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Let's open with a word of prayer.

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Heavenly Father, we are glad that we can

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be together today to look at your word

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and to get a clearer picture.

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Spirit and your written word, we are totally

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blind to know you and understand you.

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And your word says that if we would

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boast in anything, let us not boast in

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our money, our might, or our mind, but

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rather that we know you and understand you.

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And so I pray, Lord, that through the

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worship and praise that you receive through the

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reading of your word today, I just pray

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you'd be lifted up and honored for who

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you are, Lord.

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In Jesus' name we pray.

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It is very much an honor to be

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speaking here today.

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I believe I attended a service or two

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here as a little kid, a very little

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kid.

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If you would have told me for most

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of my life that I would have been

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speaking a sermon here today, I would not

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have believed you.

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But very much a privilege and I very

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much blessed by the service so far.

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You guys sing wonderfully.

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And for a small community church, you have

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an amazing church here.

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And it was very encouraging to hear the

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testimonies and everything so far.

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So very glad to be here.

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My grandparents, Samford and Julia, farmed just a

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little bit that way across the highway.

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And one of my clearest memories with my

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grandfather, Samford, I used to go and stay

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at the farm for about a week.

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I was a city kid, grew up in

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Regina, but I'd get to come out to

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the farm for a week in the summers

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when I was around 10 or 11 years

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old.

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And one stormy night, my grandpa, Samford, had

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me sitting on his knee and he had

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found some old Sunday school papers, I think

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from the 50s, and he was reading to

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me the story of David and Goliath.

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And boy, I can still see it like

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it was yesterday.

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The papers weren't really like the ones we

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have today.

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They were very realistic and very graphic looking.

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And as a little kid, I was just

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struck sitting with my grandfather about the realities.

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It was, the story was so real to

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me.

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And so fast forward decades, one Sunday afternoon

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in Regina, I was watching VeggieTales with my

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kids, and I had a flashback of sitting

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in my, in the chair with my grandfather.

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And I thought, what in the world am

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I showing my kids?

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Now, I don't mean to offend anybody if

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you love VeggieTales, but I don't.

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I thought, I'm teaching my kids that David

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and Goliath were cucumbers and pickles.

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And I got up off the couch, and

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I, I did, I scooped it all up

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and I chucked it in the trash.

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I said, you kids can keep these videos

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of Larry the Cucumber stepping on a rake

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and teaching kids to put away their stuff.

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I don't, you can keep that kind of

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stuff, but the Bible stuff is out.

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The Bible is a serious book.

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We live in a pretty safe culture.

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But there is a lot of real evil

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in the world, and a lot of very,

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a lot of real stories in the Bible.

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And so, as, your said earlier, it's good

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to have an encounter with Jesus.

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Not who your whims might hope he is,

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but who he actually is.

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And as we sang that song earlier, I

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hope by the end of my message, you

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see him as your only, your only defense

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and your righteousness.

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I've always been fascinated with the Samson story.

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Many years ago, when I was younger, I

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cut a tree down in my backyard.

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I thought I was kind of good at

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that.

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I wasn't.

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It fell right into the roof of my

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neighbor's house.

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It was a good-sized tree.

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And so, feeling like I was stronger than

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I actually was, I put my shoulder under

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the trunk of the tree and began dragging

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it through the yard off my neighbor's house.

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And I could feel my spine compressing as

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I carried it.

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No lie, I said to myself as I

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was dragging the tree, time to pull a

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Samson.

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And I started to drag the tree across

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my yard off my neighbor's roof.

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Well, I didn't pull a Samson.

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I pulled my back, something fierce.

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Within moments, I could hardly breathe.

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The tree dropped.

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My wife was watching from the kitchen window

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adoringly as I couldn't even breathe.

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She yelled, is something wrong?

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I couldn't even speak.

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She had to get me in the car

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and take me to the hospital.

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So, if at any time during this message,

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if you're ever wondering, you know, is Chad

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at all like Samson?

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The answer is no, I am not.

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And there are some characters in the Bible

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that are like that.

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We hear songs that, you know, we should

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be carrying five stones like David did.

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And if we have faith, we can take

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on the Goliaths of the world.

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I used to believe that.

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I don't anymore.

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There are some pictures the Bible gives us.

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And God's giving us a very different message.

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He's telling us that we shouldn't really have,

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we shouldn't have faith in ourselves, but we

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should have faith in Jesus.

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When David confronted Goliath, it's one of the

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most amazing verses in the Bible to me.

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For, I think it was 40 days, the

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entire Israeli army was being taunted by Goliath

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and the Philistines.

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And not one of them had the courage

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to go and fight that nine-foot warrior,

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that descendant of the Anakims.

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These were the people that the Hebrews said

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made them feel like grasshoppers when they first

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came into that land.

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They were terrifying.

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They were warriors and they knew how to

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fight.

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And the reward of that contest was either

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life or death and slavery of the entire

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peoples.

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And all of Israel, all their army, everybody

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was frozen in fear except David, who was

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a picture of Christ.

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He was the one that finished the deliverance

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that God told Samson to start.

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And that's an amazing verse.

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It says that David ran to confront Goliath.

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So, if during my message you feel uncomfortable

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putting yourself in the shoes of some of

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these men, you don't have to.

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Some of these pictures in the Bible, like

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David and Samson, are pictures of Christ that

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we should look to as our our judge,

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our king, our deliverer.

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Not so much to emulate, but to be

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glad the Lord is on our side.

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It's fitting that I'm speaking on Samson today

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in this area, I think.

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I come from a family on my dad's

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side.

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There were some fairly tough scrapper-type guys.

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I have an uncle that was pretty strong

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himself.

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And I loved, like most of you guys,

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I think, hearing stories of feats of strength.

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Now, one of your neighbors in this vicinity

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came out to our farm many years ago.

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He actually picked up a four-wheel drive

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truck of ours that was loaded with firewood

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with a topper on it and big mudder

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tires, and he grabbed the back bumper and

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picked it two feet up off the ground.

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That's impressive.

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My dad had a big round bale in

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the yard that he had put some logging

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chains around, and he was trying to rip

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it out of the ice with a tractor,

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and the tractor couldn't budge it.

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And so this neighbor of yours said, let

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me try, and he wrapped his arms around

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the bale and stuck his huge fingers into

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it, and he ripped it out of the

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ground.

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And my dad said, you could hear the

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ice cracking 15-20 feet out around the

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bale.

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There are some strong people in the area,

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but there are none like the man we're

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going to read about today.

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It was about 20 years ago, I was

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in my basement reading the story of Samson,

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and I came across one verse in particular

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that made zero sense to me.

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It was one of the craziest verses in

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the Bible, and it was from that moment

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for the next year, all I did was

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read the story of Samson.

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We're going to get to that verse in

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a little bit, but about a year after

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that study of Samson began, one night, I

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think I can share this because we're in

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a Pentecostal church, I felt the Holy Spirit

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fill me up to a point that it

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actually scared me, and I began to see

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things in this story all over the place

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that I'd never seen before.

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So I'd like to share some of them

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with you today.

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As Wally mentioned, I've given a couple sermons

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on Samson in the last 20 years or

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so.

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My view of Samson is very contrary to

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what the popular view out there is.

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If you do a search on the internet

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on what kind of guy Samson was, you

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might be surprised, you might not.

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I don't know what what you guys think

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of this man, but I'd like to read

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to you what a few people, a few

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theologians, thought of Samson when I researched it.

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One theologian said that God had a purpose

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for Samson.

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He wanted Samson to rescue his people, but

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Samson became a complete failure.

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He should have brought honor to a holy

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God, instead his evil life brought dishonor to

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a holy God.

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Another man said that Hebrews 11.32 states,

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what more shall I say, time would fail

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me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and

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Jephthah, David and Samuel also, and of the

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prophets.

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He said it is strange to me that

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Samson is included in the Hall of Faith.

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It doesn't seem to me that Samson rates

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up there with Abraham, David, Noah, and so

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forth.

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It seems to me that Samson is not

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a person of faith because he broke all

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three commands given to him by God as

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a Nazarene.

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The first time I spoke on Samson, the

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church I was attending a little over 20

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years ago, they were doing a series on

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the great men of faith in Hebrews 11,

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and so I asked them, is anyone speaking

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on Samson?

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And they said to me, of course not.

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And I said, would you mind if I

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did?

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And so that was the first time I

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spoke on Samson.

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And I'll never forget the one deacon, as

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I was heading up, he told me that

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Samson didn't even belong in Hebrews 11.

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And over the years, as I've shared my

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view of Samson, all I have come across

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00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:52,720
is anger, antagonism, raised voices, how dare you

271
00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:55,700
even imply that Samson was a righteous man,

272
00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:57,240
that he was a type of Christ, or

273
00:10:57,240 --> 00:10:59,640
that he belongs really in Hebrews 11.

274
00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:03,300
But I can be kind of scrappy too,

275
00:11:03,620 --> 00:11:07,440
and I like to stand up for Samson

276
00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:10,860
because he deserves it.

277
00:11:12,620 --> 00:11:15,220
Years ago I came across a sermon from

278
00:11:15,220 --> 00:11:18,140
one of my favorite Christian writers, a fellow

279
00:11:18,140 --> 00:11:19,560
that most of you have probably heard on

280
00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:22,000
the radio, we emailed back and forth quite

281
00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,260
a bit, arguing, debating about Samson.

282
00:11:27,140 --> 00:11:29,320
He wrote of Samson in a sermon that

283
00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:31,060
he was one of the saddest stories in

284
00:11:31,060 --> 00:11:33,380
all the Bible, a wasted opportunity, a life

285
00:11:33,380 --> 00:11:37,360
of compromise and worldliness, a miserable failure, a

286
00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:39,420
negative example of what a child should be.

