[0:00] Good evening brothers, sisters and friends, just going over quickly of the intimations from this morning, we are the same, but just to remind us, first of all, the Remembrance Day of course on Saturday, as informed it's at 12, so 12 o'clock on Saturday of course at the Memorial.
[0:15] This coming week, a week today, I'm down in Uist, all being well, to help them out with their time of vacancy, the whole Presbytery has to do a slot, so it's my turn of sorts to go and do it.
[0:30] So God willing, in the morning we'll have Kenny I, Reverend Kenny I here, and in the evening, Mr Donnie Rankin. Please do pray for these gentlemen, as they give off their time and their retirement, to come and to assist, we do appreciate them.
[0:44] There are some names already, glad to see it. In the back door there's a sign-up sheet for the Bible study. Again, the details are few and far between, but it gives us an indication of what we prepare for, if we know those who are interested in coming along.
[0:59] So please do sign your name down. Again, it's not binding, we won't hold you to it, but just to give us some idea. Again, same in the morning, our important animation for today is time-sensitive, as are the POV forms.
[1:14] I know there's some left in the back door. If you haven't collected one, please do collect one on your way in or your way out. It's important you have them in for a week today.
[1:26] So in a sealed envelope to return them, please, a week today. And of course there's also the online option. If you'd rather fill one in online, you're welcome to do so.
[1:37] Again, go onto the website and you'll see Don McKinnon's email, and email him to request an online version of the form. And again, this week we are praying and remembering especially our own two congregations of Greyfriars and Kerkodi, and also remembering our brothers and sisters in Nigeria.
[1:56] And we'll pray for them again this evening. But in your own prayers this week, Nigeria and Kerkodi and Greyfriars, and Greyfriars especially as they become vacant today. Again, we're here to worship God.
[2:09] Let's carry on in that public worship. We can sing first of all in Sing Psalms. Sing Psalms, Psalm 119.
[2:23] Sing Psalms, Psalm 119. That's on page 165. Psalm 119 on page 165. We can sing from verses 129 down to 136.
[2:37] Psalm 119 verses 129 to 136. Your statutes, Lord, are wonderful, so I obey them from my heart.
[2:50] Your words as they unfold give light, and truth to simple minds impart. Psalm 119 verses 129 to 136. To God's praise. So I obey them from my heart.
[3:18] You are wonderful, so I obey them from my heart.
[3:48] So I obey them from my heart. So I obey them from my heart. So I obey them from my heart.
[4:10] I praise your name. I lift my footsteps in your heart.
[4:26] Let's stand upon me in this way. From hands to hell set me free.
[4:45] That you command thy name, O bear. Upon your step, I in your face.
[5:05] Teach me in this time to do about me. Like my heart shakes me.
[5:19] Of bitter tears. Be God's cure of this humble year.
[5:34] Amen. Let's join together in prayer. Let's pray. Lord, to gather again before you, we ask you to give us once more a heart and a mind for worship.
[5:48] You once more allow us to come together this evening and to cast aside the various many things which we bring to this place. We bring to this place in this time of worship the burdens of this past week.
[6:03] Lord, you alone know what perhaps we have faced. The family burdens, the financial burdens, the health worries, the job stresses. Lord, you alone know the details and the varied details of our lives.
[6:17] From week to week, we are often surprised with just how complicated a few days can be. We ask you to take away from us that stress and that strain even for this time around your word this evening.
[6:30] As we have the great privilege once more of gathering as brothers and sisters. The great chance once more to spend time not just in study but time in fellowship just now.
[6:42] As brothers and sisters, as one family meeting to worship you. Our holy, exalted God. Meeting together just now as those who have been called not just to serve you but have been called to serve one another.
[6:57] We do pray, Lord, for the ongoing unity of our congregation. We thank you for it. We know that any unity we enjoy, Lord, and we are thankful for the measure we do enjoy. That it's a gift from you.
[7:09] That disunity comes more often than not from the evil one. We ask you protect us from that. We ask this new week for ongoing protection from all his schemes and from all his attacks.
[7:20] We pray that especially just now as we engage in gospel work. We pray that for ourselves this evening. That he would remain distant from us this evening. You would keep him far from us.
[7:32] We ask for the rest of this week as your people seek to serve you in times of prayer. In times of praise. In times of witnessing. Lord, that you would keep the evil one far from us.
[7:43] We do pray just now for those under his influence in this village. Lord, we know that there are many who have perhaps no understanding as to their situation. But who, without even realizing it, are worshiping the prince of the power of the air.
[7:57] Without realizing it, are following his rules and following his guidance. Who are following his prompting and doing his work. Lord, we ask you would release them from that power.
[8:08] Release them from that bondage. Release them from the chains of misery that hang around them. The chains of death and the chains of blindness. Lord, as you free them from these things.
[8:19] They would come and open their eyes for the first time. And who would behold, as their eyes open, the risen Savior. Who would behold what it is to know and to love and to have Jesus as their own.
[8:31] Who would abandon the lives they once led. And instead strive to live lives that glorify their Savior. We ask that for our village. We ask that for our own homes.
[8:41] Those who are our neighbors and our friends. Those we love and care for. Those just now in our minds who we've been praying for for years upon years. Decades upon decades perhaps for many here.
[8:53] Loved ones who would long to see in the kingdom alongside us. But many who as of yet give no indication. Who give no sign that they care for Jesus even in the slightest.
