Judges 14-21: A Blessing or a Roadblock?

     Samson is one of the great personalities of Scripture.  The record of Samson's great strength and great exploits find no rival in Scripture.  With such great potential it is amazing that his life would end so ignobly.  This man, that had such great potential, ends the blind sport of pagan rulers.  We can learn many valuable lessons from the life of Samson. 

God has a purpose for our lives:

     In chapter thirteen verses three through five, God sends an angel to declare the purpose for the life of Sampson. He is to deliver Israel from the Philistines. God has a purpose for our lives as well. Ecclesiastes chapter twelve verse thirteen declares our whole duty to be fearing God and keeping His commandments.

God has ordered our lives to fulfill His purpose:

     God said of Samson that he would be a Nazarite. This provided for Samson specific rules to govern his life according to Numbers 6:3-7 "He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.  4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.  5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no rasor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.  6 All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.  7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head."

We too have been called to be holy according to I Peter 1:14-16 and separated unto the Lord according to II Corinthians 6:14-18.

God's Goodness Leads Us To Repentance:

     Samson failed to lived a life in accordance with God's directions or for God's purpose. He devoted his life to personal satisfaction and fulfillment.  In the midst of his self-indulgence it seems that God continued to bless him, but what we see is the goodness of God being shown to Samson to bring him to repentance.  When Samson was in the vineyard that he should have avoided, in goodness, God gave strength to defeat the lion.  When Samson in anger burns the fields of the Philistines, God grants strength for deliverance. And when Samson uses the unclean jawbone of an ass to slay his enemies, God in goodness gives him water for his thirst.  Again and again God delivers Samson from the results of his sin, but his failure to repent leads to his blindness and imprisonment by the Philistines.  We too can misunderstand the goodness of God.  Sometimes, even when we are in sin, God withholds judgment that His goodness might lead us to repentance.

God's Purpose is Never Defeated:

     As Samson's life draws to a close, we find the Philistines rejoicing in the fact that Dagon, their god, has delivered Samson into their hands.  God will not allow Dagon to take credit for what He has done.  Samson is still suffering from 'Me Syndrome' as he prays for strength to exact vengeance for his eyes.  God grants Samson strength, not in answer to a selfish prayer, but that God may be glorified and God's purpose for Samson's life may be accomplished.  Samson perished under the rubble of a life lived for self without regard for God's glorious purpose and plans for his life.  He could have and we can avoid this ending if we let the goodness of God lead us to repentance.

Luke 13:3   I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

 

Daily Devotional: I John 3:11-24 Love for One Another

Judges 6-13: You Talk Too Much

Judges 11:30-31   And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,  31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

     Here we see a common occurrence.  Someone gets into a tight spot and they begin to make promises to God.  We have all been guilty of making vows without giving any real thought as to the ramifications of our words.  Jephthah did not follow the admonition of the Scriptures to be swift to hear and slow to speak.  (James 1:9)


Judges 11:34-35   And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.  35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.

     Now we encounter the results of a vow hastily uttered.  Jephthah's daughter is the first to come out of his house when he returns.  Now she must be offered as a burnt offering to fulfill his vow.  When we read this, everything in our hearts rebels against the very idea of human sacrifice, especially to the true and living God.  Far from an endorsement of human sacrifice, we find here an illustration of the danger of idle words. (Matthew 12:36)  Not only can idle words prove harmful to us but they can also prove harmful to others we love.

Judges 11:39   And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

     The conclusion of this matter is really tragic as the young daughter of the judge is offered as a burnt offering.  We do not anywhere in the text find God's approval of this action.  This does however stand as a stark reminder of the importance of our words.  Psalm 15:4 says, "In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not."  This does not mean we do not make vows unto God.  It simply means we are prayerful and careful and faithful to do it.

Daily Devotional: I Peter 4:1-11 Living for God