Sermon Outline
Pr. Paddick Van Zyl
Laus Deo Minsitries Int.
Title:
How Weak Can You Get?
The Case Against Samson, God’s Strongman
Intro:
Who, lately, has been to the airport and asked the person in charge of the apron, where the airplanes are parked, if they may please help out and move some planes into their parking bays, bare handed?
Anybody that you know, that needed help lifting their car in the air to fix a tire, without the help of a mechanical jack?
I know someone that may be able to help with these routine tasks….his name is Samson. He was God’s strongman that lived back in the days of the Judges. He was a judge, a leader, raised up by God. Let’s find out more about this remarkable man in the Bible:
Text:
Judges 15:4-5
4 So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails,
5 lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.
Judges 16:16-16
14 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands.
15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.
16 Then Samson said,
“With a donkey’s jawbone
I have made donkeys of them.[a]
With a donkey’s jawbone
I have killed a thousand men.”
Ca n you for a moment imagine what this must have looked like? A thousand big men, annihilated with the jaw bone of a donkey? Imagine Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rocky Balboa turned into one superhuman….wow
Judges 16:25-30
When they stood him among the pillars,
26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.”
27 Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.
28 Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “Sovereign LORD, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.”
29 Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other,
30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.
Message:
The 6 major and 6 minor judges in the Old Testament, are the deliverers and saviors of God’s people, raised up by God. They are a type and shadow of Jesus, God’s ultimate Judge and Savior of the world. (Psalm75:7, Isiah 45:21, 2 Tim 4;8, Acts 17:31)
God raised Samson up to deliver the Israelites from a 40 year period of Philistine oppression.
To do this Samson had to be consecrated, set apart and become a Nzaratie unto God. Some Nazarites were set aside for God for a short period of time however Samson was set apart for life.
His setting apart already happened in the womb of his mother:
Some Nazarites were set aside for God for a short period of time however Samson was set apart for life.
Judges 13: 2-5,13 NIV
2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth.
3 The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.
4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean.
5 You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
13 The angel of the LORD answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”
*Not allowed to eat grapes since this was temptation
*No wine or intoxicating drink – this signifies that one had to have control over their desires
*Hair was not to be cut – by not shaving the hair, the Nazarite looked different from other people, he showed that he cared more for the inside (soul) than the outside (body), he stood out from the crowd and this was an opportunity to minister
*Not allowed to go near a dead body –this signified the person is living a pure and divine life unto God
Samson = distinguished/strong, his name is related to the Hebrew word for sun
Delilah = Laughing/dainty one The name Delilah is a play on the Hebrew word ‘laylah’ meaning ‘night’ or ‘flirtation’.
Samson did not lead the Israelites against the Philistines like for instance Joshua, but he was a leader of sorts. By his exploits he prevented Philistine invasion and so helped his people overcome the enemy.
He made some pretty bad decisions in his life:
*He married a Philistine woman- married the enemy, while his parents encouraged him to look for a wife from among his own people:
Judges 14:3 New International Version (NIV)
3 His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?”
But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.”
His marriage was based on looks and appearance rather than attraction of soul and spirit. Fleshly attraction. One wonders if they had anything in common? This marriage did not carry the blessing of God or his parents and thus did not last. What is not blessed of God does not bring satisfaction or lasting results.
*He violated his Nazarite vow by eating honey from a dead carcass and touching a dead carcass of a lion. This made him ceremonially unclean by Jewish law (Numbers 6:6)
Judges 14:8-9 New International Version (NIV)
8 Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. 9 He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.
* He gave a feast to the young men (probably his in laws to be and there was wine involved)
Judges 14:10 New International Version (NIV)
10 Now his father went down to see the woman. And there Samson held a feast, as was customary for young men.
* He was ruled by his fleshly desire which was his ultimate downfall , not being able to stand against sin or stand up for his convictions and his vow.
* He had an anger management problem
Judges 14:19 New International Version (NIV)
19 Then the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he returned to his father’s home.
Judges 15:3 New International Version (NIV)
3 Samson said to them, “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.”
* He was headstrong- he did not honor his parents or God, he disobeyed them and God’s law
God did not approve of Samson’s decision to break the law but He used the circumstanced for His purpose and glory
Exodus 34:16 New International Version (NIV)
16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.
Deuteronomy 7:4 New International Version (NIV)
4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.
It was the working and enabling of the Holy Spirit that caused or anointed Samson to do mighty and great exploits. The same Holy Spirit that worked through Samson desires to empower us and do great and mighty things through us. God wants to deliver His people through us by His Spirit. What is needed for the Holy Spirit to work through us in a mighty way? Total consecration of our lives and absolute submission to God and His plan /purpose.
When he killed the lion with his bare hands God was showing him and teaching him a lesson that it is God’s Spirit that enables him to do mighty deeds and have control in life. This happened on his way to his wife to be,. He was able to kill a lion be in control and yet he was not able to control his flesh. He would not yield to the Spirit of God to control his flesh.
He was blinded spiritually before he was blinded naturally
Sin bound him and made him loose his freedom
Sin separates us from God and God requires commitment from His people.
When we commit sin we are chastised in love by the Lord until we come back to full repentance to Him. When we cry out to the Lord, He responds faithfully and forgives us and brings us deliverance and restores fellowship with us. God always responds to the cry of a penitent heart. He is faithful and His love is constant.
He was strong in body but weak in judgment and character.
He was the strongest man alive yet the weakest in character and fleshly desire/lust
Illustration:
Samson was a man of steel much like Louis Cyr (1863 -1912) a French Canadian, the strongest man ever alive according to Wikipedia;
Louis lifted 500 pounds with 3 fingers and carried 4337 pounds on his back.
He could lift a platform on his back with 18 men on a total weight of 1976kg
He also lifted a 534 pound weight with one finger
He resisted the pull of 4 horses, 2 in each hand, as attendants stood by cracking whips for the horses to pull harder.
Closing:
If we want to be mightily used of God to touch people’s lives, we will have to submit to God and live ‘Nazarite’ lives of consecration. If we do not kill the sin in our lives it will kill us and make us ineffective in the kingdom of God. We can not be ruled by our flesh and expect great and wonderful miracles to happen around us and through our lives.
Only as we yield fully to the Holy Spirit and live a life fully pleasing unto the Father, will we be strong for God in any circumstance and bring Him glory. Temptation will always be there to try and get us away from God’s plan and purpose but through Christ Jesus we have the victory over sin and temptation to rule over it and not it rule us. We ought to be God’s strong woman and men to show the world God’s power and glory.
Amen
