Tuesday: Samson
The battle lines between good and evil are blurred in the story of Samson. His life starts in impressive fashion with an announcement from the Angel of the LORD that he is to be a Nazarite from birth. The Angel instructs Samson’s parents how to prepare for their special baby.
Image © Providence Collection from GoodSalt.com
The mother is told not to drink alcohol or to eat forbidden food (Judges 13:4, Judges 13:13-14; see also Leviticus 11). God, indeed, had special plans for Samson; unfortunately, things didn’t work out as well as they could have.
“Just as he was entering upon manhood, the time when he must execute his divine mission-the time above all others when he should have been true to God-Samson connected himself with the enemies of Israel. He did not ask whether he could better glorify God when united with the object of his choice, or whether he was placing himself in a position where he could not fulfill the purpose to be accomplished by his life. To all who seek first to honor Him, God has promised wisdom; but there is no promise to those who are bent upon self-pleasing.”-Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 563.
Read Judges 14:1-4. How is it possible that God used Samson’s weakness for women as “an occasion to move against the Philistines?” (Judges 14:4, NKJV) .
Samson “moved” against the Philistines in a number of ways, each in angry response to personal slights. First he killed 30 men and took their clothes back to his wedding feast to pay a debt (Judges 14:19) . Then he destroyed their crops when his wife was given to his best man (Judges 14:20, Judges 15:1-5) . Then Samson killed many in revenge for the Philistines killing his wife and her father (Judges 15:6-8) . When the Philistines tried to avenge that action (Judges 15:9-10) , he killed 1, 000 with a donkey’s jawbone (Judges 15:14-15) . Finally he pulled down their temple and killed 3, 000 for blinding him (Judges 16:21, Judges 16:28, Judges 16:30) .
Talk about a flawed hero. There seems to be very little from Samson that we should seek to emulate, even though he is listed in Hebrews 11:32 with some pretty exalted figures. Obviously, there’s more to this story than meets the eye. Think about what God could have done with Samson. What about ourselves? How much more could we do were we living up to our potential?
(35)
Times and again we have criticised and condemned Samson for what he did,but we too have been blessed with talents and all we do is squander and gratify self.I may be a legend but weak morally.Partriarchs and prophets- A strength of a man is measured by the feelings he controls.
I am inspired and uplifted by this lesson. Thank you!!!
From a prophetic point of view Manoah's wife represents the church that 1Peter 2:9 refers to it as a choosen race and a holy nation and therefore we must be holy in what we say, do and eat.We too who are tasked with the Great commission should be holy because we are carrying a holy message and we have been sent by a holy God.
Samson a pretty tough guy was blessed right from birth just as most of us today. He used the God given talent to fight wars and kill the philistines. The I part of us today makes us have pride which In turn makes us lift self. I am a doctor. I ama musician, I am a fighter, I am I am I am. We've taken the name of God I AM for our selves. This pride kills us slowly and draws us away from the Kingdom of God. It my prayer that I AM helps us to get rid of self centeredness and have unity amongst ourselves as we prepare for the kingdom come
AMEN
"Physically, Samson was the strongest man upon the earth; but in self-control, integrity, and firmness, he was one of the weakest of men. Many mistake strong passions for a strong character, but the truth is that he who is mastered by his passions is a weak man. The real greatness of the man is measured by the power of the feelings that he controls, not by those that control him." EGW PP p.568
Lets learn from this man and try to understand wat God wants from us
Does v.4 mean that we can do the opposite of what God said like marrying an unbeliever in order to win him/her to Christ?
God does not change.Numbers23:19 says" God is not man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should not repent.Has He said and will He not do, or has He spoken and will He not make good?"
Before Samson was concieved, God promised that Israel would begin to be delivered from the Phillistines through him.Samson's waywardness would not make God deviate from His own plan.His behaviour caused his death, but still God's plan was fulfilled.
We might be powerful preachers, who will convert people to God, or be involved in activities that help to spread the gospel, which is God's plan, but if our daily lives are contrary to God's commandments,we will perish.
as to me samson did his work
he won the buttle, what else dd we expect him to do
Being blessed by God from he was in the womb,meant' he shouldn't have done "his" work to glorify himself but God's work to glorify God and he would have accomplished more than he did,
"God's promise that through Samson He would "begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines" was fulfilled; but how dark and terrible the record of that life which might have been a praise to God and a glory to the nation! Had Samson been true to his divine calling, the purpose of God could have been accomplished in his honor and exaltation. But he yielded to temptation and proved untrue to his trust, and his mission was fulfilled in defeat, bondage, and death." EGW PP p.567 The story teaches us to learn how to pray and trust in the most high until His (God) intervention intervenes our every day way of life.
Would anyone here calls home boy Samson a hero? give your feedback Y/N
He is listed as a hero of Faith Hebrews,(Hebrews 11:32)
yes
God brought the story as a lesson to most of us I(my own strength) controlling our morals
May God bless you for a good lesson
Despite his obvious weakness, Samson was a man of faith and prayer. God answered his prayers in a spectacular way
We all have a calling. all we must always do is to comply to the lords instruction and not be controlled by our feelings but rather control them
In Samson indeed there is little we can emulate from him because he was sanctified before he was born but look the decision he is making connected himself with the enemies of the Israelite, how many times did our self connected to the desire of our flesh disregarding the will of God, this lesson should help us to always have trust in God so that he can always protect us.
question? Samson experienced his temptations 'just as he was entering manhood'
God choose Samson before he was born, do we read anywhere that Samson dedicated himself to serve God?
Shirley, perhaps in the fact that Samson did not cut his hair we see some small indication of his intention to be "faithful"? Though his morals were not the highest, his keeping the "letter" of the Nazarene vows must mean something as far as his desire to serve God as he best understood it.
