Judges – Page 2 – Old Testament Survey

1 Samuel 14

Have you ever been caught between a high rock and a thorny place? This is where we find Jonathan, the son of Saul, today. He is in a crag whose sides are named Bozez, “Height,” and Seneh, “Thorn.”

This map will show where he was and what happened in chapter 14.

The chapter starts out normal. Jonathan does not tell his father that he is leaving. He goes with his armor bearer toward the Philistine camp. The detailed description is given of where Saul was and where Jonathan was. Jonathan then shows theological insight. Verse six gives us his words to the armor bearer: “. . . nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” His armor bearer is obedient to Jonathan. The passage does not tell whether the armor bearer had the same faith or was being loyal to Jonathan (remember, he is a prince). As Christians, would we follow the faith of someone because we were loyal to him or her? Is it wise if we are not sure of that what they are saying is biblical? Should we search it out first?

Things get a little confusing. Jonathan places his fleece before the Lord and tells his armor bearer that if the Philistines call them to come to their camp then the Lord has given Jonathan and his armor bearer the victory; if not, stand back.

When they enter, they are told to come; the come, kill twenty. Confusion, an earthquake, and panic occur. The men under Saul see, take roll, then find out who was doing this. Then they join the battle and route the Philistines. Those who had refused to join the fighting now saw victory and ran to join the forces.

It is after this miraculous victory that Saul makes a vow, an oath, that is quite ridiculous. It goes beyond what God would ask and is beyond Saul’s control. It is like Jephthah’s vow in Judges 10-12. I wrote

The vow Jephthah made should remind us not to make rash vows. We need to take every thought captive to determine if it is alignment with God’s Word (2 Corinthians 10.4-5).

Saul’s oath is if anyone eats before the evening has come that person should be cursed. Read put to death. If you remember, Jonathan was not in the camp when Saul made the curse. He was caught between a hard high place and a thorny place. Since he did not hear the oath, he ate the honey. He was informed by other troops of what his father had said. He then turned and stated that his father was causing grief in the land and the victory would have been greater had he allowed the troops to do what was normal–eat of the spoils for physical and psychological strength. Twice the troops are described as faint (28 and 31). Due to Saul’s enlargement of God’s command by Saul, the troops ate meat with blood, which is against the ceremonial law. The troops were so hungry, and they could not wait for the food to be properly prepared. Saul saw this and built a barbecue pit to cook the meat for the troops.

Saul then desires to complete the task of defeating the Philistines. The priest tells him to ask God. We need people who remind us to slow down to ask God what His will is and what direction He is working so we might join Him instead of demanding that He join us (and we fail and get frustrated). God says not to pursue. Saul gets angry and seeks God’s will about why they should not go. It is found that Jonathan disobeyed Saul’s command, in ignorance. He was still responsible for obeying the command even though he did not know the command nor did he agree with the command. Do we hold this for ourselves too? We may not know of nor agree with a school’s policy, a traffic ordinance, a family rule, but we are still responsible for keeping it.

Jonathan admits he broke the command and is accepting of the death penalty. The troops stop Saul from killing Jonathan because Saul was in the wrong and Jonathan was in the right.

The chapter ends with Saul’s victories in battle and his family tree.

1 Samuel 12

The chapters in 1 Samuel are written in a way that the storyline is interrupted to more or less establish a purpose. This chapter is not about Saul except that a king is mentioned. It is Samuel’s farewell address but he still is ministering in chapter 13. Today, then, we will look at 25 verses, that is chapter 12.

