Samson: From gory to glory

Let's pray first before we begin.

Father God, we want to see the way you work so amazingly, so out of our expectation.

And we want to know you in a deeper way through the reading of your word and understanding of your word this morning.

May you have mercy on us and change us through your Holy Spirit.

We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Samson, while this is a well-known story, do you know that it is not actually read in the Jewish synagogue at all?

They don't want to read this story because they consider such an immoral story that it's not a good thing to read publicly.

And so that if our hope is in a religion, then the story of Samson is not a good story to read or to tell the children about.

But by God's grace, we know that none of us get to know God or become pleasing to God in the things that we do.

And that's exactly why the story of Samson is in the Bible.

And we also read in the book of Hebrews that Samson was one of those Old Testament people who received commendation from God and who is also now part of the great cloud of witnesses who are cheering us on to finish the race.

So should we see Samson as a villain or hero?

I think neither.

The answer would be neither.

I think Samson is just an ordinary man, a fallen man whose life was made extraordinary by God's grace.

He is more like a servant of faith than a hero of faith.

His life was not there to tell us how great he was, but his life was there to reveal the glory of God.

So to help us remember the story, I will divide it into four parts represented by four women.

The promise to a mother, the pursuit of a wife, the pleasure from a prostitute, and the play acting with Delilah.

So part one is the promise to a mother.

So we know that Samson's parents lived at a time when people did what was right in their own eyes.

And that is not something surprising or new.

Even before they went to the promised land, Moses already told them that they were living to doing what was right in their own eyes instead of in God's eyes.

So in Deuteronomy chapter 12, verse 8, Moses said,

Deuteronomy 12:8

A day would be coming when God's people would not be doing whatever is right in their own eyes.

So Moses is promising that there will be such a day, but a day hasn't come yet or has not come during the time of judges.

Because that day would come when God gave them rest from all their enemies.

So in the time of judges, even though they were able to subdue some of their enemies,

but there are still some nations they could not overcome.

And God did leave those nations there to test his people, to show them they could not save themselves by their own strength.

So we were told that Samson's parents were infertile until God appeared and promised them that a son would be born to them.

In the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, there are many people that we know of born from infertile parents,

and that is a recurrent theme.

So Sarah was infertile before she gave birth to Isaac.

Rebecca was infertile before she gave birth to Esau and Jacob.

And Rachel was infertile before she had Joseph and Benjamin.

And Hannah was infertile before Samuel's birth.

So this desperate lay of children, in a way, show us that we need a promised son,

someone that God has promised back in Genesis 3,

that there will be a son born to a woman who would crush the head of the serpent

and deliver his people from the bondage of sin.

And that is the son that we've been waiting for.

Until then, we will not have the ultimate rest from the enemies.

These great difficulties in having children imply our inability to produce a son.

When the promised son eventually came, he did not need any human effort to be conceived.

Mary did not even require a man to conceive Jesus.

We read in Judges 13, 3-5,

The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her,

Behold, you are barren and have not born children,

but you shall conceive and bear a son.

Therefore, be careful and drink no wine or strong drink,

and eat nothing unclean.

For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son.

No razor shall come upon his head,

for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb,

and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.

So God told Samson's parents that they would be given a son,

and this son was to be set apart to serve God, a Nazirite.

A sign of this being set apart is having his hair uncut,

and a Nazirite also should not be touching anything that is dead,

or having alcohol.

So that is the sign given for Samson,

to be showing people that he set apart for God.

When a similar promise was given to Mary about her giving birth to a son

who would save his people,

there was no condition mentioned about how this son should live.

We know that Jesus did not need any rule applied to him

for him to be different to the world.

Jesus loved God with all his heart,

so he would naturally be different to the world.

But Samson, just like us,

naturally loved the way of the world,

so his long hair and his other conditions is a reminder to him

and others that he was supposed to serve God

and not his own pleasure.

So that's part one.

Part two, the pursuit of a wife.

So Samson grew up,

and God was preparing him to be a judge.

And we read in Judges 13, 24 to 25,

and the young man grew,

and the Lord blessed him,

and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahalidan.

So God was preparing him in that area near the Philistine.

But we read that Samson went to Timna.

So instead of staying there to prepare,

he went to the enemy territory.

And he did not go to Timna to fight the Philistine.