287
00:11:39,780 --> 00:11:43,060
God turned his great defeat into victory, and

288
00:11:43,060 --> 00:11:45,100
he asked why was he such a failure

289
00:11:45,100 --> 00:11:46,960
as a person and as a son.

290
00:11:51,170 --> 00:11:52,830
Not very flattering words, are they?

291
00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,160
It seems that the consensus among the majority

292
00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:58,840
is that Samson was a man of little

293
00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:00,340
faith, or worse yet, not a man of

294
00:12:00,340 --> 00:12:00,880
faith at all.

295
00:12:01,100 --> 00:12:02,440
A man that failed for most of his

296
00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:05,020
life, somehow managed to repent in the end,

297
00:12:05,580 --> 00:12:07,760
thus squeaking into Hebrews 11 by the skin

298
00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:08,420
of his teeth.

299
00:12:08,660 --> 00:12:11,920
But something is not right, for it was

300
00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,220
God, of course, that placed Samson among the

301
00:12:14,220 --> 00:12:16,340
giants of faith, and he listed him by

302
00:12:16,340 --> 00:12:17,800
name no less.

303
00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:19,400
And with God, there are no mistakes.

304
00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,080
So, I don't want to take up too

305
00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:23,800
much time today.

306
00:12:24,820 --> 00:12:26,620
I guess the the main things I'd like

307
00:12:26,620 --> 00:12:28,900
to try and show is that Samson was

308
00:12:28,900 --> 00:12:30,080
a great man of faith, and that he

309
00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:32,560
was also one of the greatest types, or

310
00:12:32,560 --> 00:12:35,620
Old Testament foreshadows, of Christ that there is.

311
00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:36,780
I don't think there are too many men

312
00:12:36,780 --> 00:12:39,500
that foreshadowed both advents of the Lord better

313
00:12:39,500 --> 00:12:40,100
than Samson.

314
00:12:40,500 --> 00:12:44,280
He is constantly foreshadowing and typing both the

315
00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:46,000
first and second coming of our Lord.

316
00:12:50,810 --> 00:12:55,170
We'll start in chapter 13, And the children

317
00:12:55,170 --> 00:12:56,690
of Israel did evil again in the sight

318
00:12:56,690 --> 00:12:58,070
of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them

319
00:12:58,070 --> 00:13:00,110
into the hands of the Philistines for forty

320
00:13:00,110 --> 00:13:00,550
years.

321
00:13:01,390 --> 00:13:03,810
Now, I just got open by saying, to

322
00:13:03,810 --> 00:13:05,870
understand Samson, you need to understand the calling

323
00:13:05,870 --> 00:13:07,530
that God put on this man's life from

324
00:13:07,530 --> 00:13:09,170
before he was even born, and we're gonna

325
00:13:09,170 --> 00:13:10,010
get to that right away.

326
00:13:12,050 --> 00:13:16,630
When Moses had brought Israel out of Egypt,

327
00:13:17,550 --> 00:13:19,750
there's an interesting verse in Genesis that said

328
00:13:19,750 --> 00:13:22,070
that God actually took the Hebrews around the

329
00:13:22,070 --> 00:13:24,490
long way, so that they would not see

330
00:13:24,490 --> 00:13:27,150
the Philistine people, and be scared of the

331
00:13:27,150 --> 00:13:29,170
prospect of war, and want to go back.

332
00:13:29,970 --> 00:13:32,350
The Philistines were pretty nasty people, and so

333
00:13:32,350 --> 00:13:36,090
in verse 5 here, when his birth is

334
00:13:36,090 --> 00:13:39,430
announced by the angel to Samson's barren mum.

335
00:13:40,890 --> 00:13:43,110
By the way, I'm fascinated with types.

336
00:13:44,030 --> 00:13:46,350
If you notice, many of the great deliverers

337
00:13:46,350 --> 00:13:48,810
in the Old Testament had mothers that couldn't

338
00:13:48,810 --> 00:13:49,350
have children.

339
00:13:50,370 --> 00:13:51,850
I don't know if there's a right or

340
00:13:51,850 --> 00:13:53,390
wrong answer for this, but I believe this

341
00:13:53,390 --> 00:13:56,030
is God foreshadowing the virgin birth in the

342
00:13:56,030 --> 00:13:56,510
Old Testament.

343
00:13:57,530 --> 00:14:00,030
Many of these great men of God, these

344
00:14:00,030 --> 00:14:02,990
great deliverers, God had to come and personally

345
00:14:02,990 --> 00:14:05,270
intervene, so that they could be born.

346
00:14:05,910 --> 00:14:08,130
Just a little side note there, and Samson,

347
00:14:08,510 --> 00:14:11,570
just like Isaac, and Samuel, and John the

348
00:14:11,570 --> 00:14:13,910
Baptist, and a few others, is in that

349
00:14:13,910 --> 00:14:14,210
group.

350
00:14:15,690 --> 00:14:18,270
So, I'm assuming most of you know the

351
00:14:18,270 --> 00:14:19,310
story, I'm not going to read it all,

352
00:14:19,350 --> 00:14:20,490
I'm just going to try and cruise along

353
00:14:20,490 --> 00:14:21,850
a little quicker, and there's just a few

354
00:14:21,850 --> 00:14:23,770
kind of main points I'd like to touch

355
00:14:23,770 --> 00:14:26,670
on at the end, but Samson is one

356
00:14:26,670 --> 00:14:28,610
of very few people whose birth was actually

357
00:14:28,610 --> 00:14:30,050
announced from heaven by an angel.

358
00:14:30,890 --> 00:14:32,990
When Gabriel came and announced to Mary that

359
00:14:32,990 --> 00:14:34,370
was quite a big deal, that she was

360
00:14:34,370 --> 00:14:35,010
going to have a son.

361
00:14:35,090 --> 00:14:37,110
Well, an angel came from heaven and announced

362
00:14:37,110 --> 00:14:39,210
that Samson was going to be born to

363
00:14:39,210 --> 00:14:43,310
her, and the angel told Samson's mom that

364
00:14:43,310 --> 00:14:45,770
this child was going to be a Nazarite

365
00:14:45,770 --> 00:14:50,350
from the day of his conception and to

366
00:14:50,350 --> 00:14:51,230
the day of his death.

367
00:14:52,110 --> 00:14:54,370
One of very few men that had to

368
00:14:54,370 --> 00:14:56,710
take on the Nazarite vow through the entire

369
00:14:56,710 --> 00:14:57,670
course of their life.

370
00:14:58,070 --> 00:14:59,670
The Nazarite vow was not an easy thing

371
00:14:59,670 --> 00:14:59,910
to do.

372
00:14:59,970 --> 00:15:01,830
As you know, you couldn't cut your hair,

373
00:15:02,070 --> 00:15:03,430
which I believe was a sign of submission.

374
00:15:04,810 --> 00:15:06,250
You weren't to be around a dead body,

375
00:15:06,570 --> 00:15:08,170
and I think some people get this kind

376
00:15:08,170 --> 00:15:10,910
of mixed up because theologians like to blame

377
00:15:10,910 --> 00:15:13,750
Samson for being around the carcass of a

378
00:15:13,750 --> 00:15:15,010
lion that came to kill him.

379
00:15:15,430 --> 00:15:17,650
It's absolutely ridiculous, I hate to say it.

380
00:15:17,690 --> 00:15:19,690
I'll try and be gracious, but for all

381
00:15:19,690 --> 00:15:22,890
those that think Samson was an undisciplined failure

382
00:15:22,890 --> 00:15:26,590
and train wreck of a life, the most

383
00:15:26,590 --> 00:15:28,370
gracious way I can say this is that

384
00:15:28,370 --> 00:15:28,770
you're wrong.

385
00:15:29,630 --> 00:15:30,310
He was not.

386
00:15:30,770 --> 00:15:32,690
A Nazarite vow for your entire life was

387
00:15:32,690 --> 00:15:33,510
a very difficult thing.

388
00:15:34,050 --> 00:15:35,370
Not only could you not have wine or

389
00:15:35,370 --> 00:15:37,350
strong drink, you couldn't eat anything off the

390
00:15:37,350 --> 00:15:37,850
vine either.

391
00:15:39,230 --> 00:15:42,350
There were not Olive Gardens and 7-Elevens

392
00:15:42,350 --> 00:15:43,870
and a lot of choices in those days

393
00:15:43,870 --> 00:15:45,710
of what you could eat or drink, and

394
00:15:45,710 --> 00:15:47,150
so if you lived in those days and

395
00:15:47,150 --> 00:15:48,890
couldn't eat or drink anything off the vine,

396
00:15:49,910 --> 00:15:52,850
you lived a pretty sparse life in that

397
00:15:52,850 --> 00:15:55,350
way, and he did throughout his entire life.

398
00:15:56,330 --> 00:15:58,950
So nothing from the vine, which might suggest

399
00:15:58,950 --> 00:16:03,370
purity as well as abstinence, just not being

400
00:16:03,370 --> 00:16:05,450
able to partake in all the blessings and

401
00:16:05,450 --> 00:16:08,250
joys of life, it made life tough.

402
00:16:09,130 --> 00:16:11,090
Submission, not cutting your hair, and not being

403
00:16:11,090 --> 00:16:12,370
around dead people.

404
00:16:12,550 --> 00:16:13,730
You can read of the vow in Numbers

405
00:16:13,730 --> 00:16:18,050
chapter 6 where it's explained, and when the

406
00:16:18,050 --> 00:16:19,650
vow came to an end, the one who

407
00:16:19,650 --> 00:16:21,630
took on himself the Nazarite vow was to

408
00:16:21,630 --> 00:16:24,090
cut his hair and then offer up a

409
00:16:24,090 --> 00:16:24,410
sacrifice.