Chapter 12 of 1 Samuel has been referenced in these studies throughout the book of Judges. It is here that Samuel remembers the work of God from the time of Moses to the time of Samuel. It is a chapter of recalling the mighty works of God through those who He has chosen. It is a chapter calling for repentance for the things done due to the people not remembering. Remembering what God has done is so important for our growth that God calls us to remember quite often throughout Scripture. We are told to remember and are given tools to do so. For example, remember the

Rainbow-Genesis 9.15, 16
Covenant-Exodus 2.24
Passover-Exodus 13.3
Sabbath-Exodus 20.8
Offering-Numbers 5.15
Lord’s Supper-Luke 22.19

What do you do to help you remember what the Lord has done for you? Do you keep prayer requests along with their answers? Do you write about what the Lord has done in a journal or a diary? God set aside one day to recall all that He did and He proclaimed it good in Genesis 1. He also commanded that we keep one day to do as He did, the Sabbath. This day is for us to set aside for us to recall what we did the previous week to determine by holding it up to God’s Word if it was good. If our life, thoughts, actions, and deeds, was lived for Him, then we praise Him and determine to live those thoughts, actions, and deeds the next week. If that life was lived for self, we repent and ask Him for insight in how to overcome those things to live for Him. We, through taking every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10) by the power of His Spirit who indwells us, prepare our next week with consideration on how to live it for Him. The goal is for us to evaluate our lives at least weekly to determine our growth, remember His work, repent of our sin, etc., in order for Him to increase in our life and for us to decrease (John 3.30). In other words, for us to live the life for which He created us.

Samuel asks the people to also judge his actions. He does not ask them to judge the intent of his heart for only God can look into our hearts. He asks them to evaluate his life and determine if he has done evil against them. They answer that he did no evil in their sight. If we were to ask people to evaluate us, and they were honest, would we get the same report. What about the people who are in your sphere of influence? What about your family? What report would you get? This is also part of our weekly routine. We can be blind to our own faults or we can inflate them. Others, who we trust and are honest, can help us to overcome those tendencies. Accountability to God and others is key to this concept.

It is at this point that Samuel recalls the work of God in the nation and the good He has done. He then brings that action of the people in requesting a king before them. Although God chose Saul, it is here revealed that it is still the sin of the people in rejecting God as their king that brought the human king. This presents the answer to the prayer of the people not as a blessing but as a curse. We will see, as we have seen, that God had intended a king to come through Judah not Benjamin and that God’s intention is the blessing while man’s intention is the curse. It also shows us that we need to be careful for what we pray; God just might grant it (Romans 1).

Samuel provides us with the essence of the Scriptures: If you follow God, He will bless you. If you follow your own ways, you will be swept away by your sin.

Whose direction are you following? Do those in your sphere of influence recognize God in what you are doing? What can be done differently? Remember to remember to recall and to evaluate what you and God are doing in your life.

1 Samuel 10-11

How did those in your sphere of influence perceive your faith yesterday?

Today we come to the coronation and odd beginning for Saul. Before we begin these chapters, here are some observations. God chooses a tall man by this he was considered handsome. The Israelites proclaim that there is none like him. Are they judging him by his stature or by his character? Since not many people knew who he was, it appears as though the judgment was based on the outer appearance and not the inward appearance shining (Matthew 5.13-16 and Galatians 5.22-23). He was a Benjamite from Gibeah. Reread the end of Judges to recall the character of the men of that town and what happened to the Benjamites. Saul makes this city his capital.

We see in Scripture that when God does a new thing, He provides His Spirit. Although the Holy Spirit is not mentioned in this chapter, we do see that God “gave him [Saul] another heart.” Ezekiel 11.19 shows us when the Holy Spirit comes, He will give us a new heart not of stone but of flesh. When God introduces salvation in the book of Acts, the Spirit goes before the Apostles to open the eyes of the Jews, Samaritans, god-fearers, and the Gentiles to the Gospel.

A Special Note on the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts

a. The outpourings indicated that these particular people were called by God into His service.

b. The Holy Spirit indicated God’s claim on these people.

c. The initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit came on those Jews who already believed in Jesus (Acts 2).

d. A later outpouring came on the Samaritans showing the Christians in Jerusalem that these people were also a part of God’s kingdom (Acts 8).

e. Later, the Holy Spirit would be poured out on the Gentile Cornelius and those who gathered with him (Acts 10).

f. Later, the Holy Spirit came on religious people who followed John the Baptist as a sign that what they believed was now complete in Christ (Acts 19).

g. After this, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is absent from biblical literature.

