INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Last week we started our Great Deliverers series by looking at a man who was fearful and humble almost to a fault. Gideon was able to overcome his fear and become a great deliverer for God.
• Today, we are going to go to the opposite end of the spectrum and look at a man who was far from humble and for a good chunk of his life, far from obedient.
• Today we will look at Samson, a man who was able to deliver despite his enormous arrogance and pride.
• The example of Samson is not an example we would necessarily want to model; yet, in spite of his pride, God was still able to use Samson for His purpose.
• Samson was a man who from birth was called by God to be something special.
• Yet during his adult life, Samson did not embrace his calling from God.
• Samson seemed to squander the great blessing that God had given him; however, as we look at his life, we will see that God was still with him.
• Samson is the last judge mentioned in the Book of Judges.
• SLIDE #2
• Depending the timeline one follows, Samson lived around 1100 BC to 1049 BC. Samson was born to be a Nazarite, who was one who for a period of time or a lifetime would vow to refrain from alcohol or anything grape related, they would refrain from cutting their hair, and they would avoid dead bodies.
• There was a prescribed way to end one’s Nazarite vow that we will not cover today.
• The Bible does not seem to offer a reason for taking a Nazarite vow, it is implied that it is a sign of devotion or seek answer to prayer.
• Remember the cycle of sin, servitude, supplication, and salvation the nation of Israel was going through in the book of Judges, well, Israel was in throws of the servitude part of the cycle.
• In Judges 13:1 we are told the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so God handed the nation over to the Philistines for 40 years!
• During Gideon’s time, it was only 7!
• SLIDE #3 POINTER
• SLIDE #4 POINTER
• Philistia was located on the southernmost coastal plain of the ancient land of Canaan (southern Levant) and included the territory extending from the Yarkon River (in the north) to the Wadi Gaza (in the south).
• Thanks to its location, it dominated the southernmost stretch of the international commercial route named the Via Maris (“way of the sea”), through which trade between Egypt and the Levant passed.
• So this takes us to the story of Samson.
• What I hope we can glean from Samson is that you do not have to be perfect to be used by God, as a matter of fact, God can and will use us in spite of ourselves at times.
• Let’s begin by observing that…
• SLIDE #5
SERMON
I. God used Samson despite his pride.
• Samson is born, and here is what the book of Judges states concerning his childhood.
• SLIDE #6
• Judges 13:24–25 (CSB) — 2So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him. Then the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
• All we know is that Samson was blessed by God as he grew up. Then we see that the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him.
• It was time for Samson to get to work. Usually a when a Judge was called to action, they would raise and army and then go to work; but not Samson.
• SLIDE #7 POINTER
• Samson goes to Timnah and he sees a Philistine woman.
• In case you did not know, Samson’s life is marked by relationships with three women he should not have been involved with.
• Samson had a taste for things he should not have desired.
• What is interesting about the woman from Timnah is that we are told in verses 1,2 that he saw this woman and wanted her. Then he tells his parents to go get her for him so she could be his wife.
• Talk about arrogance! That would be like when I saw Robyn, having never spoken to her, telling my parents, go get her so she can be my wife.
• His parents tell him that he needs to look for a woman from their own people.
• Samson would have none of that talk, in verse 3 he tells dad, GO GET HER FOR ME, SHE IS THE RIGHT ONE FOR ME.
• So, Samson appears to be so arrogant and stuffed with pride that he will not listen to his family.
• Have you ever done that? The family has is looking out for you, and then you will not listen?
• Here is what is perplexing, God did not want His people to marry outside foreigners, but look at verse 4 with me.
• SLIDE #8
• Judges 14:4 (CSB) Now his father and mother did not know this was from the Lord, who wanted the Philistines to provide an opportunity for a confrontation. At that time, the Philistines were ruling Israel.
• As Samson was heading to Timnah, a lion attacked him and Samson killed the lion with his bare hands.
• Samson arrives at Timnah he finally spoke with the woman he wanted to marry.
• After some time, Samson heads back to Timnah to marry the lucky lady. He comes across the lion he had killed.
• There was a bee hive in the carcass of the lion, so Samson scoops out some honey, eats it, and shares it later with his parents.
• Samson violates his Nazarite vow by touching a dead body. Hey nothing happened, so Samson must be ok.
• Samson gets to Timnah and the he proposes a riddle to the thirty men the Philistines send to accompany Samson.
• Long story short, they could not figure out the riddle so they threaten Samson’s wife who according to verse 17 does this.
• SLIDE #9
• Judges 14:17 (CSB) She wept the whole seven days of the feast, and at last, on the seventh day, he explained it to her, because she had nagged him so much. Then she explained it to her people.
• The 30 men “SOLVE” the riddle, Samson knows what happened, so he paid his debt by killing 30 Philistines.
• SLIDE #10
• Judges 14:19 (CSB) The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men. He stripped them and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. In a rage, Samson returned to his father’s house,
• So, there is more to the story, but what we see is that God used Samson even when Samson’s pride was so strong.
• Through Samson’s pride, God used Samson to wreak some havoc on the Philistines.
• In Chapter 16, we find Samson with woman #2, she is a lady of the evening in Gaza. The Philistines knew he was there, they tried to capture him, and Samson eluded them and tore out the city gates of Gaza.
• This brings us to lady number 3.
• SLIDE #11
• Judges 16:4–5 (CSB) — 4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley. 5 The Philistine leaders went to her and said, “Persuade him to tell you where his great strength comes from, so we can overpower him, tie him up, and make him helpless. Each of us will then give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”
• SLIDE #12
II. God used Samson when Samson’s pride caused him to drift from God.
• Here we go again, Samson chasing after another woman he should have stayed away from.
• It is interesting to note that Judges tells us that Samson fell in love with her, it does not say that about the other two.
• The Philistines go to Delilah and offer her 1100 pieces of silver to find out where Samson gets his strength.
• What eventually happens to us as we allow any sin, pride included, to get a deeper foothold in our life, is we start to rely on that sin instead of God.
• As Samson’s pride grew, his dependence on God got weaker, and he drifted further from God.
• Have you ever experienced phenomenon before? It kind of sneaks up on you.
• So here is Delilah. She starts asking Samson where his strength comes from.
• Samson toys with her and first tells her if he is tied up with 7 fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, he will be like other men.
• Next, he goes to new ropes, next his pride starts to be his undoing.
• He tells her to weave the 7 braids on his head into the fabric on a loom.
• Now he is getting closer to the danger zone. Hey, he is Samson, he has broken all the parts of his Nazarite vows and nothing has happened.
• Now Delilah breaks out the secret weapon Samson’s wife used to get the real answer.
• SLIDE #13
• Judges 16:16–17 (CSB) — 16 Because she nagged him day after day and pleaded with him until she wore him out, 17 he told her the whole truth and said to her, “My hair has never been cut, because I am a Nazirite to God from birth. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become weak and be like any other man.”
• Delilah realizes no man can stand up to the weapon of nag, and she knows he is telling the truth.
• She calls the Philistines and as Samson slept on her lap, they came in and shaved off his braids.
• No problem for the great Samson, right?
• SLIDE #14
• Judges 16:20 (CSB) Then she cried, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When he awoke from his sleep, he said, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
• When one drifts from God, it seems that it is a slow fade, it usually happens over time. For Samson, it looks like it is over, Samson had drifted so far that he did not even realize God has left him.
• However, even in his current state, God was still not done with Samson, and when you fade away, God is not done with you either!
• SLIDE #15
III. God used Samson at his lowest point in life.
• To make a long story short, the Philistines gouged Samson’s eyes out, the bound him with bronze shackles and forced him to grind grain in prison.
• They Philistines praised their god Dagon for their victory.
• This is the low point of the life of Samson
• Here is something important.
• As the Philistines were mocking God and Samson
• SLIDE #16
• Judges 16:22 (CSB) But his hair began to grow back after it had been shaved.
• One day the Philistines gather for a great celebration, so the brought Samson out of prison to entertain them.
• There were over 3000 Philistines gathered, Samson asks the young man who was leading him by the hand to place his hands on the pillars so he could rest.
• Then Samson calls out to God.
• SLIDE #17
• Judges 16:28–30 (CSB) — 28 He called out to the Lord: “Lord God, please remember me. Strengthen me, God, just once more. With one act of vengeance, let me pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars supporting the temple and leaned against them, one on his right hand and the other on his left. 30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” He pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the leaders and all the people in it. And those he killed at his death were more than those he had killed in his life.
• God uses Samson to wipe out 3000 Philistines which included ALL the leaders of the Philistines according to verse 27.
• God was able to use Samson at his lowest point of his life.
• When we are at the low point of life, God can and will still use you.
• For Samson, it was his final act, for you, it can be your new beginning!
CONCLUSION
• When we allow sin of any type, unfettered access to our lives, it will eventually cause us to drift from God as Samson did.
• However, God is still there, if nothing else, when you hit rock bottom as Samson did, you will be the most open to God using you for His glory.
• Sin and failure will not stop God from using you.
• God knew Samson’s heart and God acted.
• I would be remiss if I did not share this final verse with you found in the New Testament book of Hebrews.
• Considering all that Samson did wrong let what the Hebrew writer says sink in.
• Hebrews 11 is what some refer to as the Hebrews Hall of Faith
• SLIDE #18
• Hebrews 11:32–33 (CSB) And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,
• If SAMSON can be listed in the Hebrews Hall of Faith, so can you!