410
00:16:25,890 --> 00:16:29,030
So the angel comes to Samson's mother, says

411
00:16:29,030 --> 00:16:30,390
you're gonna have a son, and verse 5

412
00:16:30,390 --> 00:16:32,950
says that he will be a Nazarite unto

413
00:16:32,950 --> 00:16:35,130
God from the womb, and he shall begin

414
00:16:35,130 --> 00:16:37,310
to deliver Israel out of the hand of

415
00:16:37,310 --> 00:16:37,930
the Philistines.

416
00:16:38,230 --> 00:16:40,470
Many people criticize Samson for not finishing what

417
00:16:40,470 --> 00:16:42,650
God told him to do, but God didn't

418
00:16:42,650 --> 00:16:43,350
tell him to finish it.

419
00:16:43,450 --> 00:16:45,210
That's that was going to be David's job.

420
00:16:45,630 --> 00:16:47,870
God said that Samson was to begin this

421
00:16:47,870 --> 00:16:48,390
deliverance.

422
00:16:49,810 --> 00:16:52,650
So they have the baby, and Samson begins

423
00:16:52,650 --> 00:16:53,130
to grow.

424
00:16:54,190 --> 00:16:55,190
They call this name Samson.

425
00:16:55,270 --> 00:16:57,270
The child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

426
00:16:58,210 --> 00:17:00,390
Verse 25 of chapter 13, and the Spirit

427
00:17:00,390 --> 00:17:01,710
of the Lord began to move him at

428
00:17:01,710 --> 00:17:03,609
times in the camp of Dan between Zorah

429
00:17:03,609 --> 00:17:04,150
and Eshphel.

430
00:17:04,770 --> 00:17:06,250
As you know, Samson was from the tribe

431
00:17:06,250 --> 00:17:09,450
of Dan, a word that was prophesied of

432
00:17:09,450 --> 00:17:10,910
the tribe of Dan.

433
00:17:11,250 --> 00:17:12,810
There was a few prophecies that came from

434
00:17:12,810 --> 00:17:15,690
Moses and Jacob, and it said that Dan

435
00:17:15,690 --> 00:17:17,190
would be a judge of his people, and

436
00:17:17,190 --> 00:17:19,150
as you know, Samson became one of the

437
00:17:19,150 --> 00:17:19,810
judges of Israel.

438
00:17:19,910 --> 00:17:21,670
I believe he was the last, if you

439
00:17:21,670 --> 00:17:22,450
don't count Samuel.

440
00:17:24,270 --> 00:17:27,369
It was prophesied of the tribe of Dan

441
00:17:27,369 --> 00:17:29,710
that he would be like a serpent on

442
00:17:29,710 --> 00:17:31,770
the way, biting the hooves of the horses,

443
00:17:32,410 --> 00:17:34,110
and I think it was Moses' prophecy that

444
00:17:34,110 --> 00:17:35,830
said Dan would be like a young lion,

445
00:17:36,610 --> 00:17:40,790
and Samson, I think very fittingly, portrays both

446
00:17:40,790 --> 00:17:41,870
those things, as you'll see.

447
00:17:42,950 --> 00:17:48,980
Verse 14 begins with talking about Samson going

448
00:17:48,980 --> 00:17:51,820
down to Timnath to take of himself a

449
00:17:51,820 --> 00:17:54,760
wife of the Philistines, or a Gentile.

450
00:17:55,680 --> 00:18:00,100
Now, Samson, like I said, is I think

451
00:18:00,100 --> 00:18:01,160
a great type of Christ.

452
00:18:03,590 --> 00:18:06,650
In verse 2, well let's just read the

453
00:18:06,650 --> 00:18:08,470
first few verses in 14, and Samson went

454
00:18:08,470 --> 00:18:10,410
down to Timnath and saw a woman in

455
00:18:10,410 --> 00:18:13,250
Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines, and

456
00:18:13,250 --> 00:18:14,430
he came up and told his father and

457
00:18:14,430 --> 00:18:15,690
mother and said, I've seen a woman in

458
00:18:15,690 --> 00:18:17,970
Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines, now

459
00:18:17,970 --> 00:18:19,410
therefore get her for me a wife.

460
00:18:20,010 --> 00:18:21,410
Then his father and his mother said unto

461
00:18:21,410 --> 00:18:22,930
him, Is there never a woman among the

462
00:18:22,930 --> 00:18:24,730
daughters of thy brethren, or among all my

463
00:18:24,730 --> 00:18:26,470
people, that thou goest to take a wife

464
00:18:26,470 --> 00:18:28,270
of the uncircumcised Philistines?

465
00:18:28,930 --> 00:18:31,650
And Samson said unto his father, Get her

466
00:18:31,650 --> 00:18:33,510
for me, for she pleases me well.

467
00:18:34,110 --> 00:18:35,730
But his father and his mother knew not

468
00:18:35,730 --> 00:18:38,550
that it was of the Lord that he

469
00:18:38,550 --> 00:18:41,270
sought an occasion against the Philistines, for at

470
00:18:41,270 --> 00:18:43,350
that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

471
00:18:44,130 --> 00:18:47,190
Some of these theologians criticize Samson for doing

472
00:18:47,190 --> 00:18:47,470
this.

473
00:18:47,790 --> 00:18:49,510
The text clearly says it was of the

474
00:18:49,510 --> 00:18:49,690
Lord.

475
00:18:49,830 --> 00:18:51,750
It talks about the spirit moving Samson.

476
00:18:52,670 --> 00:18:54,590
Samson had a very unique calling of God.

477
00:18:54,770 --> 00:18:55,910
I don't think anyone in this room has

478
00:18:55,910 --> 00:18:58,310
a calling of God to deliver Israel from

479
00:18:58,310 --> 00:18:58,790
his enemies.

480
00:18:59,730 --> 00:19:02,690
And one of the most fascinating things about

481
00:19:02,690 --> 00:19:04,390
Samson, as you'll see as we read on,

482
00:19:04,590 --> 00:19:06,650
is there is only one person in the

483
00:19:06,650 --> 00:19:11,250
entire Bible that foreshadows the delivering work that

484
00:19:11,250 --> 00:19:12,410
Christ would one day do.

485
00:19:12,750 --> 00:19:14,910
When we read in the Gospels, right before

486
00:19:14,910 --> 00:19:17,090
Jesus went to the cross, we read that

487
00:19:17,090 --> 00:19:19,290
the Old Testament was referenced, and it said

488
00:19:19,290 --> 00:19:22,190
when the shepherd is struck, the sheep will

489
00:19:22,190 --> 00:19:22,590
scatter.

490
00:19:22,950 --> 00:19:24,630
If you read in Leviticus 16, it says

491
00:19:24,630 --> 00:19:26,410
that on the day of atonement, when the

492
00:19:26,410 --> 00:19:28,390
deliverance was going to happen, only one man

493
00:19:28,390 --> 00:19:29,750
in all of Israel was allowed to work,

494
00:19:29,830 --> 00:19:31,350
and that was the high priest.

495
00:19:32,070 --> 00:19:35,390
In Samson, you have an incredible picture of

496
00:19:35,390 --> 00:19:38,490
the aloneness in which the Lord was going

497
00:19:38,490 --> 00:19:39,330
to deliver his people.

498
00:19:39,670 --> 00:19:41,150
Samson is the only guy in the entire

499
00:19:41,150 --> 00:19:43,390
Bible that has a calling from God that

500
00:19:43,390 --> 00:19:46,490
is so insanely difficult and dangerous and terrifying,

501
00:19:46,950 --> 00:19:49,610
and there is not one mention in Judges

502
00:19:49,610 --> 00:19:53,070
13 to 16 of a single soul offering

503
00:19:53,070 --> 00:19:55,850
one iota of help to Samson.

504
00:19:56,270 --> 00:19:59,490
You talked about the twister that came through

505
00:19:59,490 --> 00:20:01,950
last week that seemingly God held up out

506
00:20:01,950 --> 00:20:03,550
of the way, and you talked about the

507
00:20:03,550 --> 00:20:04,530
community coming together.

508
00:20:04,890 --> 00:20:07,170
Samson had no community coming together to help

509
00:20:07,170 --> 00:20:07,570
him ever.

510
00:20:07,690 --> 00:20:08,530
There is no mention.

511
00:20:08,850 --> 00:20:11,850
There is only mention of his people hindering

512
00:20:11,850 --> 00:20:14,190
and opposing him every step of the way,

513
00:20:14,590 --> 00:20:16,570
and in that way, Samson is a very

514
00:20:16,570 --> 00:20:17,730
clear picture of our Lord.

515
00:20:19,010 --> 00:20:20,490
What the Lord had to do, he had

516
00:20:20,490 --> 00:20:21,450
to do alone.

517
00:20:23,030 --> 00:20:25,610
So on the way to the wedding, as

518
00:20:25,610 --> 00:20:28,290
you know, Samson walking through the vineyard on

519
00:20:28,290 --> 00:20:30,270
the way to Timnath, a young lion, not

520
00:20:30,270 --> 00:20:33,510
a cub, but a full-strength lion attacks

521
00:20:33,510 --> 00:20:36,350
Samson, and it says that Samson ripped this

522
00:20:36,350 --> 00:20:37,810
lion apart like he would a little goat,

523
00:20:38,010 --> 00:20:39,770
and it said that he had nothing in

524
00:20:39,770 --> 00:20:40,410
his hands.

525
00:20:40,850 --> 00:20:43,270
That's another thing that is very, very peculiar

526
00:20:43,270 --> 00:20:45,010
and particular about Samson.

527
00:20:45,470 --> 00:20:48,190
Never once in all of his wars, his

528
00:20:48,190 --> 00:20:51,190
battles, his anything, does he ever once use

529
00:20:51,190 --> 00:20:53,210
a conventional weapon of war.

530
00:20:55,340 --> 00:20:57,340
God wants to see the uniqueness of this

531
00:20:57,340 --> 00:20:57,560
man.

