[0:00] Okay, I think brothers, sisters and friends, intimations are the same as the morning, just to say that the box for Oweka, our sponsored child, I see there's a, thanks to Ben, there's a nice picture of Oweka on the box, so the box is hidden behind the picture, but on the left hand side you go and see a wee box of our child, so that's for your pounds or pennies, whatever you have, and we'll have an update for you about him next few weeks, and we can include him every so often.
[0:30] In our prayers and in our updates, just a wee reminder for us. We're here to worship God, let's carry on that public worship by singing to his praise in Psalm 10, Scottish Psalter, Psalm 10.
[0:44] Scottish Psalter, Psalm 10, verses 1 down to verse 4 of the Psalm. Psalm 10, verses 1 down to verse 4.
[0:57] Wherefore is it that thou, O Lord, dost stand from us afar? And wherefore hidest thou thyself when times so troublous are? The wicked in his loftiness doth persecute the poor.
[1:10] In these devices they have framed, let them be taken sure. Psalm 10, verses 1 to 4. To God's praise. Wherefore is it that thou, O Lord, dost stand from us afar?
[1:36] And wherefore is it that thou, O Lord, dost stand from us afar? And wherefore is it that thou, O Lord, dost stand from us afar? When thy soul covers are?
[1:51] The wicked in his loftiness doth persecute the poor.
[2:08] Then thy soul covers the poor. Then thy spirit in his loftiness doth and be taken sure.
[2:23] That we give of His heart's desire, doubtful with boasting fear.
[2:42] He presents Him that's the righteous, whom yet the Lord hath lived.
[2:59] That we give through His high office, from what He doth not come.
[3:16] And in the counsels of His heart, the Lord is not at all.
[3:37] Let's join together in a word of prayer. Lord, if we gather once more this evening, we are again reminded that we gather as a church family.
[3:52] We are gathering just now as brothers and sisters and as friends joining us. We gather just now as brothers and sisters here to hear Your Word. Here to hear You speak to us through it and from it.
[4:05] Lord, we ask, Lord, that for this short time You would help us to have our attention clearly set on Your Word. Lord, again we confess that we are so easily and so quickly distracted.
[4:18] We ask for this short time together this evening You would open up Your Word to us. Perhaps even passages we have read and heard read to us so often before. Passages we even grew up reading in Sunday school in our younger years.
[4:32] The passages which should speak to us nonetheless because it's coming from Your Holy Word. Help us never to come to Your Word lightly. Whether in private devotion or in our public times of worship together.
[4:46] Help us to take great joy in Your Word. Great joy that we have it in front of us. We can read it. Lord, we can play it. We can listen to it. Whatever works for us. We can make use of the many various means of making use of Your Word.
[5:00] Lord, we know there are so many of Your people throughout the many years of church history who had no physical copy of Your Word to read or to listen to. Who, if you were unfortunate, had perhaps just fragments.
[5:15] There are many just now in this world who still just have fragments of Your Word. Brothers and sisters who love You and who worship You, but who do not have a full copy of Your full revelation.
[5:27] Lord, we pray the ongoing work of translation groups and translation missions as they translate Your Word into the various many languages and dialects of this world.
[5:39] We thank You for that ongoing work. Very often going on so quietly and over so many years. We pray for those just now, Lord, in these villages and these areas who are Your people and who love You and who are striving to serve You against a village, against at times even a town of opposition.
[5:59] We ask You to bless them and be with them. Lord, that we remember them. Remember those who are willing to give even their lives for the sake of the Gospel. We pray once more for ourselves as brothers and sisters this evening.
[6:13] Help us to be united together in the bonds of love, understanding we are coming together this evening as brothers and sisters united in our one Saviour with one purpose, one hope, one final glory, Lord.
[6:29] Come also this evening together as brothers and sisters ready to share one another's burdens. We ask that would be our situation. We would be willing to share our burdens, but also willing to take on the burdens of our brothers and sisters.
[6:42] For we confess that we come to this place once more this evening, at the end of this week and beginning this new week, with so many burdens, so many worries and concerns, which we perhaps long at times to share with others.
[6:56] Help us to grow more and more into a sharing church. More and more into a church, into a family gathering where Your people feel safe and able to discuss their worries, their concerns, their burdens.
[7:10] Whether they feel supported and uplifted as they gather together to worship You. Help us as a family to understand that we are truly brothers and truly sisters.
[7:21] Help us to grow in our love for one another. Our care for one another. Indeed, at times, our concern for one another. Help us to remember each other in prayer, both publicly but also privately.
[7:37] We pray for Your people once more this evening. Help us in our own devotional lives. Help us day by day as we seek to live lives of prayer. Lives of service.
[7:47] Help us from morning to night, day by day, to live lives which reflect who and what we are. We are those who have been called and claimed, purchased and saved.
[8:02] Those who are modelling our lives. Those who are looking to the beauty and glory of our risen Saviour. Help our affections and need all our attentions be turned to Him.
[8:15] Help us, as we heard this morning from Your Word, not to look to ourselves, not to look to self-righteousness, but to look to Jesus as the finished work of our Saviour for all our righteousness, as He clothes His people in His full perfection.
