Samson

[0:00] the 12th judge, Samson, and it's chapters 13 through 16. Yes, that's four chapters.

[0:11] Woo, that's a lot of reading. But today I'm going to have you stand up for the entire reading. I'm just kidding. No tests either at the end. This will be fun.

[0:25] But there is a lot in here. I hope to get through it all. And so we will begin quickly here.

[0:37] And we will pray once again, Father, for your word that you have for us this morning. We do ask, Holy Spirit, that you would be our teacher, that you would open up our eyes, that you would, since you are the author of the book, that you would explain to us what you were trying to get across to us, that our eyes would be open, that our hearts would be open, that our minds would be open. And we just look forward to what you have for us individually, because you do speak to us individually. As you present Jesus in these words, you present your faithfulness, as we've sung many times this morning. So thank you for your word. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

[1:27] Amen. So does anybody remember the home version of the game Password? Anybody have that growing up?

[1:39] And if you didn't, you're missing out, because it was kind of neat. The thing that was neat about the game Password, and I loved as a kid, is that when you looked at these cards, you couldn't see, you couldn't make out what it was saying. You're going, what are these words on here? You needed this sleeve that you slid it into, and there was a little red piece of film on there, and as you slid it in there, the words became visible. And that was really neat. I loved that as a kid. And so they were fuzzy words, and it was almost like the words were hidden until you used that film. Well, that's what happens when we're reading God's Word.

[2:27] Okay? When we're first reading it, it seems to be fuzzy. And we also have words that we can read right here, but there's words in between, so to speak, that are hidden. And they only become visible when we start using the proper lens to look at it with. And as we saw last week, that when we looked at the story of Jephthah, that we saw how much he was the likeness of Christ in a way, and so in Christ being the greater Jephthah. But we only can do that when we look at God's Word with the lens of, or the glasses of looking for Christ in our scriptures. Okay? And we also know that the Old

[3:32] Testament points to Jesus. So, with all that said, today we're not going to do that. However, there is a bunch in here that speaks of Jesus, and I encourage you guys to, at some point, go through this. Some of them are very obvious. Other things you have to dig for. But put on the lens and look for Jesus in these passages. The thing that I want to focus on today, there is that element of God's faithfulness in here. And in fact, we find that at the very end, and that's what's neat about this whole story of Samson. We're all probably very familiar with the story. But let's see what else is in here that maybe we haven't seen before. I'll tell you, in the reading, in the privilege of reading it this week, and studying for it, man, did I get my eyes opened up to a lot of things that, again, if you don't stop and pause and contemplate this stuff, it just, you know, goes right over your head. You just walk right through it and not see this stuff. So let's get started. Chapter 13, verse 1. And one more time,

[4:52] I do ask that everybody does stand up in their heart, stand up in your mind, and keep focused, stay alert, and listen to God's word. 13.1. Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. Big surprise there. So that the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines.

[5:17] How long does it say? 40 years this time. 40 years. This is twice the length of any other time, of the longest time before. The other time, the other longest time has been 20 years. This is 40 years that he's given them into the Philistines' hands.

[5:34] 40 years. Verse 2. There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah, and his wife, Mrs. Manoah, was barren and had born no children. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, Behold, now you are barren and have born no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. Now, therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.

[6:33] I'd like to stop there for a moment and just look at what he's saying. Now, therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing.

[6:47] And she's being told this before she even realized that she's even pregnant yet. But she used to do it from this moment on until Samson is born, because I found that interesting that even Scripture is pointing to the fact that a mom, a pregnant mom, passes along the food that she takes in and stuff. It wasn't known back then that that's what happened.

[7:18] But God has shown us that, yeah, that's exactly what's happening. And when God says that later on, when he talks about him being a Nazirite, and he will do it from the moment that he's born, or his entire life, well, when does life begin? Again, I think that's pretty neat to think of that, that she used to start before she even becomes pregnant, but then when she becomes pregnant, he's already now assigned or dedicated to God as a Nazirite. So again, I just, I find that fascinating that that's in there like that. So life begins in the womb. Now a Nazirite is, that comes from numbers six, and it's voluntary to take a vow of the Nazirite, which simply means to be a separated one. So you choose to separate yourself for God, to concentrate yourself for God for a determined amount of time. You can be male or female, but it is again for a limited amount of time. There's only, and that usually, just so you know, that was anywhere from six months to a year. At first, when I read it, it was, saw it, people were saying it could be 30 days to a year, and it's like what

[8:43] Sherry pointed out to me, says, well, how much is your hair going to grow in 30 days that people could know? Anyway, so it was like, yeah, you're right. So I reread it, and I re-looked it up, and anyway, six months to a year was the common time for doing your vow. The only two people that I know that had a lifetime vow was Samson and, anybody else know the other one? Samuel. Who else? John the Baptist.

[9:14] He could have been. I don't know that it says that he was. Does it say that? Yeah, I'm not sure that it does. I had heard that, and I forgot to look it up, so it could be John the Baptist also. No, it could be.

[9:26] But anyway, I know for sure two of them are Samson and Samuel, and here's an interesting fact, that the time period that this story is going on, that, and I did not know this, that Samuel, by the time when he's born, that Samson will be approximately 10 years old. I didn't realize all this was happening at the same time, so I found that interesting. So God, this is towards the end of the judges, and before the kings start coming in. So you know the story of Samuel, and how all that starts up, and, you know, him being consecrated to the Lord, and given to Eli to raise up in the temple, or not in the temple, because the temple's not there yet, but anyway, so it's just interesting to me that the time frame of what's going on here. So anyway, let's see, again, verse 5, towards the end there, that he will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel. Not that he's going to do it all at once or anything, but he's going to begin to, okay? Important, and you'll, as the story unfolds, you see why. Verse 6, then the woman came and told her husband, saying, a man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God. Very awesome.

[11:00] And I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. Here's something here. So what's that telling me? She doesn't know. This is going to be an important phrase that we'll see a lot throughout this story. She doesn't know. Not that she doesn't know all the times, but the phrase of somebody didn't know something, okay? Just think of that. I mean, I'll point them out now and then when they show up. So, verse 7, but he said to me, behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. For the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death. There it is. Verse 8, then Manoah entreated or prayed to the Lord and said, O Lord, please let the man of God whom you have sent come to us again, that he may teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born. Now, that's a pretty cool prayer, isn't it? Tell us, Lord, you're going to give us a son? How should we raise him? What should we do? How is he, how are we to teach him? And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of

[12:19] God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah, her husband, was not with her.