Back to 1 Samuel 10. We see this is what happened with Saul as confirmation to the people that God chose him, due to the disobedience of the people (1 Samuel 10.17-19, cf. Romans 1 and how God gives us over to our sins), and as confirmation to Saul that what Samuel spoke at the beginning of chapter 10 was from God. This confirmation is prophesied in verses 1-8, fulfilled in verses 9-16, and accepted in verses 17-26.

This chapter shows that he had great promise as a king. He was humble (or shy) and loyal to his father and his work.

The chapter ends ominously with a few people rejecting his kingship and a king gouging the eyes of all Jews east of the Jordan River (Joshua reminds us of the two-and-a-half tribes who settle there–Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh). However, 7,000 men escaped with both eyes and they went to Jabesh-Gilead. This king, Nashan, in chapter 11 pursues the men who surrender to him. He accepts only if he can gouge their eye out. Saul is called to help. He is plowing a field (what a kingly duty).

Verse six tells us that the Holy Spirit came upon him. We need to understand the theology behind this statement. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit did not permanently dwell in people. He came and went, this is why David would cry out in Psalm 51 for God not to take the Spirit away. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is the guarantor of our salvation and He seals it thus never to be taken away from us.

Saul promises victory, has it and is renewed as king over all Israel with no murmurers.

Saul did great things in these chapters because of the presence of God in his life. What are we doing today that is great because of that same God who indwells us? How do people know we have been saved? What evidence is there in our lives that God lives in us? What works are we doing that manifest Him (Ephesians 2.8-10)? How is our light shining in this darkened world so that they can see God in us?

1 Samuel 8

I was going to read and comment on 1 Samuel 8-10 and the crying out of the people with the choosing and the coronation of Israel’s king. However, 1 Samuel 8 proved to be too much.

First Samuel 8 is a chapter full of insight into the human psyche or, better, sin-nature. This book has already presented Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, who chose to follow their own desires and rules while forsaking the way of their father and of his God. In this chapter we are introduced to Samuel’s two sons, Joel and Abijah, who also rejected the way of their father and of his God. This should bring parents to their knees. Samuel named his children after God. Joel means “to whom Jehovah is God” and Abijah means “my father is Jehovah.” He taught them the ways of God and they still rebelled (2-3). This is an example of the saying: “God has no grandchildren.” Our children need to make a profession of faith on their own because they are not children of God because they are in our family. There is no guarantee that a family that follows God will have children who believe because salvation is a personal expression of faith not a familial profession.

These four children thought they could control and manipulate God and His gifts. They missed the central meaning of salvation. What about my children? How am I raising them? Do they see the central need for their salvation to be lived out in the presence of the family, the school, church, and the world? Or, do they merely state they believe. The older two profess salvation, but Joseph doesn’t as of now. I need to continually be on our knees for them, and for Karen and me.

The lifestyle of the two sons of Samuel did not escape the leaders of Israel and they demanded a king in response to the actions of Joel and Abijah. From our studies of Joshua and Judges we have noticed that Israel is always seeking to conform to the patterns of this world by pursuing the Canaanite religion and lifestyle rather than being transformed by their fellowship with God (Romans 12.1-2). This is syncretism.

The book of Judges shows us that Israel first desired the Canaanite religion and, 1 Samuel shows, they desire their political institutions as well. Although God pronounced that Israel would have a king in Deuteronomy, it was more as a judgment than a blessing (Deuteronomy 17.14-20; 28.36). God never intended Israel to be an oligarchy, an aristocracy, a monarchy, or even a democracy, but rather a theocracy in which God was their king. They forgot who their king was in God.