[8:33] We stand before You this evening, clothed in the perfection of our Saviour. Not looking to ourselves, but looking to Him. Pitch now also for our friends here this evening, those who gather week after week.
[8:47] Those who have gathered here for many years, who have attended this place faithfully for many years, indeed many decades. We thank You for them. We thank You for their support, both in person and financially, and in various other ways for the upkeep of this building.
[9:03] For support for Your Gospel caused locally and across the world. Lord, we ask that, even this evening, as we come together around Your Word, that they would no longer just be friends, standing off at a distance, but indeed they would become brothers and sisters, able to say for certain that they know and that they are known, that they love and indeed that they are loved, that they hold and indeed that they are held by their glorious Saviour.
[9:31] Help us to keep in constant prayer for this place You have placed us, this great mission field You have given us, this mission field off North Tulsa, this mission field of our own homes, of the place we live and spend our time.
[9:46] Help us to have a passion for this place. Give us wisdom, we ask, and how we should share the Gospel to those around us. We pray once more for those who do not and who will not pray for themselves.
[9:58] For many homes in this district, in this village, who have no Gospel presence, who perhaps even don't know of any Gospel people, who don't know of anyone connected to You or Your people.
[10:10] Lord, we ask that even this evening, You would work in their lives in a way that only You can. Give them a desire to find out more about You. Give them a desire for prayer. Give them a desire to seek out this place.
[10:23] Help us when they come to our doors. Help us when they come to this place to be a warm and welcoming congregation to them.
[10:35] Help us as Your people to be built up in Your Word. Help us as Your people to be willing to serve You with our real fervent service in our own lives, publicly and privately, places of work and places of study, in our times of rest, our times of movement.
[10:50] Help all that we do and all that we are be shaped and moulded after our glorious Saviour. We come this evening confessing that at times, and to our shame at many times, we live lives which do not reflect the beauty or the glory or the wonder of Jesus.
[11:12] We live lives which at times do and show quite the opposite. As we come to read shortly of one of those men that You chose to serve You, we see a life that is so marked by triumph, but also equally marked by sin and backsliding.
[11:31] Lord, stop us from shaking our heads and look to ourselves first and see our own lives are often marked with triumph, but also marked with backsliding and sin.
[11:41] we come relying on our Saviour and His goodness and His love and His perfection and His finished work.
[11:56] We bring before You once more, Lord, the wider congregation here and the wider denomination that we are part of. I pray especially once more for the vacant congregation within our presbytery here.
[12:10] I do pray, Lord, again for North U.S. we thank You for them. We pray that even this evening You would lead them just now and the one who leads over them, who guides them, who is preaching this evening, that You give him the words to say.
[12:24] Your word will be glorified in that place. I pray once more for them in the weeks and months ahead that You would send them one to be an under-shepherd over them, to lead them and to guide them and to support them and to bring them to gospel service.
[12:42] I pray just now, Lord, for once more our brothers and sisters next door as they seek to serve You this evening too. Pray for the one who leads there and, Lord, that You give them words to say to you and that he would know Your blessing just now.
[12:56] We confess that we often, in this day, we often have such low expectations. We often have such low hopes for what would take place in our community, our own homes perhaps, some here perhaps even our own hearts.
[13:11] Such little hope to see days of renewal, days of revival. So little hope to see days again of blessing. We bring that reality to You and we ask, Lord, You give us a gospel positivity.
[13:27] We ask, knowing that You alone can do it, we indeed see days of revival in our lives, in our homes, in this district, in this village. We'd see days of renewal.
[13:38] We'd see homes where You're not known become homes where Your name is praised. We ask we'd see homes where Your name is blasphemed to becoming homes where Your name is glorified. We ask for these days of refreshing, these days of salvation to be seen and known in this village.
[13:55] But until these days come, help us to serve You faithfully, help us to serve You well, help us to serve You humbly as Your people. Bring all these things before a Saviour who knows all and who sees all.
[14:08] A Saviour who hears our prayers and petitions, who hears our worship. A Saviour who is at Your right-hand side. A Saviour who makes constant intercession for us.
[14:21] A Saviour who knows. A Saviour who is all-powerful. A Saviour who cares. A Saviour who is all-knowing. A Saviour who loves His people.
[14:33] It's in His name and it's for His sake and His sake alone we ask for these many things. Amen. Let's turn to read in God's Word. We're carrying on our series.
[14:45] It's been a few weeks now but we're back in Judges. Judges chapter 14. It's on page 200 of the Church Bibles.
[14:57] Judges chapter 14 on page 200. Last week we saw the birth of Samson.
[15:09] Now we carry on and Samson grows up. Judges chapter 14. Let's again hear God's Word.
[15:21] Samson went down to Timnah and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah.
[15:34] Now get her for me as my wife. But his father and mother said to him It's for not a woman among the daughters of your relatives or among all their own people that you must go and take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines.
[15:49] But Samson said to his father Get her for me for she is right in my eyes. His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines.
[16:03] At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel. Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold a young lion came toward him roaring.
[16:17] Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him and although he had nothing in his hand he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.