[12:31] So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, behold, the man who came the other day has appeared to me. Then Manoah arose and followed his wife, which is always a good thing, guys.

[12:49] Follow your wife. Sometimes she's more in tune to spiritual things than we are because we get so, anyway, scatterbrained, whatever we want to call. Anyway, it's a good thing to follow your wife.

[13:01] And when he came to the man, he said to him, are you the man who spoke to the woman? And he said, interesting wording there, I am. Who do you think the angel of the Lord is? We talked about that last week. So Manoah said to, Manoah said, now when your words come to pass, what shall be the boy's mode of life and his vocation? Again, great question. I mean, wouldn't that be great if we all asked that of our own children or even our grandchildren? We said, God, what is their banner of life? How do we need to raise them up? What is going to be their vocation? And what can we do?

[13:53] You know, talks about training up a child in the way they should go. And what does that mean to train up a child? Train up a child. It's to train them up in the way that God created them. And as we know, everybody's an individual. Our children, our grandchildren, they're all individuals. They can, everybody can come from the same family, but they all have different traits, different personalities, different characteristics of different likes and dislikes, things that they're drawn to, temperaments, all that stuff. It's all different with everybody. But remember that they're created by God and there's a reason for it. So you train them up in that way. However, the caveat to that is that you direct them towards the Lord in this stuff and how they're being raised up, not worldly, but in the direction of the Lord. So you look for those gifts and talents. You direct them, teach them the ways of God and how to apply those giftings and talents. All right. Where was I?

[15:13] Oh, the neat thing I heard is that with that training of a child that you, we've often heard it being told that you're going to mold the child, mold them. No, don't mold them, unfold them. I like that.

[15:34] Don't mold them, unfold them. Because God's already molded them. We unfold what he's already created and then it becomes a beautiful flower if you want to look at it that way. Anyway, I like that picture of it. Verse 13. So the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, let the woman pay attention to all that I said.

[15:54] Next time, third time he's saying this. She shall not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. Let her observe all that I commanded. Third time he said this. So it must be pretty important. I think what he's trying to, what God is trying to get across here is that parents need to be the example. Right? We need to be the example. Grandparents, we need to be the example. We don't do, we don't say the old adage, do as I say, not as I do.

[16:30] Although that's what we like to say. I have, when you're older, when you're mature, you can do these things. That's not for you because that's not good for you. But daddy or grandpa, you're doing that.

[16:44] And it's like, yeah, well, I'm more mature. I can handle it. You know, whatever. I can handle this movie. I can handle this drink. I can handle on and on. You can say whatever. But anyway, be an example.

[16:54] I think that's what God is trying to say. Verse 15. Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, please let us detain you so that we may prepare a young goat for you. The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, though you detain me, I will not eat your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord. For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord. Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, what is your name? So that when your words come to pass, we may honor you.

[17:30] But the angel of the Lord said to him, why do you ask my name? Seeing it is wonderful. Seeing it is wonderful. Now there's two ways that commentators talk about this. They say that the word wonderful, they're getting that from Isaiah 6. We're talking about mighty counselor, wonderful. And so that's where they're saying that it's that he's saying that's why he's saying his name is wonderful. However, I mean, it sounds good. And that is absolutely true as far as his name is wonderful, Jesus. However, the word really means that it's incomprehensible. Your name is so wonderful, it's incomprehensible. It's the same word that's used in Psalm 139, 6, wherein, I had to look this up, of course. And the word is peli, P-E-L-I. And it means unfathomable, incomprehensible, that you just, yeah, you can't, you're too wonderful for me. It's too high. I can't attain it. Whereas the word used in

[18:49] Isaiah 6, I know, big deal, this is free education here, guys, is pele, P-E-L-I. And that means the name wonderful. So there you have it. Yeah, there you go. Free. Yeah, free. Okay, so his name is incomprehensible.

[19:12] Verse 19, so Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the Lord. And he performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar.

[19:33] Can you imagine that? You're sitting there doing this barbecue and all of a sudden, whoop, the smoke goes up and there goes the angel right with it, right up to heaven. It's like, oh my goodness.

[19:45] Wow, if that wouldn't blow you away, I don't know, that is crazy. And of course it does with them. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. Yeah, no kidding.

[19:57] That's when it clicks. It's like, wow. Verse 21, now the angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. Before that, they didn't know.

[20:13] There's another, they didn't know. Just like she didn't know in verse 6 about what, who it was that it was the angel of the Lord. Anyway, verse 22, so Manoah said to his wife, uh-oh, we will surely die for we have seen God. And the wife being the sensible one here, he brings it back. Come on now.

[20:42] But his wife said to him, if the Lord had desired to kill us, he would have not accepted our burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands. Nor would he have shown us all these things, nor would he have let us hear things like this at this time. And one of those things was, hey, you're going to have a son. Hmm. But I'm going to kill you before you have a son. And he's thinking right. Manoah's just, he's not thinking right. Anyway, verse 24, then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. His name means Sun Man. S-U-N-M-A-N. Sun Man. You take it for how you want there and apply it wherever you want to, but that's what his name means. And the child grew up and the Lord blessed him. So you would assume that as the child is growing up, that he is being, he's already been told about his Nazirite vow that has, he didn't get to choose it. God chose it for him.

[21:45] And so, uh, that he will live his life like this, uh, with, uh, no touching dead things, no cutting your hair, um, and, uh, no, um, drinking of the, uh, the wine. Um, and so you think that that would be happening and he's being trained up in this stuff. And I would assume that that is what's happening.

[22:05] Verse 25, in the spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahanadan, wherever that's at, uh, between Zorah and Eshtal. There, now you know where it's at. You get a picture of it now? Get a picture in your head where this is at? Sure, we all do. Yeah, I don't have my map. That's all right.