[9:07] Who have no care for their own never dying souls. We pray for them especially this evening. Lord you bring them to yourself. Bring them to an awareness of their own sin.
[9:18] But with that also bring them to an awareness. That there is a Savior provided for them. The Lord Jesus Christ. Help all our focus to be on him this evening.
[9:29] Help all our focus this new week to be on him. As we go about our business day by day. Help us to live lives that reflect his beauty. That reflect his power. That reflect that we are those who have been saved by him.
[9:42] And loved by him. Who are kept by him. Lord forgive us we ask for our sins. Forgive us for our backsliding and our waywardness. Forgive us for our at times embarrassment.
[9:55] Of coming onto your side. And of confessing our love. And our faith. And our hope in Jesus. We pray Lord we ask for gospel opportunities this new week.
[10:07] We ask you to allow us to share the good news with those around us. With those in this village. With those who are at this very moment who are perishing. We thank you once more for our time together this evening.
[10:18] We give you praise for it. That naturally not one of us would enjoy being here. Naturally not one of us would find ourselves being here. Pray just now for your people here this evening.
[10:31] Help us to grow as we come around your word once more. Help us to understand that in your word we find the hope and the peace that you give. And you promise and you offer your people. We pray also Lord for those here this evening who as of yet cannot say that they are yours.
[10:46] Who as of yet cannot say that they love Jesus. Who as of yet cannot say that he is their Lord and Saviour. We thank you for them. We thank you that you brought them here again this evening.
[10:57] Those who have come to this building and worshipped here. And at least attended the worship here for many years. We ask that even this evening. As the word is proclaimed once more.
[11:08] As your praises are sung once more. As the word is read once more. That you would speak to them. And show them their need for you. And show them that you are a God.
[11:20] Who has made provision and made a way for all who come to you. For all who come crying out for that salvation. You cast none aside. Those who feel worthy and those who feel unworthy.
[11:33] Those who feel clean and those who are aware of their true uncleanliness. Those who think they need no Saviour. And those who know they need a Saviour. Lord we ask you bring them all to yourself.
[11:44] Strip away the self-righteousness. Strip away the deceit. Strip away the lies they tell themselves. And let them see the reality of who they are.
[11:55] But with that reality of who you are. That we be like that servant of yours. That young servant. That great servant of McShane.
[12:06] As we follow his advice. That for every one look to ourselves. Every one look to our own sin. And our own darkness. We would take ten looks to Christ. Ten looks at his beauty.
[12:18] At his wonder. At his love for his people. Lord. I pray as we come around your word shortly. As we open up your word to us. As we look once more at the story.
[12:29] At the account of the judges. As we see evil and sin and backsliding. As we see your people acting in ways that are embarrassing. In ways that are horrifying. In ways that make us squirm in our seats.
[12:42] As we see the evil that your people are capable of. Of. Lord remind us that we ourselves are capable of the exact same evil. That we are no different to anyone that we read about. In these pages.
[12:55] That sin is in every one of us. And every sin resides in every one of us. We are all capable of the most heinous of sins. Lord you remind us that you keep us.
[13:06] And because of your hand over us. We are not engaging in these things. We pray just now as we prayed this morning. But we remember again with hearts full of prayer. Our brothers and sisters.
[13:18] And our fellow congregations. Praying especially this week for our brothers and sisters in Kerkoddy. We thank you for them once more again. As we minister to what is at times in many ways.
[13:30] A very tough mission field. So close to the centers of our country. But yet where the gospel is so, so unknown. We thank you for the hard work of many years in that congregation.
[13:43] Lord we ask you bless them in this week. And bless them in their endeavors going forward. As they seek to reach out to their town. We thank you Lord for their work. We pray also Lord remembering Jeff.
[13:55] As he is part of that congregation. As he begins his church planting plans. Lord as he plants from Kerkoddy. As he begins to organize himself.
[14:06] Jeff Murray Lord and his wife. We thank you for them. We pray for them as a family. We encourage them and be with them. We also remember again today. The congregation of Greyfriars.
[14:18] We thank you for many years of faithful ministry there. We pray Lord for Malcolm. As he comes to an end of his service. In terms of his public ministry. In that congregation. He will doubtless keep serving you.
[14:30] For the years you give him. We pray for him and his family. We pray for him and his family. We pray also again for the congregation. We comfort them and be with them. And encourage them in their days of vacancy. We provide for them.
[14:42] One who would lead them. And who would guide them. We also remember Reverend Rory Stott. Just now as he becomes an interim moderator. That Rory would help him in all the organizing. And all of the complications that go on as they were behind the scenes.
[14:54] In that role. You would be with him. And he would see his work being of effect. For your kingdom in that place. And remember once more. Our brothers and sisters in Nigeria. As we prayed this morning.
[15:05] We pray once more. For the destruction in that village. As we read of the mourning families. As we read of six families. At least six families. Who have lost loved ones. Families who saw their loved ones.
[15:18] Killed in front of them. For daring to share the gospel. For having no other reason. Ever than their hope in Jesus. And their love for him. Who had no threat.
[15:29] Who posed no threat. Who posed no danger. But who were executed. Because of their love for their saviour. Lord we know that. That's a dark providence. And hard for us to understand.
[15:40] That we know that you can bring growth. Even out of darkness. We know that to be true. Because each one of us. Are examples of that. That you took gospel growth. Out of the darkness of our hearts.