[16:30] Then he went down and talked with the woman and she was right in Samson's eyes. After some days he returned to take her and when he turned aside to see the carcass of a lion and behold there was a swarm of bees in the body of a lion and honey.
[16:47] He scraped it onto his hands and went on eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of a lion.
[17:00] His father went down to the woman and Samson prepared a feast fair for so the young men used to do. As soon as the people saw him they brought thirty companions to be with him and Samson said to them let me now put a riddle to you if you can tell me what it is within the seven days of a feast and find it out then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.
[17:27] But if you cannot tell me what it is then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes. And he said to him put your riddle that we may hear it.
[17:38] And he said to them out of the eater came something to eat out of the strong came something sweet. And in three days they could not solve the riddle.
[17:50] On the fourth day they said to Samson's wife entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is lest we burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?
[18:02] And Samson's wife wept over him and said you only hate me you do not love me you have put riddle to my people and you have not told me what it is. I said to her behold I have not told my father nor my mother and shall I tell you.
[18:19] And she wept before him the seven days the feast lasted and the seventh day he told her because she pressed him hard and then she told the riddle to her people and the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down what is sweeter than honey what is stronger than a lion and he said to them if you had not ploughed with my heifer you would not have found out my riddle.
[18:42] The spirit of the Lord rushed upon him and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father's house and Samson's wife was given to his companion who had been his best man.
[19:02] I give praise to God for his glorious and his perfect word. So once more sing to God's praise again from the Psalter this time Psalm 14 Scottish Psalter Psalm 14 it's on page 214 of the Psalm books Psalm 14 we can sing verses 1 down to verse 4 Psalm 14 verses 1 to 4 that there is not a God the fool doth in his heart conclude they are corrupt their works are vile not one of them doth good upon men's sons the Lord from heaven did cast his eyes abroad to see if any understood and did seek after God Psalm 14 verses 1 to 4 to God's praise that there is not a God the fool that in his heart conclude they are called out their works the Lord not one of them but a fool upon men's sons the Lord from heaven to pass his eyes upon to see if any understood how they seek out the Lord they are together filled the heart they are they all that's night are gone and there is none that do and good yet sure there is not one is and on God could not fall.
[22:23] So for a short time, turn back to the chapter we had, Judges chapter 14. Judges chapter 14. We're carrying on our series on the Judges, and we left last time looking at the birth of Samson.
[22:38] Judges 14. We can take the very last phrase, perhaps, of verse 3 for our text this evening.
[22:54] But Samson said to his father, Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes. As we said, we left last time, a few weeks ago, at the end of chapter 13, we saw that God had blessed this childless couple who had been wanting children, wanting a child.
[23:14] He blessed them with a child, and that child was going to be consecrated, set aside for God's purposes. He wants to be a Nazarite, the one who is set aside, who would live a very special life, who lived a very careful life, no alcohol, no cutting his hair.
[23:35] We covered that last time, the various stipulations involved in it. Basically, his life was to be as pure as humanly possible. His whole life was to be set on the service of the Lord.
[23:48] With the very best ability he could do of having no deviation from that. Our minds go to John the Baptist, and we'll cover this.
[24:00] There's a reason I didn't mention them at all last time. There's a whole sermon we'll do before we finish our judges series. We see some of the characters in the judges, some of the accounts, and how it matches up or doesn't match up to some of the New Testament characters or accounts.
[24:16] We see that with John the Baptist and Samson, both men set aside from the womb, set aside from their birth. But two very different stories, of course. By the way, this couple, desperate for a child, God blesses them with a child, and we see so much thanksgiving.
[24:33] We saw the love of God, the care of God, and he listens to the prayers of this couple. At the same time, by answering their prayers, he also prepares for his own nation, for Israel, to be freed from the Philistines.
[24:48] We said the Philistines had been years and years attacking, and at this point were completely in charge of the land.
[25:00] 40 years of the time of Samson's birth. And now we see Samson now in chapter 14. He's older, late teens perhaps, to mid-teens, to early 20s.
[25:12] He's that kind of age. And what do we see of this Nazarite from the womb? What do we see of this man who was born to be set aside, born to be holy, born to serve the Lord with one focus?
[25:30] We see something quite the opposite, and we'll see that in a second. Just to give us some headings, because it's a broad chapter, it's a lot going on, but we'll try and keep our focus as narrow as possible, just for our own sake.
[25:50] Just three simple headings. Desire, death, and destruction. We're not particularly chirpy headings, but it's not a particularly chirpy section of Scripture.
[26:01] Desire, death, and destruction. Christians, brothers and sisters, as we see this man, we see a man, this isn't giving away, we know what happens.
[26:14] We see a man who at every single point of his life seems to make a complete mess of things. Every single time he has a chance to serve the Lord well or do something which doesn't involve sinning, he seems to run headlong into sin.
[26:31] He always does the opposite of what he should be doing as a Nazarite, as one who's called to be holy to the Lord. He just spends his whole time, and it seems his whole energy, quite literally at times, just an open rebellion to the Lord.
