180: Saxon Bell - Samson: So Many Questions Pt.1

[Music] Welcome to Good Christian Talking Talks, I'm Levi. And I'm Chris. And I'm Brian. Thank you for joining us this week. On this podcast we select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our daily newsfeed. We post a new episode at the start of each week. With a short intro beforehand to kind of set the stage for the talk you're about to listen to. And now let's talk more about this week's talk. [Music] Welcome to The Good Christian Talking Talks podcast. This is Brother Brian. This week's talk is part one of a two-class series by Brother Saxon Bell, which was given in late 2019 at the Enfield Acquigia in South Australia. This was a series that we've actually had recommended by multiple people. It's entitled "Sampson" so many questions. Brother Saxon takes a deep dive look at this semi-controversial character and asks, "Is Samson an untainted example of a man of faith or is his a cautionary tale or perhaps something in between?" And I'll say right out the bat, it's phenomenal material. You'll definitely need to and want to listen to both classes. So the other will be uploaded on the GCT extended very soon. But they're both very informationally dense. Or at least I found them to be. In the way that you'll hear Brother Bell build such a case to make his points that you want to stop and listen back again just to make sure that you caught it all. Sometimes two or three times over at some places. So heads up. I definitely found this more of a note-taking kind of listen or perhaps like all a long road trip. That's the kind of mindset you need to have if you catch my drift. I mean, I would just say like you want to be very mentally present for all the stuff that he's going to bring about. Because I feel like the description, and it's weird to say this, but the description that kept coming to my mind was that of like a courtroom. And Brother Saxon is exonerating Samson of his many perceived crimes and clearing his name, so to speak. And it's just fantastic the way that Brother Saxon laces case out. It just feels very electric and methodical. I'll point out that one of the cool first misconceptions that Brother Bell tackles is the Sunday School Storybook vision of Samson that is hard to shake. But as this muscle bound hulk of a man that I also, as Brother Bell disagrees with, I also have never agreed with it since I think 100% makes sense that he was a normal look and dude who people had no idea where his births of strength came from. And as Brother Saxon suggests, even Samson himself didn't always know when the spirit of Lord would give him this ability. So once again, this is part one of two classes. The other will be uploaded to the extended podcast shortly. And I definitely recommend that you hear both to get the full picture. This is not a skimming kind of series, even up until the last few minutes of class two. So I'll leave you with that cliffhanger. As always, we hope that this strengthens your faith and great and zoo day. Brother Saxon Bell, Samson, so many questions. With the time that we have tonight, I've only really got time to look at one aspect of Samson. And so what I've tried to focus on is trying to make sense of what seems to be a confusing and a contradictory account of his life. And this is a really big challenge in two nights. Was he an example of faith that we are to follow or are we to learn from his mistakes? When we look at Samson in the judges' record from a human perspective, it's fair to say that the record doesn't seem to betray him in a good light. He seems to be ungodly, lustful, and have no respect for his Nazarite bell. And when we endeavor to reconcile this with Hebrews 11, then we can only conclude that at the end of his life, he finally turned to God, hence why he is recorded as a man of faith. Now to my mind, this has never made any sense. Hebrews 11 is a catalogue of great examples of faith. And the Samson that I knew did not match this. And so I wanted to reexamine Samson. And in truth, this was just one of many unanswered questions that I had about Samson hence the title of our class. So here's some more. What is the record put such emphasis on the nature of Samson's miraculous birth, his special calling and record that God would bless him. If for the majority of his life, he was to be a failure. Why would God raise up a savior of his people, a man that was seemingly no better than the rest of the nation? Was Samson just typical of the rest of the nation of Israel during the dark period of the Judges? Did he essentially only do what was right in his own eyes? All of the other judges showed faith in God. Was Samson different to them? If Samson was a man of faith, was he faithful in between the events that the judges focus on? But if so, why would God choose the only record, the seemingly bad occasions of his life in the Judges record? And yet then record him as an outstanding example of faith in Hebrews 11 for us to look up to. Are we right in defining his life by the very few recorded incidents involving women? How could Samson be a Nazarite when the circumstances of his mission continually contradicted the restrictions of the Nazarite vow? Under the Nazarite law, he was not to come in contact with death and yet his whole calling centered around killing and the death of the Philistons. Did he continually violate God's commands and his Nazarite vow? If Samson was indeed a Nazarite, then this only seems to add weight to the view that Samson had no regard for his God. On the surface, it would seem that Samson involves himself with sin and women and God gives his blessing by providing a remarkable deliverance, time after time. Now we can't limit how God can work, but this does not feel right to me. To me, it seems like God is giving his approval, giving him the ability to work mightily when he is shown no regard for God's commands. There is never any condemnation for Samson in these cases involving women, nor does Samson seek God's forgiveness either. Only in the case of Dalaiala are things different, but that is specifically as a result of him breaking his vow with God. And so these are some of the many questions that I had of the life of Samson, and I set about to try and make sense of them. But essentially, everything comes down to one question. Is