Judges Talk 4 - Ch 15-16 - Sampson part II

Big idea: a story of redemption; deliverance (salvation) is from the Lord, and he will use his chosen deliverer.

Human beings love stories of redemption. Redemption is a key theme that runs through so many of the stories in books, movies, and even sport, but especially life, that as a society we love to tell.

Many of you will know the sometime television presenter Simon O'Donnell, who once upon a time in the dim dark past, was a cricketer. And very clearly in my mind I can remember the profound response he received from the crowd while walking out on to the cricket ground again to play for Australia, after previously having to withdraw from the Australian Cricket side for quite a time, to battle cancer. His redemption if I can put it in those terms, was this triumph over adversity, and his vindication walking out on that field again.

But there is a different kind of redemption, that we love as well, the one where the good guy, (which is to say the guy with the world laid out in front of them, the one with a bag full of potential), through compromise, pride, poor judgement and even bad decision, goes bad, goes off the rail's, loses the plot. But then has an epiphany moment, and turns around and leaves the bad behind, and chooses the right path, and does the good that they knew they always should have done.

A quite clear example of that from me, is Mark Bosnich. Bosnich is one year older than me, and as a kid in Sydney playing football, lots of us had seen him play and everyone noticed him, because he was incredibly gifted. And as you may know he went on to rise to the heights of playing in the English Premier league. From where he squandered all his talent through drug use. He was out of the game for some six years, and last year made a comeback to the Central Coast Mariners in the A-league. For many people who had watched his career with interest, this was a heartwarming story, not so much about football, but football as an indicator to life, that this guy got back in contact with his family after years of estrangement, he had finally turned it around. It really was a moment of hope.

And I think that's why redemption stories, strike a chord with us so strongly. We love stories that end in hope, a hope that has won the day out of dark and despairing circumstances. We love redemption stories, because we can relate to the doubled mindedness, and compromise, of the main character, and we hope they find a way back from their mistakes. We like redemption stories, because they give us hope, that we might find a way back, from our brokenness, compromise, and mistakes in this life.

There are dark and despairing days in this life, which is why we all need a message of hope, & the story of Samson (as we look at part two this week) is a story of redemption. It is a story of hope, in a dark and despairing time of oppression for God's people, it is a story of hope, despite the brokenness and wasted potential of God's deliver, the Judge Sampson. It is a message of hope despite the bleakness of the oppression, and the stubbornness of God's deliverer, and indeed God's people!, it is a message of hope, because deliverance (salvation) comes from the Lord. And that is what Sampson acknowledges in his prayer in chapter 15 verse 18.

Now as you may remember, Samson story starts back in chapter 13, where an angel of the Lord appears to his parents and declares what kind of child this boy will be. This boy will be brought into the world serve the Lord, and to begin the deliverance (salvation) of God's people from the oppression of the Philistines.

Now as you also remember, things have not gone so well, because there are four things as in Israelite and Nazarite, that Sampson is not supposed to do. So who can tell me what other four things Sampson was not supposed to do?
1. no foreign wives
2. don't touch a dead body
3. don't drink alcohol
4. don't cut your hair
And so far in the story, last week we only got to the end of chapter 14 and he has already failed in three out of four challenges. And so today as we look chapters 15 and 16, Sampson faces his last challenge, challenge number four, Sampson versus the challenge of not cutting your hair.
Which when it take a step back and think about it, it isn't that bigger challenge, is it? all you have to do is not cut your hair, that isn't that hard is it?

And so last week we left the story, with the Philistines giving Sampsons wife in marriage to another, which didn't look like a good idea at the time, it looks like a whole lot worse idea after today!

So in chapter 15, the first episode of Sampson and his first foreign wife continues, because he seems to have a change of heart and goes down to see her. Only thing is, he doesn't know it's too late. And when he finds that it is too late, well he just takes it in his usual good humoured stride doesn't he?

I mean that's just good humoured fun isn't, setting fire to 300 foxes or jackals and letting them burn through someone's food store, how did the Philistines not see how that was funny?