[22:27] It's not on there anyway. So anyway, um, it is thought that at this point, um, Samson is approximately 20 years old. Okay. And, uh, um, so now Samuel's 10 years old. Yeah, just, anyway, so he's approximately 20 years old. Chapter 14, verse one. Then Samson went down, never a good thing when you go down. And we keep seeing that, uh, phrase also. When, then Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. So he came back and told his father and mother, I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.

[23:20] Now, therefore, get her for me as a wife. What's going on here? I mean, didn't they raise this boy right? What is wrong? But he's 20 years old. He's spreading his wings, going to do what he wants.

[23:36] Hmm. Gee, sounds like maybe kids we know. You try to raise them right. And this is what happened. Then his father and mother said to him, is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives or among all of our people that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? But Samson said to his father, get her for me for she looks good to me. At this point, he's only seen her. He only saw her. So you think this is love or do you think this is lust? Yeah, this one's pretty obvious.

[24:26] And so he sees this woman and he says, lust after her and mom and dad get her for me. That was the tradition back then. That's how they did it. But what's neat to see here is that mom and dad, they knew it was wrong. They knew scripture. They knew the Deuteronomy 7, 3 through 4, where it says, furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them. God talking to the Israelites. You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. Why? For they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods. We've looked at that many times through the past stories that are in here in the book of Judges. So they're trying to tell him, warn him, hey, why?

[25:20] But he has, he wants nothing to do with it. This just gives to me though, I mean, when we first started reading Judges, we looked at, or we understood that what was going on, besides there being no king in Israel, but the big part was everyone did what was right in their own eyes. This is all Samson's doing. It's in his own eyes. He sees her and this is what right in his own eyes. I'm going to marry her, get her for me. Verse 4, however, his father and mother did not know, there's another, did not know that it was of the Lord. What? What? What is going on here? What do you mean this is from the Lord? Why would Samson wanting to marry a Philistine woman be from the Lord? What is going on?

[26:20] We're going to find out this. We're going to unpack this. We're going to see what's happening here. But remember, they did not know that it was of the Lord. The Lord's doing it because ultimately, for he, God, was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. He's looking for an opportunity to take care of them, teach them something. And again, we'll see that at the end. What's he trying to teach them? Now at that time, the Philistines were ruling over Israel. And as we noted earlier, and they do this for 40 years. So verse 5, then Samson went down, there he is going down again, back to Timnah with his father and mother and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came roaring towards him. When you see that phrase, a roaring lion, what do you think of?

[27:25] Satan. Satan. Satan comes as a roaring lion, right? Seeking who he may devour. That's an interesting little phrase there. So maybe that's what's starting to happen. Maybe Satan is trying to intervene here.

[27:43] We don't know. But maybe he's trying to intervene and, you know, put an end to Samson's life right here and now. So whatever God has planned, nope, he's thwarted it. Satan tries to do that quite often in the life, in the history of the Jewish nation, trying to eradicate them from time to time, as we know. So he came as a roaring lion toward him. Let's see what else I've got written down.

[28:13] And all right, so let's see that, then Samson went down and, no, let's see, verse six. So the spirit of the Lord came upon him. It actually says that it rushed upon him. So it was a rushing of it. It wasn't just a simple little lighting on him. No, it, the spirit of the Lord rushed upon him and gave him power.

[28:41] It rushed upon, it came upon him mightily so that he tore him the lion as one tears a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand.

[28:53] That's some pretty powerful might stuff there. You know, we always think that, or when we hear the stories of Samson, we think that his might comes from his hair. And that's why when it gets shaved off later, that he loses his strength.

[29:12] And of course, that's not what it is. It says it right here, what happened, that the spirit of the Lord came upon him. If it wasn't the spirit of the Lord coming upon him, that's where the strength comes from.

[29:23] So, um, uh, this is also, as far as we understand, this is the first place that Samson discovers his strength.

[29:35] This is the first incident that we know of. Um, and so he's, I'm sure he's going, whoa, that was pretty cool. And being a guy, you know, ripping that line apart. Yeah, this is, this is kind of neat.

[29:50] Now he must've been ahead of his parents or lagging behind. We don't know which one is going on here. It doesn't really matter. The point that it makes is, uh, the end of verse six, but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. Again, one more place. They don't know.

[30:11] They don't know what happened. Something's going on here with this don't know stuff. Don't know, don't know. So maybe he didn't want them to know that he touched a carcass because he's a Nazirite.

[30:27] Maybe that's why. I don't know. I don't know. Hey, this is pretty good. Um, anyway, um, let's see.

[30:40] Verse seven. So he went down and talked. Oh, he finally gets to talk to the woman that he, his eyes lusted after. And he talked to the woman and she looked good to Samson. She still looks good.

[30:54] Must talk pretty good or something too, but she still looks good. Now a little bit of time passes. Okay. When he, verse eight, when he returned later to take her, he turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion.

[31:09] Just like a guy would do. Hey, I remember I killed the lion over here. I wonder how that thing's decaying. This is pretty cool. Let's go over there and take a look. Oh, look. What's that? There's some bees in there buzzing around. Ooh, and some honey too. That's pretty cool.

[31:26] A swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion. So he scraped the honey into his hands and went on eating as he went.

[31:36] Would he? Huh? What? They're disgusted. Hmm. Yum, yum, yum. Oh, here, mom and dad. Have some too. Came to his father and mother. He gave some to them and they ate it.

[31:48] But he did not tell them. They didn't know where it came from. That he had scraped the honey out of the body of a lion. Again, a dead carcass. Not supposed to touch it.

[32:01] But hey, you know, honey, it doesn't spoil or anything like that. It's okay. Here, mom and dad. Have some honey. Ooh, tastes good. Not going to tell you where that came from.

[32:13] It's just funny to see that. Anyway, verse 10. Then his father went down to the woman and Samson made a feast there. Now the word feast there means it was a drinking party.

[32:29] Hmm. Hmm. Because that's what they're, this is the type of feast they were going to have for, it was almost like a, they say like a bachelor party, except for the wife isn't or the bride is invited to.

[32:44] Everybody's there and they're having a big party. And these parties last for seven days, by the way. They're not just a simple one night party. No, these things last for a whole seven days. Anyway, so, and Samson made a feast there, a drinking party, for the young men customarily did this.

