|
The
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges was taught by Dr. James Modlish
Judges
13:1-14:20
Introduction:
Chapter
(13) is an introduction to the life of Samson. His life
is like a seesaw, an excellent picture of the modern
Christian. All of his predecessors were victorious in
conquering and subduing the enemy, but in Samson's day
the victories were not as consequential. There are spurts
of greatness, but most of the accomplishments seem to be
short lived.
I. The
announcement of his birth (13:1-5)
A.
Of all of the tribes, Dan is the least qualified to
produce a spiritual leader (see ch. 18); therefore, it is
no surprise that Samson has troubles with the
flesh.
B.
The rules concerning the Nazarite are found in Numbers 6.
The words separate or separation are found 16 times in
the chapter. The lesson is obvious - God's power
accompanies separation. (2 Cor. 6:14-18)
II.
Confirmation of the message (13:6-14)
A.
The angel of God was said to be terrible. (See Deut.
7:21,10:17; Job 37:22; Psa. 47:1-3, 66:3,5). A review of
these and many other verses describes God's terribleness
as an ability to subdue His enemies
B.
Manoah has enough sense to know that if they are to raise
a child to serve God, they are in desperate need of
divine teaching (vs. 8). (See Prov. 22:6)
Furthermore,
the teaching has to do with some sense of order (vs. 12).
Children need structure and discipline. (Psa.
119:133)
III. When in
doubt, give God an offering. (13:15-25)
A.
Any offering that is valuable is given to God (vs. 16; 2
Cor. 9:7,8), not to man, an angel or anyone else.
B.
Manoah (vs. 17), like Jacob (Gen. 32:29) is interested in
the name of the messenger. Not unlike modem times, many
people are more concerned about the messenger than the
message. (Psa. 138:2)
C.
The type is set - the offering is given (Christ on the
cross) and accepted; instruction have been given; the
ascension takes place; no further appearances happen (vs.
21). God help us to be more concerned about obeying the
existing instructions than waiting for future
revelation.
IV. The
Desire To Forsake The Separation (14:1-4)
A.
Samson's parents are mindful of the vow of separation,
but Samson is twiterpated with a woman of the world (2
Cor. 6:14). The Laodicean church is familiar with this
lack of discernment when it comes to marriage.
B.
God can even use a bad marriage to accomplish His will
(vs. 4). Hosea is the classic example of this
truth.
V. The Lion
In The Shadows (14:5-9)
A.
The lion is a type of the Devil (1 Pet. 5:8). Even though
the Spirit of God enables him to overcome, the lion still
turns out to be a curse in that he touched the dead
carcass to get the honey. This was a violation of (Num.
6:6-9).
B.
Many Christians get initial victories but return later to
nibble around the edges (Gal. 4:9).
VI. The
Riddle Of Disobedience (14:10-20)
Life
for Samson is a series of feast, riddles and gambling.
How many of God's people attempt to make a riddle out of
sin instead of repenting? The amazing picture of grace is
that the Spirit of the Lord still enables Samson to
defeat the enemy.
Return
To Index |
Judges
15-16
|