Well they obviously didn't find it funny, because there is response is short, sharp, and brutal. In v6 we read,
"so the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death".

And at this point, there is a real pathos in the story for two reasons;
firstly, if she hadn't answered the riddle, this would have been her fate in the first place as we read in chapter 14 v15
"coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, all we will burn you and your father's household to death"
Only now not only do she meet this fate, but Sampson has been enraged in the process.

And secondly, the Philistines get back at Sampson by killing Philistines, which is exactly what he was supposed to be doing anyway as God's deliverer. It seems like everyone in the story, even while generally unknowingly, is carrying out the Lords will of delivering God's people from their oppressors, and in particular by killing philistines.

And that pattern continues, because Sampson is so enraged by what they have done to his wife, what is he do in response, well he goes out and kills Philistines too. in fact it seems Sampson in a wonderful sense of irony, has been stung into action to impose a great victory over the philistine people, despite his obvious desire to not be the deliverer God had called him to be.

so it seems even Sampson's selfish desires, even the selfish desires of Philistines, cannot thwart God's plan to save his people.

And how would you expect the people of Israel to respond, when God had sent a great deliverer amongst them, and this judge had just won a tremendous Battle over the oppressive occupying regime? How would you expect God's people to respond?

How do they respond?
11 Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam
and said to Samson,
"Don't you realise that the Philistines are rulers over us?
What have you done to us?"

what have you done to us? They ask Sampson indignantly, what has he done to them, ---- he's delivered them hasn't he?
The come off looking a little like simpletons don’t they? The story of their people, particularly their generation, is of God raising up deliverer's who saved them from the oppression of foreign people, and so in fact these people, this generation, and these Israelites, are saying we prefer the slavery and oppression thanks very much. Please don't help us, and we certainly won't help you. It seems that Sampson isn't the only one that would rather live like the other nations, that would rather not be what God had called them to be.

And worse than that, not only do they chastise him and is not support him, they in fact hand him over to his enemies. Rather than supporting God's anointed deliverer, and rising up to do God's appointed work, they instead betray him, over to the hands of the oppressing gentile overlords. His own people betray him, knowing that that will consign him to death if doing God's work. which is an interesting thought isn't it? And will go back to that a little later.

But God does not abandon his deliverer to the grave like his own people did, in fact God uses him by sending his spirit upon him to achieve another amazing victory over his enemies.
"We will only tie you up and hand you over to them.
We will not kill you."
So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock.
14 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came towards him shouting.
The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power.
The ropes on his arms became like charred flax,
and the bindings dropped from his hands.
15 Finding a fresh jaw-bone of a donkey,
he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.
16 Then Samson said,
"With a donkey's jaw-bone I have made donkeys of them.
With a donkey's jaw-bone I have killed a thousand men.

Now you have to wonder whether Sampson got it entirely right, if God can deliver over 1000 men to one man, I'm pretty certain he didn't need to go on & break his Nazarite vows, by picking up the jawbone of a donkey, a fresh one, one with flesh still hanging off it! So it is interesting picture, of him achieving Gods purposes, despite his mixed motives, and despite his mixed Obedience.

God provides a great salvation, a deliverance through his appointed deliverer. One man, one God anointed deliverer, empowered by God's spirit, has defeated one thousand men.
And Sampson seems to come off as bit of the smarty pants really, with his tongue in cheek Limerick, about how he has beaten them into donkeys with a donkey. it seems even in the face of death life is a bit of a laugh Sampson, a bit like a bully who knows he can't be touched.
Because he was very thirsty,
he cried out to the LORD,
"You have given your servant this great victory.
Must I now die of thirst
and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"

What you make of that prayer?
We make of Sampson and his attitude towards God, and God's work at this point?

At one level, you could say it was a great sign of faith, that he knew only God could deliver the water to him. You could say that. At one level that is acknowledging something of the truth of the situation. But personally I suspect this something else going on here, it doesn't exactly strike me as a great prayer of humility, in fact it strikes me as being something very much the opposite.