Israel s request for a king is a rejection of the entire ministry and career of Samuel. They rejected everything he had worked for during his entire life. More than this, it was a rejection of the God he represented to the people. When people reject us for living like Christ, they are essentially rejecting Him for it is He whom we represent.

In the books we have studied this far, God presents himself like the father of the prodigal son. He lets the son go on to follow his evil desires. He allows him to do what is right in his own eyes (Proverbs 14.12). Romans 1 informs us that God gives us over to our sinful ways to suffer the consequences of our choices. This is the worst kind of judgment God can bring. He leaves us to our own sinful natures.

God gives Israel their request for a king but has Samuel warn the nation of the negative consequences which were already stipulated in the Torah. I think I would have given more thought in the decision after the warning Samuel gives. It doesn’t seem too exciting.

Even though the beginnings were steeped in sinful desire, God uses the monarchy in Israel to bring glory to Him (Romans 8.28-29). God will use this beginning, this institution, to bring the one true King, Jesus. Who is of the tribe of Judah (Jacob prophesied that kings would come from the tribe of Judah in Genesis 49.10) and whose name is Jesus.

Even though it had a bad beginning, God still used it for His glory and for His kingdom. Sometimes we start things due to our sinful nature. God doesn’t promise that He will bring good because of our sin but that He will be glorified through all things. What have we begun that needs to be turned for His glory?

A lot to pray over today.

1 Samuel 3-4

After Eli is given the bad news of his children’s judgment and impending death, we again switch scenes to Samuel in the temple with Eli and God. Chapter three shows us how far gone the Israelites were. In verse one we are informed that Samuel was serving God under the training of Eli, the one who raised the children who just rebelled, and that God did not speak with people during those days. Prior to Judges, God spoke, it seems, daily to Moses and Joshua. Now, He rarely speaks. We know in these days God does not speak as He once did. This, however, is not in judgment against the world but because He finished speaking in His Son (Hebrews 1). He speaks to us daily through His Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit. His Word gives us direction and His Spirit convicts us of sin and gifts and strengthens us to carry out His work in this world. Our prayers are kind of like reporting back to the commander, talking with Dad, and pleading before our King.

However, in those days, until chapter three, there was little communication by God to His people. In this chapter and the following ones, God communicates with and through Samuel to bring hope, judgment, discipline, and a future to God’s people. God calls Samuel three times, which is significant. When God says something three times, what follows is of great importance. He calls Samuel the first two times and neither he nor the priest Eli understood what was happening. Finally, Eli realizes that God is calling Samuel. He instructs Samuel in what to do. When God calls, do we have the heart as Samuel does? “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.” This third time that God called it was intimate. When God speaks a name twice it is as a father would speak to his son. He calls “Samuel, Samuel.”

God calls him to a difficult first job. He must inform his mentor of the quickly coming judgment. He obeys and Eli agrees with the judgment and relieves Samuel by telling him it is of the Lord. This is significant because of what we read in chapter four. When God judges us, are we more like Adam and Eve or Samuel and Eli? Do we blame the other or do we give the word and accept the discipline?

The end of chapter three and the beginning of chapter four stand in apposition to the opening of chapter three. God is now speaking to Israel on a regular basis, the whole of Israel knew that Samuel was God’s prophet, priest, and judge. In 1 Samuel 3.4-21 he is set aside as prophet. God called Samuel as he had called other prophets. Samuel would bring God’s word to Eli and to Israel. In 1 Samuel 3.1 he is consecrated as priest. Samuel ministered before the Lord in the temple at Shiloh. In 1 Samuel 7, we will see, he rules as “king” after the manner of the judges. Samuel did not serve as a king in Israel, but he did serve as a judge. He brought the people to God and victory over the Philistines. He was never crowned as king, but he, unlike the other judges, judged over all Israel. He also anointed Israel’s first two kings.
Chapter four the judgment comes in the defeat of the Israelites in battle, the deaths of Eli, the sons of Eli, the daughter-in-law of Eli, and the most significant loss was that of the loss of the Ark of the Covenant.