[26:45] Brothers and sisters, we aren't supposed to learn from the rebellion of Samson, definitely, but we should learn, perhaps, that God is a gracious God. As we see even these three instances of his rebellion in this chapter alone, we're reminded that even though we at times are pretty, for honest, pretty abysmal witnesses of Christ, myself included, we see that God still, in his love and his care, God can still make use of even what we are making of our lives, the disaster we make of things, God can bring that and use that for his purposes.
[27:28] We'll see that later on. First of all, then, desire. Verses 1 to verse 4, taking in verse 7 to, verse 1 down to verse 4, desire.
[27:42] The first of the sins, the first of the downfalls we see in Samson in this chapter. To be honest, Samson's desire and Samson's lust is something we see throughout his life, throughout his whole story, comes up again and again and again.
[28:03] It's never easy. Trust me, it's never easy. It's never enjoyable talking about these types of sin, but Scripture presents it to us for a reason. Scripture quite often points out the lust and the sexual immorality of God's people and of those in the world.
[28:20] Why? Because, brothers and sisters and friends, we have not changed. Not a second have we changed. Not any kind of way have we changed. We are the same as they were then, we are today.
[28:32] We are given into the same lusts, the same sins, the same sexual morality as they are then. And before we catch ourselves perhaps shaking our head at Samson, I wonder how many of us would react, perhaps react, or indeed have acted in the same way in our story, in our lives.
[28:52] For the last time we saw, and we saw a wee boy at the end of chapter 13. We saw a wee boy who was growing in verse 24, 25.
[29:05] A wee boy who was growing in the spirit and the strength of the Lord. We saw a young man, a wee boy who was being led by the Lord. Verse 25 of chapter 13.
[29:17] And the spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahindan between Zorah and Eshtabal, he was a wee boy, a young man who was clearly following his purpose in this world.
[29:31] What happens? What's the first thing we see Samson doing? The first thing we see him saying, the first time he speaks, is to demand sin in his life.
[29:44] The first time we see Samson speak is to demand of his parents, they allow him or need they give him a woman to marry who he shouldn't even be looking at, never mind wanting to marry.
[29:58] The first time we see this Nazarite, this holy set aside child speaking, it's begging his parents that they let him sin. He wants a wife, fair enough, there's no sin there.
[30:14] But he wants a wife, we see of course, from one of the Philistines. First of all, in verse 1, he shouldn't even be looking at the Philistine woman. He is there to rid the land of the Philistines.
[30:27] Don't forget, that's Samson's job. He is born to fill a purpose that he will clear the land. He will free his people from the evil oppression of the child-sacrificing, child-murdering Philistines.
[30:41] That is his job, that's his very purpose. And he wants to marry one of them. And he begs his parents. He's obviously looking for them, he's obviously on a hunt for them.
[30:55] And this area of Timnah, we know that was a Philistine-heavy area. He should have been there, but there he was. I saw someone, this Philistine girl, I know the wording of it, in verse 2.
[31:11] He's not asking permission, really. No, he's telling them. He's demanding of them that they engage in his sin, to allow him to sin against his very calling and against Yahweh himself, by marrying this woman, by marrying, as it were, the enemy.
[31:31] Get her for me. His desire is overriding his very calling. And we can assume his desire, his lust, is also overriding his very upbringing.
[31:43] We saw last time that the joy and the love that they had, that Samson's parents had for him, that they longed for a baby. The Lord gave them one, and the joy they had, the overflowing joy they had.
[31:58] And God was clear how he should bring him up. And there's no indication that they didn't do that. As far as we know, they brought him up as they should have done, in the way of the Lord, not touching alcohol, not cutting his hair, so on and so on and so on, all the various stipulations they were given.
[32:16] We can assume they did these stipulations to the best of their ability. But Samson now is going against his whole upbringing. He's now going against all his calling.
[32:26] He's going against his very purpose for being on the earth. And he says, get me a woman. Keep the wording in your mind when Samson says this.
[32:38] Get her for me as my wife. Of course, his parents object as they should. They object clearly.
[32:50] And there's three, but surely you'll find someone else not one from the Philistines. But Samson seems to persist.
[33:02] He says again at the end of verse 3, get her for me for she is right in my eyes. Friends, are we not here right back in the cycle of judges?
[33:13] What is the theme of the judges? What is the phrase we keep seeing again and again? What phrase begins and ends the judges? Everyone did what? Everyone did what was right in their eyes for there was no king.
[33:25] That's the whole theme of the judges. It shows us our very inner self, our very inner core. When God lets us be, basically, when God lets us do what we want to do, judges shows us how we act.
[33:42] Get her for me, she's right in my eyes. He knows she's not right in his parents' eyes. He knows she's not right in God's eyes. He knows his calling is clear, his purpose is clear, his very life, his very reason is clear.
[33:59] Yet, he goes against all of that. He breaks covenant with his parents, he breaks covenant with Yahweh, and he says, get her for me. She's right in my eyes.
[34:14] Brothers and sisters, we should never be shocked when we see our own hearts and the darkness of our hearts. when we see the level of sin that we ourselves as Christians, as the Lord, set aside people, the level of sin we can find ourselves and indeed other Christians sinking to.