He went there for pleasure.

So he saw a Philistine woman and wanted to marry her.

Despite his parents' strong objection,

he went ahead with the wedding.

Samson told his parents,

Get her for me,

for she is right in my eyes.

Samson thought his happiness was the most important thing to him

and also to his parents.

So he insisted to get what he wanted.

But God has set him apart.

What was important to him was to be holy.

His parents might remember Joshua's warning,

but they could not act on it.

Joshua,

after they went and entered into the promised land,

Joshua gave them a warning.

In Joshua chapter 23, verses 11 to 13,

Joshua 23:11–13

Joshua said,

Be very careful,

Be very careful, therefore,

to love the Lord your God,

for if you turn back and cling to the remnants of these nations

remaining among you,

and make marriages with them,

so that you associate with them and they with you,

know for certain that the Lord your God

will no longer drive up these nations before you.

But they shall be a snare and a trap for you,

a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes,

until you perish of this good ground

that the Lord your God has given you.

So Joshua's,

the warning in Joshua

was there,

but people just couldn't follow it.

In particular,

it said that there will be the thorns in your eyes

and we would see the effects

of what Samson was doing eventually.

So he went to Timna,

and there is a place that he shouldn't have gone to.

But God sent a lion on the way,

or the second time when he was going there,

perhaps to tell Samson

not to expect a good time in Timna.

He might overcome opposition with his strength,

but he may not be happy

without how the event would unfold.

God's purpose for Samson

to be a saviour would be fulfilled,

whether Samson lived by God's way

or his own way.

Samson killed the lion easily,

and some days later,

he obtained some honey

from the carcass of the lion.

So remember, as a Nazi, right,

he was not supposed to touch anything dead,

but he just didn't care.

Samson just did whatever

that was piercing to him.

Because in his days,

sugar is very hard to get by,

and getting something sweet

is a special treat.

But from the honey,

he came up with a riddle

to tease the Philistines

in the wedding day.

So in Judges 14, 14,

Samson said to them,

out of the eater

came something sweet to eat.

Out of the strong

came something sweet.

And in three days,

they could not solve the riddle.

So the riddle

might just be a joke

for Samson,

but there is an important truth in it.

Samson was saying that

a strong lion,

instead of eating others for food,

became a source of sweet food

for others.

Samson would certainly

not give up his own pursuits

to sweeten the life

of other people.

From the strength of Samson,

there was only death

to his opponents.

But this riddle was a prophecy

about a strong person

who would give his body

to be food for his enemies.

Not only for food,

but sweet food.

Food that restores our soul.

Sometimes we might dream

that God would give us power

so that we could maintain

justice in the world,

God is showing us that

when we have power

like Samson had,

we are more likely

to live like Samson,

using power to gratify

the desires of our hearts.

It is only in Jesus

that we see

how something sweet

came out with his strength.

Because of Samson's strength,

he could kill the lion.

From the dead lion,

he found some honey.

From the honey,

he thought of a riddle.

And through this riddle,

a war broke up

between Samson and the Philistines.

So without knowing it,

or meaning it,

Samson began his role

as a judge

to subdue the Philistines.

So start with,

Samson killed

the Philistine man

and destroyed the crop.

So by the end of part two,

Samson lost his wife.

His fun time in Timnah

turned sour.

He was not interested

in fighting the Philistines

to deliver his people.

He just wanted to revenge.

And he said,

after another fight,

he would quit.

It was no fun anymore.

So in Judges 15,

Judges 15:7–8

verses 7 to 8,

we read,

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 Etem.

However,

the Lord did not let him quit.

The Philistines used

Samson's own people

to struck him down.

So another fight broke out.

This time,

we hear Samson pray to the Lord

as he was dying of thirst

after killing a thousand enemies.

This prayer revealed to us

that Samson had some knowledge of God,

and he stayed on as a judge

for 20 years after that.

So his role as a judge

seemed to have started

with a prayer,

and then we will see

that it will end

with another prayer.

So we go to part three,

the pleasure from a prostitute.

So what was life like

for the Israelites

during Samson's time

as a judge?

We are not told the details,

but in chapter 16,

only the first few verses,

we see that Samson

could just walk

into one of the five capitals

of the Philistines

without any care.

The Philistines

were at least

no match with Samson.