[33:03] When they saw him, they brought 30 companions to be with him. Here, we'll bring 30 more people. They'll, we'll have it, make it into a nice party and everything. And, and so Samson says, they say, I don't know if this part is true or not.

[33:18] I couldn't find it to verify it, but it sounds good. That, uh, common, like today, that when you have a, uh, wedding thing, that, uh, the groom gives a gift to the, uh, groomsmen or, and all the other people that are in the wedding.

[33:35] And so, uh, that's what's going to be going on here. And Samson's thinking to himself, man, I don't want to give anything here. And, uh, anyway, so he comes up with this riddle. Then Samson said to them, let me now propound a riddle to you.

[33:50] If you will indeed tell me, tell it to me within the seven days of the feast and find it out, then I will give you 30 linen wraps and 30 changes of clothes.

[34:01] But if you are unable to tell me, then you shall give me the 30 linen wraps and 30 changes of clothes. And they said to him, propound your riddle that we may hear it.

[34:12] Sounds good to us. Let's give it a shot. So he's just trying to weasel. Again, some commentators are saying that he's trying to weasel out of trying to get it, having to give them a gift. And so we think, no, you're going to give me the gift instead.

[34:26] Um, what's now, this is what's interesting and something I want you to think about. Um, and again, I'll point it out from time to time. There are many more places, but back in 14, four, where it says, 14, four, um, that, oh, it's right here.

[34:49] Uh, however, his father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord, for he was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Remember that 14, four, that this is being set up by God.

[35:03] Even though nobody knows what's going on. Nobody knows about it. This is being done in the background. But God is the one who's doing it.

[35:13] And he's doing it to look for an occasion against the Philistines. This is now the beginning of that. God is setting up things or the, I guess not the beginning.

[35:23] The beginning was when, um, Samson first went, I want that woman. Um, and now he's setting it up even more or even further. So that's why the riddle is also being given, um, verse 14.

[35:40] So he said to them, here's the riddle out of, out of the eater came something to eat and out of the strong came something sweet. Now we know what that is.

[35:50] We already read the story about it, but they didn't know, did they? There's another, somebody didn't know something, but they could not tell the riddle in three days. So three days have passed, they can't come up with the answer.

[36:04] And now they're starting to get worried. Then it came about on the fourth day that they said to Samson's wife, they're not married yet, but entice your husband so that he will let us rip so that, uh, he will tell us the riddle or we will burn you and your father's house with fire.

[36:22] Nice friends. Have you invited us to impoverish us? Is this not so? Samson's, Samson's wife wept before him and said, you only hate me and you do not love me.

[36:39] You have propounded a riddle to the sons of my people and you have not told it to me. And he said to her, behold, I have not told it to my mother or father.

[36:49] So should I tell you? However, she wept before him seven days while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day, he told her because she pressed him so hard.

[37:04] She then told the riddle to the sons of her people. Samson didn't know that she told the answer to the sons of the people.

[37:15] There's another. Somebody who doesn't know something. Verse 18. And so the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, Hey, what is sweeter than honey?

[37:27] And what is stronger than a lion? Rex. And he said to them, if you had not plowed with my heifer. Oh, there's a good description of your wife, huh?

[37:40] You had not plowed with my heifer. You would not have found out my riddle. You plowed with my heifer. What does that mean? It means that they controlled her.

[37:50] They controlled her thinking. And it wasn't their place to be able to do that. It was now his heifer, not their heifer. Come on.

[38:03] But I guess that's a term of endearment. I don't know. Verse 19. Then the spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily.

[38:13] Now, why did this happen again? Why at this point is the spirit of the Lord coming down mightily? And so that he went down to Ashkelon and killed 30 of the Philistines and took the spoil and gave the change of clothes to those who told the riddle.

[38:31] Well, he owes 30 changes of clothing and he's got to get them from someplace. He doesn't have it. Well, but the spirit of the Lord came upon him.

[38:41] Why? Huh? 14.4. There's the reason I'm going to tell you. 14.4. What's the answer? They did not know, but God made it this way.

[38:58] That's why the spirit of the Lord came on him. Look again back at 14.4. And there's your answer. He's again setting stuff up. He's building antagonism between Samson and the enemy, the Philistines.

[39:13] He's going to keep building this for a conclusion. So here's another people that didn't know. People, the men of Ashkelon, they had no idea that Samson was coming down and that he was going to kill them and take their clothes.

[39:32] So the spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily and he went down to Ashkelon and killed 30 men and took their spoil and gave the changes of clothes to those who told the riddle.

[39:43] I wonder if they were bloody clothes. Makes me wonder. And his anger burned and he went up to his father's house. So he left Timnah and he said, I'm going back to my dad's house.

[39:57] I'm so angry right now that I got tricked like this. But Samson's wife was given to his companion who had been his friend. Wow.

[40:09] What a thing, huh? What a thing. But you know what? Samson didn't know that his wife had been given to his friend. Another.

[40:20] He didn't know. And we know this because chapter 15, verse 1. But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat.

[40:33] Here, heifer, here's a goat. Wow. And said, I will go into my wife in her room.

[40:48] But her father did not let him enter. Her father said, I really thought that you hated her intensely. So I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she?

[41:01] Please let her be yours instead. See, he didn't know that his wife had been given to somebody else. Well, how would that make you feel? Samson then said to him, this time I shall be blameless in regard to the Philistines when I do them harm.

[41:21] What he's saying is up earlier when he went and killed the 30 men that he was to blame for that because it was his riddle. They got it.

[41:32] He gave her the answer. And so he's to blame. At least he took some blame. But now he's saying, nope, this is all on you. This is all you.

[41:42] Verse 4. Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches and turned the foxes tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between the two tails.

[41:58] You can imagine what's happening here. The foxes are going crazy now and they're trying to get away from each other and from the fire.

[42:09] And they start zigzagging and they're running all through the fields and everything. And they're burning everything up. Not good. But Samson's very angry. When he had set fire to the torches, he released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines, thus burning up both the shocks and the standing grain along with the vineyards and groves.

[42:32] And remember, this was harvest time because it says that after a while in the time of wheat harvest is when he went back. So they're just getting ready to reap their harvest.

[42:45] And now everything's getting burned down. It is. Now he was angry. Now what's happening? Now they're going to get angry. Right? Can you, again, imagine all that?