[34:32] Do you know why? Because yes, we're redeemed. And yes, we may well be saved. And yes, we may well know what it is to have our sins lifted from us by our Saviour. But still, we have that ongoing fight.
[34:47] And still, we have that sin nature which is dragging us down all the time. We covered last Thursday the beginning of a series on spiritual warfare and the prayer meeting.
[34:58] Again, there's my monthly plug for prayer meeting. The prayer meeting is for everyone, not just for members or not just for those wanting to become members. Our culture tells us that that culture is wrong and is against Scripture completely.
[35:13] But prayer meeting is for everyone who wants to come along to it. It's a time of prayer, a time of God's Word. Nothing will be said about you or thought about you. If you come along, please do make use of it. We're starting a series on spiritual warfare.
[35:25] And so, the evil of Satan and the attempts and the attacks of Satan. Satan does not compel sin. He might tempt us, yes.
[35:36] He does not compel sin. Your sin and my sin, we do it ourselves. We are fully and wholly accountable for our backslidings, for our sins, brothers and sisters and friends alike.
[35:52] And he wants this woman. In the face of Yahweh, in the face of his parents, he wants what he wants.
[36:03] He wants to sin. In the mystery of verse 4, his father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines.
[36:18] At that time, the Philistines ruled over Israel. Here we see what is a mystery, but also it's pretty clear what's taking place here. There are two truths here running side by side.
[36:32] And these two truths which run side by side aren't just dependent on Samson. These are two truths in our lives and two truths in the world at large. On one side, the first truth we see here Samson is making his choices quite openly, quite freely.
[36:50] Samson is choosing to sin. There is no one compelling him to do so. He is choosing to lust after this Philistine woman. He is choosing to go against Yahweh.
[37:01] He is choosing to sin. He is freely doing that. At the same time, at the same time, God is going to use us.
[37:13] So on one side we see Samson. He should not be desiring outside or outwith the covenant people. He should not be causing also his parents to sin. By making them approve of this, he is also making them fall into sin too.
[37:28] He is clearly in sin. But on the other side we see, verse 4 clearly tells us, God is doing this or God is using this. A brief insight into the works of our sovereign God.
[37:46] We saw before, very early on in our time together, was even perhaps before I was a minister in our time together, in your vacancy, was it God's hidden will and God's revealed will.
[38:00] What God's revealed will is to Samson, do not sin, do not marry a philistine, serve me, ETC, I think we said before, the revealed will is pretty clear.
[38:13] But God's hidden will, his unrevealed will, but he's going to use even the very sin of Samson, the very backsliding of Samson, for his glory, for his purposes.
[38:29] That whole situation is well summarised in another similar situation perhaps, for a man who is somewhat more holy. The words of Joseph in Genesis chapter 20, he says of all the evil which happened to him, Joseph says to the brothers, you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.
[38:55] Why? To accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. God is sovereign. And God is not beholden to us understanding what he is doing.
[39:09] That's very important for us to grasp. Yes, we should grapple and grasp at times that there's much mystery, but God does not make himself understandable to us.
[39:19] Yes, who he is and what we need to know for salvation as we covered in the confession series next door, but the very plans and out working of what God does and what God is going to do, we don't have to understand it.
[39:34] We have to look at it and at times marvel at it. Samson is in sin and is choosing quite freely to sin, but yet God is using it.
[39:46] God is not standing back as it were as watching the distance helpless. God is in full sovereign control, even what looks like a hopeless, evil situation.
[39:57] Why? Because God has a plan to bring this, to bring his people to salvation through this. Yes, there is mystery here, but in short, God is able to take even the bad, even the bad decisions and use them for his glory.
[40:19] Now, of course, some might say, well, that's an excuse to sin. Well, Paul, Romans 7, 8, and 9 has something to say about that if you have time tonight to read that. God's sovereignty and God's mercy and God's great plan is no reason for us to sin.
[40:33] Indeed, if you're saying that, there is no real salvation to be found in you. Quite the opposite. That's a different sermon for a different night. Quite simply, Samson is caught up in lust.
[40:46] Samson is willing to go to almost any length to fulfil his own desires as wrong as they might be. But Samson, whilst being in sin, he is still being used by a God who is sovereign.
[41:06] From desire, we then have death, verses 5 and verse 6. So Samson goes down, he's now obsessed with his woman, of course, going to marry her. So the whole section follows Samson as he gets closer and closer to marrying her.
[41:21] He's making his way down to do all the deals that need to be done between her father and his father and everything else behind the scenes, which Scripture doesn't tell us about. But you can imagine all the details of marriage, the gifts and the prizes and the complications, the politics involved.
[41:39] All we see is them walking together and they're walking towards Timnah where she is staying and it seems Samson has gone off on his own for a wee second. It's interesting where Samson decides to stray, it's in the vineyards of Timnah.
[41:54] What couldn't Samson touch? What shouldn't have Samson touched? Wine, alcohol, even the very grapes themselves, grape skins themselves, a Nazarite couldn't touch.
[42:08] Samson's wandering through vineyards, why wouldn't he be at this stage? He's doing everything he can to be against God. He's wandering off to the vineyards and a lion tries to attack him and we know Samson has strength from the Lord.