We also see that Samson

remained the same

as far as living

for the pleasure

of his eyes is concerned.

He saw a prostitute

in Gaza,

and he slept with her.

Then Samson left the city

by simply taking down

the city gates

with his hands

and carried them

back to Israel's territory.

However,

the Philistines

were not destroyed

or chased out of the area.

The Philistines

and the Israelites

were in a state

of hostile coexistence.

power seemed to have

made Samson

a lone ranger.

He did not seem

to consult

either his parents

or his peers

for any of his actions.

So last week

from the story

of Jephthah,

Rob was telling us

the futility

and foolishness

to use religion

to get what we want.

So Jephthah,

to ensure his success

in fighting the Amalekites,

he make a stupid vow

as if God

would only help him

if God was impressed

with his sacrifice

or his bargain.

Samson did not need

to make any vow.

He knew that he would

be successful

fighting with any enemy.

So Jephthah

was using religion

to try to bargain

with God.

Samson

think that he was God.

Basically,

he could do anything.

And so he thought

that he was a superman.

He was the army of one.

So when we are gifted

in some ways,

we find it a lot easier

to do things on our own.

However,

the kingdom of God

is more about

relationship

than achievement.

So last week,

Rob was urging us

not to use religion

to try to reach God.

This week,

I think,

I would urge

brothers and sisters

to serve God

with one another.

So we learn from those

who are more mature

and help those

who are struggling a bit.

It's not so much

about what we achieve,

but how we work together

to live for God's glory.

And that is

the way

of God's way

for us

to live

as his people.

So part four,

the play acting

with Delilah.

So sometime later,

Samson was attracted

by Delilah.

Delilah was the only woman

given a name

in the story

of Samson.

But the meaning

of Delilah

is flirtatious.

Flirtatious?

Yeah.

So it is

not likely

to be a real name.

Most likely

it will be

a nickname.

But Samson

paid no attention

to the warning

associated with her name.

Delilah even

told Samson

that he was

attempting to find out

how to subdue him.

We can see

that sometimes

the most gifted people

are the most foolish ones

because Samson

was acting alone.

He thought

he was invincible.

He did not seek advice

from other people

and he fell

into the trap.

So in Judges 16,

chapter 16,

verses 15 to 17,

we read,

and she said to him,

how can you say

I love you

when your heart

is not with me?

You have mocked me

three times

and you have not

told me

where your great

strength lies.

and when she

pressed him hard

with her words

day after day

and urged him,

his soul was waxed

to death

and he told her

all his heart

and said to her,

a razor

has never come

upon my head

for I have been

a Nazirite

to God

from my mother's womb.

If my head

is shaved,

then my strength

will leave me

and I shall become weak

and be like any other man.

So it was fun

toying with Delilah

until one day

Samson gave his heart

to Delilah.

Delilah had fully

replaced God

as Samson's idol.

Samson knew God

was not there

to love Samson.

She was there

to gain some profit

from Samson.

The cutting of

his hair

is a sign

that Samson's heart

was no longer

with God.

The Philistines

eventually

subdue Samson.

They did not

want to kill him.

They gouged out

his eyes.

They wanted to

humiliate him

and display him

as a sign

of their victory.

Sitting in the

dark dungeon,

Samson finally

lost all

that he enjoyed

doing.

At the same time,

he was finally

forced to examine

himself and his life.

Now that he did

not have eyes

to see,

he could see

a lot more

than before.

God was

merciful to him.

Samson began

to mature

and draw

closer to God.

His hair

began to grow

again,

signifying

he was having

a new beginning

with God.

While the

Philistines

wanted to

shame him

and his God,

Samson asked

God to grant

him one last

request that

he could die

with the

Philistines.

He died

killing more

enemies

than what he

did in his

lifetime.

The Philistine

leaders thought

that they had

defeated Samson

and his God.

they did not

realize that

they were

bringing death

into their

own camp

when they

captured Samson.

And Samson

thought that

his life

had ended

when he

became weak

and blind.

He later

realized that

his life

with God

was just

beginning

in his

weakness

and blindness.

We had

a friend

in Tamworth

called Barrow.

She passed

away last year,

a dear friend

of us.

she became

blind from

macular

degeneration

for about

10 years

before her

death.

When we

first went

to Tamworth,

I didn't

have much

to do with

Barrow,

but my

wife,

Lei,

did because

she worked

in the

kitchen.