it possible that the judge's record of Samson could be read in a way that shows Samson as a man of faith throughout all his life rather than just at the end of it? And I'd like to answer that now by saying that I believe it can be. I believe brethren, sisters and young people that Samson was given by God as a savior to his people, and that he was indeed a man of faith. Not just faithful, but a man of amazing faith, a man through whom God worked in all the instances recorded in the judge's record. Samson was a man that had faith in God at a time when so many Israelites had forsaken their God. And I believe the judge's record shows God working, Samson working to God's will in all occasions. And I believe the only recorded sin of Samson is him breaking his vow with Dalaiala. And that incident in itself does not make Samson a failure. A life of faith is not a life without sin. Like a soul, Samson succumbed to the flesh, and yet even in Samson's darkest hour came his greatest triumph, his life ending in a final all victorious outcome of faith. Now the result of my studies is not about me saying that I am right and everything else is wrong. I've simply tried to look at my own questions and to do this I've had to look at his life from a different perspective and I'd like to share that with you tonight. What makes sense to me and present that for something for you all to consider in your minds and that can be discussed. So how did I come to this conclusion? We're rather looking at Samson from what I see as a human perspective which I think was my previous understanding. My aim is to look at God's perspective. I felt my previous understanding focused too much on what seemed to be Samson sins and not at all about his faith. So I don't want to finish our considerations of the life of Samson in Hebrews 11. I want to start there. Rather than examine his life and then try and reconcile that to Hebrews 11 I think it's far better to start with God's summary of Samson and then go back and look at his life. You see the biggest uncertainty about Samson. The biggest question that we may have is the one that God clearly addresses and answers for us. Samson was a man of faith. We cannot dispute that. And I see Samson in any other way is to not accept the divine verdict. You know Hebrews 11 is not just the list of some of the faithful men and women throughout the ages that are going to be in the kingdom. It's a catalogue of the greats of faith. Nothing is recorded in Scripture randomly. And I see Samson's name there designed for us to take notice of it. Hebrews 11's record the amazing journey, life journeys of faith of individuals that walk with God. Hebrews 11 doesn't just record men and women that made God a reality. It's a catalogue of those that demonstrate a great faith in exceedingly difficult times when they were acting alone without support when they couldn't understand how God was working with them. They still acted in faith. They are lifetimes of faith in action and their stories are there for us to examine. They're there to inspire us to faith in the difficult circumstances of 2019. And it's in this context, brethren, sisters and young people that we find Samson. I think it's fair to say that by recording him in a chapter like Hebrews 11, it should remove any thought that he was a great man of faith only in the final moment of his life. What more? And what shall I say more? More so. For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Bairak and of Samson and of Jeb Thal. Of David also and Samuel and of the prophets. Samson is mentioned in the same sentence and the same context of Samuel and David, two of the greatest men of faith in the Old Testament. Yes, they too, both may mistakes, but that does not mean their lives were not a record of faithfulness. They clearly were. And to my mind, I can't see how God would give Samson as an example of faith. If his life was a total wreck and then he repented and turned to God at the very end. That's not an example of a life that God would want us to follow. Not only is he put on the pedestal of faith, just look how much of the following verses in Hebrews apply to Samson's life. We'll continue reading. Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness of tane promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Verse 36. Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yam over of bonds and imprisonment. They were stone, they were saw in a sunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword, they wandered about in sheep skins and goat skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and in mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise. God having provided some better thing for us that they without us should not be made perfect. Some many things are applicable to the record of Samson's life. Samson did not manage to just scrape onto this list. All these obtained a good report. And I believe God is telling us that Samson lived a life of faith in action. And so with this in mind, I set out to reexamine what I thought about Samson, given God's verdict of him. To look for faith rather than just assuming bad because that's what the record may suggest on the surface. Now, I'd like to begin by looking at two key points that I think undermine Samson's faith and that could possibly resolve a lot of the negativity surrounding Samson from the judge's record. What is your mental picture of Samson? Most people that I spoke of spoke to thought that he was musely. And I was really quite surprised at how many people thought this. And I think it's amazing how difficult it can be to remove images out of our minds from childhood picture books of this Samson with rippling muscles. In fact, online I couldn't even find a picture of Samson without muscles. I feel very confident that Samson was an average looking man. Now, I know that's going to let a lot of you down. It's nowhere near as exciting. But to view Samson, there's someone capable of great feats of his own strength is to really deny what the record clearly tells us that God was his strength. The record clearly states that when he was strong, it's because God's spirit came mildly upon him. If his works were achieved by his own strength, then he would have been able to escape in the final story with Dalala. The Philistines