In the first few verses God’s judgment comes against Israel, Hophni and Phinehas, and the priests (the Ark being taken). The people considered the Ark as an idol; as God not a representation of His presence. Much like Samson and his hair. The Philistines also believed this. They were disheartened but became victorious because God had allowed it to occur as His judgment/discipline of His people.

After Eli’s sons are killed, the same day in battle, he receives the news. He was quite old, ninety-eight years old, he could not see, could not hear to well, and he was quite overweight. He fell backward and died. He is considered a judge in that he ruled for forty years.

Eli s daughter-in-law dies in childbirth and names her child Ichabod meaning “no glory” or “the glory has departed,” for the Ark of the Covenant had been captured by the Philistines.
In these four chapters there is quite an emotional rollercoaster ride. We have the lows and highs of Hannah, Eli, Israel, and Samuel. This is like our lives. We go through great times and hard times. What would our lives be like if we accepted direction like Samuel, plead our cause like Hannah, and accepted discipline like Eli? Would we change our way of living, our way of thinking?

Have a great day at the place God has placed you (Acts 17.26). And, remember, wherever you are the presence of the God who indwells you is there. This means the glory will never leave, although we can cover it with our sinfulness. How bright is God shining today?

1 Samuel 1-2

The book of 1 Samuel is a continuation of the book of Judges with Samuel being the last and greatest judge. There are few others as venerated in Israel as is Samuel.

The book of 1 Samuel presents great stories involving Samuel, Saul, and David all the while presenting a portrait of the greatness of God.

First Samuel 1 presents us with problem concerning yet another barren woman. She is loved by her husband, despised by the others, and living a life of misery because she is unable to bear children. We think of Sarai and Rachel as examples of this nature.

Her husband loves her, even though she is barren. She continually goes to the house of God at Shiloh seeking an answer to her prayer. One time she is in the house of God and she is weeping so hard that Eli, the priest, thinks she has been drinking and is drunk. He reprimands her. All through this story Hannah is being reprimanded by her husband, his wives, and, now the one who is to support her in her time of need, the priest. Whom do we know like this? How do we react to them?

After noticing she was weeping due to her barrenness, Eli pronounced a blessing of birth to her. She had a son, named him Samuel, raised him as a nazarite (remember Samson), and delivered him to work in the house of God at age twelve (according to Josephus). It was then and there that God called him to be the last judge over Israel.

As you read through 1 Samuel 2.1-10, read through Luke 1:46-55. The prayer of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2 is very similar to the Magnificat sung by Mary in Luke 1:46-55 with regard to the birth of Jesus.

Directly after Hannah’s song, Eli’s wicked sons are introduced. Here their sin was to extort meals from the sacrifices. Later they attempt to offer a sacrifice that God rejected. From these incidents, God will destroy them on the same day.

What are we doing that is offensive to the Lord? Why hasn’t He destroyed us?

The end of chapter 2 sets the stage for the priest who will be faithful and that priest will be Samuel.

Judges 19-21

Today it is my goal to finish Judges with another strange story. I wonder when people read the newspaper two-hundred years from now if it will sound like this.

The book of Judges ends with the logical conclusion to the way it began, that is disobedience, life without a ruler, doing what was right in their own eyes. The last two chapters presented personal idolatry becoming national idolatry. This also sounds like the State of the Union address last night. These next three chapters present another Levite, more civil unrest, and the close annihilation of a tribe. It all began with a family squabble with another family residing in Ephraim (Samaria). It seems as though this is the beginning of a horror movie. Read Judges 19.1-21 in light of that because what follows is horrific. This is what happens when man is left to himself.