And Lei

was quite

fearful of

Barrow

before she

turned blind

because Barrow

is a

professionalist

in terms of

when she

sees things

not right,

she would

say it

and so

she could

be quite

critical and

difficult to

work with.

But after

she became

blind,

Barrow

just becomes

such a

nice person

to be with.

You just

sense of

her joy

and her

calmness

and so

it's just a

joy to be

with her.

I think

I think

when she

could see

all those

things that

people did

wrong,

all the

mistakes that

people did,

she just

couldn't

resist to

try to

correct

everything.

And that

made her

quite a

difficult

person to

work or

live with.

But when

she couldn't

see anymore,

she just

got to

change her.

And then

there's a

time when

she becomes

joyful in

things.

It's not

so much

of one

thing,

this thing

must be

done this

way and

that way.

But she

just enjoy

people's

presence and

enjoy God's

presence.

And sometimes

that's how

we miss so

much by

being able to

see and

letting so

many things

distract us,

influence our

emotions,

our thoughts.

And missing

out so much

great things,

wonderful things

that God

brought into

our life

because we

are so

insisting on

things to

be done in

our ways and

not knowing

that God

has done

beautiful things

in our life

and other

people's lives

that appreciate

that.

And this

barrel's change

always is a

lesson to

me.

So was

Samson

safe?

So I think

so because

it's them in

Hebrews 11.

and also

the Bible

tells us

that his

family took

his body

back to

the promised

land and

buried him

there.

So when

the Old

Testament

tells us

that someone

is buried,

that is

meaning.

It's not

just tell us

that it's

buried.

But it

tells us

that this

person is

buried in

that land

when God

has promised

that they

have this

hope of

resurrection.

That's

special.

And that's

why we see

when Jacob

went down

to Egypt,

before he

died,

he asked

Joseph to

promise that

he must

bring his

body back

to the

promised

land to

be buried

there.

It's so

important for

him because

he's got

this hope

of glory

and that's

what God's

people are

looking for.

So when

we read

Hebrews,

we admire

the faith

of people

like Abraham,

Moses,

and Gideon,

but we

find it

difficult to

see how

Samson could

be included

in this

list.

So the

fact that

Samson is

included in

the list

tells us

that their

faith was

not their

own,

but it

came from

God.

And if

you meet

people like

Moses or

Abraham in

heaven and

praise them

for their

faith,

they will

tell you

that it

was all

God's

grace.

They will

not boast

in their

faith,

but they

will tell

you that

the founder

and perfecter

of their

faith is

the Lord

Jesus

Christ.

their

lives were

just a

shadow of

the coming

king and

serve as

encouragement

to us.

If God

can save

Samson and

use him for

his purpose,

he can do

the same for

any of us.

So in

Hebrews 12

Hebrews 12:1–2

verses 1 to

2 we read,

Therefore,

since we are

surrounded by

so great a

cloud of

weaknesses,

let us also

lay aside

every weight

and sin

which clings

so closely

and let us

run with

endurance the

race that is

set before us.

looking to

Jesus,

the founder

and perfecter

of our

faith,

who for

the joy

that was

set before

him,

endured

the cross

despising

the shame

and is

seated at

the right

hand of

the front

of God.

So even

Samson is

among the

cloud of

weaknesses

and we

see him

and we

want to

lay aside

every weight

and sin

that clings

so closely.

We don't

want to

live like

Samson.

And let us

run with

endurance the

race that is

set before us

looking to

Jesus.

Does it

seem unfair

that Samson

still had

the hope

of glory

despite his

disobedient

living?

In a way

it is unfair.

It was the

obedient

living of

Jesus Christ

that gave

us and

Samson the

hope of

glory.

In another

way though,

the one

who lost out

the most of

Samson himself

when he

lived in

disobedience,

he missed

out so much

joy of the

Lord when he

was blinded by

the pleasure

of the world.

Samson

refused to

die to

himself.

He wanted

to gratify

all his

desires.

I think

if you

ask Samson

if he had

a good

life,

he would

tell you

that he

was the

prodigal

son who

squandered

all his

father's

gifts on

worthless

things.

And if

you ask

Samson what

the most

painful

experience in

his life

was,

he would

no doubt

say having

his eyes

gouged up.