wouldn't have asked Dalala to find the secret where his great strength lay if he had bulging muscles. It would have been obvious. Samson was a normal man who was given an amazing superhuman strength only at specific times for God's purpose to be achieved. The acts of strength he demonstrated were far beyond what a human would have been capable of, especially when he took the gates of Hebron. But the big issue with Samson being extremely muskly to me is that I undermined Samson as a man of faith. If he had a huge strength of his own, then he didn't need to trust in his God so much. But because he was an ordinary man, he needed great faith that God would deliver him to achieve his purpose. When we can sit in some of the situations that he found himself in hostile enemy territory, we see an average normal man who desperately needed his God, his God's strength to work his purpose. If you told the Samson on the right that his mission was to kill the Philistines, he'd say, "Oh, yeah, bring it on." But if you told the man on the left that his mission was to kill the Philistines he's far more likely to say, "How am I going to do that?" Much more faith is required. The second key point is to examine whether Samson was indeed a Nazarite according to number six or not. Now I accept that's a fairly big statement when the King James version states at three times in the judge's record. But was Samson a Nazarite according to number six or was he simply just separated to God for a specific purpose? Let's have a look at the meaning of the word. It comes from the Hebrew word Nazar, Strong's number 5139 and it means one separated to be consecrated or devoted. Now in Samson case, as we read in chapter 13 verse 5, he was separated or devoted to God. Okay, let's have a look. How else this word Nazar is used elsewhere in Scripture. It's used 16 times in total. In Genesis 49, it's used of Joseph who was separated from his brethren. God had separated Joseph from his brothers to be their savior. He was separated for a very long time. specific purpose. And so in this case the word is translated as the word separate. In Leviticus 25 it's used twice and it's translated undressed and it's speaking of the of the vine that was separated out to remain unpruned during the sabbatical year. In number six which is the Nazarite vow it's used multiple times where it is translated as a title Nazarite when speaking about the Nazarite vow. So a person in number six was someone that chose to be separated to God for a specific period of time for a specific reason and with specific responsibilities. In Jutta on the 33 it's again translated as separated where Joseph was separated from his brethren similar to the Genesis reference. And then in Levitations and Amos it is also translated as a title of Nazarite. Now in all these references separation is the meaning or being separated or being a separated one for a specific purpose. That's the key meaning of the word. Now in the case of number six it's given a title to denote one that took upon themselves a voluntary vow to God for a specific purpose and period of time. And due to the restrictions that they took upon themselves that person was known as a Nazarite. But this does not mean that everybody separated to God for a specific purpose was a Nazarite in the sense of numbers chapter six. If the translated has translated has simply used the words separated as they did with Joseph then there will be a lot less confusion in this case with Samson. But what they've done is they've transliterated the word Nazarite as Nazarite in the case of Samson which I believe is incorrect. Let's look at Judges 13 verse three from Robohons. "They are about to conceive and bear a son and no razor shall come on his head. For one separated unto God shall the boy be from his birth. And he shall begin to deliver the Israelites out of the hand of the Philistines." And so I believe that Rotheram here is more correct in his translation than the King James. "Translation errors in the Bible are not uncommon and I feel that the translators here may have been influenced by the connection with Samson being not able to cut his hair." Now another case just for an example of where the translators have made a similar error would be in the New Testament where the use of the word "satan." If the translators had done that correctly they would have simply translated it as an adversary and that would save a lot of the confusion surrounding Satan being personified. But let's keep going. Let's see how if this idea can be further supported. Let's look at the specifics of the Nazarite bow in number six and compare to what we're told about Samson in Judges 13. In number six a person took upon themselves a voluntary vow. In Judges 13 of Samson he was chosen by God. There was no choice for Samson. It was not voluntary. The Nazarite was separated until Yahweh and that is exactly the same with Samson, separated unto God. The Nazarite was not to have wine, vinegar or strong drink, no alcohol, no grapes at all. It's not mentioned anything about Samson. Nothing from the vine, from kernels to the husk, not mentioned about Samson. It was for a specific period of time that someone took on the Nazarite vow. Samson was called by God from the womb. No razor was to come upon the head of the Nazarite and that was the one specific command that God gave to Samson's parents that no razor should come upon his head. The Nazarite was not to come into contact with any dead body, not mentioned with Samson. It was not to make himself unclean for his family when they die, not mentioned with Samson. If the Nazarite broke his vow he was defiled and he needed to shave his head. On the eighth day he was to bring two turtles or two pigeons to the priest of the tabernacle, the priest to offer one for sin and one for a burnt offering. Now Samson contradicted the Nazarite vow or if it was a Nazarite he would have broken that on multiple occasions. There is no mention of God's condemnation of Samson or of Samson following in these steps of a broken vow. Only one requirement is placed on Samson, very different from the Nazarite vow of number six. There is no mention of a voluntary vow or promise on Samson's part, the owner restriction was that he wasn't to cut his hair. Samson's mother was in fact far closer to being a Nazarite than Samson. She had far more restrictions. Now if Samson was indeed a Nazarite like number six it makes God's purpose with him a contradiction because God's work with him continually involved contact with death. If Samson was a Nazarite look at all the times he would have broken his vow. When killing Philistines on multiple occasions he held a feast in the marriage to the woman of Timnath and this was a wine feast he would have broken his vow. He killed a lion. He took the honey from the lion's carcass association with death. He used a jawbone of the ass associating him with death. On all these occasions never once does it say that he broke his vow. Never once does the record say he went through the process of number six when the Nazarite had broken his vow. And never once does it say that God was displeased with him. But when Samson allows his hair to be cut the record immediately tells us that God departed from him. The one occasion that we can be definite that Samson had done the wrong thing the record immediately indicates God's disapproval. If we see Samson as simply one separated to God then his story immediately begins to make more sense. Half of the bad that we presume about Samson is lifted because he's not bound by all the restrictions of being a Nazarite in number six. Whilst he is still clearly separated to God he is only bound by a single of rule that he is not to cut his hair. And so rather than seeing Samson as a man who continually goes against his Nazarite vow instead we can focus on a man of faith separated to God for a specific purpose. And so with these things in mind let's now have a look at the record of Judge 13 focusing on where we can see Samson as a man of faith. Judge 13 verse 1. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines 40 years. So we begin a new period of 40 years of Philistine oppression. Now in this case unlike all the other judge's stories there's no record of Israel crying unto God to deliver them. In fact Israel had happily accepted the rule of the Philistines over them which comes out clearly in chapter 15 which we'll look at next week. They chose to live in oppression in favor of conforming to God's requirements. And I think this indicates that the period in which Samson lived was the lowest point of the lowest period in the history of Israel. And yet God provided for Israel in his mercy. Samson was indeed an act of God's grace. And there was a certain man of Zora of the family of the Danites whose name was Manoa and his wife was Baron and Baron. In providing a savior for his people God chooses to do this by bringing great joy to a faithful couple that cannot have children. Manoa's wife was Baron and Baron. And it's a repeated again in the next verse, Baron and Baron. I'm getting the impression the repetition indicates that this was a really big thing to this faithful sister that she was unable to have children as you can imagine. And maybe that's why in this story the angel appears directly to her. Verse 3, "The angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman said unto her, 'Behold now thou art Baron and Baron is not, but thou shalt conceive and Baron is not.' Now they're full aware I pray thee." and drink not wine nor strong drink and eat not any unclean thing. So several restrictions are placed on Samson's mum. A command from God designed to show this woman how significant this birth was going to be. To raise a godly child in the period of the judges would have been exceedingly difficult and she would need to be very focused. There's possibly no Sunday school and there's definitely no Christad Elfin School in these ones. And these restrictions would have been eagerly accepted by this faithful and sorrowful sister with the promise of having a child of her own. Verse 5, "For low thou shalt conceive and bear a sun and no razor shall come on his head, for the child shall be separated unto God from the womb and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." So Samson was chosen by God from birth and I think this makes him very special from the outset. This wasn't Samson's choice, it was God's calling. God chose him to be separated for a specific purpose and that was to begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines. Samson was about to face a life that would be very challenging and he was going to need a grounding in faith from a young age. As we said before, one condition is placed upon him that is not to cut his hair. Now you'll note that Samson was not destined to lead a deliverance. It was a lone task. He shall begin to deliver Israel. He would receive no support from his people and as we will see not even a lot of support from his parents as they were very much kept in the dark about his mission. He would begin to deliver and Samson never really delivered his people in a completed sense. He would be required to act alone. There will be no support for him and given what mission God had for him, this was going to be a huge test of faith for Samson. Verse 6, "Then the woman came and told her husband saying, 'A man of God came unto me and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God. Very terrible.' But I asked him not once he was, nor the told me his name. And he said, 'Behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a sun. And now drink no wine or strong drink, nor thee any unclean thing for the child shall be separated to God from the womb to the day of his death.' So Manoa's wife relays to Manoa the restrictions that she would be under, not so much the restrictions on Samson himself. It's interesting that Samson's mum's ad adds that he would be separated to God from the womb to the death. This was not specifically stated by the angel in the record though. So possibly she assumed that Samson's calling was for life because he had been separated to God from his birth. And interestingly enough that's exactly how his life plays out. He was separated from birth to death, but we know that his life was cut short. Verse 8, "Then Manoa entreated the Lord. And said, 'O my Lord, let the man of God which thou did send come again unto us and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.' So Manoa clearly here is a man of faith and his desire is to respond to God. This indicates that he's a conscientious brother who wants to do