the life of Sampson – the stage set
Will revolve around his nazarite vow / dedication to ( or lack of ) a special relationship with God.
Judges 13-16
SETTING
Judges 13 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines(A) for forty years.(B)
PROBLEM / APATHY
Even so the Philistines were not barbarians and their culture was generally attractive to those who they ruled over. Thus the Israelite tribe of Dan seemed to be somewhat apathetic about their condition; it apparently bothered God more than it did them because He raised up Samson to deal with the Philistines on their behalf.
ILLUS –
where do we draw the line?
What are we willing to tolerate – so long as my amazon packages keep arriving?
LEGOS
( pics of , what are they = easy test )
PROMISE
2 A certain man of Zorah,(C) named Manoah,(D) from the clan of the Danites,(E) had a wife who was childless,(F) unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the Lord(G) appeared to her(H) and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.(I
PREPERATION
4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink(J) and that you do not eat anything unclean.(K) 5 You will become pregnant and have a son(L) whose head is never to be touched by a razor(M) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,(N) dedicated to God from the womb.
BEGIN
He will take the lead(O) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
LIFE CALLING
7 But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine(S) or other fermented drink(T) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.(U)’”
PRAYER
8 Then Manoah(V) prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God(W) you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”
NAZARITE
(Numbers 6). In general all nazirim had 3 negative commandments they had to follow: 1) they were not to eat or drink any grape product (this includes wine, or old wine meaning much stronger drink or even fresh grapes or grape juice), 2) they were never to touch a dead body, and 3) they were not to cut their hair.
17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name,(AD) so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”
“Now we’ve talked about this word “name” before, but it’s a real issue for gentiles especially because we tend to get the wrong idea of what “name” indicated in bible times (Old and New Testament times). The Hebrew word is shem, and the term has little to do with a mere means of an individual’s identification like it does to us today. Rather in those days a shem told of that person’s reputation and characteristics. Often times it spoke of their physical and/or spiritual heritage. A name helped to explain the essence of that person, his or her attributes, what they stood for and even what their providential purpose in life was. “
“….we are to behave in Yeshua’s attributes and character; we are to pray to the Father in Yeshua’s manner, in his attitude, and in realization of the status that Yeshua has bought for us, and the unity we now have with Him, with all credit given to Him”
Vs. 18.
18 He replied, “Why do you ask my name?(AE) It is beyond understanding.[a]
- incomprehensible
20 As the flame(AG) blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.(AH
Vs. 22
22 “We are doomed(AJ) to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen(AK) God!”
FOR US, NOT AGAINST US
23 But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”(AL)
Notes: