Comfortable with Oppression

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,

and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

A special welcome if you are new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here.

And we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,

but because we're following Jesus together as one community.

And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good.

They don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it,

which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in his word.

This morning, we're continuing our series in the book of Judges.

I will note, if you've been with us for a while, you know that we alternate between preaching books from the Old Testament

and books from the New Testament. Judges is 21 chapters, and we're now in chapter 15,

which means we're getting close to the end.

So I'll just tell you, when we end Judges, we are then going to turn to the New Testament,

and we're going to jump into the book of Romans.

But we're not in Romans yet. We're in Judges.

And you'll remember that Judges is about a number of things.

It is about the need for constant renewal and revival among God's people.

It's about the need for a faithful and true king,

a king who can do what no human can do, which is to change the hearts of men.

And it's about the power of spirit-filled leadership.

And it's about God's mercy to hard-hearted people, people like you and me.

This week, we're picking up again the story of Samson, which I believe is the longest story in the book.

And last week, we saw that while Samson is a mess, God is still at work.

Samson continues to be a mess this week,

but we'll turn from just Samson's individual problems to the problems of the nation of Israel,

and we'll see close up the danger of compromise.

With that, I invite you to turn with me to Judges chapter 15.

Judges 15 · chapter mention

You can turn in your Bible.

You can turn on your phone.

You can turn in your worship guide.

No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word.

And God tells us that his word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold.

And it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.

And so that's why we read now Judges chapter 15, starting at verse 1.

Judges 15 · chapter mention

After some days at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with a young goat.

And he said, I will go into my wife in the chamber.

But her father would not allow him to go in.

And her father said, I really thought that you utterly hated her.

So I gave her to your companion.

Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she?

Please take her instead.

And Samson said to them, this time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines when I do them harm.

So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches.

And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails.

And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines.

And set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards.

Then the Philistines said, who has done this?

And they said, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.

And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.

And Samson said to them, if this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you.

And after that, I will quit.

And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow.

And he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Edom.

Verse 9.

Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a raid on Lehi.

And the men of Judah said, why have you come up against us?

They said, we have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.

Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Edom and said to Samson,

do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us?

What then is this that you have done to us?

And he said to them, as they did to me, so I have done to them.

Verse 12.

And they said to him, we have come down to bind you that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.

And Samson said to them, swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.

They said to him, no, we will only bind you and give you into their hands.

We will surely not kill you.

So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him.

Then the spirit of the Lord rushed upon him and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire.

And his bonds melted off his hands.

And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey and put out his hand and took it.

And with it he struck one thousand men.

And Samson said, with the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps.

With the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men.

As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand.

And that place was called Ramath-Lehi.

Verse 18.

And he was very thirsty and he called upon the Lord and said,

You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant.

And shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?

And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi and water came out from it.

And when he drank, his spirit returned and he revived.

Therefore the name of it was called En-Hakor.

It is at Lehi to this day.

And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven, we do thank you again that you've given us your word,

that you instruct us, that you teach us, that you lead us and guide us.

And we ask that you would do that this morning.

That you would use this passage in the book of Judges

to warn us and to encourage us.

Most of all, you would use it to show us Jesus.

That we would see again that his grace is greater than our sin.

That you're faithful even when we're faithless.

We ask that we would see him as more beautiful and glorious

and loving and powerful than we ever knew.

And we ask all of these things in his mighty name.

Amen.

Like a good drama, like any good drama,

the author of Judges left us last time with a real cliffhanger.

If you remember the end of chapter 14, the very last verse,

we were told this,

Samson's wife was given to his companion

who had been his best man.

Okay, not just someone else.

It's not just that there's another man with Samson's wife.

No, we're told it is his best man.

The reason being, the verse before,

Samson leaves in anger.

You may remember that he had this competition

with the people of his wife

and they had this bet, this riddle they were supposed to solve

and they threatened his wife.

So she revealed the answer to the riddle.

And so Samson is filled with rage,

goes to town on the Philistines.

What is very clear though,

is that he and this woman are in fact married.

She is not his girlfriend.

She is not his fiance.

She is his wife.

And so his father-in-law has no business doing what he did.

He is completely out of line,

having handed her off to another man.

That sets the stage for our drama here in chapter 15.

Verse two, the father makes this attempt at appeasement

saying, hey, you can have another one of my daughters.

And you know what?

Actually, you're gonna get a good deal out of this.

She's actually more attractive

than the woman that you married.

So why don't we do that?

And we can just call it good.

Samson is not interested in appeasement.

He actually sees an opportunity for revenge.

And that's in fact exactly what he does

in verses four and five.

We might call this a disproportionate response.

Samson has been offended by one man.

He goes after all the Philistines.

There has been a private offense.

Samson goes on a public campaign.

He picks these 300 foxes.

He splits them into 150 pairs.

And then he goes and destroys the Philistines' food supply.

I have a problem with one man.

There's tension in one family.

You know what?

Let's wreck all men.

Let's wreck every family.

That seems like a really kind of proportion,

measured, reasonable response.

Now, it's easy for us to focus here on the grain

that he destroys.

They're not going to have anything to eat.

It's actually even worse than that.

Note in verse five,

he's not just going after the grain.

He goes after the olive orchards.

And if you're familiar with the Mediterranean,

you know that olive orchards are a big deal.

Not only are they a big deal,

they take generations to build up and cultivate.

Many olive trees survive for 500 years.

There's at least one olive tree

that's known to have been in existence for 1,500 years.

Samson is out for revenge.

Samson is out of control.

Samson chooses a response

that is wildly out of proportion

to what has happened here.

To understand the severity of what Samson's doing,

I'll remind you of something

I told you a couple years ago.

If you're familiar with Colorado gun laws,

you know that to use lethal force,

there needs to be a lethal threat.

In other words, if you are stealing my car,

I'm not allowed to shoot you

because you're not threatening my life.

Okay, so I can end up in trouble for that,

except in one circumstance.

Colorado law says you can use lethal force

if someone is attempting arson.

Why?

Because it's so destructive, right?

Because the threat of someone's life,

lethal threat is downstream of arson.

This is something, right,

that could burn up our state.

And so it makes sense

that this would be something considered so serious

that that's the one exception

where you're allowed to use lethal force.

That helps us understand

the severity of the Philistines' response here.

To wreck someone's food supply,

to destroy all their grain

and all their olive trees,

is an absolute declaration of war.

Samson has a problem with one family.

He declares war on the entire nation.

We see once again,

Samson is a mess.

Now, I don't mean to excuse

the Philistines' behavior here,

but understanding that,

their response begins to make sense.

Verse six, they say,

look, you're gonna burn our fields.

You're gonna burn our olive trees.

Guess what?

We'll burn your wife

and your father-in-law.

Even worse than that,

we're gonna take a step further.

We are going to launch an offensive against Judah.

You come after our nation.

You come after our people.

We'll come after your nation.

We'll come after your people.

What's good for the goose

is good for the gander.

Fair is fair.

And it's at this point,

we begin to see the main theme,

the main problem of this chapter.

Verse 10,

they come against the people of Judah.

And the men of Judah say,

hey, what's going on?

Why are you here?

Philistines tell them

there's one simple reason

that we're here, Samson.

Now, at this point,

if we were earlier in the book of Judges,

we would expect one thing to happen.

What should Judah do at this point?

Oh, the Philistines,

who are our oppressors,

are coming up against us to attack us.

There's only one logical answer.

Let's muster our troops.

Right?

It is time for war.

It is time for us to see God at work once again

and to throw off the shackles of our oppressors.

That's what we should expect Israel to do.

What should we expect Samson to do?

If he was like any other judge,

he would show some leadership at this point.

If you haven't noticed,

Samson is not exactly a team player.

All the other judges were.

Samson should be saying,

I will lead you, right?

I am the strong man.

I'm even stronger than Jethro.

You thought Jethro was great at war?

Wait till you see what I can do.

Israel should be uniting together

to fight the Philistines.

And they do the exact opposite.

Oh, you're here because of Samson?

I think we can clear this up.

Why don't you take him?

He's our judge.

God raised him up.

He has this incredible birth story.

But you know what?

None of that really matters.

Things are good as they are.

How about we just hand him over?

You know, we say, it's all good.

We wash our hands of this.

Once again, we have a sad and crushing disappointment.

Once again, God's people are worse than ever before.

Israel is completely upside down.

God's people should be rallying behind their judge

and fighting their enemies.

Instead, they betray their judge

and they're sympathetic to their enemies.

Notice their words in verse 11.

Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us?

That's what's stated.

What's unstated is this.

And that's the way we like it.

Don't you know these people are the ones in charge?

Why, Samson?

Why would you disrupt the status quo?

If you oppose your leader

and you befriend your enemies,

something is very wrong.

Judah is not just sick.

She is really sick.

Things are not just twisted in Israel.

They are completely upside down.

This helps us understand, by the way,

what was happening in Judges chapter 14.

Judges 14 · chapter mention

Remember when Samson goes out to find a Philistine wife,

his parents are so upset and distraught over it.