[15:51] We pray Lord. For those who attack your people. Those who seek to destroy and kill them. Lord we ask you would stop them in their tracks.
[16:02] We ask Lord you put an end to their destruction. We ask also that your will Lord. As we see in scripture. That those who persecute your people. Would come under the same conviction of sin.
[16:13] That they themselves. Would turn from killing. And turn instead to the one. Who has died for the sins of his people. That those who try and put a stop to the gospel.
[16:25] Would transform by that very same gospel. As we pray Lord. For the country of Nigeria. We think of ourselves once more. Perhaps culturally we have a few things in common.
[16:36] With our brothers and sisters. In that part of the world. But in the gospel. And who we are in Christ. We have all things in common. We are one people. United together by our one saviour.
[16:47] One baptism. One faith. And one sure hope. We pray for our own congregation. Our own wider area. Our own community. Lord we ask you.
[16:58] To bring salvation to this place. That the message of salvation. To be known to this area. We pray once more. Something which is beyond our ability. Which we can never imagine.
[17:09] Even beginning to take place. By our efforts. We ask for days of united. Gospel work. In Tulsa. Days of united. Gospel work. Between the congregations. As we see your word spread.
[17:21] As we see the gospel cause spread. Lord we cannot make that happen. But you can. You use means. At times you use poor means. And we bring ourselves now as poor means.
[17:33] As vessels and jars of clay. But with treasure inside. The treasure of the word. Help us to find all our hope. And all our peace. And all our joy in Christ.
[17:44] And him alone this evening. For his sake. For his sake. In his name we ask all these many things. Amen. Let's read. In God's word.
[17:56] Carrying on our series in the Judges. Last week we ended in chapter 14. We're now in chapter 15. Judges chapter 15. That's on page 200.
[18:09] Judges chapter 15. On page 200. Judges 15.
[18:21] Judges 15. Let's again hear the word. Of God. After some days. At the time of wheat harvest. Samson went to visit his wife.
[18:33] With a young goat. And he said. I will go in to my wife. In the chamber. But her father. Would not allow him to go in. And her father said. I really thought. That you utterly hated her.
[18:45] So I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister. More beautiful than she. Please take her instead. And Samson said to them. This time I shall be innocent.
[18:57] In regard to the Philistines. When I do them harm. So Samson went. And caught 300 foxes. And took torches. And he turned them.
[19:08] Tail to tail. And put a torch. Between each pair of tails. And when they set fire. To the torches. Let the foxes go. Into the standing grain. Of the Philistines. And set fire. To the stack grain.
[19:20] And the standing grain. As well as the olive orchards. And the Philistines said. Who has done this? And they said. Samson. The son-in-law. Of a Timite. And because he has taken his wife.
[19:32] And given her. To his companion. The Philistines came up. And burned her. And her father. With fire. And Samson said to them. If this is what you do.
[19:43] I swear. I will be avenged on you. And after that. I will quit. And he struck them. Hip and thigh. With a great blow. And he went down. And stayed in the cleft.
[19:54] Of the rock of Etam. And the Philistines came up. And encamped in Judah. And made a raid. On Lehi. And the men of Judah said. Why have you come up against us? They said.
[20:05] We have come up. To bind Samson. To do to him. As he did to us. And then three thousand. Men of Judah. Went down. To the cleft.
[20:16] Of the rock of Etam. And said to Samson. Do you not know. That the Philistines. Are rulers over us. What then is this. That you have done. To us. And he said to them.
[20:27] As they did to me. So. Have I done. To them. And they said to him. We have come down. To bind you. That we may give you. Into the hands.
[20:38] Of the Philistines. And Samson said to them. Swear to me. That you will not attack me. Yourselves. And they said to him. No. We will only bind you. And give you.
[20:49] Into their hands. We will surely not kill you. So they bound him. With two new ropes. And brought him. Up from the rock. When he came. To Lehi.
[21:00] The Philistines. Came shouting. To meet him. Then the spirit of the Lord. Rushed upon him. And the ropes. That were on his arms. Became as flax. That has caught fire. And his bonds.
[21:11] Melted off his hands. And he found a fresh. Job. One of a donkey. And put out his hand. With it. He struck a thousand men. And Samson said. With the jawbone of a donkey.
[21:23] Heaps upon heaps. With the jawbone of a donkey. Have I struck down a thousand men. As soon as he had finished speaking. He threw away the jawbone. Out of his hand.
[21:34] And that place. Was called Ramath Lehi. And he was very thirsty. And he called upon the Lord. And said. You have granted this great salvation. By the hand of your servant.
[21:45] And shall I now die of thirst. And fall into the hands. Of the uncircumcised. And God split open. The hollow place. That is at Lehi. And water came out from it.
[21:56] When he drank. The spirit returned. And he revived. Therefore the name of it. Was called. En-Hakore. It is at Lehi. To this day. And he judged Israel. In the days.
[22:07] Of the Philistines. Twenty years. Amen. We give praise to God. For his holy. And his. Perfect. Word. Let's again sing. To God's praise.
[22:18] This time. From the Psalter. And Psalm 25. The Scottish Psalter. Psalm 25. The first version. Of the Psalm.
[22:29] The short meter version. Psalm 25. And Scottish Psalter. On page 231. Page 231. Psalm 25.
[22:40] Singing verses 1. Down. To verse 7. Of the Psalm. To thee I lift my soul. O Lord. I trust in thee. My God.