The Levite’s concubine, think a wife here, leaves her husband and goes home to Bethlehem because of she was angry. He loves her, chases her, and desires to bring her back home. After some time with her family, they return home. Instead of staying the night in Jebus (later called Jerusalem) because it is populated by the Jebusites, they travel onto a safer city, one that is populated by Israelites.

They arrive in Gibeah, of the tribe of Benjamin. The people show no hospitality, which is a sin. Late into the evening an old man puts them up for the night. This is the setting.

The nation of Israel, at least this group of Benjamites, is practicing homosexuals and ones who wantonly rape male travelers. I will have to research this portion of the Old Testament a bit more because it is, on the surface, hard to explain. The men of the city attack the man’s house in order to rape the Levite. The man would have nothing to do with this. Instead, he offers his virgin daughter and the concubine for the men to rape. This also happened at Sodom and Gomorrah. The men did not want the women but clamored for the Levite. The Levite threw his concubine, think a slave here, to the men who abused her through the night so much so that she died in the morning.

The Levite carried her home, butchers her into twelve pieces, to represent the twelve tribes, and mailed a piece of her to each tribe with a threat.

Chapter 20 describes a sorrowful Israel bringing justice upon the Benjamites. The attempt was to discipline and purge the nation of the sin that was committed in Gibeah. God says to destroy such people from the nation of Israel. What would have happened if the church was living out what God had called her to live out during the last century? Would our nation be different? I believe so. We, the church, are at fault for not standing on God’s Word, doing what He has called us to do. I am not stating that we should have killed all homosexuals. I am stating that if we established orphanages, reached out to homeless, widows, impoverished (Matthew 24-25), that when the time of the sexual revolution began, the voice of the church would have been honored.

Back to Judges 20. Instead of punishing the men who committed the crime, the Benjamites thought it better to go to war against their brothers. Four hundred thousand men fighting against one tribe. Benjamin loses. During this horrific time, the other tribes kept going to God asking Him what to do. In order to discipline and purge, He commanded they keep fighting. Only six-hundred men survived.

Chapter 21 is the ultimate in dating. Since no one who fought could give wives to the surviving men, the tribe of Benjamin would no longer exist. One city did not fight. Because of this, they were to be killed (another item to research). Since they had four-hundred virgins there, these would survive and they could be given to the six-hundred Benjamites. Doing the math, there are two-hundred more men than women.

The plan was to send the remaining uncoupled men to Shiloh to “kidnap” a wife for themselves. This way the tribes would be blameless because they did not give the daughters to them. So, the Benjamites survived.

The telling verse is verse twenty-five: “In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.” When I read this, I read the people did not desire God, so they did what they thought was right, which led to destruction.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to destruction (Proverbs 14.12). What path is our nation, our family, yourself taking right now?

Tomorrow Ruth.

Judges 17-18

Here we go with another strange story from the book of Judges.

Here are two maps to help you see the places: Israel in Canaan and The Kingdom Years.

Here we go with another strange story from the book of Judges.

Here are two maps to help you see the places: Israel in Canaan and The Kingdom Years.

Judges 17.6 reminds us of the times–there was no king in Israel and the people did what was right in their own eyes. I think this is a sad commentary on those days and for these days. We, in areas of our lives, live as if there were no ruler. Not just as individuals as Judges 17 expresses but as a nation as Judges 18 evinces. We live as if there is no God and if we express belief in a god it is a god we have chosen to worship, which can contain aspects of the true God. These passages overwhelm me with grief knowing how far we have fallen personally and nationally. What gods have we created? What do we place above the true and living God? What truth have we distorted?

On with the story. Micah, evidently an Ephraimite, was given silver by his mother who also built him an idol. He took this idol, made his son his priest, and began to worship this idol in his house. Ephraim is what we would know as Samaria. This becomes important when the kingdom is divided. Micah creates his own religion and brings his family into it with the thought that God will bless him because he is worshiping. To validate the religion Micah hires a wandering Levite as his priest. This must mean he fired his son. He believed that someone who calls themselves a priest, even with the lineage, can bring respectability to what is being done. It doesn’t matter, according to Paul in Galatians, if an angel were to come and participate in this religious effort. Paul states flatly that the participants are condemned. No amount of religiosity can validate what God has already condemned. What are we trying to validate that God says to walk away from in His Word?