[42:59] It is the Lord's resolve to provoke a confrontation between the two peoples. Samson thinks it is a one-off retribution, retaliation, which should close the matter.

[43:16] That's how he's thinking. We'll see that in a second. The Lord knows very well that it will be on the contrary and lead to an escalation of conflict. 14.4.

[43:28] All over again. Are still being played out. So verse 6. Then the Philistines said, Who did this? And they said, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion.

[43:46] So the Philistines came up and burned her father and her with fire. Just like they said they were going to earlier if she didn't get the answer from the riddle.

[43:59] If you don't get the answer to the riddle, we're going to burn you and your house and your family. Well, it happened anyway. She didn't need to give in. Bullies are bullies.

[44:10] And that's just the way it is. Verse 7. Samson said to them, Since you act like this, I will surely take revenge on you.

[44:21] After he finds out that they're burned. And after that, I will quit. The score will be even. It should be settled. But I'm going to first get after you.

[44:35] And so, verse 8. He struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter. We're not told how many. But he killed some more people. And he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Edom.

[44:50] Well, again, he's thinking the matter is settled. But the Philistines are saying, Nay, nay. You're not getting away with that one. Pretty soon, all this is becoming a tit for tat.

[45:04] Just boom, boom, boom, boom. Just upping. One up. You do something. I'm going to do something to you. Then the Philistines went up and camped in Judah and spread out in Lehi.

[45:20] Yeah, the Philistines saying, It ain't finished yet. It's not over. We're coming to get you. So they camp in Judah. What's this do to the men of Judah or to the tribe of Judah?

[45:33] They say, The men of Judah said, Why have you come up against us? And they said, We have come up to bind Samson in order to do to him as he did to us.

[45:46] Why have you come up against us? You know, that question to the Philistines, it shows that there will never be a semblance of conflict between...

[46:00] Let me read... I'll have to read it because I'm trying to... Anyway. Their question to the Philistines shows them mystified that there should be any semblance of conflict between their interests and the world's.

[46:14] What? Why are you coming up against us? We're part of you guys now. We're one with you guys. That's how far we've fallen. That, hey, we're... I know that you guys oppress us and that you rule over us, but we're living in symbiotic wonderfulness here and everything.

[46:34] Everything's good. Why are you coming up against us? This is how their mindset. Why are you coming up against us? And they said, we have come up to bind Samson in order to do to him what he has done to us.

[46:49] Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam and said to Samson... They're going to ask another question. Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us?

[47:02] Another question there. Their question to Samson admits that there is no such thing as harmonious coexistence between the church and the world.

[47:13] For where there is no conflict, it is because the world has taken over. They rule over us. That's why there should be no conflict.

[47:24] And we've accepted that. It's okay. It's okay. The world has... Is the world taking over your life? Is the world to where you're just resolved to it?

[47:35] It's just the way it is. And this is why I act the way I act. And I just want to live in peace and harmony with the people of the world. What then is this that you have done to us?

[47:51] And he said to them, as they did to me, so I have done to them. Just doing what they did to me. Verse 12. They said to him, we have come down to bind you so that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.

[48:07] And Samson said to them, swear to me that you will not kill me. See, Judah rose up against one of their own.

[48:20] In fact, a judge. Instead of... They raised an army of 3,000 people. We don't even hear of them doing this to the enemy, to the Philistines.

[48:32] They're not willing to go against them. No. But they are willing to go against their own brethren. And it's all because they don't want to rock the boat. We want to keep things the way that they are.

[48:44] So they're willing to turn him in. Verse 13. So they said to him, no, but we will bind you fast and give you into their hands.

[48:58] Yet surely we will not kill you. Then they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock. When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him.

[49:12] Oh, and the spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily again. Yay. So that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire and his bonds dropped from his hands.

[49:27] 14.4 at work. More going on. He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey.

[49:40] Now what does a fresh jawbone say to you? Is it? It's got meat on it. Hmm? It's got meat on it. It's got meat on it?

[49:51] It's recently killed. So it's definitely, in case you didn't think that the lion was a carcass, or that it was okay to touch that because enough time had gone by. Well, this one leaves us with no doubt now what he's doing.

[50:04] This is a fresh jawbone of a donkey. I mean, recently killed, still probably has flesh on it. But also, and it does make sense.

[50:16] I mean, it's a lot more sturdy than one that's been sitting there and is brittle because it's been baking in the sun. But now this jawbone is sturdy and it's nice, now a nice good weapon.

[50:28] But without a doubt, it tells us that Samson had no problem of breaking the vow in this area. He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out and took it and killed a thousand men with it.

[50:46] Then Samson said triumphantly and proud, with the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps with the jawbone of a donkey, I have killed a thousand men.

[51:02] Ah, so proud. Look what I did. Look what I did. Look what I have done. Hmm. I guess he forgot that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily.

[51:15] And in fact, verse 17, God's going to remind him of that. When he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone from his hand, and he named that place Ramas-Lehi, which simply means Jawbone Hill.

[51:33] Look what I did on Jawbone Hill. I killed a thousand, I killed a thousand Philistines on Jawbone Hill. Wait till I tell the kids about this, and the grandkids.

[51:44] The stories that they'll tell of me, you know, all triumph and everything. Ah, verse 18. Then he became very thirsty.

[51:55] Gee, I wonder why. Probably exited a lot of effort to do all that. And he called to the Lord. First time we hear of him doing this. He called to the Lord and said, You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant, and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?

[52:20] He got it for a moment. Wait a minute. It's not me. This is you. I'm crying out to you, Lord, because I'm thirsty. I'm thirsty. And I see no place to get a drink around here.

[52:34] There's no drinking fountain. There's no 7-Eleven around. Nothing like that. It's just, I'm very thirsty here. In fact, I'm so thirsty, I'm going to die. So, God split the hollow place that is in Lehi so that water came out of it.

[52:50] When he drank, his strength returned, and he revived. Therefore, instead of calling the place Jawbone Hill, that he named it En-Hakhor, which is in Lehi to this day.

[53:04] And En-Hakhor means the well of him who cried. So, God humbled him very quickly from his pride.