How do God's professed people show today that they serve God above self?
True Robert, my pet hobby horse is Do we just follow what our parents believe, at what stage do we think and make a commitment for our selves? As parents how do we help our kids develop a relationship with Jesus and not just follow the rules?
Great question. I have a five year old & I teach him that God will always be there when no one else is. I teach the story of Joseph when he prayed when he was sold. & I just tell him, "God wants to know all your feelings. You can turn to Him no matter how many wrong things you've done." & he has prayed sincere prayers many times expressing his feelings. I feel that its the start of his relationship with Christ that will eventually lead him to a commitment as he grows older.
I myself married an unbeliever and even thought I love my husband and the children we have together. I regret have been gone contrary to the Lord command and I pray the Lord Jesus to use me for his honor and glory in his wonderful mercy, just as he use Samson.
remembering the quote..."he who angers you controls you" Samson took too long to remember that it wasn't God that was in control but in the end he remembered; asked for forgiveness,humbled himself, gave God the glory and was guided and blessed when he took self glory and gave God the glory.
Samson repented and that is why he is mentioned in Hebrews - plain and simple. If we have weaknesses like Samson and fail to repent and turn from our sin, we would be lost. Look at David and many others - they repented.
Great lesson from Samson. That as long as we use God's blessings (strength/might as in Big Sam's case or wealth as was Solomon's case) to glorify ourselves and not God as ought to be, we're always bound to fail. The moment we realize our weakness and helplessness and humbly seek God's help, we get back on course. It's the best lesson in humility.
I personally feel that Samson could have done more that what he did but as we are fighting with spirits sometime we need to never lose focus on God.
I agree Bongani. Samson could have done more; he could have done better. (But I know that he did more than I have ever done on God's behalf.)
The old Reformers might have done more too. They did good work, but many of them were hard men when it came to disagreements, even among themselves.
But "God did not select the Reformers because they were overbearing, passionate men. He accepted them as they were, notwithstanding these traits of character; but He would have placed TENFOLD GREATER RESPONSIBILITIES upon them had they been of humble mind, having their spirits under control of reason." (4T 486)
Had Samson been more obedient, he may have even become king of the Israelites, but all the same he deserved to be acknowledged as one of the heroes of faith since he not only had the overwhelming physical strenght that God had given to him, but he humbled himself, asked for forgiveness and God forgave him of all the sins of his youth like David.
By reading Judges 14:4, which this text declare us that Samson did not make mistake in this case because what he did It was from God,,,
Yes. But he would have done greater things and still defeat the phillinstines had he been in line with Gods will. God knew samsons heart and most likely said since this is the route that samson is taking, im still going to use him to destroy the phillinstines, however its not going to end pretty. Have samson made different choices, he would have probably not suffered or die the way he did. However, everything happens for a reason and God allows certain things to happen in order to teach us a lesson. The story of samsom is definitely one we can hold in our hearts when it comes to the choices we make. He is still going to use us & forgive us, but being that God is a just God, we still have to pay the consequences for the wrong choices we make or simply the choices we want to make.
To all who seek first to honor Him, God has promised wisdom; but there is no promise to those who are bent upon self-pleasing."-Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 563.
What a great lesson for us today in our materialistic and secular world.
God's plans for Samsom were great but he preferred the "self pleasing".
Samson made a mess of himself but God used him to do a job, to serve justices to Philistines. He was a weak character, with poor morals, and uncontrolled rage, but lived by faith in his maker.He destroyed their temple and the worshipers.
I believe every vessel is created for a special purpose and God creates, makes, permits or let such things to take place or happen for a purposeful reason.It was of the LORD that Samson commits the aforementioned case, that he was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines Judges "14 vs 4", like he "GOD" hardened Pharaoh's heart so he would not listen when Moses presents the command as to freeing the Israelist . The bible and only the bible narratives proves it as the work or will of God that such happened, and confirms it was of the glory of God. I am tempted to think had he "Samson" chose not to go that route it would have been straying out of God's plan and perhaps we would have lost the precise comprehension as to what object lesson should we have learnt. If he was really weak,that makes Hosea weak too,it was the only way that God chose and notice "chose" to provoke the Philistines so in being provoked,thus God purposes his demonstrations. Let us not dwell much on what Samson did but the purpose of which God chose him to serve.
From the study guide: "How is it possible that God used Samson’s weakness for women as “an occasion to move against the Philistines?”"
Don't we find a good response to this reasoning in the questions raised by Habakkuk and God's reply to him? This conversation between God and the concerned prophet lays out the principles of God's dealing with the nations and gives us a better understanding of the 7 trumpets in the Revelation. Babylon was used of God as we see with Samson generations earlier, and even before this, the erring nation of Israel under Joshua against the wicked inhabitants of Canaan.
"What about ourselves? How much more could we do were we living up to our potential?"
We are still here, 170 years and 90 days(today) since Jesus entered the judgment that would allow Him to come again with His reward to every man according to his works. Only one faithful generation is needed to bring this all to a close, yet here we are still, many generations since 1844.
I really need answers for Judges 14:4 what is this verse saying \"of the Lord\" and bible verses to support the answers. Thanks
Did samson commit suicide in the way he died? ...Please help.
No more than Jesus did on the cross. Samson surrendered his temporal life for the good of others while fulfilling his purpose to overthrow the enemies of God's people. He was not killing himself, but sacrificed himself. He took the only opportunity he would probably ever have though it cost him his life (John 15:13). This is not the "old" Samson from before his captivity.
We find Samson among the names listed in Hebrews 11:32.