And the reason I say that is, because it reminds me of another prayer, the prayer of the Israelite people after they had been brought out of Egypt. The prayer of the people after God had provided a great salvation, great deliverance, from the hands of their enemies the Egyptians.

Samson's prayer, reminds me of the Israelites prayer, which wasn't a great prayer of faith, it was a prayer of grumbling. If you remember back in the book of Numbers the Israelites after they had been saved, grumbled against the Lord, they grumbled saying, "were there not enough graves in Egypt, that you brought us out into the desert to die?". They grumbled saying, "back in Egypt we had our pick of food and meat, and all we have in this wilderness is manner". they grumbled saying, "did you bring us out from Egypt, to die of thirst in this wilderness". The Israelites prayer was not one of faith, but one of grumbling.

And I can't help but think, Sampson's prayer here is not one of faith, but one of grumbling. not a humble man's prayer, but a proud man's prayer.

It's the prayer of a person who doesn't realise the privilege to have been given, to be God's deliverer, but instead thinks God owes them something, because of this victory. But God owed Sampson nothing because of his victory, because in it he was only being obedient, in fact it was the Lord's great victory.

Either way, whether it is a proud prayer, or just a prayer of grumbling, God is still gracious to Sampson and provides him water. but part of me suspects that this is in fact a turning point of the story, and what is about to follow use only the logical outworking of the broken relationship between God and Sampson, because of Sampsons stubbornness, his pride, and his disobedience.

Episode one of Sampson with his first foreign woman, finishes in V20 with the statement
"Sampson led Israel 20 years in the days of the Philistines".

Episode two of Samson story, is a short interlude, were Sampson again is involved with a foreign woman. This time a prostitute in Gaza. And again his desire to chase after what he is not supposed to, this foreign woman, almost brings about his downfall, but instead the strongman, this naturally strong man it seems, carries the gates of the city 60 km away. But interestingly there is no designation that the spirit of the Lord came upon him for this act. And we are left to think as readers, is it because he did it in his own strength, is it because this act it is of no saving value to God?

Whatever it is, the spirit of the Lord is never clearly designated by that expression as coming on Sampson again in this story.

And so finally we get to episode three of Samson, with the most famous of his foreign women, where Sampson again turns his back on the Lord's decree with this foreign woman called Delilah.

And again the philistine leaders, note that this woman is an opportunity to bring down their great opponent Sampson

Now in the story we kind of suspect, (that Sampson must suspect), that Delilah is asking him about his strength and its source for a no good reason. He must know that if he tells her, she will tell the Philistines. I mean this is what happened in episode one with the foreign women isn't it? And the source of his strength, is far more important than the source of his riddle isn't it? I mean how are you supposed to be God's deliverer, if you no longer have the source of God's power?

But as we said, throughout the story, Sampson has come across as something of a smarty pants, he liked riddles and games, and it seems this is just one more game to him.

So firstly he offers that's she is to tie him up with seven fresh thongs, which she promptly does, and he just as promptly escapes from. Sampson the game player, can't help himself, he can't resist an opportunity to make a fool of someone else. It seems he wants to make a donkey of Delilah is well, and she knows it and says that in v10.

And in the second attempt he offers her new ropes, which she promptly applies, and he just as promptly escapes. By which point you think he would come to his senses and realise what is going on, and what was at stake, and left this trouble well alone.

But it seems he likes playing games, and he likes flaunting his strength, and this challenge from Delilah gives him the chance to exercise both these things, and run very real risk of giving up the last thread of his Nazarite vow, and in the process give up his role as Gods deliverer.

So this time, closer to the mark, he tells her to braid his hair -- which is seriously getting close to the source of his strength -- and not only that he tells her to tighten his hair with a pin. Which is the exact same expression used of Jael back in judges Ch4, where she tightened the head of Sisera with a pin to the ground. Surely Sampson must have known the combination of foreign women, heads, and pins had not turned out well for men so far in this story, so what was he thinking?