[22:51] Let me not be ashamed. Nor foes triumph over me. Let none that wait on thee. Be put to shame at all. But those that without cause transgress. Let shame upon them fall.
[23:03] Psalm 25. 25 verses 1 to 7. To God's praise. To thee I lift my soul. O Lord. I trust in thee. My God.
[23:14] Let me not be ashamed. Nor foes triumph over me. I trust in thee. My God. Let me not be ashamed. Nor foes triumph over me. I trust in thee. My God. Let me not be ashamed.
[23:25] My God. Let me not be ashamed. My God. Let me not be ashamed. Nor foes triumph over me. Lord.
[23:37] Let me not be ashamed. What do you do? What do you do? What do you do? Thank you.
[24:11] Thank you.
[24:41] Thank you.
[25:11] Thank you. Thank you.
[26:11] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[26:23] Thank you. Thank you.
[26:57] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[27:09] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I remember in Sunday school, we think back to it, we think, oh, it's quite a nice new story, and it's a bit disgusting, but you imagine quite a beautiful moment, there's something sweet out of death, no.
[27:28] As Samson sticking his hand on a decaying dead animal, stinking decaying animal in the heat, and eating outside it from its very guts, honey from inside it, it's grim, it's supposed to be grim.
[27:38] I would love to say our evening tonight is a bit more cheerful, but sadly, Samson does not get any better. It's no spoiler for us to say that Samson's life only gets worse and worse, and next week, or next when we come together, it's much the same.
[27:55] Next week, of course, there's some positives in his death, and we'll touch on that, but I'm sorry to say that this evening, we just see more of a disaster that Samson makes of things.
[28:07] All that being said, as we saw last week, in the disaster, in everything he does wrong, in every way he acts wrong, God is still at work.
[28:21] Behind the scenes, God is still moving things together to work for his glory, to work according to his plan. Even when Samson does something just awful and just grim, behind the scenes, God is using even the rebellion of Samson for his glory.
[28:39] Now, we said last week, Samson is not under compulsion, and God compels no one to sin. That's a whole different sermon for us, and we'll do that one day when we get to Romans for our series.
[28:50] But just now, it's safe to say, God compels no one to sin. Our sinful choices are ours and ours alone. We said in the prayer meeting a few weeks ago, we can't blame the devil for it either.
[29:01] The devil might tempt us. He does not cause us to sin, but it's us and us alone. Samson sins because Samson wants to sin. Samson enjoys the sin, as we saw last week, and we'll see again this week.
[29:15] So we left him last week. He has done everything possibly wrong. He has now killed these hundreds of people. He has now lost his wife. Read at the end of chapter 14, verse 20.
[29:30] And Samson's wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man. So now we pick up the account, the story, and Samson, understandably, wants to go get his wife back legally.
[29:42] They've been married of some sorts. Legally, she is his wife, and he wants his wife back. He just married her, and now she's gone. And here's we pick up our reading.
[29:53] Now, we can take this chapter as a whole under four very broad headings. First of all, verses 1 down to verse 8, we can see burnt fields and burnt houses.
[30:07] Then, verses 9 down to verse 17, we can see traitors and terror. Then, in verse 18 and verse 19, we can see call and complaint.
[30:21] And then finally, just very briefly, verse 20, we can see the end. That has a question mark in my notes, the end. Because it's not the end.
[30:31] It should be, but it's not. And we'll see that as we come to our conclusion. First of all, burnt fields and burnt houses. Verse 1 down to verse 8.
[30:43] Verses 1 and verse 2, we see the story unfolding. Samson goes to reclaim his wife. She's been taken away from him. Her father has dealt treacherously with him.
[30:55] You can understand the father's perspective. He's seen this man who's just murdered hundreds of people for what seems to be no reason to the Philistines. And he says, no, no, no.
[31:08] My daughter, this daughter's not marrying this man. I'm going to marry her off or give her off to someone else. And he does that. He goes, they're Samson's best man instead. Perhaps hoping that Samson wouldn't come after them.
[31:20] That Samson would just forget about it and move on. He was wrong. Samson lets no sin go incomplete. That's something we've got to learn in Samson's life.
[31:31] We saw it last week. In fact, this whole account this evening, if we were to draw out perhaps two lessons. First of all, sin has real, lasting, dangerous consequences.
[31:47] And secondly, God is sovereign. And he uses even our mistakes to glorify himself. But for most of this, we see that sin has real consequences.
[32:00] Real, lasting consequences. Samson goes to find his wife and look at the Philistine, the pagan father. What does he do? He won't give Samson his own wife back.
[32:12] Instead, he offers Samson his other daughter. She's younger. She's prettier. Surely take her instead. Maybe he had no use for her. Maybe she was surplus to requirements.
[32:23] Maybe she was taking up too much space in the house. Whatever awful reason, we don't know. But whatever reason, this man is happy to save himself and save his older daughter. He is happy to give up his youngest daughter.
[32:36] His oldest daughter is too good, perhaps, for this man who is doing bad things. This man who is violent. This man who is a danger to himself and others. But this man's younger daughter, he quite happily gives her up.
[32:49] He quite happily offers her to Samson. Of course, Samson doesn't take her. Samson doesn't want her. See, judges doesn't just show us the evil of certain men.
[33:04] No, judges shows us just the level of evil in this world. Fathers giving away their daughters like bartering. Like payment. Evil.
