Today we will finish the story of Samson in Judges 16… as you open your Bibles there, let us remind ourselves of Samson. What can we say about Samson so far from Judges 13-15??
In the Book of Hebrews in the New Testament, Samson is listed as one of the heroes of faith for Christians…. Why? The answer can be found in Judges 16…. Read along with me….
v1: Even after God recently answered his cry for help (Judges 15:18), Samson continues with his sin of lust.
v2: As soon as the Philistines found out where Samson was, they planned to kill him!
v3: So many things to speculate what else happened…. let’s just note what it says:
a. Samson didn’t wait till dawn to get up!
b. Samson torn down the doors of a city gate and carried them to the top of a hill
And so we read in v3, Samson got up in the middle of the night, didn’t get killed, nor did he kill anyone; but what do you think it meant that Samson did all of that to a door which is supposed to be for security, then he carries all of it to a top of a mountain facing a well known city??
Samson showed off his “smarts” and strength? But then again, it all happened at night!
Was there actually anyone up also in the middle of the night to see what Samson did?
Or did Samson do all of that just for himself….. was it just his rage and frustration…. a temper-tantrum? Remember what Samson did to a young lion back in Judges 14? Samson could have just punched out the young lion; but no, he had to tear it apart! More questions to ask Samson when we get to heaven but it seems Samson had some sort of mental disorder, don’t you think?
And some time later, what do we read in v4? Samson fell in love again with what kind of woman?? Samson sinned again by falling in love with a pagan!
v5: With the help of Delilah, the Philistines planned another way to catch Samson.
v6-14: Delilah tried to get answers but Samson gave her 3 lies.
Based on what we know about Samson, why do you think he did that to Delilah??
Samson gave lies to either test Delilah or (remember Samson asking that riddle way back) maybe just to goof around! What a character!!
The real answer of course is so that Tom Jones can sing, “Why, why, why Delilah?” 😊
v15-17: Delilah kept nagging Samson and so he gave in and told the truth about his hair!
What can we note?
a. Samson again showed his impatience here!
After testing Delilah 3 times, don’t you think Samson should have known Delilah’s intentions?
In context, can we note a couple of reasons why Samson was not afraid of Delilah’s intentions??
Look ahead to v20…..
b. Samson had an ego and was self-reliant! What else can we say about him from v20??
c. Samson was not spiritually conscious at that time!
v18-21: Delilah had Samson’s hair shaved, subdued him, turned him over to the Philistines who blinded him!
We can note Samson’s downfall here for many reasons we should learn from!
I am calling this message “From Downfall To Restoration”; why? look at v22…. I guess I can also title this message as “Rogue-gaine!” But the story of Samson is not just physical but spiritual! Samson’s story is about a human being failing but God restoring him spiritually! Let’s finish the story…
v22-25: As Samson’s hair started to grow again, the Philistines continued to party!!
v26….. Why do you think the servant listened to Samson??
a. just followed along not knowing what could happen
b. a servant who didn’t really care for the Philisitines
c. God was at work!
Let us always remember this! God is real! God is love and is always at work in our lives! How often do we actually acknowledge God’s presence in our daily lives?
Back to our passage….
v27: There were many Philistines there including all the Leaders!
v28-30: Samson prayed to God for strength, gave his life to God, and God answered as the Philistine temple collapsed and all in it were killed.
What should we learn from this story of Samson? We noted that Samson was restored at the end but he caused his own downfall to be blinded and imprisoned.
1. What caused Samson’s downfall that we are to watch out for ourselves??
a. Be careful with lusts of the flesh! (Romans 13:13-14 NKJV….)
Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
b. Watch out for anger! James 1:20 - because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
c. Watch out for self-reliance and ego instead of being spiritually conscious!
In the end, Samson was restored through his godly attitude, prayer, and action!
2. Let us follow Samson’s godly example.
a. Samson humbled himself before God! He called on God a Sovereign Lord!
God rules over everything! How do we start our prayers? We are to always humble ourselves before our Creator/Savior God! Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up!
Samson ultimately placed his life in God’s hands!
b. We are to place our lives in God’s hands! (Not my will but your will be done Lord!)
And finally like Samson….
c. Pray for strength to take godly actions!