532
00:20:57,660 --> 00:21:00,760
He's not one that we are to imitate,

533
00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:03,100
but we are to look to as a

534
00:21:03,100 --> 00:21:03,840
great deliverer.

535
00:21:04,140 --> 00:21:06,220
Never once does he use a conventional weapon

536
00:21:06,220 --> 00:21:06,560
of war.

537
00:21:06,700 --> 00:21:08,300
When the lion comes upon him, he rips

538
00:21:08,300 --> 00:21:10,500
it apart with his bare hands.

539
00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:13,140
So Samson meets his wife.

540
00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:16,120
It's also fascinating that Samson didn't even tell

541
00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:16,580
his dad.

542
00:21:17,420 --> 00:21:18,080
Like, they're walking.

543
00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:19,280
I mean, mom and dad must have been

544
00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:20,060
a little ways away.

545
00:21:20,540 --> 00:21:22,820
How many of you men in your prime,

546
00:21:23,420 --> 00:21:26,020
if a lion had attacked you between Tribune

547
00:21:26,020 --> 00:21:27,420
and Lake Delma, would have ripped it apart

548
00:21:27,420 --> 00:21:28,860
with your bare hands and not even told

549
00:21:28,860 --> 00:21:29,340
your dad?

550
00:21:31,140 --> 00:21:32,880
This guy had some humility, I think.

551
00:21:33,580 --> 00:21:37,440
So when the wedding begins, Samson puts forth

552
00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:39,040
a riddle, because as we read, it was

553
00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,160
of the Lord to start to agitate and

554
00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:42,800
make things happen with Israel's enemies.

555
00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:45,860
And so Samson puts forth a riddle.

556
00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:47,500
Out of the eater, something to eat.

557
00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:49,440
Out of the strong, something sweet, because on

558
00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:50,580
his way back to the wedding, as you

559
00:21:50,580 --> 00:21:53,400
know, there were bees in the carcass making

560
00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:53,720
honey.

561
00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:57,820
And we won't stay here long, but I

562
00:21:57,820 --> 00:22:00,280
think it's a pretty interesting picture, even if

563
00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:02,980
it's not exact, of the Deliverer of Israel

564
00:22:02,980 --> 00:22:06,000
taking for himself a Gentile bride.

565
00:22:06,340 --> 00:22:07,260
I don't know if any of you are

566
00:22:07,260 --> 00:22:10,660
Hebrews, but Ephesians 2 says those of us

567
00:22:10,660 --> 00:22:13,080
that were once afar off were brought nigh

568
00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:13,880
through Christ.

569
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:16,600
We are the wild shoot that it talks

570
00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:17,780
about in Romans 9 to 11.

571
00:22:18,380 --> 00:22:19,500
I think this is a picture of the

572
00:22:19,500 --> 00:22:22,240
Deliverer of Israel going after a Gentile bride,

573
00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:23,680
not just a Hebrew one.

574
00:22:24,300 --> 00:22:26,360
And there was dislike from his parents, but

575
00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:27,000
it was of the Lord.

576
00:22:27,940 --> 00:22:30,620
And at the wedding, a riddle goes out.

577
00:22:30,860 --> 00:22:33,080
Now our New Testament Gospels are filled with

578
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:35,840
parables that people couldn't understand unless the Lord

579
00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:38,540
or his people explain them.

580
00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:40,600
And it's kind of fascinating to me that

581
00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,340
Samson gives a riddle, and it's not until

582
00:22:43,340 --> 00:22:48,000
the Philistines threaten the bride, the Gentile bride,

583
00:22:48,100 --> 00:22:49,500
that she gives the answer to the riddle.

584
00:22:49,780 --> 00:22:51,960
And what do they receive as a reward?

585
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:53,340
New garments.

586
00:22:53,580 --> 00:22:55,700
And that's what the Bible says you wear

587
00:22:55,700 --> 00:22:57,160
when you enter the kingdom of God, new

588
00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:57,580
garments.

589
00:22:58,620 --> 00:23:00,700
It's pretty interesting all these parallels that there

590
00:23:00,700 --> 00:23:01,760
are in the Samson story.

591
00:23:03,580 --> 00:23:08,360
But Samson, as I said, shows both advents

592
00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:08,820
of the Lord.

593
00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:10,820
He is both against the enemies of God's

594
00:23:10,820 --> 00:23:13,720
people and for God's people at the same

595
00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:14,140
time.

596
00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:15,700
And so to get these new garments, he

597
00:23:15,700 --> 00:23:19,000
goes out and kills 30 Philistine men and

598
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:20,600
takes their garments to give them as a

599
00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:20,980
prize.

600
00:23:21,340 --> 00:23:23,620
He is not doing this, as a lot

601
00:23:23,620 --> 00:23:26,660
of people say, selfishly or fleshly or whatever.

602
00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:28,640
He's the judge of Israel.

603
00:23:29,180 --> 00:23:32,360
Samson is Israel's government, and he's fulfilling a

604
00:23:32,360 --> 00:23:34,740
calling that God gave him, and that is

605
00:23:34,740 --> 00:23:36,960
to bring his people out from under the

606
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:38,220
domination of the Philistines.

607
00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:41,160
And so when they find out that Samson

608
00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:42,960
slew 30 of their men for these garments,

609
00:23:43,860 --> 00:23:47,140
they come back, and while Samson's gone, it

610
00:23:47,140 --> 00:23:49,280
says they burned Samson's wife and father-in

611
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:49,880
-law with fire.

612
00:23:50,820 --> 00:23:52,620
And so the story starts to get interesting.

613
00:23:55,980 --> 00:23:58,280
The father in law pleads with Samson and

614
00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,300
says, you know, at first I gave your

615
00:24:00,300 --> 00:24:01,160
wife away.

616
00:24:01,620 --> 00:24:02,700
I thought you hated her.

617
00:24:03,500 --> 00:24:05,720
Can you not take her younger sister, for

618
00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:06,500
she is fair.

619
00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:10,200
And Samson said, concerning them, now shall I

620
00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,180
be more blameless than the Philistines, though I

621
00:24:12,180 --> 00:24:13,100
do them a displeasure.

622
00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:17,940
He went and caught 300 foxes, put firebrands

623
00:24:17,940 --> 00:24:19,440
in their tails, and sent them out into

624
00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:21,480
the Philistine cornfields to burn them down.

625
00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,280
So I'm always fascinated with pictures of Samson.

626
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:28,160
You watch strongman competitions Samson could move too,

627
00:24:28,260 --> 00:24:30,040
like he was not one of these muscle

628
00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:31,640
men that couldn't even, you know, touch his

629
00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:32,540
hands behind his back.

630
00:24:32,620 --> 00:24:33,560
This guy could fly.

631
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,920
Catching 300 foxes, tying their tails together, amazing.

632
00:24:38,220 --> 00:24:39,900
So the first thing he does is strikes

633
00:24:39,900 --> 00:24:43,800
out again at the Philistines for taking his

634
00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:45,460
wife, burns their crops down.

635
00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:50,000
So when they ask who did this, they

636
00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:51,380
hear that it is Samson, the son-in

637
00:24:51,380 --> 00:24:52,100
-law of the Timnite.

638
00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:54,840
And so because of that, they come and

639
00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,020
burn Samson's wife and father-in-law to

640
00:24:57,020 --> 00:24:57,280
fire.

641
00:24:58,420 --> 00:25:00,920
Samson says, though you have done this, yet

642
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:02,780
will I be avenged of you, and after

643
00:25:02,780 --> 00:25:03,700
that I will cease.

644
00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:05,460
It is so easy to read verses in

645
00:25:05,460 --> 00:25:07,420
the Bible as just something small and carry

646
00:25:07,420 --> 00:25:07,660
on.

647
00:25:08,580 --> 00:25:10,340
As I was walking down the grid road

648
00:25:10,340 --> 00:25:12,280
by Josh and Julia's last night, I just

649
00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,800
pictured myself like Samson, walking out with no

650
00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:18,240
weapon in my hand, and declaring that I

651
00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:20,300
am about to go and deal the Philistines

652
00:25:20,300 --> 00:25:21,600
another deadly blow.

653
00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:24,500
I'm gonna smite them hip and thigh with

654
00:25:24,500 --> 00:25:25,500
a great slaughter.

655
00:25:25,780 --> 00:25:27,440
Absolute chaotic slaughter.

656
00:25:28,180 --> 00:25:32,460
One man army, no weapons, fulfilling God's call

657
00:25:32,460 --> 00:25:33,460
to deliver Israel.

658
00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:34,680
Amazing.

659
00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:38,360
This guy was absolutely fearless, and every time

660
00:25:38,360 --> 00:25:41,020
that he goes out to do what I

661
00:25:41,020 --> 00:25:42,620
call him to do as a deliverer, the

662
00:25:42,620 --> 00:25:45,460
spirit of the Lord comes upon Samson and

663
00:25:45,460 --> 00:25:46,380
gives him great might.

664
00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:51,360
So after he does that, Samson goes down

665
00:25:51,360 --> 00:25:56,600
to, it says, the Rock of Edom, and

666
00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:03,260
there the Philistines find Samson, and a thousand

667
00:26:03,260 --> 00:26:05,540
Philistines come to the men of Judah, and

668
00:26:05,540 --> 00:26:08,060
they demand that Samson be handed over to

669
00:26:08,060 --> 00:26:08,200
them.

670
00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:11,600
So 3,000 men of Judah come down

671
00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:14,320
and get Samson, and they said, we're binding

672
00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:16,380
you and handing you over to the Philistines.

673
00:26:17,100 --> 00:26:19,920
Now this, again, is such an amazing foreshadow

674
00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:21,880
of what is coming a thousand years later,

675
00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:26,260
because as they bind Samson with these cords,

676
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:28,820
they said, we are handing you over to

677
00:26:28,820 --> 00:26:32,240
the Gentile enemy that wants to torture and

678
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:32,920
put you to death.

