Saturday, August 18, 2018

Enduring Word Bible- The Samson Series-5

Enduring Word Bible- #22

Judges 16
Samson and Delilah

We have seen that Samson 
had a habit of not always 
making God-pleasing decisions.
Chapter 16 starts out with Samson
 going to a prostitute in Gaza.
His presence becomes known 
to the people there and they plan 
to ambush him at dawn.
At midnight he goes out to the city gates
 and pulls up the doors and two posts with bars.
 He carries them on his shoulders
 to the top of the hill in Hebron. 
The Enduring Word commentary says:

Despite his sin, God still gave Samson supernatural strength
 to escape from the Philistines.
 God did this because God’s purpose was bigger
 than Samson himself,
 and because God used Samson 
despite Samson’s sin, not because of it.

It may have been over 20 miles to the hill
 that Samson carried the doors to the gate.
Once again, 
Samson is saved for a greater purpose.
He then falls in love with Delilah,
 a woman in the Valley of Sorek.
The lords of the Philistines find out 
and come to Delilah with the bribe
 of 1,100 pieces of silver 
from each of them if she finds out
 where Samson's strength lies.
A series of of pleas and false answers
 challenges their relationship.
Finally Samson is "vexed to death"
 and he tells Delilah.
Samson falls asleep on her knees 
and she calls a man to shave off
 the seven locks of his head.
When the Philistines arrive, 
he plans to go out 
and get free as in the past scenarios.
But, Samson 
"did not know that the Lord had left him."
The Philistines grab him
 and gouge out his eyes 
and bind him in shackles.
He spends his time in prison
 grinding at the mill.
Samson certainly placed his obedience
 to God in compartments.
He struggled with the knowledge
 that the Lord wanted all of his heart.
He failed often.
We see that for Samson and also for us:
we have nothing good- apart from God.
It is the central fact in God's goodness to us,
and why He sent His son.

Supplies:
Watercolor pencils,
 Micron pen
Washi tape



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