But this time also Sampson escapes, only each time he seems weakened by temptations strength, and Sin's call, until finally he tells Delilah what she wants to hear. Again he falls for the foreign woman's incessant appeal, her nagging, and her accusation, "how can you love me?". The exact same thing that brought him undone with his first wife!

15 Then she said to him,
"How can you say,
`I love you,'
when you won't confide in me?
This is the third time you have made a fool of me
and haven't told me the secret of your great strength."
16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.
17 So he told her everything.
"No razor has ever been used on my head,"
he said,
"because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me,
and I would become as weak as any other man."
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything,
she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines,
"Come back once more; he has told me everything."
So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands.
19 Having put him to sleep on her lap,
she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair,
and so began to subdue him.
And his strength left him.
20 Then she called,
"Samson, the Philistines are upon you!"
He awoke from his sleep and thought,
"I'll go out as before and shake myself free."
But he did not know that the LORD had left him.
Sampson gave away his secret, and gave away his hair, and in the process he gave away his Nazarite vow, and in the end got what he had desired from the start. He became a man just like any other, he was no longer the consecrated deliverer for the Lord, he was no longer set a part for God's service.

Opportunity after opportunity had come to Sampson do the right thing, to do what God had called him to, but God had now had enough, and God would hand him over, to his enemies, to bear the consequences of his choices, And his actions.

But it seems like this harsh discipline from the Lord, will have its effect, because Sampson will finally come to his senses, and realise what it is that comes from the Lord, and what it means to him.

And not only that, we see the graciousness of the Lord, that the hair of his servant begins to grow back, and with it a great expectation that finally the sovereign Lord will use his deliverer, to deliver his people from the slavery of the Philistines.
22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Sampson appears as a broken figure, a shadow of his former glory, but this broken figure has now realised the real source of his strength, is not his hair, but his God. He now knows truly that deliverance (or salvation) only comes is from the Lord. And so this time he prays, as a humble man, to his sovereign Lord, knowing that he alone can provide the deliverance that Sampson now desires wholeheartedly.

It took Sampson until he found himself in the great poverty of being enslaved, to realise the reality of the riches that God had generously given him to be Israel's deliverer. And in this final act of his death, Sampson achieved his greatest victory of all, by killing over 3000 Philistines including their leaders, including collapsing the temple, including knocking over their idols.

By the time Sampson has finished his rampage, one Israelite lies dead but in the process he has killed over 4000 Philistines. He really did begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines, a deliverance that would come in full, at the coming of Israel's great king.
At first glance, the story looks like it's about Sampson, or maybe even about the Philistines, but the truth is this is a story about God.

From the time God announced his deliver in chapter 13, we see God’s sovereign hand at work to deliver his people, and we see this most poignantly in this final scene with Sampson, God is the sovereign Lord, there are no other gods before him. And this he declared to his own people in Israel, but also the philistine people, through the final victory of his servant Sampson. God defeated their god Dagon, by destroying his temple. God declared to the Philistines that it is he who delivered Sampson into their hands, (not their god) and he did it to both disciplined his wayward deliverer and to achieve his own purposes of a great victory. Beginning at the deliverance of the people of Israel.

And if you want a reader bit more about how, the poor old idol "Dagon" goes against the God of Israel, have a read of the beginning of Samuel this week, and see how his statue keeps falling over to worship the ark of the Lord in one Samuel five.

The story of Sampson, is really the story of judges, which is the story of a sovereign and gracious God, who will redeem his broken and wayward people from slavery, a God who will use his redeemed people to be his light in his world. Deliverance (or salvation) belongs to the Lord.

Despite Sampson's best efforts to be like anyone else, he was never going to be like anyone else, because the sovereign lord had chosen him to achieve his own good purposes, despite his servants best efforts to stuff things up. By the last scene in his story, we see a redemption of Sampson don't we, where the guy with all the potential, all the opportunity, everything laid at his feet, finally makes a good decision, despite his past. Sampson now knows God, is a God who delivers, that God is a sovereign gracious God, and that this sovereign gracious God, he hears the prayers of his people and answers them in accordance with his goodwill. In the end after a very hard long and hard road Sampson did begin the deliverance of Israel.