[33:16] A daughter's lives here meaning nothing. She's nothing more than a distraction to the father. To distract Samson away from the family. She means nothing to him.
[33:28] He's happy to give her up. To get rid of Samson. To gain evil and sin. And evil and sin. Right down to the very depths of this book.
[33:39] And just to remind ourselves, it's very important in this chapter. The whole account of Samson. It's important to remind ourselves. Just because it's in scripture, it doesn't mean that God supports it.
[33:50] Or that God takes delight in the actions. No, God is honest. And he just accounts and recounts what took place.
[34:02] The actions of Samson are no way justified. And no way approved of by the Lord. Anywhere in this chapter. And we see that God is just telling us what took place.
[34:14] He's showing us just the depths of Samson's sin and his rebellion. He doesn't take the younger sister. He doesn't want her. Instead, Samson, of course, being so full of himself as he is.
[34:28] He decides that he will have his vengeance as he wants. Now, judges are called, yes, to rid the land of evil. The judges we saw before.
[34:39] And all the other judges we looked at. Yes, they sinned. But they always followed God's leading. God's guidance. As God led them to rid the land of the enemy.
[34:49] They then followed the Lord in doing that. Is Samson's motivation here God's glorious sovereign name? Is Samson's motivation here that God will be praised among the nations?
[35:03] Is Samson's motivation here that his people will be free from the evil oppression of the Philistines? What is Samson's motivation? In verse 3.
[35:15] And Samson said to them, that's the father and the daughters. At this time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines when I do them harm.
[35:26] He wants revenge. Because of them he's lost his wife. Because of them his life is ruined. Because of them everything's happened to him. And therefore he's going to murder them. Out of revenge.
[35:39] Out of evil. Out of an evil intent. That is not under the Lord's provision. Not under the Lord's guidance. He is now carrying out self-proclaimed and self-made justice.
[35:58] Yes, he's called to be a judge. But he's called to judge the way the Lord guides him. But Samson's now doing his own thing in his own way. You see that the Lord is mentioned nowhere here.
[36:09] Nowhere at all in this first section, this first quarter of the chapter. It's all Samson deciding how he's going to do it. When he's going to do it. Now Samson's been wronged.
[36:23] Yes, he's been wronged by his wife being removed away from him. That is wrong. Does that justify Samson then burning down the place?
[36:33] Quite literally. Look what he does. Now he's not right of course. And he is following his own revenge. He's following his own desires. But somehow he is still accomplishing what God is wanting him to do.
[36:50] God wants the Philistines out of the land. That is a plan God has. That is what God is doing. Through his judge. And even though Samson's doing it in a way that God hasn't told him to do.
[37:02] God is still using Samson. Again, dear friends, dear brothers, dear sisters. God is able to take from our mess of a life at times. And our mess of an example at times.
[37:14] And he can use what we're doing to his glory. And there's mystery in that. And there's mystery in that. And there's mystery I won't even dare to touch. There's mystery we should never touch.
[37:25] But God accomplishes his plans. He accomplishes his purpose. Often through means of vessels of people who are so, so wrong at times.
[37:37] But yet he does his work. So what are the tactics for his revenge? I mean, it's ingenious, you have to say. Samson has a vision, at least.
[37:50] He grabs, somehow he managed to wrangle up 300 foxes. It's not important to the text. But the word fox and the word jackal is interchangeable here.
[38:01] The ESV has gone with foxes. It could be jackals too. Jackals tend to move in packs together rather than foxes. But either way, he captures 300 foxes. He ties their tails together with a torch.
[38:14] And he sets them loose. Hundreds of foxes, hundreds of torches are now torching the whole landscape. Torching all the food, all the crops, all the grain of the Philistines.
[38:32] Which is accomplishing, in one sense, what he's supposed to accomplish. He is thriving at the Philistines. But he's also now starving women, starving children, starving whole families not involved in the occupation, perhaps, of Israel.
[38:49] His revenge is so drastic. It's so unmeasured. It's very human, isn't it? He's wronged.
[39:00] He's hurt. And he'll act in a way that he thinks he should do. And again, God is not mentioned here. From verse 1 down, you see no mention of the Lord.
[39:10] From verse 1 down, down, verse 8, no mention of the Lord. Verse 8 down, no mention of the Lord. We get revenge, but as of yet, there's no mention of the Lord.
[39:25] So Samson tortures the whole area. He ruins all the fields, all the harvest. And he thinks he's done well. But because of his revenge, because he's not done it in the strength of the Lord, because he's done his own thing, there is now almost immediate consequences for him.
[39:43] Immediate consequence. His actions, his sin, his vicious revenge without following the Lord or even turning to the Lord.
[39:54] Note once here. Note that not once. In the last three weeks, have we seen Samson do anything like prayer? Has he come to the Lord once? No. Has he spoken to the Lord once?
[40:05] No. Has he asked for direction from the Lord a single time? No. Samson's doing whatever he wants, however he wants, whenever he wants, and to whomever he wants.
[40:15] And because of that, there is dire consequences to his sin. The Philistines ask around verse 6, who did this? And it's pretty clear it was Samson.
[40:29] And look what happens. Quite simply, but quite horrifically, the end of chapters of verse 6. The Philistines came up and burned her, his wife, and her father with fire.
[40:42] The very threat we saw last week. The very threat that Samson sinned in order to mitigate. It means nothing. It means absolutely nothing.
[40:55] He's torched all the fields. He's done all of this rampage for nothing. His new wife and the father-in-law are burnt. They're dead. Burnt alive. All for nothing.
[41:09] Revenge. But, friends, revenge at what price? He's done all of this without the Lord guiding him. Without following the Lord's instruction. And he's ended up not just being on his own.
[41:21] Not just being so full of rage. But he's ended up killing his very wife. The one he's trying to win back. He's trying to get her back somehow. Now she's gone forever. House burnt to the ground and themselves burnt with it.
[41:38] And again we see Samson acting once more in revenge. Verse 7. Samson said to them, This is what you do. I swear I will be avenged on you.
[41:50] And after that I quit. Well, that's a lie. He doesn't quit. Samson never quits. That's Samson's problem. Samson can't seem to stop himself. But anyway, After that I quit. And you see the power this man has.
[42:03] He's a strong man. And that strength from the Lord we know. But he uses that strength to avenge himself. Not to do the work of the Lord. The Lord has given Samson strength.
[42:15] And given him power. And we see that more as time goes on. But he uses what the Lord has given him. This amazing gift. For his purposes. For his glory. For his revenge.
[42:26] And the Lord, yet again, so far in this chapter, The Lord has not once been mentioned. This great judge of Israel. This great judge the Lord has given them. To serve the people.
[42:37] To rescue the people. To defend the people. To serve Yahweh. And Yahweh has not been named once yet. Revenge after revenge. Samson destroys these Philistines.
[42:51] That then leads, of course, To more issues. Dear friends, Sin always leads, As we know, To what? To more sin. Sin begets sin.
[43:03] Sin grows sin. And sin unchecked Never goes away by itself. It just grows and grows And spreads and spreads And causes further and further issues In our lives.
[43:16] And we think our sins don't affect others. Our own private sins deeply affect others. Sin finds a way of doing that. It never stays within us. It always leaves us.
[43:27] Somehow, In our thoughts, In our words, In our actions. And this is an extreme example. But it's a good example. Because of Samson's sin of last week And of this week, He's now seen his father-in-law And his new wife burnt to death.
[43:43] He's seen the land destroyed. And now it's getting worse. Now verse 9 down to verse 17. We see traitors And we see terror. So the Philistines now are After Samson once more.
[43:58] And they encamp In front of Judah In the land, In the area where Judah was staying With the tribe. And we see now Judah And this is their own sin And this is a different sermon.
[44:09] But we see now The cowardliness of this tribe. Judah is encamped against her. Besieged almost. And the Philistines say Give us Samson.
[44:22] Give us Samson. And the tribe of Judah This tribe saved from Israel. This tribe of Yahweh. This glorious tribe of God's people.
[44:32] What do they do? They gather up 3,000 men And go and grab Samson. They are happy in a second To betray their own countrymen. They are happy in a second To betray their nation To help The invading nation.
[44:49] They are happy to be traitors Without too much encouragement. So much so There are 3,000 of them A huge party. There are 3,000 of them Going to go find Samson To take him back To the enemy.
[45:05] They are traitorous people. They are traitors to their own people. They are traitors to God in this. They are acting in a way That is unholy. In a way that is evil. But anyway They go and they capture Samson.
[45:18] We see Samson Debating with them. And You see that What even word to use The swagger of Samson. The arrogance of Samson.
[45:32] He begs them But it's tongue in cheek. There's no begging here. He begs them tongue in cheek That they won't hurt him. To deliver him Instead to the Philistines And The tribe of Judah.
[45:45] They're cowards anyway. They won't try and attack Samson. They're far too scared To attack Samson. And they capture him. They tie these new ropes Onto him.
[45:56] These strong ropes. And they take him To the Philistines. And we all know What takes place next. Samson's delivered to them.
[46:06] They come out The Philistines. Verse 14 They're shouting. In other words They're partying. They're having a good time Because the enemy's captured. Here he is Being taken to them And bound up In brand new ropes In breakable ropes Strong ropes Samson is now ours We'll finally get rid of him And our problem is gone.
[46:28] And now Finally Finally We see Yahweh Being named. Why? Because the Lord Is not going to let Samson be caught.
[46:40] The Lord Still has purposes For Samson. Even though Samson Is doing his own thing And living his own life As freely As he possibly can The Lord Has still set Samson aside For his purposes.
[46:55] And even though Samson doesn't understand it Doesn't care about it At times Doesn't seem to even realise it God is not yet Finished with Samson. God has a plan And a purpose yet For the life And the person Of Samson.
[47:09] So much so We see now As Samson is there Before his Philistines Before his enemies We see his strength Gather And we see the ropes Become as flax That's been burnt Become just as dust Almost.
[47:27] Some say here That Does this mean That the Lord Has somehow Caused the ropes To disintegrate Possibly. Personally I would see this More as just A description As to how easy Samson broke These ropes.
[47:43] The Lord gave him Such strength That he broke them As if they were just Nothing. And then we see Something which Scripture just Mentions in passing And we just Take it because We know it's The strength Of the Lord.