[42:22] There's no sin here, there's no sin, of course, in self-defense. Samson kills the lion. We said Nazarites can't touch death, Nazarites can't be near death, but killing for self-defense isn't touching death.
[42:39] We'll see in a second. There's a clear difference here. He kills the lion, there's no sin there. God gives him the strength to do so, though, which is very important for us.
[42:51] Here we see God at power working to preserve the life of Samson. Yes, Samson is on his way to make a disaster of things, but God is keeping Samson safe because God still has a purpose for Samson.
[43:08] Straight after the encounter we then see Samson going to see the woman he's not supposed to see. God has just saved Samson. God has given Samson the strength to kill a lion, to tear it to shreds.
[43:22] and in praise to God and thanks to God, Samson carries on his journey to go and spend time with this woman. He shouldn't be going anywhere near.
[43:35] Even the face of God's protection, he carries on deep in his sin. It gets worse. That's one thing.
[43:47] But look to verse 8 and verse 9. So he goes and talks to her. Also note verse 7 first of all. At the end of verse 7 we see that repeated phrase.
[43:59] He went down to talk with a woman and she was right in Samson's eyes. Yet again the reminder that Samson is so far into sin. So far into sin. He goes again, this time to marry her.
[44:15] And for some days verse 8 he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. Now he turned aside you might think well he's just to go gaze away there.
[44:28] No, no. The wording is he made a journey to go see it. He specifically went to go look at the great damage he did.
[44:40] Here we're seeing a theme again. Not just lust, also pride. Samson is very proud of his efforts. Very proud of his strength. The strength which God has given him of course.
[44:52] And his pride. He wants to go see this ripped to shreds lion he managed to kill with his own bare hands. What do we say about Nazarites and death?
[45:03] Not going near it. Not being around it. Not seeing it that they can avoid it. Samson makes a beeline straight to the lion.
[45:14] straight to the thing he had killed. Now that's bad enough but it gets worse. And perhaps we're so used to this account we forget how grim it actually is.
[45:26] Samson now goes and he digs his hand into a decaying rotting carcass of an animal that's been out in the sun for a few days and he eats from inside it.
[45:37] He eats honey from inside it. Now that's just grim isn't it to be honest with you. You think the logic of it it's horrifying. A decaying putrefying animal that Samson digs his hand inside to dig around about to get some honey out of it.
[45:53] It's not normal behaviour. It's pretty grim behaviour. There's no sin in doing it I guess. It's just odd. But why does scripture record it for us?
[46:07] Well it is sin for Samson. It's not just weird behaviour. It's not just odd behaviour. He is now sticking his hand inside a dead animal. He is now as a Nazarite just blatantly clearly going against the very basics what it is to be a Nazarite.
[46:25] He is not just seeing death or going near death. He is grossly interacting with death. It gets worse and even eats it. Grim.
[46:37] Really grim. He is on his way to see this girl, this woman. He is on his way to commit sin and on his way to committing sin he commits more sin for a wee shortcut, for a wee throw to commit more sin and back on the road again towards more sin.
[46:52] He can't help himself. It just spirals down and down and down. Samson's in a mess. then it concludes with nothing in scripture for no reason.
[47:10] I think it just shows just how grim his existence is. It is quite visceral. See the words they use for him collecting the honey. Verse 9 he scraped it.
[47:23] There are other words they use. He used collected, gathered. There are other words for honey in scripture that are used around that. the words are very specific. It is a very visceral clawing off.
[47:35] He clawed off the honey from inside the lion. And look what he does. He gives it to his parents. And note again what he doesn't do.
[47:50] He did not tell them he had scraped it from the carcass of the lion. He is not just sinful. He is just blatantly not a pleasant person.
[48:06] Apart from his sin, apart from rebellion, he is just grim the things he is doing, how he is doing it. All this in a way to go find and marry this woman who shouldn't be anywhere near.
[48:19] We have then the desire, we have the death, we then see briefly destruction. Take a section verse 10 down to verse 20.
[48:30] Now, there is plenty going on here but just to take out of this section to see one element once more. A lot of detail but there is one main thread in verse 10 down to verse 20 that is indeed destruction.
[48:45] The destruction of Samson's vows. The destruction of his own hopes and desires. in verse 10 down to verse 14 we see again the arrogance, the pride of Samson.
[48:59] He is very proud in his strength, very proud in his ability. Look with me, verse 10 to verse 14. We see this gathering of men, there's 30 men, it's a big wedding celebration, wedding feast.
[49:14] Fair enough, I mean, they're having a wedding so they're feeling a good one I guess, a big wedding place, Samson's there with 30 men and straight away, what's Samson going to do?
[49:28] He just can't help himself. Verse 12, let me put a riddle to you. He is so proud of his killing the lion, so proud of him eating out of a dead lion, he has to make a whole riddle up to show how smart he is now, how strong he is, how smart he is, how proud he is of his rebellion.
[49:50] He's now sharing the riddle to these 30 odd Philistine men, men he should be killing, but no, he's there having a party with them and sharing riddles with them about how strong he is, how smart he is, how much in rebellion he is.
