Samson Part 2 - Living for the Lord

Samson Part 2 – Living for the Lord

The main reason God raises up a Judge

· Deliverer: Led military campaigns to free Israel from foreign oppression.

· Restorer of Order: Reestablished justice and social stability after periods of chaos.

· Spiritual Leader: Encouraged (or exemplified) a return to covenant faithfulness.

· Local/Tribal Leadership: Typically led specific tribes or regions, rather than the entire nation

Judges 13

³And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.

⁴Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean.

⁵For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

The term Nazarite means one who is consecrated to God

The first record of Samson’s strength

Judges 14:1–9

¹Now Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.

²So he went up and told his father and mother, saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.”

³Then his father and mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she pleases me well.”

⁴But his father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord—that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

⁵So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him.

⁶And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

⁷Then he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.

⁸After some time, when he returned to get her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion.

⁹He took some of it in his hands and went along, eating. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they also ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.

The term Nazarite means one who is consecrated to God

Key Features of the Nazirite Vow:

Voluntary and Open to All: Both men and women could become Nazirites by their own choice, and the vow was typically for a set period, though a few, such as Samson and possibly Samuel, were Nazirites for life
Separation: The essence of the vow was separation from certain ordinary aspects of life to focus on devotion to God
Three Main Restrictions:

Abstinence from wine and grape products: Nazirites were forbidden from consuming wine, strong drink, vinegar, grapes, raisins, or anything derived from the grapevine
No cutting of hair: Nazirites could not cut their hair for the duration of the vow. The uncut hair was a visible sign of their separation
Avoidance of ritual impurity from corpses: Nazirites were not allowed to go near a dead body, even those of close family members, to maintain ceremonial purity

Completion Ritual: When the period of the vow ended, the Nazirite would offer specific sacrifices, and their hair, which had grown during the vow, would be cut and burned on the altar

Romans 12:1–2

¹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

²And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

2 Corinthians 8:1–5

¹Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia:

²that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.

³For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing,

⁴imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.

⁵And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.

Romans 8:5–11

⁵For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

⁶For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

⁷Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

⁸So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

¹⁰And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

¹¹But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.