[47:59] He grabs The jawbone Of a donkey And he attacks And he strikes Down a thousand Men. Is that Possible? Is that Just some Kind of Euphemism Some kind Of literary Device Is it Some kind Of What does It really Mean It means What it Means In the Grammar In the Hebrew In the Context There's no Secret message Here God has Strengthened Samson so Much The Lord Strengthened The Lord All things Are possible And the Lord is There to Destroy His enemies And to Free Israel From his Enemies And the First time Samson's Being used Or allowing Himself to Be used Properly As a Judge The Lord Gives him His supernatural Strength And he Kills his Enemies But note What Samson Then does The level Of his Arrogance It's almost We said this Last week It's almost Comedic Because it's Supposed to Be We said
[48:59] Very carefully Last week That in Judges We see What we Could call An almost Light Form of Humor Not in a Jovial way But just to Show how Evil we are As people To show The level Of sin We see That the Writer of Judges Writes things In a way That reminds Us of How evil We are He adds In what Took place In a way That reminds Of just How full Sin we Are And here We see This poem It's a poem It's a song In Hebrew It rhymes This verse Verse 16 It rhymes Beautifully And Samson Quite happily Writes this wee Poem Or sings this We song Whilst he Is killing All these Men And look At the Writing Of it Look At the Wording Of it You know One thing And one Thing is Missing From this With the Jawbone Of a Donkey Heaps Upon Heaps With the Jawbone Of a Donkey Have I
[50:00] Struck Down A thousand Men The politicians Here The last Line There It's Obvious In English It's Even Even more Obvious Than in Hebrew But there is Emphasis On one Word In the Hebrew In that Last line of his poem. Can you guess what that word is? Can you guess what the whole last sentence is structured to point towards? I. The wording is so odd. It goes against good grammar because Samson is so determined that he is a very focal point of this victory. I did it. I alone managed to strike down a thousand men. He can't help himself. He just can't help himself again and again. He is the hero of his own story. He's finished speaking. He throws away the job.
[50:53] God looks after Samson. God saves Samson. Samson doesn't deserve it. Sturdy doesn't deserve it. But God keeps him and God preserves him. That brings us into the next section. We see Samson's call and Samson's complaint. Verse 18. Understandably, it's been a long night for Samson and he is thirsty. And look what Samson, the judge of Israel, the servant of Yahweh, set aside from his birth as a Nazarite, who is set aside before he is even born, promised to his parents to redeem Israel, to save Israel. Look what the great judge Samson finally decides to do. He finally decides to pray. He's taken all of his time. He hasn't prayed once. Now he finally prays. Why does he pray? Because he is thirsty. He hasn't prayed once about the purpose he's called to be, the saviour of his people, the destroyer of the Philistines who burn their own children alive to satisfy their gods. No, no. He hasn't prayed at all for that.
[52:05] But he only begins to pray now because he's a bit thirsty. And the dramatics of Samson, the extent of Samson. You've granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant. As if God doesn't know. But anyway, Samson's so obsessive of himself, he has to remind God of his own strength.
[52:25] Shall I now die or thirst? Again, he can't help himself. But yet, even of his prayer, I would personally argue, is a bit of a disaster of a prayer, a very self-centered prayer. What do we see? God listens. And God provides for Samson from the rock water. And God gives Samson what he's praying for. There's no doubt Samson was exhausted. No doubt Samson was, I'm sure, very thirsty. No doubt Samson perhaps was in his last legs. But again, all Samson's life is about him. It's all about him. Even his prayer is somehow, ultimately, about him. And despite the arrogant demands of an arrogant man, God gives him water. Why? Because God has a plan still for Samson.
[53:21] There's an interesting point here for us. Let's come to a conclusion. Just verse 20. We have our final point to the end of a question mark. Verse 20. And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years. He judged Israel twenty years. Where do you see that exact same wording in the book of Judges? Where have we seen it before? We've seen it again and again.
[53:52] When a judge has finished his work. When a judge does nothing else in life. When a judge now dispends his day being a good judge. We see it said of the judge. And he judged Israel for X amount of years.
[54:13] There's chapter 16 still. There's another chapter left of Samson's life. And it's interesting for us. God's word here showing us his story could have ended here. If Samson learned his lesson and did his job properly. If Samson now relied on God, his story could have ended here. Lived a half decent life. Serving the Lord well. Trusting in the Lord. Praying to the Lord. And lived in his life twenty years. Saving Israel from the Philistines. But Samson just can't help himself.
[54:52] We should hear no more of Samson after verse 20. For the rest of the judges, we never hear about them again. Once their days close with this same repeated phrase. We hear no more about them. End of story. They live their lives happily. Serve the Lord as best they can. And that's it. Samson just can't do that. Samson must yet again sin. He must yet again engage in a lifestyle that brings dishonour to God and brings great sin and misery to himself. That's for next week. I did warn you at the start that we wouldn't have a much more chirpier sermon tonight than we had last week. Because we can't. We can't. Sam and commentators skip chapter 15 really and jump into chapter 16. We take 14 and 15 together. Because 14 and 15 in one sense are the same chapter. Not literally of course. But they're the same chapter and the same lessons that Samson does not learn. He serves himself again and again and again. He ignores God and God leading again and again and he faces consequences for his own sins again and again and again. Samson does not learn. But yet, but yet the Lord uses him. But yet the Lord will use Samson to accomplish his purposes.
[56:25] It is difficult, very difficult, to find much of Christ we could say in these sections of Samson's life.
[56:37] We find Christ only in the inverse of what Samson is. In the exact opposite of what Samson is. And this week we see Christ and judges. And we see what Christ was not when it comes to revenge.
[56:57] Samson followed his heart. And he sought revenge at every single possible opportunity. In creative ways, yes. But in grim ways, yes.