To make matters worse, the Danites who did not take their land (Judges 1) are now attempting to capture land. They see this idol and this priest and believe that God will bless them in their efforts as long as they have a religion. In the end, they worship this idol and create a shrine to it and worship it as a nation for centuries. This is in the city of Dan north of the Sea of Galilee and will play a large role in the divided kingdom.

There is more to this story that can be expressed: treaties and weakness and bullying, etc. I may cover these in an updated writing.

Judges 15-16

If you remember, the cycle from yesterday was incomplete

Relapse: The people did evil in the eyes of God
Retribution: the Philistines ruled over the Israelites for 40 years
Repentance: Manoah and his wife called out to God for a child. God gave them Samson

Today we will complete the cycle in our study of Samson’s life.

Judges 15 presents the childish side of Samson. In Judges 14 it appeared as if Samson was spoiled in his demand for a Philistine wife. It seemed as if God uses that behavior and turns it for His glory for it accomplishes His purpose. Judges 15 shows Samson throwing a fit because he could not return to the woman he had almost married in chapter 14. When he returned to the bride, her father turned him away because Samson abandoned her. He gave her to the best man, as we see her and at the end of chapter 14. The reason for this may be cultural. I need to look into the cultural back ground for this.

God will also use this tantrum to accomplish His work. Sometimes God uses our sins to accomplish His work. Remember Joseph in Genesis who stated what his brothers intended for evil God used for good. Or, remember Paul’s reminder in Romans 8 that God causes all things to work together for His good (glory).

Samson accomplishes the defeat of the Philistines by burning the fields of the Philistines using torching foxes and setting them loose in the fields. The Philistines retaliate against his almost wife and father-in-law. In the eyes of the Philistines they were married. Samson swears vengeance on them for doing so a thing to his family.

Samson allows the men of Judah to bind him and turn him over to the Philistines as a means of killing them. When he was in the midst of them, he slew one thousand of them in the power of God with the jawbone of a donkey. It is here that the amount of years Samson ruled is given. Notice, though, that it does not state the Israelites were at rest. To finish the cycle:

Relapse: The people did evil in the eyes of God
Retribution: the Philistines ruled over the Israelites for 40 years
Repentance: Manoah and his wife called out to God for a child. God gave them Samson
Rescue: Samson led Israel for 20 years
Rest: None stated

I don’t think the Israelites rested due to the apparent spoiled nature of Samson. He never went to war to defeat the Philistines to remove them from power, he merely threw tantrums and killed many of them. Yet, he is listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 and 1 Samuel 12. God can be glorified despite us.

Judges 16 introduces the sin that led him into captivity and his “greatest” victory over the Philistines. He allowed his lust to control him, again, and visited a prostitute. He then “fell in love” with a woman named Delilah. The Philistines use her to find the source of Samson’s strength. The pity of this is that she did what she was asked and that Samson gave into her, even after he realized what she was doing. It appears his pride overwhelms his senses. The other item to pity is that Samson believed his strength was in his hair, not in his God. The Hebrew of verse 19 states that Delilah began to torment him then his strength left him. I wonder what that means.

Because of his sin, the Spirit of God left him. This is unique to the Old Testament. The New Testament shows us that the Holy Spirit is our guarantor of salvation and will not leave us. Here, however, the Spirit leaves Samson and he is powerless. Even for us, who have the Spirit dwelling in us, if we refuse to maintain our fellowship with God as He commands, we are not living in the power of the Spirit and are weak and helpless before our enemies.

Verses 23-31 of chapter 16 presents Samson’s greatest victory and that was in his death. God gave him strength as he called to Him. Although he did this out of revenge, God used it to accomplish His goals.