[50:06] He is losing everything. He's boasting about his God-given strength to crowds of people he should be nowhere near. He also notes, he makes a bet, you might miss it perhaps, but he makes a bet, you see that, he bets these 30 garments.
[50:29] A Nazarite cannot engage in anything even like casting lots, a Nazarite cannot engage in betting. I mean, he's really trying his best as you know it seems to just do every sin possible he shouldn't be doing.
[50:43] lust, death, making bets, a completely unnecessary bet. Now, everything that takes place from verse 10 to verse 20 is all Samson's fault, all his fault.
[51:00] He makes this bet, he tries to show off his wisdom and his power, and because he does that, everything just spirals down to absolute disaster for him. all a mess.
[51:15] He makes a bet to these men that these men, it seems, have no time to solve a riddle. They try for a few days, they give up, but these are evil men. Look at verse 15, look what their tactic is.
[51:29] They give up, so they get Samson's wife, entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father's house, with fire.
[51:40] They aren't messing around, they're not joking. It seems, you see her reaction, some, some, some call, some even commentators, label this woman as being this or that.
[51:52] This poor woman. She's being threatened of her own life, and she's being threatened of her family home being burnt to the ground. I hold no blame against her personally, she's doing her very best, she's a Philistine anyway, she's doing her best to keep herself and her family alive.
[52:10] At least she understands these men mean business. We're not joking around here. She begs, she cries, which one of us wouldn't do the exact same? And he refuses and refuses.
[52:23] After several days we see that for seven days. And here we see, we say this carefully, we say this before, every time I say it, I say it carefully, there is great humour in the book of Judges, but not humour in a comedy way, we say, but humour in a sense that it's written in a way to make clear to us just how awful life is, how awful life is when we engage in sin.
[52:49] We saw from the start, Eglon, the king, and his guts exploding, and all the visceral imagery there. Because the truth is, when we engage in sin, sin is so self-defeating, it's so mind-bogglingly silly to engage in it.
[53:09] Here's an example of that. He's thrown this big feast, he wants to enjoy himself, but look what happens. Note just the passing instance here.
[53:21] For all the days of the feast, verse 17, she wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted. Because of his bet, and because of the threat to his wife, she doesn't let him enjoy the feast he's trying to enjoy.
[53:38] She's crying, she's wailing, understandably. Samson can't even enjoy the feast. For the whole time it's lasted, she's been at him and at him, crying and wailing. And he's so worn down, he hasn't enjoyed his big boasting feast.
[53:52] All his sin had led him nowhere. Eventually, he cracks, he gives in, and he tells her. She tells then these thirty men, why wouldn't she?
[54:05] Her very life is in danger if she doesn't. We then see, even in his wording, the unpleasantness of Samson.
[54:18] So the men tell Samson that they've worked out the riddle, and Samson understands now that they only know it because his wife has told them. And the wording of the second half of verse 18, there's much theologiness some look into, but the truth is, Samson's just an unpleasant person, in my humble estimation.
[54:42] He's not the most pleasant of men to be around. And there's many words I could use to describe his brand new wife, but no, he chooses to call her, and it's not just a phrase he's choosing, it's not just a turn of phrase, no, he chooses his words carefully, second half of verse 18, if you had not ploughed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle.
[55:04] He didn't have to say it like that, but he chose to, or speak about his wife like that, but he did. Great sin, and we could say small sin, he is just unpleasant in all that he does, in all his ways, but yet the Lord will use this man.
[55:27] Look what happens. So he now owes them these garments, it's all backfired on him, his great boasting has come to nothing. Verse 19, the spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town, and took their spoil, and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle, and so on.
[55:50] Here we see God using man's sin once more, God using the failing of man once more. Samson now finally begins his mission of destroying the Philistines, but why does he do it?
[56:08] Because he has to pay back his bet. His sin has led him to actually somehow now begin to do the job he's born to do and called to do.
[56:20] Samson isn't doing it to serve the Lord, he's doing it so his bet is paid off, he goes and he kills thirty men, and gives the garments to those who he owed the garments to.
[56:38] Even when he does what he's warned to do to destroy the evil Philistines, he even does it for the wrong reasons. And then it was said there is a dark humour to judges, a dark humour because again sin never profits, sin never profits and the judges is clear to show that.
[57:01] How does the whole thing end in verse twenty? And Samson's wife was given to his companion who had been his best man. That's it done.
[57:12] But whole chapter fourteen, a complete waste of time. He lusted after a woman he never gets.
[57:25] In the process of not getting her, he then manages to kill and scrape out and eat honey from a dead lion. He manages to make his parents eat it. He manages to make his parents fall into sin.
[57:36] He manages to make a bet. He manages to almost have his almost wife burnt to death. death, sin after sin after sin, destruction after destruction. But Samson yet is a chosen man.
[57:53] But Samson's a weak man. Samson's a man so blighted by sin at times he is blinded by it. Samson's a liar.
[58:05] Samson looks to be a cheat. Samson looks like the worst possible example of someone God can use. And yet, dear brother dear sister, and yet, God uses him.