what's right. He prays to God. He wants to see this angel. He needs something to hang on to, some form of proof." Verse 9, "And God harkened to the voice of Manoa, and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field, but Manoa her husband was not with her." So we're told that God hears Manoa's prayer, but he doesn't answer him directly. The record seems to go out of its way to tell us that the angel would only appear initially to Manoa's wife. I wonder why it says that her husband was not there. I wonder whether possibly they'd grown apart due to the pressures of not being able to have children. I'm not sure. Maybe God was at work here to bring them closer. You knotted by this new promise of life. We know that God works in the lives of all the faithful for their ultimate good." Verse 10, "And the woman made haste and ran and showed her husband and said unto her, 'The man that appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.' I love the excitement of this verse, 'It's promise of new life for this faithful sister.' Verse 11, "And Manoa said, 'And Manoa arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said unto him, 'Art thou the man speaketh unto the woman, and he said, 'I am.'" Manoa said, 'Now let thy words come to pass.' He asked the same question. 'How shall we order the child and how shall we do unto him?' Manoa says, 'Now let thy words come to pass.' You can see Manoa is really holding on to this promise of the child. He doesn't want to be let down. He knows how much this child means to his wife especially. And he ceases this opportunity to repeat his unanswered question. How are we going to bring up this special child? He's keen for some help and some guidance concerning this child that's going to be born. And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoa in verse 13, 'Of all that I said unto the woman, let her beware. She may not eat of anything that comes with the vine, neither let her drink strong wine, drink wine or strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her, let her observe.' That's very interesting that the angel completely avoids answering Manoa's question. He gives no advice or instruction to Manoa whatsoever. But what he does do has now been repeated three times. And that is the emphasise, the restrictions that were to be placed on his wife. Why is this? Well I think God is placing emphasis on the vital need for these two parents to show a godly example to Samson. All that mattered for now was for these two parents to do their best to raise up a godly child. This was going to be vital. God would take over from them at some point. But all that mattered here was for Samson to be educated about Yahweh, the God of Israel, and shown a good example. The fulfilling of God's commands by his parents would give Samson a firm grounding and an example of faithful service to follow as he grew up to fill his mission given by God to deliver Israel. Now no extra information is given other than that he would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. I think the answer why is given at the end of chapter 13 and the beginning of chapter 14, which tells us that it's God himself who would teach an order Samson in what he was to do. Samson was the one separated to God and it was God's spirit that was going to come upon him and it was God's word that he would need to obey. First four of chapter 14 tells us that his parents were not privy to the how this was going to happen. So Minore and his wife were just required to nurture and set a good example for Samson. And I see this as a really big test for Samson's parents to trust in God concerning their special child. I mean naturally they would want to know as much as possible about what God's plans were with him. But like Hannah they were just to raise the child and from there they were literally giving the child to God for his will and purpose. Verse 15. "And when I was said unto the angel of the Lord, I pray thee. Let us detain thee until we have made thee ready a kid for thee." And the angel of the Lord said unto Minore, "Though thou detain thee, I will not eat thy bread. If thou will offer a burnt offering, thou must offer unto the Lord. For Minore knew not that he was an angel of the Lord." And Minore said unto the angel of the Lord, "What is thy name? That when these sayings come to pass, we may do the honour." Again I think we can see Minore's desire here to do what's right. He seems to be a bit out of his debt but he's trying. Verse 18. "And the angel of the Lord said unto him, 'Why ask us thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret.'" The RV says of the word secret that it means wonderful. Sorry that it translates to wonderful. Strong step inition is remarkable. Now God had done a wonderful thing for Minore and his wife and I think as we're going to see he would do remarkable things through Samson as well. And to me these words really summarise the story of Samson. Wonderful and remarkable would absolutely be my summary words of the story of Samson. It's a bit too early to see at this point but God's ways are so far above us. He works in ways that we cannot seem to understand as humans and as humans ways that we would never choose. But he knows so much more than we do from our human perspective but it's so exciting when we learn more about his greatness. Verse 19. So I mean, I took a kid with a male offering and offered a ponder rock under the-- the Lord and the angel did wanderously and Manoa and his wife looked on. For it came to pass when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar and Manoa and his wife looked on and fell on their faces to the ground. So Manoa goes ahead with the offering anyway. I love this phrase and Manoa and his wife looked on. I think it shows an awe and a keenness to learn. When they didn't fully understand everything that was happening, we've got a faithful couple in a godless age being enormously encouraged by divine visitation, the promise of life and a miracle before their eyes. And what a wonderful thing for them to experience in this dark period of Israel's history. Verse 21, there's so much more detail in these verses, but I really need to focus on this one aspect of seeing Samson as a man of faith. Verse 21, but the angel of the Lord did no more appear to Manoa and his