However,

he would be

most thankful

to having

his eyes

gouged up.

It was

only when

he became

blind that

he became

free from

his own

sinful desires.

Despite

his flaws,

Samson was

a shadow

of Jesus

in three

ways.

One,

he was

a promised

saviour.

So the

real saviour

would come

from God

and be a

promise from

God.

Two,

he was a

strong man

and we do

need a

strong man,

a strong

saviour to

deliver us

from our

enemies.

Three,

he saved

his people

by dying.

So we

can only

be free

from the

curse of

law by

having a

saviour who

would die

for us.

Samson was

indeed a

very flawed

example of

a saviour,

but he did

become a

judge for

20 years.

Even his

prayers were

quite immature,

but at

least he

prayed.

And we

can see

this is

God's

grace.

God is

not looking

for us

to be

perfect,

but at

least there

should be

some sign

of us

being changed,

wanting to

be like

Jesus,

and wanting

to be

gracious to

other people

as well.

Some people

may ask,

can we

live like

Samson and

expect to

be safe

at the

end?

I think

we can

answer this

question with

two questions.

So why

would you

want to

look to

Samson as

an example

to live

by when

we have

the perfect

saviour,

Jesus Christ,

to look up

to?

Number two

is,

and why

would you

want to

drink from

the well

of this

world to

quench

your thirst

while there

is living

water from

the Lord

Jesus Christ?

Hebrews 12,

14 tells us

to strive

for peace

with everyone

and for the

holiness

without which

no one

will see

God.

The power

given to

Samson was

an external

power.

There was

little internal

change in

Samson until

we became

blind.

We do not

need to

become blind

or invalid

to change

from pleasure

seeking to

holiness

seeking,

because we

are given

power inside

us.

That was

why in

Ephesians 3,

the Apostle

Paul was

praying for

the Ephesians

that they

would be

strengthened

by the

Holy Spirit

in their

inner being.

Judges is

a book

about our

fallen nature.

We would

naturally

reject God.

Even the

judges whom

got raised

up to

save his

people were

seeking their

own glory

and pleasure.

God

himself has

to come

as a human

to save

us.

It is

not a book

about external

behavior,

what we

should do

or what we

should not

do.

It is a

book about

our hearts.

Samson gave

all his

heart to

Delilah and

he became a

slave to

his enemy.

On our

Friday Bible

study,

two nights

ago,

a young

man asked

if it

was okay

to buy

shares.

Where is

the limit?

Is it

gambling or

is it

investment?

Is it

wise?

So there's

lots of

factors we

can consider.

But I

think the

most important

thing is

whatever we

do is

where is

our heart?

Whose

glory are

we living

for?

Otherwise

there will

be too

much rules

and regulation

of what

you can

do or

what you

can't

do.

We

look at

our

hearts.

God

brought

Samson

our life

of pleasure

seeking and

bloodshed to

a life of

God seeking

and shedding

his own

blood.

When the

Lord Jesus

was on the

cross,

giving his

body and

blood to

fulfill the

righteousness

of God,

that was

his hour

of glory.

And the

Lord wants

to bring

us there

to share

this glory.

When we

have the

joy of

suffering for

righteousness

sake,

when we

are willing

to live

and die

for something

and someone

greater than

us,

that would

be glory.

Hebrews

Hebrews 2:10

chapter 2

verse 10,

for it was

fitting that

he, for

home and

by home all

things exist,

in bringing

many sons

to glory,

should make

the founder

of their

salvation,

perfect through

suffering.

Let us

pray.

Father, we

tremble before

you, thinking

that you

would bring

people like

Samson,

people like

us, to

glory,

not only

to bring

us there,

but by

giving us

your son,

so that

we can

be there,

and not

only giving

us your

son,

but by

letting

your son

suffer,

so that

our sins

can be

forgiven.

Amen.

Father, we

look at

Samson,

and look at

us, and

see how

far we

are

away from

your glory,

how little

we see

and know

about this

glory.

Father, we

thank you for

your mercy upon

us, and

that we

would have

a desire for

this glory,

and looking

for the

city that

is to

come.

Father, we

ask that

you will

help us

to live

our life

worthy of

calling,

that we

might strive

for holiness

in the way

we live.

Thank you,

Father.

We pray in

Jesus' name.

Amen.