679
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:35,920
And they asked Samson, why are you doing

680
00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:36,480
this to us?

681
00:26:37,300 --> 00:26:40,000
The Philistines blamed everything that was going on

682
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:41,780
in Samson, and that's always how it goes.

683
00:26:43,060 --> 00:26:46,160
But these strong men of Judah come and

684
00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:48,340
bind their deliverer and hand him over, and

685
00:26:48,340 --> 00:26:50,520
Samson says the most fascinating things to these

686
00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:51,080
men of Judah.

687
00:26:52,500 --> 00:26:54,300
He says, I'll let you do that as

688
00:26:54,300 --> 00:26:55,600
long as you make a promise to me

689
00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:57,100
that you don't kill me yourself.

690
00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:03,820
I think it's a picture of what happened

691
00:27:03,820 --> 00:27:08,460
at the cross, because Jesus allows his own

692
00:27:08,460 --> 00:27:15,400
people to bind him and hand him over

693
00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:21,040
to the Gentiles to be mocked, tortured, and

694
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:21,580
put to death.

695
00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:25,400
And at this rock of Edom, at this

696
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,780
instant, Samson gives such an amazing clear picture

697
00:27:28,780 --> 00:27:30,500
of both the grace and justice of our

698
00:27:30,500 --> 00:27:33,640
Lord, both the first and second advent, both

699
00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:37,180
the Lamb and the Lion, because as Samson

700
00:27:37,180 --> 00:27:40,880
is being marched forward, bound with ropes, with

701
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:43,400
3,000 of his own people, handing him

702
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:44,780
over to the enemy to be put to

703
00:27:44,780 --> 00:27:46,940
death, he then comes face to face with

704
00:27:46,940 --> 00:27:50,060
a thousand armed Philistines that it said lay

705
00:27:50,060 --> 00:27:51,860
out a war cry when they see him

706
00:27:51,860 --> 00:27:53,240
bound and they're ready to kill him.

707
00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:56,020
But now we see the second advent of

708
00:27:56,020 --> 00:27:57,920
the Lord coming out, and it says that

709
00:27:57,920 --> 00:27:59,740
the spear of the Lord came upon Samson,

710
00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,480
and he snaps the ropes like they're burnt

711
00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:06,080
flax, and he reaches down and picks up

712
00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:09,680
a very unconventional weapon of war, a jawbone

713
00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:12,780
of an ass, and he proceeds to cut

714
00:28:12,780 --> 00:28:15,640
down a thousand armed men with a jawbone.

715
00:28:18,850 --> 00:28:21,550
I don't know if you're familiar with Joshua

716
00:28:21,550 --> 00:28:25,810
23.10, but after Joshua brought the Hebrews

717
00:28:25,810 --> 00:28:27,870
into the promised land, and they'd begun the

718
00:28:27,870 --> 00:28:29,730
conquest that wasn't finished yet, they were supposed

719
00:28:29,730 --> 00:28:30,330
to finish it.

720
00:28:30,550 --> 00:28:32,070
As a matter of fact, before Joshua even

721
00:28:32,070 --> 00:28:35,050
died, he rebuked the people of Israel for

722
00:28:35,050 --> 00:28:36,890
not going out and finishing the work that

723
00:28:36,890 --> 00:28:38,290
God gave them to do, this work that

724
00:28:38,290 --> 00:28:40,630
Samson is now busying himself with doing.

725
00:28:40,630 --> 00:28:43,510
But in Joshua 23.10, Joshua told the

726
00:28:43,510 --> 00:28:45,970
people, one of you will chase a thousand,

727
00:28:47,790 --> 00:28:51,410
because it is the Lord that fights for

728
00:28:51,410 --> 00:28:51,650
you.

729
00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:54,220
Amazing.

730
00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:57,760
That one guy that Joshua was talking about,

731
00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:01,260
I believe, was Samson, because he cut down

732
00:29:01,260 --> 00:29:01,920
a thousand men.

733
00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:15,200
In verse 16, it says that Samson went

734
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:18,300
to visit a harlot, in 16 verse 1,

735
00:29:18,700 --> 00:29:19,660
in the city of Gaza.

736
00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:26,900
Now, right after that, he goes to see

737
00:29:26,900 --> 00:29:29,520
Delilah, and it said that he loved this

738
00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:31,880
lady Delilah, who was from the valley of

739
00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:32,180
Sorek.

740
00:29:32,740 --> 00:29:35,000
Now, the valley of Sorek, Samson, like the

741
00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:36,240
tribe of Dan was in a buffer zone

742
00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:38,860
between the Philistines and the captured land of

743
00:29:38,860 --> 00:29:40,800
Israel, the valley of Sorek is right in

744
00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:41,060
the middle.

745
00:29:41,700 --> 00:29:44,940
We don't actually know if Delilah was Hebrew

746
00:29:44,940 --> 00:29:45,560
or Philistine.

747
00:29:45,900 --> 00:29:47,320
It just said that Samson loved her.

748
00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:51,900
Now, Samson never married, never had a wife,

749
00:29:53,020 --> 00:29:57,440
but Delilah either caught his eye, or like

750
00:29:57,440 --> 00:29:59,780
the woman of Timnath, that it said Samson,

751
00:29:59,940 --> 00:30:01,820
when he talked to her, she pleased him.

752
00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:03,820
Everyone likes to make Samson out like he's

753
00:30:03,820 --> 00:30:06,780
the most fleshly, lustful failure in the Bible.

754
00:30:07,020 --> 00:30:08,340
If you take a close look at these

755
00:30:08,340 --> 00:30:09,740
verses, I don't know if we can say

756
00:30:09,740 --> 00:30:10,640
that with any certainty.

757
00:30:12,580 --> 00:30:14,160
It said that Samson loved Delilah.

758
00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:17,160
I'm more prone to think that she was

759
00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:22,460
a Hebrew, because when the people of Jericho

760
00:30:22,460 --> 00:30:25,920
knew that there was two spies in Rahab's

761
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:28,340
place, they didn't come and offer her 5

762
00:30:28,340 --> 00:30:29,660
,500 pieces of silver.

763
00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:32,600
They said, you got spies in your place,

764
00:30:32,820 --> 00:30:34,000
get them out, we want these guys.

765
00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:35,640
And they sealed the gate and tried to

766
00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:36,560
catch them.

767
00:30:38,100 --> 00:30:39,640
But they're offering a lot of money to

768
00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:40,000
Delilah.

769
00:30:40,300 --> 00:30:42,040
Maybe it's because she was a Hebrew, I

770
00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:42,280
don't know.

771
00:30:42,540 --> 00:30:44,280
The story moves quick and it doesn't say.

772
00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:46,980
But regardless, Delilah is kind of a picture

773
00:30:46,980 --> 00:30:51,500
of Judas, the one that betrayed the Lord

774
00:30:51,500 --> 00:30:53,900
for 30 pieces of silver.

775
00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:59,340
And the Delilah story is quite interesting, and

776
00:30:59,340 --> 00:31:00,560
there's so much to talk about in these

777
00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:02,140
things, but I don't want to go on

778
00:31:02,140 --> 00:31:02,700
too long here.

779
00:31:03,020 --> 00:31:07,160
But, you know, she's offered all this money,

780
00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:09,920
and the Philistine lords say, get the secret

781
00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:12,820
of his strength, so that we can bind

782
00:31:12,820 --> 00:31:14,160
and afflict this guy and take him out.

783
00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:19,040
And three different times, Delilah tries to get

784
00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:21,200
the secret of Samson's strength out of him.

785
00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:27,820
And each time Samson gives her an unaffectual

786
00:31:27,820 --> 00:31:30,380
route to doing that, she cries out, the

787
00:31:30,380 --> 00:31:31,540
Philistines are upon you.

788
00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:32,840
I don't know if you've ever thought of

789
00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:34,480
this, but you would have to be a

790
00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:39,720
very dense person to go ahead and give

791
00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:41,880
the secret after those three attempts.

792
00:31:43,380 --> 00:31:45,480
And maybe what the Lord is showing through

793
00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:47,580
this story of Samson is that the Lord

794
00:31:47,580 --> 00:31:49,260
knew that he was going to be betrayed.

795
00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,480
And the Lord knew what he was walking

796
00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:52,800
into.

797
00:31:53,220 --> 00:31:54,780
He wasn't taken by surprise.

798
00:31:55,300 --> 00:31:55,920
He's not stupid.

799
00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:56,960
I don't think he can be a judge

800
00:31:56,960 --> 00:31:58,180
of Israel and be that dense.

801
00:31:59,580 --> 00:32:00,000
I don't know.

802
00:32:00,740 --> 00:32:02,940
One theologian writing of Samson said, you know,

803
00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:04,360
this guy is a riddle himself.

804
00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:06,800
He is a hard guy to figure out.

805
00:32:09,500 --> 00:32:10,120
I agree.

806
00:32:11,700 --> 00:32:14,640
And so, as you know, Samson finally tells

807
00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:16,320
her the secret to his strength.

808
00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:18,180
His hair is cut, which he didn't cut.

809
00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:19,980
She did.

810
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:20,860
The Philistines did.

811
00:32:22,060 --> 00:32:23,860
And the spirit of the Lord departed from

812
00:32:23,860 --> 00:32:26,180
him for a time.

813
00:32:26,460 --> 00:32:27,820
It said that his hair began to grow

814
00:32:27,820 --> 00:32:28,820
back as soon as it was cut.

815
00:32:29,500 --> 00:32:31,760
And as you know, Samson is then taken

816
00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:35,060
to Gaza, where their god Dagon is.

817
00:32:35,700 --> 00:32:37,360
And they have a feast and a celebration.