wife, then Manoa knew that he was an angel of the Lord. So a specific point is being made here and that is the brief experience. This brief experience was all that Samson's parents would receive of God. They had no idea what was ahead of them and no idea of how God was going to use Samson. And this very brief but amazing experience would be all that they would have to draw on in the future. Verse 22, Manoa says unto his wife, "We shall surely die because we've seen God." So when Manoa finally makes some progress and realises and believe that this was an angel of God, he takes another step backward. And this seems to be a comment of spiritual immoraturity, a lack of understanding perhaps. His wife's response in the next verse illustrates a greater understanding perhaps. Maybe it was all a bit too much for Manoa's simple faith and his just completely overwhelmed by all but his witness. Verse 23, "His wife said unto him, 'If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meal offering at our hands.' Neither would he have showed us all these things. Nor would us as at this time have told us such things as these." So as I said, this verse would suggest that perhaps Manoa's wife was the more spiritual of the two or had a greater and deeper understanding of God. And maybe we can see another reason why the angel appeared directly to her and why the restrictions were placed on her in her regards to God's work with Samson. So God knew that she was a spiritual driver in this relationship so to speak and she would be the key player in Samson's development. Verse 24, "And the woman bear a son and called his name Samson." So let's not miss simple fact here that God kept his word. Samson came from a barren womb that could not bear naturally. And the child grew and the Lord blessed him. The very first thing that we're told about Samson is so very special. The child grew and Yahweh blessed him. God was with him. The last thing the Bible record tells us was that he was a great man of faith that we should strive to be like. Now Samson is the only one in the whole book of the judges that this is set off. And it's only used in four other occasions in scripture this phrase that the Lord blessed him. And all others were faithful examples. Isaac, Potiphar's house because of Joseph, Obed, Adam and Job. At the beginning of the book of judges in chapter 2 and verse 18 it's recorded, "And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge for repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppress them and vex them." So here we have just another verse of confirmation of God at work in the life of Samson, all the days of the judge. More emphasis of a man of faith working with his God that God's will might be achieved. So Samson's life begins where told nothing specific about his character, neither good nor bad. But he's chosen by God to be separate, he's blessed by God, and these indicate to me that Samson is destined to be a faithful man in God's service. Right from the beginning of time God has blessed those that walk, who have faith in him and walk in his ways. The Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament promised blessings in the Beatitudes of those that would develop Godly characteristics in their lives. Verse 25 "And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times." "In the camp of dam between Zora and Eshtahol." So the second thing that we're told is equally special and that is that God would begin to work through Samson at specific times to achieve his purpose. Now we're not told at what point in this life Samson's spirit began to move him. The Hebrew word for "move" implies to tap, agitate or impel. Now it's only used five times in Scripture. And in each reference involves or implies the Spirit of God at work to fulfill his purpose. So I've got them up on the PowerPoint. Genesis 41, "When Pharaoh is troubled by God, he's given a dream that Joseph would be able to interpret. In Daniel 2 it's used of Nebuchadnezzar being troubled by a dream that Daniel would interpret. Sam 77, David was troubled in his dreams. But I think the best one is 2nd Peter 1, quite we're familiar with. Where the holy men of God recorded the Bible as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, it's the same word. So God worked in the lives of men and women to achieve his purpose. Now we don't know how God specifically moved Samson, but these references would indicate that it could be by way of a dream, but we don't know how. But what we do know is that God would show Samson in some way what he was to do. And he would receive these movements when he was in the area a lot of God, a lot of God to the tribe of Dan, their inheritance, in the area between Zora and Eshtahol. So God was ordering Samson's life and work. He blessed him and moved him to action by his Spirit. Not only was Samson blessed of God, but we're also told that God moved Samson to action at times. And this emphasizes a special relationship between him and God. Not just on one occasion, but at times. On multiple occasions, the Spirit of God would move Samson to action. And I believe these are the stories that we are going to read through the judge's record. Now we need to, before we go into chapter 14, we need to ignore the chapter break. It's a man-made break. So let's, before we start on chapter 14, let's take into account the last verse of chapter 13. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move Samson at times in the camp of Dan between Zora and Eshtahol. And Samson went down to Timnath and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up and he told his father and his mother and said, "I've seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. Now therefore, get her to for me to wife." Then his father and mother said unto him, "Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren or amongst all my people that they are going to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?" And Samson said unto his father, "Get her for me, for she please her me well." But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he saw an occasion against the Philistines. For at this time, the Philistines had dominion over Israel. So initially, it seemed as though Samson is acting of his own accord in seeking to marry a Philistine. But verse 4 tells us in very clear and certain terms that Samson's actions were in accordance with God's instructions. His parents knew not what Samson was doing was of the Lord. God had instructed Samson to take a wife, a Philistine, and this was the method that God had chosen whereby Samson would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. Now just as it is to us, Samson's actions would have been very confusing and confronting to say the least to his parents as to why he would do such a thing. But as we said, verse 4 says, "They didn't realise that God was at work in Samson's life." And this was a huge test of faith for them. They were unaware that God was behind this action. Now Samson's answer to his parents, logic, indicates to me that he too is not quite sure how of God's workings either. A logical reply to his parents would be that he loved this woman and therefore he wanted to marry her. But the record makes no mention of this and I think this is really quite notable when we compare it to the incident with Dalala where it says very clearly that Samson loved Dalala. To me it's like Samson's reply can be read, I don't know Mum and Dad, just do it. Samson can't justify this decision to his parents when they question him so he simply says he's happy with this woman. God's workings with Samson were kept secret so there's very little that Samson can do in explaining this to his parents. Now the margin says the woman was right in my own eyes. Now this does not necessarily mean she was pleasing to Samson in a lustful sense but because it was right in accordance with what God had asked of him. She was not right in the sense of being a suitable person to marry but she was right in the sense that this was God's work with Samson. By this means God was creating an occasion or an opportunity against the Philistines. Now the Philistines would not see this marriage in any way suspicious given the intermarriage of the day but things were about to change and despite Israel's failure to turn back to God, God was beginning to initiate their deliverance. I'm sure Samson would have been confused at God's request here but nothing compared to his parents who were unaware of what was happening behind the scenes. Now I fully accept that it may be very hard to understand that God would choose this method to achieve his purpose because it seems to contradict his own command so let's think this through. We know that in natural circumstances marrying a canonite was forbidden. Interestingly Philistines were not listed in the forbidden nations but it's fair to assume that this would have been quite confusing for Samson because the woman of Timnath was clearly not a godly woman. Now we need to understand that this story does not end with Samson living out his life married to an unbeliever which would be the problem with marrying an ungodly person. God was at work and the request of Samson was for a specific reason and for it to a specific end. In looking at Samson from God's point of view the biggest thing that we need to accept is that God worked with Samson in ways that seem unusual and even wrong to us. The spirit moved Samson to do things which seemingly contradict his rules. But it's a scriptural principle that God's ways are far above our ways and God works in ways that we as humans do not always understand and God still works like this today. We may ask the question why does he allow children from godly families to die for example? We don't understand it seems wrong when they're young and innocent but God has his reasons. A well-known quote, Isaiah 55, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, Satan Lord." There's no doubt that God works in ways that are far above us and in ways that we can't understand but there is always a reason for it always and Scripture is actually full of examples of God working out his plan and purpose in ways that we would never dream of. God asked Abraham to go and offer his only son Isaac to burn him with fire on an altar but there were good reasons for that. God asked his ear to go and take a prostitute to wife and he did again. There were good reasons for that. God provided his only son who upon living a perfect life suffered and died in the most terrible way and what amazing things has that a chief for us. There is no doubt that we would not work in the ways that God chooses but God is not a man. This was very difficult for Samson and his parents to accept through human eyes just like we at times don't understand how God works in our lives today. So I think it's important to look at the life of Samson to see it from God's perspective rather than from a human perspective and constantly referring back to what we know that God has said about Samson in Hebrews 11. So I see Samson here acting in faith or obedience to God's will as opposed to him seeking to fulfill his lusts. He knew that the request of the Spirit was contrary to how he had been raised. He would have been very unsure about this but his obedience to God God's request shows faith in action and this marriage so to speak would provide the occasion or the way whereby Samson would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. I'd just like you to try and absorb this story so far. Ever since Samson was a toddler, his parents had been telling him about the one true God, Yahweh the God of Israel. It's likely he never meant to never went to a meeting or such because there was very few men and women of faith at that time. It's quite possible that he only learned of God from his parents and no one else. He was not surrounded by a youth group nor did he belong to a larger closure. Imagine how difficult it would be to learn of the living God of Israel in the time of the Judges. Why didn't anyone else believe in the God of Israel if he was so real? There was only stories of old times before Samson that could prove that Yahweh was real. Samson never saw the angel that came to his parents. The rule of the Philistines over Israel if anything indicated that there wasn't a God of Israel. And on top of this his parents are told in that he was really special, miraculously born, chosen by God to defeat the Philistines, to defeat the Philistines. How in the world am I going to do that? I'm not even a trained soldier. How am I going to fight against the Philistines? I'm just an ordinary