are
576
00:44:08.159 --> 00:44:14.599
here tonight that hear this message,
that in their hearts they would know that
577
00:44:14.719 --> 00:44:19.760
you are a God of all grace, You forgive the sins and the iniquities
578
00:44:20.400 --> 00:44:27.960
of your people. And who knows
what you might do with these people the
579
00:44:28.000 --> 00:44:30.159
Lord, as I just have one
more week with them, I pray indeed
580
00:44:30.840 --> 00:44:35.480
that you would do great things in
this church, and you would use the
581
00:44:35.519 --> 00:44:39.519
people here in this church to accomplish
great things for you. And I pray
582
00:44:39.599 --> 00:44:45.719
God that if any tonight are are
burdened under the load of sin. Maybe
583
00:44:45.760 --> 00:44:50.159
some have never trusted in Christ,
maybe some have never come to the cross,
584
00:44:50.199 --> 00:44:52.320
But Lord, I pray tonight that
if they haven't, they do so
585
00:44:52.480 --> 00:44:59.039
tonight. And maybe others have come. But times of discouragement and sin have
586
00:44:59.559 --> 00:45:02.199
hurt the and and jaded them.
But I pray God that they could see
587
00:45:02.199 --> 00:45:07.639
again through the life of Samson,
that there is grace for them, and
588
00:45:07.679 --> 00:45:12.599
that there's room for them in the
Kingdom of God, and that God can
589
00:45:12.639 --> 00:45:15.719
continue to use them. We thank
you for your glorious grace. God,
590
00:45:16.599 --> 00:45:21.199
it's all we have, it's what
we need. And we thank you Lord,
591
00:45:22.119 --> 00:45:28.559
that were sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. And we thank
592
00:45:28.559 --> 00:45:31.079
you for this in Christ's name.
Amen. Amen,
