Set Aside For God - A Type of Christ
Judges 16: 1-17
New International Version (NIV)
16 One
day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the
night with her. 2 The people of Gaza
were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for
him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At
dawn we’ll kill him.”
3 But Samson lay there only until the
middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city
gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted
them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces
Hebron. 4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.
5 The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
7 Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.” read to v. 17
SAMSON AND DELILAH is not a love story. I remember as a teenager, thinking that there was no greater romance story than Samson and Delilah. Oh, praise GOD for wisdom from on high. Outward appearance can often times be deceiving. In truth, here was a story of disobedience, betrayal, lust, deceit, and selfishness.
The real account of Judges 16 is that of Samson, who was a type of Christ, who had his challenges.
Scripture teaches that:
a.) Samson is seriously endangered by his familiarity with one harlot, and hardly escaping, Jdg. 16:1-3.
b.) Samson is, to a certain extent, ruined by his familiarity with another harlot, Delilah.
Note:
1. How he was betrayed to her by his own lusts, Jdg. 16:4.
2. How he was betrayed by her to his sworn enemies, the Philistines, who, (1.) By her means got it out of him at last where his great strength lay, Jdg. 16:5-17. (2.) Then robbed him of his strength, by taking from his head the crown of his separation, Jdg. 16:18-20. (3.) Then seized him, blinded him, imprisoned him, abused him, and, at a solemn festival, made a show of him, Jdg. 16:21-25. But, lastly, he avenged himself of them by pulling down the theatre upon their heads, and by doing so, died with them, Jdg. 16:26-31.
KINGDOM DYNAMICS
1. How he was betrayed to her by his own lusts, Jdg. 16:4.
2. How he was betrayed by her to his sworn enemies, the Philistines, who, (1.) By her means got it out of him at last where his great strength lay, Jdg. 16:5-17. (2.) Then robbed him of his strength, by taking from his head the crown of his separation, Jdg. 16:18-20. (3.) Then seized him, blinded him, imprisoned him, abused him, and, at a solemn festival, made a show of him, Jdg. 16:21-25. But, lastly, he avenged himself of them by pulling down the theatre upon their heads, and by doing so, died with them, Jdg. 16:26-31.
KINGDOM DYNAMICS
FAILURE
OF SAMSON – Sin presents a constant struggle with which we must
deal or risk downfall. When we resist sin, we often feel the battle is over
only to be tempted by the same sin again and again. SIN never goes away, and so we muse
constantly be on guard against it. However, even when we are overcome with sin
we have hope. God always gives another chance to turn from sin and back to Him.
Repent quickly when overcome by sin.
Be confident that God is faithful to
honor all truly heartfelt repentance.
16:1
Gaza
was one of the five principal cities of the Philistines located on the
Mediterranean coast of southwest Palestine. Harlot: Samson’s physical strength enabled him to do exploits, but
his moral weakness led to his eventual destruction.
16:
3 An hill that is before Hebron refers to an unknown hill
in the direction of Hebron.
16:
4 The valley of Sorek begins about 13 miles west-southwest of
Jerusalem, continuing in a northwesterly direction toward the Mediterranean.
16: 5 The lords of the Philistines: Eleven
hundred pieces of silver was an exorbitant amount of money,
especially when compared with the amount of money that Micah
received for his priestly duties.
Playwright
Janet Irene Thomas
Founder/President/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts
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