And we had that key verse, verse 4, where it said this,

his father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord,

for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines.

Why is the Lord seeking an opportunity against the Philistines?

Because Judah isn't.

Why does God need to use Samson to stir the pot?

Because God's people are complacent with their oppression.

Israel is okay being ruled by the Philistines.

Israel is happy for a pagan nation to be in control.

Israel is content to be ruled by sin.

So the point is this.

Things have gotten so bad that God's people now embrace oppression.

Things are so bad that they see the wrong leaders as the right leaders.

Things are so upside down that they betray their very own judge.

Remember also what was weird about chapter 14.

This was the first time Israel did not cry out for God's help.

What once they saw as wrong, they now see as normal.

And in fact, as the book of Judges goes on,

it's going to continue to go downhill.

They will embrace the pagan culture more and more.

Judah has made a devastating compromise with sin.

This brings out another element of the book of Judges,

which is that we see the way in which evil works,

the way that sin operates.

Satan loves to chip away at God's people generation by generation.

Compromise in one generation becomes apostasy in the next.

Laziness in one generation turns into abandonment in the following one.

Satan is willing to play the long game,

and at least for a moment, it seems to be working.

Remember, Judges 2, verse 19,

Judges 2:19

things got worse every generation.

Every cycle, God's people go further down.

There is compounding compromise that's happened in Israel.

Albert Einstein once said,

the most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.

We might say another one of the most powerful forces in the world

is compound compromise.

Israel has given in over and over.

Israel is becoming worse and worse.

So our passage reminds us of one of the great tensions of the Christian life,

tension we already read about,

Scott read to us from John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

And the tension is this,

that God calls his people to be in the world,

not of the world.

That's what Jesus prays for in John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

This is on page 3 of your worship guide.

In verse 11, he just says it straightforward.

They are in the world.

He's referring to his people.

He's referring to the church.

And then he gives this prayer in verses 15 and 16.

I do not ask that you take them out of the world,

but that you keep them from the evil one.

They are not of the world,

just as I am not of the world.

Judges 15 challenges us

to examine

where are we in the world

and of the world.

Where have we made compromises with sin?

Where have the twisted parts

of our culture become normal to us?

You'll see this on page 9 of your worship guide.

It's easy for us to look at another culture

and see how a member of God's people

has sold out to the surrounding culture.

We're more unwilling to look hard

at where we might have done so.

Brings us back to one of the major themes

of the book of Judges,

the need for constant renewal

and revival among God's people.

It is our default setting

as we walk in this world

to assume that what's normal for the culture

must be normal for us.

And so we forget

what it means

the water around us that we swim in.

So we give in

to self-expression

and radical individualism,

which leads us to rampant divorce

and isolation.

We assume

that the culture's level

of consumption

is good

and right.

We believe

the good life

is made up

of materialism

and sex

and status.

We're desensitized

to the sexual images

that assault us

on social media

and in line

at the grocery store.

We adopt

the tone

and anger

of the political discourse

around us

as normal

for Christians

to take part in.

Where have we

become comfortable

with the twisted values

of the world

around us?

Where do we say

don't you know

that the Philistines

are rulers

over us

and that's

the way

we like it?

Thankfully,

Israel's betrayal

does not have

the last word

and thankfully,

God's grace

really is

greater

than our sin.

The story

does not end

with Samson

being defeated

by the Philistines.

In fact,

quite the opposite.

The 3,000 men

who should be

marching

against the Philistines

come instead

to Samson.

This is verse 11

and they bind

the sacrifice

that they're offering

for the sake

of peace.

They don't just

bind him,

by the way.

It's not simply

ropes.

They are new ropes.

This is verse 13.

And new ropes

are going to be

even tighter

than old ropes.

They're going to be

even harder

to pull apart.

They know

Samson's strong

solution

make his bonds

even stronger.

We're not going to

get tricked

or fooled.

We're not going to

give him

or bind him

in something

that he can easily

break out of.

No,

we're going to make sure

Samson,

for once,

is actually

under control.

And God

once again

pours out

his spirit

on his judge

to deliver

his people.

Verse 14

or 13.

No,

it's verse 14.

The ropes

that were on

his hands

became as

flax

that has

caught fire

and his bonds

melted off

his hands.

Why?

Because the spirit

of the Lord

rushed

upon him.

God performs

another miracle

on behalf

of Samson.

God saves

his judge

once again.

God keeps

his promise.

He will begin

to save

his people

from the Philistines.

What does

Samson do?

he finds

a jawbone

and he wrecks

the Philistines.

Verse 15.