[57:08] He wanted revenge. He wanted his own way. We come and think of our saviour, the ultimate judge who saves his people. What was his reaction when he was struck? What was his reaction when he was wronged time and time again in his life?
[57:27] Did our saviour fight back? Did our saviour seek to avenge himself? As a crown of thorns is jammed into his scalp? As he is lashed to bits with a whip with stones and glass as part of it?
[57:44] As his back is torn to bits? As our saviour and his face becomes almost unrecognisable as very human? As he loses all his strength? As he faces the attack of the very creatures he created?
[57:58] What does our saviour do? Does he call down the hosts of heaven to destroy the earth? Does he come and does he come down on the cross himself? And does he lay waste to his enemies?
[58:10] We know he doesn't. In the face of constant evil. In the face of constant wrongdoing. Against the very holy nature of our saviour. The very divine nature of our saviour.
[58:24] He does not strike back. He does not avenge himself of the wrongs he faced. And because he did not, this evening we have a saviour who hung on that tree.
[58:36] Who faced all the wrath. Not just of his father as he poured out his sins onto him. We know that. But he faced all the human wrath of an evil people.
[58:47] Seeking to destroy him and bring him down and attack him and ruin him. And because he did not fight back. We trust and we hope fully in his finished work.
[59:02] A saviour who lived a perfect life. Not once seeking revenge. Although he could have easily carried out his vengeance. And done so in milliseconds.
[59:12] As angels could have descended from heaven to destroy his enemies. But he did not seek revenge. And unlike Samson. Who causes sin and misery every step he takes.
[59:25] Our saviour every step he takes. Took on himself the sin and misery of all his people. And became the perfect judge. Who lived a perfect, clean.
[59:37] Ceremonially clean. Perfectly righteous life. Not fighting back once. So that we this evening could know him as our saviour.
[59:50] Call him our own. In Samson we see ourselves. We haven't got the strength of Samson. We haven't got the ability of Samson to destroy our enemies.
[60:03] But to ask an open question. If you could. Dear friends. Dear brothers. Dear sisters. All of us together. If you could seek vengeance on your enemies.
[60:16] As Samson did. Would you? Have you not wanted to? As Christ says. If you say you hate your brother in your heart.
[60:26] You're just as bad as a murderer. Because you've killed him in your heart. Friends. We're no better than Samson. No worse than Samson either. He just had the means to accomplish what he wanted to do in his heart.
[60:42] He had the availability of sin. And he took hold of it with both hands. But don't place yourself. And let's not place ourselves too far above Samson. He is us. We are him.
[60:52] We are all the judges. We are the Philistines. At times too. We are happy to give in to our own sin as best we can. But also in the story. In the account we see. That God rescues his people.
[61:06] For all our backsliding. All our evil. He keeps us. He rescues us. He gives us what we do not deserve. And he calls us his own. Let's bow our heads now.
[61:17] A word of prayer. Lord we come once more around your word. And we thank you for it. Thank you Lord for the gift of it. As we are reminded once more. As to the level of evil. And the level of backsliding.
[61:29] We see in this world. And in our own lives. Our own hearts. We are thankful. As we are reminded. As to the goodness you show towards us. Thank you Lord for the life lessons we learn.
[61:40] From the life of Samson. A man who sought his own way time and time again. Who sought revenge as we heard and read this evening. But a man who you still use to accomplish your purposes.
[61:51] A man you still use. Despite his many and varied flaws. To do what it is. You desired and called him to do. Help us to understand this evening. That we are all vessels in the hands of a God.
[62:05] Who is able to bring light from darkness. Bring life from death. We ask that to be our story and our song this evening. That we have lives where we can say that we trust.
[62:17] Not in Samson. Not in our own strength. Not in our own power. We trust in the one. Who when he was reviled did not revile back. Who when he was attacked did not attack back. When he was brought low.
[62:30] And when he was maimed. And when he was viciously. Viciously attacked. Who endured it all. For hope that was set before him.
[62:42] The salvation of his glorious and precious people. In Christ's name and for his sake we ask these things. Amen. Let's bring our time to a conclusion this evening.
[62:58] Sing Psalms than Psalm 130. Psalm 130. Sing Psalms. Psalm 130. How else can we end but sing a Psalm of God's salvation.
[63:12] And God's keeping of his people. Psalm 130. Sing Psalms. Psalm 130. It's on page 173. Page 173.
[63:23] Psalm 130. Lord from the depths I call to you. Lord hear me from on high. And give attention to my voice. When I for mercy cry. Lord in your presence who can stand.
[63:35] If you are sins record. But yet forgiveness is with you. That we may fear you. Lord. Psalm 130. Psalm 130. To God's grace. Amen. Psalm 130.
[64:13] Scripture. Psalm 132. In your presence who comes up. Thank you. Lord shield us with you. Hallelujah. convenient for me. For me. teshin tú.
[64:23] ave me point for me.在你的 доступ I.� Your presence who come soe. build me point for me. In your presence who come soe.
[64:34] in your presence who come soe. in your presence who come soe. gonna make me question about. sterus. But yet forgiveness is filled with you, but we can't bear you on.
[65:02] I wish my soul is gone, my hope is in this life.
[65:21] Lord, I have left on my wish for God, my soul is gone, my hope is in this life.
[65:51] Lord, I have left on my wish for God, my soul is gone, my hope is in this life.
[66:21] Amen.