What would Samson’s life had been like if he used God’s presence in his life in a godly manner instead of a self-centered manner? Would the Israelites have found rest? What about us? What would our lives look like if we submitted more to the Word of God and made our daily, moment-by-moment, decisions in light of Him? Would our area of influence be holier?

Thoughts to ponder.

Judges 13-14

Since I am not covering all the life of Samson today, the cyclical pattern of his life will be seen as complete today and completed tomorrow.

Since I am not covering all the life of Samson today, the cyclical pattern of his life will be seen as incomplete today and completed tomorrow.

Relapse: The people did evil in the eyes of God
Retribution: the Philistines ruled over the Israelites for 40 years
Repentance: Manoah and his wife called out to God for a child. God gave them Samson

Samson takes more space in the book of Judges than any other judge. He is mentioned only in 1 Samuel 12 and Hebrews 11 after chapter 16 of Judges. For a man of such importance and great life lessons it seems odd that he is not even used as an example of what happens when syncretism pervades a person’s life.

Here is a map to help see where the Judges ruled.

Under Jephthah the Israelites had six years of peace. Then came forty years of oppression at the hands of the Philistines. God appointed these people to rule over His people as disciplinarians. If we remember, God allowed the Israelites not to destroy all the people just for this purpose.

When the Old Testament mentions “the angel of the Lord,” as it does here, it is referring to a pre-incarnation of Christ. This is called a Christophany. Read verses 15-23 to see this played out, remembering that only God is to be worshiped and only God’s name is too wonderful. The angel of the Lord informs a barren woman that she will have a son and he should be separated or made holy (a nazarite) to God who will be raised for a specific purpose and that is to deliver Israel from th hand of the Philistines. Wouldn’t it be great if God did this for every mother? He does, but not so specifically. He tells us that we are made to bring Him glory, to choose to let His light shine through us so others will know Him better. Very great calling. How are you doing in your area of influence?

When Manoah, the husband, asks the angel of the Lord what to do, He gives a simple command: don’t drink alcohol and to watch what she eats. I know I would want to know what to do and would question the simplicity of this command. I would question why the command God gave was so basic. We do this today, don’t we? God commands us to read the Word and pray to grow closer to Him. We feel there must be more that we need to do to accomplish fellowship with Him. He tells us that belief in His Son is all that is needed for salvation and the works will follow because we are in His Word and in prayer [in fellowship with Him]. We seem to think we must do something else to be saved (the basis for many cults in this world) or that we must do something beyond what He has done to “keep” ourselves saved when it is He who does all this. Oh, that we were like Manoah and his wife and believe the simplicity of the commands of God.

The story continues in Judges 14 with Samson getting married to a non-Israelite. At first it appears as though Samson is spoiled and demanding. However, we read that God placed this act in the heart of Samson as a pretext to begin the destruction of the Philistines through Samson. In doing this Samson breaks many laws found in the Torah. He marries outside his nation, he touches a carcass, and he eats food from the dead carcass. There are probably more, but I just haven’t seen them yet.

All seems fine until he starts partying too much at the wedding. Is he drunk or what possesses him to make such a wager? Remember, he is not to drink alcohol either for he is a Nazarite. His riddle is good and he is right that no one should have known the answer. The result is the deliverance from the Philistines begins. Samson goes to a nearby Philistine town and kills the inhabitants, takes their clothes, and gives it to the inhabitants of Timnah.

Because his wife proved unfaithful in his eyes, he left her and his best man married her. This will play out in the next chapters.

Sometimes we are called to do strange things that God has called us to do. None of the things Samson was called to do were immoral. They broke ceremonial laws but not moral laws. When God asks us to do things, it will be within His moral laws. We will be mocked and ridiculed by our own group of friends or family because they may see that we are breaking their moral code. We need to realize that we need to obey Him and His Word not that of those around us.