guy. I don't even know if I can kill a man. So how am I possibly going to kill these warlike Philistines? But unfortunately his parents couldn't tell him how or when this was going to happen. They didn't know they told him. All very unconvincing to a young child to have such little proof and evidence. Imagine us being called to faith and yet have no knowledge of God's plan and purpose or the kingdom. Year after year it goes by and you're waiting for the Spirit of God to somehow move you to action. It's a long wait and a great test of patience for a young man. And then one day when God's Spirit finally comes upon you, you're asked to do the strangest thing ever. Something so foreign to all that your parents have told you, something no doubt his parents has specifically warned him against. He's so unsure what to do with this whole mission. Imagine all the doubt in his mind. How am I going to do this? Do I even want to do this? But Samson is a man of faith because God tells us that beyond any doubt. Samson responds to the call of the Spirit. He goes in faith, holding on to the God his parents had told him of so many times. He abays the call to marry the woman in tib-nath trusting in God all the way. The next obstacle and test of faith was to ask his parents for approval to marry an ungodly Philistine. He knows this will cut them deep. He loves them dearly and he desperately doesn't want to disappoint them. He really doesn't have any good reasons to give them for his actions. How can he justify this to them? He desperately needs someone to talk about all this stuff, but the only ones that would understand were his parents and they've been completely hid from God's ways. He feels so confused, his alone and his in need of support. The road ahead seems far greater than he is able to endure or comprehend, but he continues in faith. He continues to respond to the hand of God in his life. Verse 5. Then went Samson down and his father and his mother to tib-nath and came to the vineyards of tib-nath. So despite going down to tib-nath with his parents, the record lady indicates that he'd not go down together. All right, so Samson is alone and behold a young lion roared against him and the spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon him and he rent him as he would rent a kid and he had nothing in his hand. For me this is just the most awesome side story in the life of Samson. We know this incident later becomes the basis of the riddle that leads to Samson's revenge on the Philistines, but I think it's so so much more than that. Samson, as we've seen, is at a mental low and in a confused state of mind. Imagine the initial terror of being unexpectedly attacked by a line in the wild and then just as suddenly this almighty surge of strength rips through his body and before he knows it, he's not only survived the line attack, he's torn it to shreds and he's standing there shaking an ore, looking down at his body, trying to comprehend what just happened. Never before had Samson experienced God's power coming mightily upon him and in a few brief minutes Samson knew beyond any doubt that God was real, his fear evaporated. You see all of a sudden Samson receives a confirmation from his God that he is with him and in the most amazing of ways. Samson desperately needed something from his God to confirm his fate. He desperately needed something to show him that he was going to be able to fulfil his seemingly overwhelming work that God wanted of him and boy did God deliver. Just look at the specific detail that is given in this incident, incident, brother and sister in young people. Look at how Samson knew beyond any doubt that his strength came from Yahweh and not from himself. Samson did not have a fight with a line. The line was no match for God's strength in his body. God's spirit came mightily upon Samson and he knew beyond any doubt that he did not do this by his own muscle. He totally dominated this fight. There was no contest. He ripped this line apart like it was a baby goat or maybe it was an old injured line. No, we're specifically told it's a young line. In its prime, the king of the beasts. Maybe Samson had a weapon. No, there was nothing in his hand. No detail when scripture is wasted. This was an amazing scene and an incident that would have been an enormous encouragement to Samson to continue to work with his God. All of a sudden, in one moment, Samson has gone from being alone, confused and scared to feeling completely overwhelmed, confident in his God and ready to answer God's requests. He had demonstrated great faith and God had answered all his doubts and fears with a spectacular display of strength. What he knew he could not do with his own strength. He now knew he could do with God's strength and his faith had not been in vain. Hebrew's 11 records that Samson is an example of faith to inspire us today. All of us have been chosen by God for a specific reason. We have faith in our God in an evil age when very few respond to God. God says, "He too will work in our lives. We're not always sure how, but we know it's for our ultimate good." And an event like the Slaying of the Lion is coming for every one of us soon, brethren and sisters. God is going to overwhelm us in the most amazing of ways and we will know beyond any of our doubts that our faith was not in vain. It will be the end of all uncertainty, the end of all our struggles and doubts when we will realise what we have known all along that what we cannot do in our own strength, God can do. And God will deliver beyond our greatest expectations. In a moment of time, we will have God's power and strength surged through our bodies in the form of immortality simply because we too have faith. Thank you for listening to the Good Christodofian Talks podcast. We hope this talk helped you in your walk. If you would like to hear more, please subscribe for new episodes and leave a review in Apple Podcast or whichever service you are using to help more people find the show when they search for it. If you enjoyed this particular talk, please share it with someone who you think might enjoy it as well. For show notes on the talk you just listened to, visit our show page at anchor.fm/gct or check the show notes section of your podcast player. 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