818
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,160
And they praise their god Dagon for delivering

819
00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:43,100
Samson into their midst.

820
00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:47,540
But it's very hard to checkmate the Lord.

821
00:32:48,420 --> 00:32:51,000
Because as they're praising their false god Dagon,

822
00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:55,280
Samson, who had his eyes gouged out, mocked,

823
00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:57,540
made a fool of, just like Jesus was

824
00:32:57,540 --> 00:33:00,740
blindfolded, mocked, tortured right before his death.

825
00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:02,800
Samson does an amazing thing here.

826
00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:07,000
It was the Philistines that led him between

827
00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,040
the two main pillars that supported this whole

828
00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:10,380
tower.

829
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:12,500
It says there was 3,000 lords of

830
00:33:12,500 --> 00:33:14,900
the Philistines, men and women, on the roof

831
00:33:14,900 --> 00:33:15,260
alone.

832
00:33:16,580 --> 00:33:20,960
And in an incredible type, Samson asks this

833
00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:24,040
young guy to help him find those pillars.

834
00:33:25,060 --> 00:33:27,940
And Samson asks the Lord to one last

835
00:33:27,940 --> 00:33:32,020
time give him the strength back, so he

836
00:33:32,020 --> 00:33:32,680
can do his job.

837
00:33:35,850 --> 00:33:40,790
And so with outstretched arms, Samson offers up

838
00:33:40,790 --> 00:33:44,290
himself as a sacrifice at the end of

839
00:33:44,290 --> 00:33:46,110
this Nazarene battle, at the end of his

840
00:33:46,110 --> 00:33:46,370
life.

841
00:33:47,070 --> 00:33:49,630
And in doing so, he takes out more

842
00:33:49,630 --> 00:33:51,370
enemies of God than he did during his

843
00:33:51,370 --> 00:33:51,690
life.

844
00:33:52,110 --> 00:33:53,310
You know, that's what they said about Jesus

845
00:33:53,310 --> 00:33:53,890
when he was born.

846
00:33:55,390 --> 00:33:57,330
That Jesus was showing up for the fall

847
00:33:57,330 --> 00:33:59,290
and rise of many.

848
00:34:00,410 --> 00:34:02,590
We worship God during a covenant of grace,

849
00:34:02,790 --> 00:34:06,830
where God is always concealing his strength, and

850
00:34:06,830 --> 00:34:10,449
this anger, and this holy violence against sin

851
00:34:10,449 --> 00:34:11,370
and the enemies of God.

852
00:34:11,929 --> 00:34:13,949
And just because we don't see it very

853
00:34:13,949 --> 00:34:16,330
often, doesn't mean it's not there.

854
00:34:17,389 --> 00:34:19,650
As Larry pointed out before the service began,

855
00:34:20,110 --> 00:34:23,350
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

856
00:34:23,830 --> 00:34:24,870
He does not change.

857
00:34:25,949 --> 00:34:28,909
Just because the Covenant's changed, our Lord doesn't

858
00:34:28,909 --> 00:34:29,270
change.

859
00:34:33,650 --> 00:34:35,330
I want to go back and look at

860
00:34:35,330 --> 00:34:36,929
one last verse, and then I'll wrap up.

861
00:34:38,310 --> 00:34:39,850
I shared at the beginning that there was

862
00:34:39,850 --> 00:34:43,389
one verse that just absolutely downfounded me when

863
00:34:43,389 --> 00:34:45,730
I was reading through the Samson story, and

864
00:34:45,730 --> 00:34:49,770
it's Judges 16.3. 16.1 says that

865
00:34:49,770 --> 00:34:51,409
he went to see a harlot in the

866
00:34:51,409 --> 00:34:54,860
city of Gaza, and he stayed there, lay

867
00:34:54,860 --> 00:34:56,540
there till midnight, but in the middle of

868
00:34:56,540 --> 00:34:59,000
the night he gets up, and he decides

869
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:00,260
it's time to head out.

870
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:04,000
Then when Samson to Gaza saw there a

871
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:05,440
harlot, and went in under her, and it

872
00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:07,600
was told the Gazites, saying, Samson's come hither.

873
00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:09,860
And they compassed him in, and laid wait

874
00:35:09,860 --> 00:35:11,540
for him all night in the gate of

875
00:35:11,540 --> 00:35:13,420
the city, and were quiet all the night,

876
00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:14,840
saying, in the morning when it is day,

877
00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:16,140
we shall kill him.

878
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:18,180
And Samson lay till midnight.

879
00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:20,460
This is the verse that, like, it just

880
00:35:20,460 --> 00:35:21,440
drew me into the story.

881
00:35:22,180 --> 00:35:24,280
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at

882
00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:26,220
midnight, and took the doors of the gate

883
00:35:26,220 --> 00:35:28,260
of the city, and the two posts, and

884
00:35:28,260 --> 00:35:29,980
went away with them bar and all, bar

885
00:35:29,980 --> 00:35:31,540
and all, and put them upon his shoulders,

886
00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:33,500
and carried them up to the top of

887
00:35:33,500 --> 00:35:35,620
a hill that is before Hebron.

888
00:35:40,490 --> 00:35:42,770
Theologians all agree that this is the single

889
00:35:42,770 --> 00:35:44,990
greatest feat of strength ever recorded in the

890
00:35:44,990 --> 00:35:45,210
Bible.

891
00:35:45,910 --> 00:35:48,570
The double doors, the gates of a fortified

892
00:35:48,570 --> 00:35:51,150
city, most likely weighed two to three thousand

893
00:35:51,150 --> 00:35:52,430
pounds, just the doors.

894
00:35:54,190 --> 00:35:56,330
And there are two verses in the Bible

895
00:35:56,330 --> 00:35:59,470
that I have always shared that I find

896
00:35:59,470 --> 00:36:00,830
very humorous.

897
00:36:09,290 --> 00:36:11,590
When you read in Acts, the story of

898
00:36:11,590 --> 00:36:14,910
Ananias and Sapphira, and Ananias and Sapphira lied

899
00:36:14,910 --> 00:36:16,670
to the Holy Spirit about what they gave

900
00:36:16,670 --> 00:36:19,750
to the church, and the Lord killed them

901
00:36:19,750 --> 00:36:23,310
both on the spot, there's a verse following

902
00:36:23,310 --> 00:36:25,690
that says that the people weren't really pumped

903
00:36:25,690 --> 00:36:27,430
about hanging out with the Apostles just then

904
00:36:27,430 --> 00:36:27,670
and there.

905
00:36:28,050 --> 00:36:29,870
I've always found that verse very humorous.

906
00:36:30,790 --> 00:36:32,570
The Bible has a, God has an amazing

907
00:36:32,570 --> 00:36:34,570
way of understating things.

908
00:36:36,700 --> 00:36:39,040
And one of my favorite non-verses is

909
00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:40,520
the verse that talks about the men that

910
00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:42,280
were waiting in the gate to kill Samson.

911
00:36:46,530 --> 00:36:48,610
That verse kind of disappeared when Samson ripped

912
00:36:48,610 --> 00:36:50,290
the gates right off their city and carried

913
00:36:50,290 --> 00:36:50,710
them away.

914
00:36:53,150 --> 00:36:53,590
Pretty wild.

915
00:36:54,130 --> 00:36:57,210
Now, you've all heard this story, but I

916
00:36:57,210 --> 00:36:58,650
just want to share a few neat things

917
00:36:58,650 --> 00:36:59,930
I found out just in the last three

918
00:36:59,930 --> 00:37:02,350
weeks about Gaza and these gates.

919
00:37:05,810 --> 00:37:08,650
In Joshua 11, it said that when Joshua

920
00:37:08,650 --> 00:37:11,950
came into the Promised Land, into Canaan, he

921
00:37:11,950 --> 00:37:14,470
started, with the Lord's blessing and spirit, started

922
00:37:14,470 --> 00:37:16,470
to rout the cities of God's enemies.

923
00:37:17,270 --> 00:37:18,470
Now, there was a people that I alluded

924
00:37:18,470 --> 00:37:22,170
to earlier that Goliath was from, the Anakim,

925
00:37:23,070 --> 00:37:25,310
the descendants of Anak, I believe was his

926
00:37:25,310 --> 00:37:27,410
name, and he was an unbeatable giant of

927
00:37:27,410 --> 00:37:27,750
a warrior.

928
00:37:28,830 --> 00:37:33,090
What's interesting is that there was three cities

929
00:37:33,090 --> 00:37:35,970
in this Philistine territory that it says in

930
00:37:35,970 --> 00:37:39,290
Joshua that the Anakim were not routed out

931
00:37:39,290 --> 00:37:39,590
of.

932
00:37:39,970 --> 00:37:43,150
It said that there were still giants in

933
00:37:43,150 --> 00:37:46,410
Ashdod, Gath, and Gaza.

934
00:37:49,420 --> 00:37:50,840
And when I looked that up, all of

935
00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:52,020
a sudden it started to take on a

936
00:37:52,020 --> 00:37:53,360
little bit of a twist with me because

937
00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:56,000
I started asking, what is Samson doing here?

938
00:37:57,340 --> 00:37:59,180
Everyone likes to talk about the prostitute and

939
00:37:59,180 --> 00:38:00,760
why Samson was such a failure.

940
00:38:02,500 --> 00:38:05,900
But maybe, just maybe, Samson had in mind

941
00:38:05,900 --> 00:38:07,680
the account of Joshua that he would have

942
00:38:07,680 --> 00:38:07,840
read.

943
00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:10,180
Because this is 400 years after the Hebrews

944
00:38:10,180 --> 00:38:11,440
went in and took the Promised Land.

945
00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:12,700
They would have had the account.

946
00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:13,580
Samson would have read them.