[53:18] You know, sometimes, not sometimes, I wonder how often, probably very often, whenever we have triumphs, victories in our life, they need to be tempered with trials to keep us humble.

[53:33] Because we can become proudful so quickly. So, a triumph needs to be tempered with a trial to keep you humble. And it's shown right here.

[53:54] Chapter 16. Now, Samson went to Gaza. Again, some more time. Oh, wait. I didn't finish the verse 20. So, he judged Israel 20 years in the days of the Philistines.

[54:08] A lot of people think that this is broken into two parts because at the end of chapter 16, it talks about, or it says that, and he judged Israel for 20 years there.

[54:22] So, they're thinking that's 20 and 20. But no, this is all, it's just 20 years in total that he judged. Because, yeah, he'd be, anyway, just looking at everything that's just the 20.

[54:36] For whatever reason, they decide to put it in there as a, you know, he judged for 20 years. Verse 16. Now, Samuel went to Gaza and saw a harlot there and went into her.

[54:49] Why is he going to Gaza? You think, why are you going there, Samson? You're a marked man. You come in. I know you think you're all that and everything, but my goodness, no.

[55:03] It's dangerous. You're playing with fire here. And you think you're all that, but here you are going into Gaza, right into the heart of the Philistine city.

[55:16] And, hey, you find a harlot and you go into her. And lo and behold, when it was told to the Gazites, saying, Samson has come here, they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city.

[55:32] And they kept silent all night, saying, let us wait until the morning light. Then we will kill him. Now, Samson, wait, let me make sure I don't have a note on that.

[55:46] I think I might. Let's see, when Samson is not saving Israel, he is being Israel.

[55:57] I thought that was interesting. When he's not saving Israel, he is being Israel. And that is most of the time. Sometimes he represents God as Israel sees him.

[56:09] Much more often, it seems that he represents Israel as God sees her. So, and what he's doing here, the going down into, in line with the harlot, that's just another thing that the Israelites as a nation are doing to God and doing the idols.

[56:28] And they're whoring after other gods and the worshiping other gods. It's no different. That's the connection here.

[56:40] I forgot to also point out something else in verse 20, going back up to there. So he judged Israel 20 years in the days of the Philistines. Everywhere else where we read that, how long the judge judged Israel, it says after that, and there was rest for a certain amount of time.

[57:01] This is not mentioned here. Nothing about a rest, having a rest is here. So, and it could be because they were still, they were just so comfortable with the Philistines, even though they were being ruled by the Philistines, they were just comfortable.

[57:17] And so that was their rest. They didn't rock the boat. We do what you do. So just want to point that out. All right. So they're going to, they want to kill him.

[57:28] Now, Samson, verse three, lay until midnight. And at midnight, he arose and took hold of the doors, the city gate and the two posts, and pulled them up along with the bars.

[57:38] Then he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the mountain, top of the mountain, which is opposite Hebron. Now, when I see that, first thing I wonder is how much these doors weigh?

[57:51] Why? Because I'm a guy. That's all I care about. I don't care about anything else. So I had to stop and look that up. And so for us guys, it's about 3,000 pounds. So he's got that on their shoulders and he takes it.

[58:04] And that's a lot of weight, but that's what he was able to do. Pretty cool. I like it. There we go. There, I answered your question. Now you don't have to worry about it. Anyway, verse four.

[58:16] After this, it came about that he, he loved a woman in the valley of Sarek, whose name was, here comes the story, the part of the story that is the most famous that we've been all waiting for, the little story of Samson and Delilah.

[58:36] Her name was Delilah. And her name means to weaken or to impoverish. What a wonderful person to be fallen in love with.

[58:49] A girl whose name means to weaken. Hmm. Aptly so. What's interesting is he loved a woman in the valley of Sarek. Now Sarek was a border town.

[59:01] And what's the significance of that? Well, it tells me that he goes to this border town, and that's no different than what I do in my own life.

[59:16] Maybe you do too, from time to time, where you say, hey, I want to check out the boundaries of my being able to go and do things. I'm going to go to the edge and see how far can I get?

[59:31] How far can I go before I've stepped too far? And so I think that's what it's trying to, at least that's what it speaks to me, is that this is a border town.

[59:41] He went to the border. He went to the edge. And in fact, he crosses the border. And what's he, and now he finds a girl, a woman named Delilah, whose name means weakened, and he falls in love with her.

[60:00] Verse 5, The lords of the Philistines came up to her. The lords of the Philistines. Wow. This must be important. If all of a sudden, the five lords of the Philistines come now to Delilah, and they, we'll see what happens here, but anyway, to understand, these are the five lords, the kings of the Philistines.

[60:24] And they, this is so important, that they come personally. And came up to her and said to her, Entice him, and see where his great strength lies, and how we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him.

[60:42] Then we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver. That's 5,500 pieces of, or 55,000? What? No. Yeah, 55,000 pieces of, no.

[60:54] What is that? Anyway. 5,500. It's 500. Thank you. I knew my math was correct the first time. 3,000 pounds. Did I tell you that out of the gates? So. Anyway.

[61:08] So, oh, here's another thing. Samson didn't know that these Philistine lords came down and were talking with her.

[61:19] Another part, he did not know. So Delilah said to Samson, please tell me where your great strength is, and how you may be bound to afflict it, afflict you.

[61:31] Why are you asking that question? What a weird question to ask, but Samson starts toying with it. Samson said to her, if they bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man.

[61:47] Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now she had men lying in wait in an inner room, and she said to him, the Philistines are upon you, Samson.

[62:04] But he snapped the cords as a string of toe snaps when it touches fire. So his strength was not discovered. Then Delilah said to Samson, behold, you have deceived me and told me lies.

[62:22] Now please tell me how you may be bound. He said to her, let's keep playing. If they bind me tightly with new ropes which have not been used, then I will become weak and be like any other man.

[62:36] So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, the Philistines are upon you, Samson. For the men were lying in wait in the inner room. But he snapped the ropes from his arms like a thread.

[62:49] Then Delilah said to Samson, up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you may be bound. And he said to her, if you weave the seven locks of my hair, he's getting awfully close to the real answer, isn't he?

[63:06] Now he's talking about his hair. If you weave the seven locks of my hair with a web and fasten it with a pin, the web is the loom, they say, then I will become weak and be like any other man.