With it

he struck

one thousand

men.

Yes.

Israel

has turned

upside down.

And yes,

Israel

opposes

their leader

and cozies

up to

their friends.

And

God

remains

faithful

to his

people.

God

continues

to keep

his promise.

God

continues

to rescue.

God

uses

Israel's

compromise

and

he uses

Samson's

anger

to accomplish

his purpose.

No matter

what,

God

still

prevails.

No matter

what,

God

is still

in control.

No matter

what,

he remains

faithful

to his

people

and his

promises.

God

rescues

his people

even when

they don't

deserve it.

Christian,

God

rescues

you

even when

you don't

deserve it,

which is

every time.

God's

grace

really is

greater

than our

sin.

God

even

after this

rescue,

Samson's

behavior

leaves much

to be

desired.

Verse 16

and 17,

we see

Samson's

version

of a

touchdown

dance.

And you

may have

noticed

verse 16

and 17,

he writes

a poem

and this

poem is

exclusively

focused on

how great

God is

in his

salvation for

his people.

Right?

You see

that?

No.

Verse 17,

with the

jawbone of

a donkey

have I

struck down

a thousand

men.

There's no

mention of

the Lord.

Samson,

even as

God shows

him great

mercy and

grace,

is completely

full of

himself.

Verse 17,

we find

out that

Samson is

the one

who invented

the process

of dropping

the mic.

Except instead

of dropping

the mic,

he tosses

the jawbone

on the

ground.

Y'all see

that?

I killed

a thousand

Philistines,

I got

a poem.

What?

Look at

Samson

now.

Then,

verse 18,

he talks

to God

with this

little

passive

aggressive

statement.

Shall I

now die

of thirst

and fall

into the

hands

of the

uncircumcised?

Just in

case it's

not clear,

that is

not the

way you

speak to

the living

God.

God has

no response,

just

provision.

Verse 19,

he gives

Samson

water.

And then

in verse

20,

God drops

the mic.

and he

judged

Israel

in the

days

of the

Philistines

20 years.

What does

it say

at the

end of

all the

other

judges'

reigns?

It says

the people

had peace

for X

number of

years.

Not so

here.

The

Philistines

are rulers

over them.

The

Philistines

continue

to be

rulers

over them.

Samson's

work

as a

judge

is

compromised

and

incomplete.

Remember

from chapter

14,

he will

begin

to save

his people

from the

Philistines.

Samson

is

the

worst

judge.

As we

come to

the end

of the

book of

Judges,

we see

two things

that are

going to

stand out

over and

over again,

and they're

this.

Israel is

dripping

with

compromise,

but God

is dripping

with grace.

Israel has

completely

lost her

way.

God

saves her

again

and again.

God

will

do

that.

The

tension

of the

book of

Judges

is this.

How can

God

do that

over and

over?

Why is

he gracious

to his

people who

have lost

the way?

Why does

he give

water to

judges who

praise

themselves

rather

than him?

God

can

God

be

just

and

merciful?

Of course,

the answer

comes in

our Lord

Jesus.

God

is able

to show

us

mercy

when we

lose the

plot

because he

showed

judgment

to Jesus

when he

was on

the cross.

God

is able

to be

present

with his

people in

their failure

and their

mess

because he

forsake

his one

and only

son.

God's

grace

is greater

than our

sin

because

Jesus'

sacrifice

paid

the price.

We

have

a great

and greater

judge.

Jesus

is the

reason

that God

can show

his

people

grace

in the

midst

of

failure.

Jesus

is the

reason

that if

we lose

the

plot,

God

is still

at work.

We need

a faithful

and true

king.

We need

a king

who can

do

what no

human

can

do

which

is to

change

the

hearts

of

men.

Samson

is a

failure.

He'll

never

be the

one

we can

rely

on.

Jesus,

the

king,

we

actually

need.

So that's

why we

started this

sermon with

this.

Great is

thy

faithfulness,

O God

my

father.

There

is no

shadow

of

turning

with

thee.

God's

grace

is

greater

than

our

sin.

If we

are

faithless,

he

remains

faithful,

for he

cannot

deny

himself.

Let's

pray.

Our

father in

heaven,

we do

praise you

and thank

you that

you are

merciful and

gracious to

us.

Even when

we live

Samson

lives,

even when

we lose

the plot,

even when

we compromise

with the

world around

us,

that you

don't give

up.

We ask

that you

would remind

us of

that truth

again,

that you

would drive

it deep

into our

hearts,

that it

would change

our lives,

our minds,

our affections.

We ask

these things

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

I invite

you to

stand for

our