[58:23] God still uses, indeed we know, will go on to use Samson to free his people from the Philistines. Brothers and sisters, we gather this evening and we think, as we look to the book of Judges time and time again, as we see that the failings and shortcomings of all the judges, all the saviors of Israel, we come to a saviour this evening whose life was perfect, who didn't just accomplish his final goal on the cross, snow.
[59:01] But for every second of every minute, of every hour, of every day of his life, Jesus, our saviour, he lived the perfect life in full obedience.
[59:12] In full obedience to the law, in full obedience to his father, in full obedience to all that needed to be done, he lived the perfect life, not swayed by sin, not looking to sin, facing it again and again, facing temptation of every single type, he carries on to the cross, that is our saviour.
[59:36] Samson points towards that in his failures more than his accomplishments. In Samson we see an imperfect judge, an imperfect saviour, who is nothing more at times than a complete embarrassment to himself and to his family, to his calling.
[59:54] In Jesus we see one who is perfect in his calling, perfect in carrying it out. I think a secondary application we can make just to close is brothers and sisters, as we see the life of Samson, do you perhaps see something of your own life?
[60:12] Now again, I don't know what your life actually looks like. We keep saying that, but it's true. I can be here for 10 years, 20 years, until the end of my ministry if the Lord wills it.
[60:24] I still won't know what your life looks like as we're behind closed doors. We all know that. Publicly we look one thing and act one way.
[60:37] Secretly we perhaps have different lives we shouldn't do, but perhaps we do. I don't know how much of a disaster you think your walk actually is. I don't know how often you give in to sin and temptation.
[60:50] And again, Samson's life should not be an encouragement for us to sin. In fact, it's a warning to us. Because all he plans to do and all his sin leads him further and further away from God in one sense.
[61:05] It leads him to his own destruction again and again. It leads him to misery again and again. But yet, God is faithful. Brothers and sisters, yes, there's no success in sin.
[61:17] There's no gain in sin. But at the same time, brothers and sisters, God can use even most wayward of his people to still accomplish his plans. If this evening you find yourself perhaps as a Christian and you're lost in sin and you're wandering around in the depths of sin, then come back to the saviour, the sinless saviour, the perfect saviour, who unlike Samson, lived that perfect life so you can be clothed in his righteousness.
[61:43] That's our hope this evening. We praise the Lord we don't have hope in the likes of Samson. We have the hope in our saviour. Perfect in all that he did, all that he said, all that he was, purchasing for us our perfect salvation, clothing us in his perfect righteousness.
[62:03] us. Let's bow our heads now, a word of prayer. Lord, we come before you once more, we thank you once more for the gift of your word. Again, as we read from it, as we see some troubling accounts of the sinfulness of man, even the sinfulness of those called to be your servants, we are reminded that apart from the Lord Jesus, that all men, all mankind is so given to sin, all mankind, even the best of mankind, falls into that sin so easily, at times so willingly.
[62:38] Help us not to have our trust in any man, any minister, any leader above us, but help us have our trust only in the risen Lord Jesus, in who he is, in what he has done, what he continues to be and do for his saved and sanctified people.
[62:54] Pray just another for any this evening who are yours, who are battling sin, any here this evening or any attached to our congregation, who are yours, who are fighting ongoing, severe and dwelling sin.
[63:06] Lord, you would free them from that. They would turn to you, turn back to you perhaps, and find a new safety, find a new forgiveness, find a new clearing of all that sin which perhaps weighs them down even this evening.
[63:24] Help us as we continue our series through the book of Judges. Remember that for all the misery and evil on these pages, we see you preserving your people, loving your people despite their own actions and bringing a salvation to them again and again.
[63:41] You're a faithful God, a covenant keeping God, a loving and true God who is sovereign in all your ways. Let's call these things in and through and for Christ's precious name's sake.
[63:53] Amen. Let's conclude by singing to God's praise and sing psalms. Sing psalms in psalm 27.
[64:09] Sing psalms in psalm 27. Psalm 27. Sing verses 7.
[64:20] Psalm 27. Psalm 27. Psalm 27. Psalm 27. Psalm 27. Psalm 27. To verse 14 of the psalm. Sing psalms, psalm 27.
[64:33] Verses 7 to verse 14. Lord, hear me when I call to you, be merciful and speak. Come, seek my face, you told my heart to your face, Lord, I will seek.
[64:46] Do not hide your face from me and do not turn aside your servant and your righteous wrath, for you have been my guide. sing psalms, psalm 27, verses 7 to 14 to God's praise.
[64:58] Lord, hear me when I call to you, be merciful chapter 5.
[65:20] of prayer, thanks to your soul for water. Oh Oh For
[66:38] Oh But O the he me I'm happy to cross my nose.
[67:25] Oh, bless me every year. In me, no adorer to the world.
[67:44] Oh, be my enemies. For now we are close to stand on me.
[68:04] And bring my cruelties. Yet I am sure that in this sight, God's good, as I will see.
[68:31] With power the Lord be strong. Take care of him.
[68:46] We patiently. Let me hear. In the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, both of you now and forevermore. Amen.