The Scarlet Thread - Pt. 7 Judge Samson
The Scarlet
Thread
Pt. 7 Judge Samson
Judges 13:1-5;
16:23-30
Well, here we are. The final installment of the Scarlet Thread series. The
shadows of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament are sometimes a little difficult
to find. But we know now that there is indeed this Scarlet Thread that has been
woven throughout the entire Bible. In this final article, we’re going to look
at a very familiar story, but we’re going to look at it in a fresh way.
After the Israelites entered into
the Promised Land, they needed some form of government. For a while they were
considered a “Theocracy” meaning they took orders directly from the Lord by way
of the prophets. But there came a time when they needed more. So for a period
of time, God chose to govern over the nation of Israel by way of Judges. Judges
were only a temporary form of government until the Kings were established.
These judges were each appointed at a certain time for only a certain period.
There were 12 judges in total, with Samson being the very last, and probably
the most well-known, of them all. His story starts like this…
Judges
13:1 “And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the
Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.”
Kind of a lousy way for your story to begin, right? Now remember, Israel
represents Christians today. They were freed from the slavery of Egypt, and
they made it into the Promised Land, showing how Christians are freed from
slavery to sin. Some Christians never quite make it to live in Christ and enjoy
His power and manifest presence. But other do make it into that Promised Land.
Once a Christian reaches the
Promised Land to enjoy God’s power and presence, they are not completely free
of temptation or trials. Even to this day Israel does not live in peace. They
are constantly defending themselves in their land from surrounding countries
that are trying to take their country. It just so happened, not long after
Israel reached the Promised Land, that they were attacked from the Philistines.
Unfortunately, Israel lost their faith in God, and did what was evil in His
sight rather than trust in Him. And so God allowed them to be taken captive.
Read this carefully, you might have
once enjoyed Christ’s power and presence, but that doesn’t mean you are free
from trials and temptations. Satan still wants you. You still have a sin
nature. And the world still attempts to persuade us that we’re wrong. Many of
us, right now, find ourselves being taken captive again and again. The Philistines
in this story do not represent Satan, they represent your flesh, your sin
nature. And when you allow your flesh to
make your decisions for you you’re willingly giving control of your life over
to your sin.
And just like always, the
Israelites could not free themselves from this problem. They needed a hero just
like we STILL need a hero.
Judges 13:2-5 “There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the
Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. 3
And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you
are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.
4 Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing
unclean, 5 for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come
upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he
shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” A woman for
whom it would be impossible to be pregnant is promised a son. This son would be
special and would save the people. Doesn’t this sound a little familiar? Like
the virgin Mary perhaps?
The story of Samson is a bit
twisted. He is a shadow of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. But he was imperfect. He sinned pretty badly. So he’s only a
2-dimensional shadow. Not a perfect image of Christ. Yet throughout Samson’s
life he did some incredible things. He basically waged guerrilla warfare on the
Philistines singlehandedly. He killed a lion by ripping it apart. Caught 300
foxes, tied torches to their tails, and sent them running through the
Philistines wheat fields. He fought an army of Philistines and killed 1,000 of
them with the only thing he could find; a donkey’s jawbone. He tore the city
gates off their hinges and carried them up a hill for everybody to see.
This man was the number one enemy
of the Philistines. Remember, the Philistines represent your sinfulness. You
cannot defeat your sinfulness on your own. You need a hero. And throughout the life of Jesus Christ, He
proved that He has the power to defeat the strongholds of sin in your life.
But then tragedy strikes. Samson
is betrayed by a person he trusted, and he is taken prisoner. Sound familiar?
Jesus Christ was betrayed by a person He loved and was taken by soldiers. This
all sounds like terrible news. It’s like the part in a movie where the hero
gets amped up, he goes to battle the villain, and something goes wrong. The
villain seems to prevail. But read this.
Judges 16:23-30 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a
great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has
given Samson our enemy into our hand.” 24 And when the people saw him, they
praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand,
the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.”[b] 25 And when their
hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they
called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand
between the pillars. 26 And Samson said to the young man who held him by the
hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean
against them.” 27 Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the
Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women,
who looked on while Samson entertained.
28 Then Samson called
to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me
only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two
eyes.” 29 And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested,
and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left
hand on the other. 30 And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then
he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all
the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more
than those whom he had killed during his life.
In Samson’s death, he did more to
defeat the enemy than while he was alive. His death brought a victory for Israel,
and a blow to the enemy. Now, what does this have to do with us today in 21st
Century America? Check it out, this is a
picture of when Jesus Christ died. When He died, it was the enemy of sin that
was defeated. Christ’s death brought our victory. Jesus was taken, beaten, and crucified
in our place. We were supposed to go to Hell, but He died for us. His death
bought our freedom. His sacrifice gave us victory and satisfied the law.
The reason all of the Bible has a
Scarlet Thread running through it is because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is
central to our faith. If you do not build your life on the Gospel, then nothing
will feel in place. This life is
designed to only function properly when we have centered our lives on the
Gospel. Not just as a means of getting us to Heaven, but even to give us
peace with God now. To give us a satisfactory relationship with God, even after
we had fallen short of Him.
In Italy, the Tower of Pisa began
construction in 1173. The foundation was laid, and then abandoned due to war.
Two floors were built by 1178. The weight of these two floors began causing the
tower to sink. The foundation was thin and the soil was soft. Again,
construction was abandoned due to war. After 199 years of construction the
tower was finished. Because of the lean, the architects made one side taller
than the other so the building is now actually curved.
A decade ago, they determined the tower was on the brink of collapse and so
efforts were made to stabilize the building. Now architects say it will stand
another 200 years minimum. At this point, the tower itself is safe for tourists
to visit and get pictures of. But the foundation will eventually cause the
entire structure to crumble. It’s a ticking time bomb. But not all is lost. The foundation can be fixed.
The Gospel Thread runs throughout the entire Bible because the
foundation of Christianity is about bringing you back to Jesus. If you’ve
tried Christianity and it has failed you, could it be that you have fallen out
of alignment? Do you feel lost, burdened, depressed, and confused? Could it be
you’ve built your life on something other than the Gospel?
Return to the Gospel. Thank God for
His sacrifice. Thank Jesus that He satisfied God’s wrath. Thank God that you
can know Him because of His death and resurrection. And place yourself back on
the secure foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