947
00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:15,380
He would have read about how Joshua and

948
00:38:15,380 --> 00:38:18,220
Caleb went into Rahab's place to scout things

949
00:38:18,220 --> 00:38:20,620
out and prepare for war.

950
00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:24,240
Maybe that's what Samson did.

951
00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:28,960
Maybe Samson went into this very fortified town

952
00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:32,800
as the most wanted guy on the poster

953
00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:33,720
in Gaza.

954
00:38:34,380 --> 00:38:37,080
He walks into the city himself, hides out

955
00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:39,700
till midnight, and then rips the very gates

956
00:38:39,700 --> 00:38:42,780
off their city, carries them, they think, 38

957
00:38:42,780 --> 00:38:44,740
miles on his shoulders.

958
00:38:45,140 --> 00:38:47,980
It is uphill, just like our parents did.

959
00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:50,720
Uphill, the one way at least, through sandy

960
00:38:50,720 --> 00:38:56,360
ground, and it's said that he put the

961
00:38:56,360 --> 00:39:00,760
gates on a hill overlooking Hebron.

962
00:39:04,930 --> 00:39:07,030
When I first read this verse, it made

963
00:39:07,030 --> 00:39:08,230
no sense to me.

964
00:39:09,190 --> 00:39:11,130
Why is verse 3 just plopped in the

965
00:39:11,130 --> 00:39:12,130
middle for no reason?

966
00:39:12,270 --> 00:39:13,990
But I think there's a really good reason.

967
00:39:15,470 --> 00:39:18,130
I think what the Lord wants us to

968
00:39:18,130 --> 00:39:22,590
see through Samson, as he types the deliverer

969
00:39:22,590 --> 00:39:26,410
that's coming, is that the gates of hell

970
00:39:26,410 --> 00:39:32,990
are not going to prevail against the Lord

971
00:39:32,990 --> 00:39:33,570
and his people.

972
00:39:36,800 --> 00:39:40,660
And for all those that are trapped in

973
00:39:40,660 --> 00:39:47,170
Gaza, the deliverer has ripped the gates right

974
00:39:47,170 --> 00:39:51,990
off so that God's people can escape.

975
00:39:53,310 --> 00:39:54,990
And then he carries them on a shoulder

976
00:39:54,990 --> 00:39:59,110
to a hill outside of Hebron, firmly in

977
00:39:59,110 --> 00:40:00,310
Israeli territory.

978
00:40:03,320 --> 00:40:04,600
Well, when this started to come to me,

979
00:40:05,260 --> 00:40:07,860
that it was a really close picture to

980
00:40:07,860 --> 00:40:11,220
Jesus carrying his cross on his shoulders to

981
00:40:14,770 --> 00:40:17,150
the top of the hill outside of town.

982
00:40:18,390 --> 00:40:20,590
I had a friend of mine make this

983
00:40:20,590 --> 00:40:21,470
picture for me.

984
00:40:26,250 --> 00:40:27,190
I don't know if you can see it,

985
00:40:28,030 --> 00:40:30,670
but that's Samson carrying the gates, Gaza in

986
00:40:30,670 --> 00:40:33,370
the background, and I had asked my friend

987
00:40:33,370 --> 00:40:36,490
to put just a silhouette picture of the

988
00:40:36,490 --> 00:40:41,610
cross that Samson was looking up to.

989
00:40:49,610 --> 00:40:52,250
In John chapter 10 verse 9, what did

990
00:40:52,250 --> 00:40:52,790
Jesus say?

991
00:40:53,690 --> 00:40:55,150
He said, I am the gate.

992
00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:02,820
When Jesus laid down a perfect life on

993
00:41:02,820 --> 00:41:08,350
the cross, he defeated, he defeated our enemy,

994
00:41:08,490 --> 00:41:10,090
he defeated Satan, he defeated death.

995
00:41:10,470 --> 00:41:12,390
They brought him there to make sport of

996
00:41:12,390 --> 00:41:15,870
him, to torture him, to taunt him to

997
00:41:15,870 --> 00:41:18,250
save himself, and he would not.

998
00:41:19,310 --> 00:41:21,130
And when he laid down his life and

999
00:41:21,130 --> 00:41:22,650
paid for all of our sins that believe

1000
00:41:22,650 --> 00:41:26,750
in him, he became the gate, the only

1001
00:41:26,750 --> 00:41:27,990
way in.

1002
00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:36,780
He is the Alpha and Omega.

1003
00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:39,880
He's the one who rips the gates off

1004
00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:42,820
of Gaza and sets them up to enter

1005
00:41:42,820 --> 00:41:43,300
heaven with.

1006
00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:49,540
There are very few that show the great

1007
00:41:49,540 --> 00:41:52,120
picture of the coming Lord the way Samson

1008
00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:52,440
does.

1009
00:41:53,740 --> 00:41:58,100
So with that vast tour through Judges 13

1010
00:41:58,100 --> 00:42:01,620
to 16, can we see Christ through Samson?

1011
00:42:02,660 --> 00:42:03,300
Absolutely.

1012
00:42:04,500 --> 00:42:07,960
In Exodus 15 verse 3, when the Hebrews

1013
00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:10,560
sang to the Lord after they were delivered

1014
00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:13,580
from their enemies out of Egypt, Moses sang

1015
00:42:13,580 --> 00:42:16,560
in 15 verse 3, the Lord is a

1016
00:42:16,560 --> 00:42:17,820
man of war.

1017
00:42:18,300 --> 00:42:19,880
The Lord is his name.

1018
00:42:21,950 --> 00:42:24,270
In Job 49 to 12, we read, hast

1019
00:42:24,270 --> 00:42:25,790
thou an arm like God, or can thou

1020
00:42:25,790 --> 00:42:27,150
thunder with a voice like him?

1021
00:42:27,590 --> 00:42:29,530
Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath, and

1022
00:42:29,530 --> 00:42:32,390
behold everyone that is proud, and abase him.

1023
00:42:33,070 --> 00:42:35,030
Look on everyone that is proud, and bring

1024
00:42:35,030 --> 00:42:37,650
him low, and tread down the wicked in

1025
00:42:37,650 --> 00:42:38,050
their place.

1026
00:42:38,090 --> 00:42:39,610
That's what God asked Job when he began

1027
00:42:39,610 --> 00:42:42,030
to question God's ability to be the righteous

1028
00:42:42,030 --> 00:42:42,510
judge.

1029
00:42:43,310 --> 00:42:46,350
In Nahum chapter 1, it says the Lord

1030
00:42:46,350 --> 00:42:47,690
is a jealous and avenging God.

1031
00:42:47,790 --> 00:42:49,370
The Lord is avenging and wrathful.

1032
00:42:49,430 --> 00:42:51,290
Who can stand before his indignation?

1033
00:42:51,890 --> 00:42:53,630
Who can endure the heat of his anger?

1034
00:42:53,890 --> 00:42:56,070
His wrath is poured out like fire.

1035
00:42:57,030 --> 00:42:59,010
Psalm 711, God is a righteous judge and

1036
00:42:59,010 --> 00:43:01,450
a God who deals indignation every day.

1037
00:43:02,450 --> 00:43:04,710
Psalm 9011, who knows the power of your

1038
00:43:04,710 --> 00:43:05,090
anger?

1039
00:43:05,570 --> 00:43:07,370
According to the fear of you, so is

1040
00:43:07,370 --> 00:43:07,950
your wrath.

1041
00:43:09,530 --> 00:43:11,510
Exodus 15 and 7, in the greatness of

1042
00:43:11,510 --> 00:43:14,430
your majesty, you overthrow your adversaries, you send

1043
00:43:14,430 --> 00:43:17,410
out your fury, it consumes them like stone.

1044
00:43:18,410 --> 00:43:21,410
In Revelation 1915, he will tread the winepress

1045
00:43:21,410 --> 00:43:23,190
of the fury of the wrath of God

1046
00:43:23,190 --> 00:43:23,770
the Almighty.

1047
00:43:24,710 --> 00:43:27,710
In Revelation 6, hide us from the face

1048
00:43:27,710 --> 00:43:29,270
of him who is seated on the throne,

1049
00:43:29,430 --> 00:43:30,710
and from the wrath of the Lamb.

1050
00:43:31,210 --> 00:43:33,150
For the great day of the wrath has

1051
00:43:33,150 --> 00:43:34,430
come, and who can stand?

1052
00:43:36,010 --> 00:43:38,310
Isaiah 26, 21, for behold the Lord is

1053
00:43:38,310 --> 00:43:40,610
coming out from his place to punish the

1054
00:43:40,610 --> 00:43:42,290
inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.

1055
00:43:43,250 --> 00:43:45,570
Hebrews 10, 31, it is a fearful thing

1056
00:43:45,570 --> 00:43:47,850
to fall into the hands of the living

1057
00:43:47,850 --> 00:43:48,290
God.

1058
00:43:49,370 --> 00:43:51,890
Psalm 212 says, kiss the sun lest his

1059
00:43:51,890 --> 00:43:53,430
wrath be kindled but a little.

1060
00:43:55,650 --> 00:43:57,930
In Psalm 3712, it says, the wicked plot

1061
00:43:57,930 --> 00:44:00,490
against the just and gnash upon him with

1062
00:44:00,490 --> 00:44:00,990
his teeth.

1063
00:44:01,510 --> 00:44:03,670
The Lord shall laugh at him, for he

1064
00:44:03,670 --> 00:44:04,950
sees that his day is coming.

1065
00:44:05,190 --> 00:44:06,370
I don't think there's anyone in the Bible

1066
00:44:06,370 --> 00:44:10,050
that shows this aspect of our Lord like

1067
00:44:10,050 --> 00:44:12,050
Samson does, and we don't see a lot

1068
00:44:12,050 --> 00:44:13,790
of it because God keeps this concealed.