But the story isn't just about Sampson either is it? Because Sampson's story is Israel story.
Sampson was the stubborn deliver, the reluctant one to live as God had called him to. But then God raised up his deliverer to save Israel, and what did they do? They promptly packaged him up and handed them to their enemies, instead of following him as their leader to deliver them. Israel were just like Sampson in reluctance to serve their God and be his people in a difficult world!

The writer to the judges, tells us that the solution to Israel's problem, was only to begin with Sampson, but in fact would be fulfilled in Israel's coming king. At the end of the book of judges we read, "in those days Israel had no king, everyone did as he saw fit.".

Israel was looking for a king, a deliverer, one who would bring salvation even redemption. you see the thing about the words ‘deliverance’ and ‘salvation’, is that they have two English words that are used in different contexts to describe the same Hebrew word, the Hebrew word ‘Yeshua’. ‘Yeshua’ as a verb means deliverance or salvation, but as a noun (or name) it is translated in English as ‘Jesus’. Jesus is the king, Gods King sent to deliver and save, even redeem, God's people.

As much as Sampson was a reluctant saviour or deliverer, the reality is he foreshadowed Jesus in many ways, his birth was announced by an Angel, his role was chosen by God himself, his leadership was despised by his own people and they handed him over to pagans knowing it would result in his death. And in his death he achieved his greatest victory over his enemies. Sampson foreshadowed Jesus in many ways.

But in truth the contrasts are far more obvious aren't they?

Jesus was the Israelite who never broke his vow to God in disobedience. Jesus didn't follow the ways of foreign women, but in fact called foreign women to follow him. Jesus didn't play his tormentors games, but rebuked and challenge them to see things rightly. Through the life and death of one man Sampson, God defeated over 4000 of his enemies. But through the life and death of one man in Jesus, God defeated His enemies of sin, death, the devil, and redeemed the entire world. Jesus is God's great king the deliverer, the saviour, the one who came to die on across in our place for our Sin and was raised from the dead and declared the Lord of all, the one who has won for all who will believe in him a redemption.
Gods offer in Jesus Christ, is of redemption, of putting things right with God, by dealing with everything in our past that we have done wrong. Jesus death washes away all our wrong before God, and makes us new, he redeems us from our brokenness and strife, to a new relationship with him, that we may serve him with all our lives.

The Christian story is a story of redemption, it is the foundational story and central story of all humanity, because all humanity has made a mess of the opportunity that God has given us for life and we need to be redeemed. And you see this deep-seated need played out in the fact that we love to hear his stories, any stories, even sporting stories, about redemption, because deep down we all know that we need to be redeemed.

And the Christian story is that in Christ you can be redeemed, that you have been redeemed if you trust in him.

The Christian story is always one of redemption, because our sovereign and gracious lord, is the God of second chances, he is a God who loves to save.
The Christian story is always one of redemption, but a redemption in order that we may honour God by serving him in his world, from the apostle Peter who three times denied Jesus on his way to the cross, and was then gently reinstated by the resurrected Jesus to be his witness into all world. To The apostle Paul who as the Pharisees Saul, killed and persecuted Christians, but was then redeemed, he was saved by Christ to serve Christ, to be his apostle with the Gospel Word into all the Gentile world.

The Christian story is always one of redemption, that we may honour God by serving him. The broken Sampson shows us important truths about ourselves, because it shows us important truths about our God, our God is a God who delights to save, who delights just redeem people, and even our dumbest efforts cannot thwart his plans. But instead we are encouraged to pray aren't we? Like Sampson did, that God in his sovereignty, his power, and his grace would work in our lives to bring about his kingdom.

The solution to Israel was to have a king. The solution for the world is to have God's King, and his kingdom is brought in through his powerful gospel Word, Will you pray with me that God would be pleased to use us to see his kingdom come in.