[63:20] So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his hair and wove them into the web. And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, the Philistines are upon you, Samson.

[63:32] But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web. This guy's... He's not too bright. Yeah, he's not too bright.

[63:42] Exactly. It's like... I think he just likes to play the game. He thinks he's in control of everything. He's got it all in control. And hey, you know what?

[63:55] Let's see. I've walked through a vineyard. I probably at the party had a strong drink and thing because it's a drinking party, drinking festival.

[64:06] I've touched a carcass. So I've done all these things. Nothing's happened to me. I'm getting away with it. I must be the exception to the rule. God chose me to be set apart in a Nazarite.

[64:21] See, this is wonderful. I am immune. I have the get out of jail free card. And so none of this matters. And gosh, that may be what's going through his mind.

[64:34] He's just gotten away with things too many times. And so, hey, what's it matter if I... Then he said to him... We'll continue here. Then she said to him, How can you say I love you when your heart is not with me?

[64:47] You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is. By the way, you see all those pictures and everything of Samson that depict how he was.

[64:58] You see the Hollywood version of it and stuff. Anyway, he's big, strong, masculine, big dude and everything. Muscles popping out everywhere. Don't you think that maybe the Philistines would have looked at a guy walking in and say, Gee, I wonder where his strength is coming from.

[65:13] He's one buff dude. But no, he must be an ordinary person is what I'm getting at. And so, because they just look at him and there's nothing special about him that they would say, Where is he getting all this strength from?

[65:25] And that's why they're wondering. And he's causing so much havoc that they want to stop this. Verse 16. It came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him that his soul was annoyed to death.

[65:41] Samson, aren't you going to tell me? Oh, Samson, Samson. Oh, don't you love me? Samson, no, please. Oh, man. Sorry. That was the nagging girl. Regular women don't sound like that.

[65:55] And obviously, he's looking for a new heifer. So he wants to please her. Anyway, verse 17.

[66:05] So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother's womb.

[66:19] If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be like any other man. So he equated his strength to his hair.

[66:31] Why? I don't know. We don't know why. When it's, we're told time and time again, it's the spirit of the Lord that came upon him, but he believes it's his hair.

[66:42] Well, God's going to, all right, you think that's where it's really coming from? Let's, we'll see how that plays out. Let's see. Yep.

[66:56] So that's the whole thing about, hey, he got away with everything else, touching the grapes and carcass and everything else. Hey, I might as well tell her about the real thing. Nothing's going to happen to me.

[67:07] I'll tell her where my strength comes from. I know what she's going to do. Come on. I'm not dumb. I mean, she's done it three times to me. I read, Philistines are upon you. And he just gets up.

[67:18] He has no problem. Takes care of it. And so I'll just do it again. No problem. Because my strength won't leave me. When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, he said, she sent and called the Lords of the Philistines.

[67:33] They get tired of waiting. Now they're going to come back saying, come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart. Then the Lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands.

[67:46] She made him sleep on her knees and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair. Then she began to afflict him or taunt him and his strength left him.

[68:02] You think that's where your strength came from, Samson? Well, we're just going to, yep, it's going to leave you all right. Even more so.

[68:14] We'll see here in a second. She said, Again, there's no consequences here.

[68:30] It doesn't matter. You think that he knew that his hair was shaved off? Absolutely had to. I mean, if you had all your hair shaved off, I think you'd notice right away. Plus, I also wonder, how could he sleep through all this stuff?

[68:43] I don't get that part. And is he that confident that nothing bothers him? I don't know. Weird. I will go out as other times and shake myself free.

[68:54] But, one of the saddest verses in the Bible, he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. 14.4.

[69:06] He did not know. Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes, and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison.

[69:24] You know, what was Samson's weakness? Women. And how did they become his weakness? Because when he saw him, it's just ironic.

[69:35] That's the thing that got gouged out was his eyes. Why did they gouge out his eyes? That wasn't where his strength came from. What a weird thing to do. But, if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out.

[69:50] God was just, hey, you can't control yourself. I'm going to do it for you. Pluck those things out. So, they bound him, took him down, put him in chains, and now he was a grinder.

[70:07] You know, that's what sin does. At first, hang on here, I've got to get the words. It binds you.

[70:19] All right, we're done. Ah, forget it. There's three words that fit in there, and I can't remember the first one, so we'll move on. Um, so, he got his eyes gouged out, and they put him in prison, and he's a grinder.

[70:33] However, hope, however, hope, verse 22, the hair of his head began to grow again, after it was shaved off. There's hope.

[70:46] Now, the lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon, their god, and to rejoice. Little side thing here.

[70:59] Dagon, their god, their number one god, he is a half man, half fish, top half man, bottom half fish, because the Philistines were, were seafaring um, uh, people.

[71:15] Um, they came from Crete. Anyway, so that is their god, Dagon. And what's interesting about that, is that, in the story of Jonah, what is, what, uh, swallows him, and then spits him up on the beach?

[71:31] Yes. A great fish. And where is he going? Where was he told to, to, uh, preach the gospel, basically? Uh, that Nineveh, and Nineveh, was, their god, was Dagon.

[71:46] So, it's that half man, half fish, and it's, it's like it, in that story, god is saying, eh, look what your god, barfed up on your beach. Oh, and so you got this man, all of a sudden, get barfed up by your god, and it's like, hey, god must have something to tell us.

[72:04] And sure enough, uh, they didn't know which god, but, um, anyway, just an interesting thing. And also another interesting thing, they say, um, that mermaids, have, uh, come from, the story of mermaids, have come from this, are from Dagon.

[72:22] So, something to think about, um, what's out there, we just, it's amazing, we don't know. Anyway, so, um, they were sacrificing to Dagon, their god, and to rejoice, for they said, our god has given Samson into, our enemy, or, has given Samson, our enemy, into our hands.

[72:45] they're so happy, and proud. When the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, our god has given, our enemy, into our hands.

[72:58] Even the destroyer of our country, who has slain, many of us. Now, how sad. Um, in, uh, 2 Samuel 12, 14, it says, by committing this act, you have given, by sinning, you have given the enemies of God, a significant reason, to speak boldly about him, or mock his followers.