1069
00:44:14,130 --> 00:44:17,250
But one day, when he comes back, this

1070
00:44:17,250 --> 00:44:19,510
isn't going to be concealed anymore, and I

1071
00:44:19,510 --> 00:44:20,210
think we do well.

1072
00:44:20,590 --> 00:44:21,930
If we're going to worship God, we need

1073
00:44:21,930 --> 00:44:23,130
to worship him for who he is.

1074
00:44:26,610 --> 00:44:28,150
We see the Lord through this great Judge

1075
00:44:28,150 --> 00:44:30,070
Samson in some ways better than by any

1076
00:44:30,070 --> 00:44:30,530
other man.

1077
00:44:30,990 --> 00:44:34,150
Yes, we see the submissive ones waiting on

1078
00:44:34,150 --> 00:44:36,430
the Lord through men like Joseph, Daniel, Gideon,

1079
00:44:36,450 --> 00:44:39,130
and Moses, but all as these passages tell

1080
00:44:39,130 --> 00:44:41,730
us, there is a fiery, thunderous, violent wrath

1081
00:44:41,730 --> 00:44:43,750
that Jesus is bringing when he returns as

1082
00:44:43,750 --> 00:44:45,750
a lion, and no one in Scripture shows

1083
00:44:45,750 --> 00:44:46,750
this better than Samson.

1084
00:44:47,770 --> 00:44:50,570
So yes, the Judge who judges rightly has

1085
00:44:50,570 --> 00:44:51,810
already made his ruling.

1086
00:44:52,690 --> 00:44:55,210
Samson is in Hebrews 11, and by name.

1087
00:44:57,580 --> 00:44:59,380
When you read Hebrews 11, you need to

1088
00:44:59,380 --> 00:45:01,680
remember that there's basically two categories of the

1089
00:45:01,680 --> 00:45:01,960
faithful.

1090
00:45:03,220 --> 00:45:04,900
In the first part, we read of Gideon,

1091
00:45:04,960 --> 00:45:08,120
Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel, who through

1092
00:45:08,120 --> 00:45:11,840
faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped

1093
00:45:11,840 --> 00:45:14,020
the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of

1094
00:45:14,020 --> 00:45:15,780
fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out

1095
00:45:15,780 --> 00:45:18,360
of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in

1096
00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:20,680
fight, turned to flight the armies of the

1097
00:45:20,680 --> 00:45:20,980
enemies.

1098
00:45:21,180 --> 00:45:22,980
You have to remember, God never once promised

1099
00:45:22,980 --> 00:45:23,700
Samson strength.

1100
00:45:23,880 --> 00:45:25,200
You won't find it anywhere in the account.

1101
00:45:26,740 --> 00:45:28,540
God told him, begin the deliverance of your

1102
00:45:28,540 --> 00:45:32,360
people, and every time Samson stepped out, he

1103
00:45:32,360 --> 00:45:34,200
was like no other man, other than the

1104
00:45:34,200 --> 00:45:35,920
Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and

1105
00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:37,380
enabled him to do what he called him

1106
00:45:37,380 --> 00:45:38,680
to do as he stepped out.

1107
00:45:40,220 --> 00:45:41,780
Hebrews 11 goes on to say, others were

1108
00:45:41,780 --> 00:45:43,220
tortured not accepting deliverance.

1109
00:45:43,340 --> 00:45:46,200
Others had trial of cruel mocking, scourgings, yea

1110
00:45:46,200 --> 00:45:47,800
moreover of bonds and imprisonment.

1111
00:45:48,200 --> 00:45:50,640
They were stoned, sawn asunder, tempted, slain with

1112
00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:53,780
the sword, they wandered about, being destitute, afflicted,

1113
00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:54,680
and tormented.

1114
00:45:56,440 --> 00:45:57,940
I think Samson shows both of those.

1115
00:46:04,770 --> 00:46:07,130
I think Paul understood the story of Samson

1116
00:46:07,130 --> 00:46:07,370
too.

1117
00:46:08,650 --> 00:46:10,650
In 2nd Timothy 4 16, Paul says at

1118
00:46:10,650 --> 00:46:13,710
my first answer, no man stood with me,

1119
00:46:14,550 --> 00:46:16,310
but all men forsook me.

1120
00:46:18,090 --> 00:46:19,570
I pray God that it may not be

1121
00:46:19,570 --> 00:46:22,650
laid to their charge, notwithstanding the Lord stood

1122
00:46:22,650 --> 00:46:26,230
with me, and strengthened me, that by me

1123
00:46:26,230 --> 00:46:28,390
the preaching might be fully known, and that

1124
00:46:28,390 --> 00:46:30,210
all the Gentiles might hear.

1125
00:46:31,210 --> 00:46:31,830
And what Paul?

1126
00:46:32,910 --> 00:46:35,490
And I was delivered out of the mouth

1127
00:46:35,490 --> 00:46:36,150
of the lion.

1128
00:46:39,710 --> 00:46:41,330
It sounds to me like Paul, like the

1129
00:46:41,330 --> 00:46:43,050
writer of Hebrews, is very familiar with the

1130
00:46:43,050 --> 00:46:44,310
story and faith of Samson.

1131
00:46:44,930 --> 00:46:46,850
Many of God's people through the ages to

1132
00:46:46,850 --> 00:46:49,290
a degree, usually one lesser than Samson, have

1133
00:46:49,290 --> 00:46:52,050
felt the loneliness of serving God alone and

1134
00:46:52,050 --> 00:46:54,990
being abandoned, betrayed, and hated without a cause.

1135
00:46:55,350 --> 00:46:58,470
But Samson stands out as the deliverer of

1136
00:46:58,470 --> 00:47:01,210
Israel that was completely alone as he did

1137
00:47:01,210 --> 00:47:03,470
the work and fulfilled his God-given calling.

1138
00:47:03,970 --> 00:47:07,090
He's the only one in Scripture who not

1139
00:47:07,090 --> 00:47:09,050
one time receives help or aid from a

1140
00:47:09,050 --> 00:47:09,670
single soul.

1141
00:47:10,570 --> 00:47:13,870
Only hindrance and opposition from his people, hatred

1142
00:47:13,870 --> 00:47:15,470
and violence from his enemies.

1143
00:47:16,350 --> 00:47:18,350
He showed grace to his people when they

1144
00:47:18,350 --> 00:47:20,610
didn't deserve it, and he judged the wicked

1145
00:47:20,610 --> 00:47:22,830
as the Lord is coming back to do.

1146
00:47:23,810 --> 00:47:26,210
Jesus said in Matthew 28 that all power

1147
00:47:26,210 --> 00:47:28,670
and authority is given unto me in heaven

1148
00:47:28,670 --> 00:47:29,470
and on earth.

1149
00:47:30,010 --> 00:47:32,350
We should be greatly encouraged to go out

1150
00:47:32,350 --> 00:47:34,970
and take the offensive as Samson did.

1151
00:47:36,490 --> 00:47:37,290
And Samson did.

1152
00:47:38,390 --> 00:47:40,370
The Lord has ripped the gates from the

1153
00:47:40,370 --> 00:47:42,790
city of destruction that bound the lost.

1154
00:47:43,270 --> 00:47:44,790
We need to go in faith in the

1155
00:47:44,790 --> 00:47:47,110
strength of the Lord and fulfill our calling

1156
00:47:47,110 --> 00:47:47,570
as well.

1157
00:47:48,290 --> 00:47:50,350
All the heavy lifting has been done.

1158
00:47:52,960 --> 00:47:55,120
In Isaiah 63 3 we read, I have

1159
00:47:55,120 --> 00:47:57,820
trodden the winepress alone and of the people

1160
00:47:57,820 --> 00:47:58,980
there was none with me.

1161
00:47:59,400 --> 00:48:01,060
For I will tread them in my anger

1162
00:48:01,060 --> 00:48:02,980
and trample them in my fury and their

1163
00:48:02,980 --> 00:48:05,300
blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments and

1164
00:48:05,300 --> 00:48:06,880
I will stain all my raiment.

1165
00:48:08,300 --> 00:48:10,460
We hear often that we should not fear

1166
00:48:10,460 --> 00:48:13,280
the Lord in that kind of way.

1167
00:48:13,500 --> 00:48:15,200
I think that's absolute nonsense.

1168
00:48:16,220 --> 00:48:18,000
If you've ever come close to the evil

1169
00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:19,820
that's in this world and what God may

1170
00:48:19,820 --> 00:48:21,340
or may not allow you to go through,

1171
00:48:23,250 --> 00:48:31,160
you should be terrified and thankful that like

1172
00:48:31,160 --> 00:48:35,660
the men of Judah, the Deliverer is going

1173
00:48:35,660 --> 00:48:37,160
to cause your sins to pass by.

1174
00:48:38,960 --> 00:48:41,140
In Romans, Paul tells us that the just

1175
00:48:41,140 --> 00:48:42,160
shall live by faith.

1176
00:48:43,300 --> 00:48:44,900
So put yourself in Samson's shoes.

1177
00:48:46,040 --> 00:48:48,460
Never once being promised strength, just setting out

1178
00:48:48,460 --> 00:48:49,820
to do what God gave him to do.

1179
00:48:50,380 --> 00:48:53,260
Samson lived by faith and not just in

1180
00:48:53,260 --> 00:48:55,560
the end, but his whole life was a

1181
00:48:55,560 --> 00:48:57,940
life of faith and maybe better than most,

1182
00:48:58,340 --> 00:49:00,700
Samson has shown us a picture of what

1183
00:49:00,700 --> 00:49:04,180
the Lord is like in his completeness, full

1184
00:49:04,180 --> 00:49:08,660
of grace and truth, a lamb and a

1185
00:49:08,660 --> 00:49:13,340
lion, a prince of peace and a man

1186
00:49:13,340 --> 00:49:13,820
of war.

1187
00:49:14,920 --> 00:49:15,140
Amen.