[73:27] Oh, not boldly, badly about him, and mock his followers. So, by you sinning, you give the enemy, the, uh, opportunity, to be able to boast, that their god, is greater than your god, because, you, you blew it.

[73:43] So, we gotta be really careful about that. Don't let your sin, provide the enemy, with ammunition, to criticize the, your faith, and saying their god, is more powerful. Something to think about.

[73:56] Um, also, um, so, here they are crying out, and, and shouting, and saying, our god is more powerful, he's delivered us, into our hands.

[74:08] The cry went up, our god has given our enemy, into our hand. Into the hands of the Philistines, not Israel.

[74:20] And, um, but all of a sudden, uh, given the insight, that a divine plan, was overruling everything, but they attributed it, to the wrong god.

[74:31] They understood, that something divine, something happened here. This strong guy, he got delivered, into their hands, but, they attributed it, to the wrong god. And then, as without warning, the house collapsed, around them.

[74:44] We know the story, how it ends. They must have realized, with blinding clarity, that, um, that, that other god, had turned the, our god, Jehovah, had turned the whole thing, inside out, and that it would be Israel, who would cry out, our god, has given our enemy, into our hands.

[75:06] So, it's just neat, how the story, plays out at the very end here. Here, they're shouting, thinking, their god, has done this. And, remember, 14.4, God set it all up.

[75:19] This is, what it all culminates to, is that, he, is going to show, the Philistines, their god, does not have the power, and the might, that you think he does.

[75:31] He did not deliver you, Samson into his hands. I did, because, I'm going to use Samson, to kill all of you, five lords, because you're at this banquet, you're going down.

[75:45] It so happened, when they were in high spirits, that they said, call for Samson, that he may amuse us. So, they called for Samson, from the prison, and he entertained them, and they made him stand, between the pillars.

[75:56] Then, Samson said to the boy, who was holding his hand, talk about, he had really been humbled. Let me feel the pillars, on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.

[76:08] Now, the house was full of men, and women, and all the lords, of the Philistines, were there, and about three thousand men, and women, were on the roof, looking on, while Samson, was amusing them.

[76:21] Verse 28, Then Samson called, to the Lord, and said, O Lord God, please remember me, and please strengthen me, just this time, O God, that I may, at once, be avenged, of the Philistines, for my two eyes.

[76:38] See, God kept ramping up, the irritations, and the conflicts, between Samson, and the Philistines, and to get to, this final scene, this is what it all, led up to, was for him, to be, take down, this house.

[76:58] Samson, finally has, been humbled, so much, that he cries, to the Lord, properly, not out of demanding, give me something, to drink. No, he's just saying, avenge me, one last time.

[77:12] And Samson, grasped, the two middle, middle pillars, on which the house, rested, and braced himself, against them, the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.

[77:23] And Samson said, let me die, with the Philistines. And he bent, with all his might, so that the house, fell, on the Lord's.

[77:34] 14, four. And all the people, who were in it. So the dead, whom he killed, at his death, were more than those, whom he killed, in his life.

[77:45] So, just like Jesus, our greater than Samson, in his death, he killed more, he defeated more, than he did, in his life.

[77:59] He conquered death. Yes. He, conquered our sin. We have salvation now. Our greater, than Samson.

[78:12] Application. What does all this imply, for the reader today? First of all, before you judge the judge, realize, we're just like him. As the people of God, who are called by grace, repeatedly empowered, greatly gifted, yet, we are faithless, self-indulgent, and only, and only too ready, to fraternize, with the enemy.

[78:39] If we're honest, with ourselves. We do what we, don't want to do, and don't do, what we want to do. I think that's what was, happening with Samson. He didn't, you know, he, just, what he did.

[78:56] And, you know, how in your own life, you, find yourself, doing things, you don't want to do, and then, not doing the things, that you want to do.

[79:06] We all can relate to that. In essence, we're doing what's right, in our own eyes. Our flesh is weak, but you know what, God knows that, and he will still use us, in our weakness, for his glory.

[79:22] Just like he did Samson. He used that, and he turned it around, Samson's weakness, and he used it for his purpose. Not giving you a license, to practice your weakness, that's not what it's doing.

[79:34] Our outward walk, appearance, meaning our hair, has not been touched by a razor, should be a sign to others, that we are consecrated to God.

[79:47] Do we live differently, than the people of the world, the other people, that we come across, at work, our friends? Are we abstaining, from those things, which will make us, unclean?

[80:00] Questions. And, of course, we can't do it on our own, we need the Holy Spirit, to come upon us, and empower us. We ask, from time to time, probably more often than not, why is my life, like this?

[80:17] What's happening? This thing is happening to me, what's happening? We talked a little bit, about that last week, consider your way. Maybe that was two weeks ago. I don't remember. After a while, these sermons, melt together.

[80:30] It's all in the book of Judges, okay? So anyway, we ask, why is this happening? And you know what? There's a lot of, I don't know, why this is happening.

[80:43] I don't know, what's going on. But, God does. He knows what's going on. And he's working, behind the scenes. 14.4, it was of the Lord, but they did not know.

[81:01] Before Samson's birth, the Lord prepared everything. Throughout his life, the Lord is masterminding everything. At his death, the heathen God is defeated, and the God of Israel triumphs.

[81:14] Amen? Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word again. the truths that come out.

[81:26] May we internalize it, and see how it lines up with our life. Are there things that we need to change? Are there things that you're trying to tell us?

[81:39] We just ask that we would be obedient of the things that you do show us. That we just wouldn't look at this as just a story. But there's a reason for the story.

[81:50] There's a reason why it's in here. And, again, you, we're all in different places with you, and in our life, in our walk.

[82:01] And you address it, how it applies to us, where we're at. And so, Father, I just ask that, again, we would be faithful in looking at this stuff.

[82:13] And, speaking of faithful, we thank you that you are faithful. You said that, um, Samson would be, uh, a Nazirite into his death.

[82:26] And, yet you left him when his hair got cut. But then his hair grew back, and you gave him strength at the end, because you didn't leave him. Because you did, keep him remained as a Nazirite.

[82:40] Because you are faithful to your word. And so, we stand on that. And, we just thank you that we're able to. And we say this all in Jesus' name.

[82:54] Amen. Amen.