Confusion in Society (Covetousness)

2/26/2010 7:45 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                    Focus:  Confusion in society (Covetousness)

 

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Judges 18:1-2

 

          Message of the verses:  1 ¶  In those days there was no king of Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day an inheritance had not been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel. 2  So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, "Go, search the land." And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.”

            Chapter eighteen of Judges brings me into the third part in chapter eleven of “Be Available,” which is Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Judges.  Remembering that God has ordained the home, human government, and worshiping the Lord, I know move to the human government portion of chapter eleven. 

            Chapter eighteen of Judges is one of the most bazaar chapters that I find in the entire Bible, but it is in God’s Word and therefore must be studied. 

            The history of the tribe of Dan goes back to Genesis 30:1-6 where it is discovered that Dan was the fifth son of Jacob, and was born of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid.  It is remembered that Rachel could not have children for a long time and so because of the competition between her and her sister Leah in having children she gave Jacob Bilhah to have children for her and thus Dan was conceived.

            When the children of Israel came into the land God had given them all of the tribes were given a portion of land that the Lord wanted them to have.  Most all of the tribes drove out the Canaanites to a large extent, but the tribe of Dan could not drive out the inhabitants of the land God had given them.  I believe that this had to do in large part to a lack of faith in the Lord who had given them that land.

            Now because the Danites lack of faith in not conquering the land God gave them they moved north and at the time of the events in chapter eighteen they began to covet land that was not theirs and a few of the people of Dan made the same mistake that the children of Israel made long before, that is spying out the land.  This time it was spying out land that was not theirs, for it belonged to the tribe of Ephraim.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  James 4:1-3 speak of the sin of the Tenth Command which is not coveting.  “1 ¶  What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2  You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3  You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”  In a footnote by Warren Wiersbe her writes the following:  “It’s good to have the things that money can buy if you don’t lose the things that money can’t buy.”  These are very wise words, words that I need to follow and live my life by when it comes to how I handle money, or the things that I buy with the money that God has entrusted me with.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.    Trust the Lord in the handling of the things that I do with the money he has entrusted me with that I may use it for His glory.

 

2/26/2010 8:28 AM     

Confusion in the Ministry (Judges 17:7-13)

2/25/2010 7:39 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Confusion in the ministry

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 17:7-13

 

            Message of the verses:  “7 ¶  Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was staying there. 8  Then the man departed from the city, from Bethlehem in Judah, to stay wherever he might find a place; and as he made his journey, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. 9  Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" And he said to him, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to stay wherever I may find a place." 10  Micah then said to him, "Dwell with me and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and your maintenance." So the Levite went in. 11  The Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12  So Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in the house of Micah. 13  Then Micah said, ‘Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, seeing I have a Levite as priest.’”

            As stated in yesterday’s SD God has ordained  the home, human government and the ministry, of which were the OT, the covenant that was given to Israel through Moses, and then the NT, the covenant that was provided by the Lord Jesus Christ as spelled out in the NT.  The problem with Israel was that during this time of their history they were not following the rules that God has written for them as found in the books of Moses, and thus were finding themselves in a lot of trouble.  The portion of Scripture that I am dealing with today shows that Israel was not following the Laws that God had set up for ministry.

            The young man in the verses above who was from Bethlehem was named Jonathan as can be seen in Judges 18:30.  Dr. Wiersbe has a note to explain where Jonathan came from of which I will quote because I find it very interesting and helpful.  “In 18:30, Jonathan is identified as ‘the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh,’ which is impossible since Gershon was a son of Moses and didn’t belong to the tribe of Manasseh (Ex. 2:22; 1 Chron. 23:14-15).  A Levite would come from the tribe of Levi.  The addition of the letter n (nun in the Hebrew) to the name ‘Moses’ would change it to ‘Manasseh.’  In the Hebrew original, the nun is found above the line, showing that the letter was added to the text later.  Hebrew scholars believe that a scribe, zealous to protect the good name of Moses, changed the text so that there wouldn’t be an idolater in Moses’ family.  The scribe apparently forgot about Aaron.”  1 Chronicles 23:14-15 are very interesting verses to me for they show what happened to the sons of Moses:  “14  But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. 15  The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.”  The verses following these give more info on the sons of Moses.

            According to the OT law the Levites were to live in certain cities in the nation of Israel in order to teach the people the Law of God, and Bethlehem was not one of those cities that Moses spoke of in his writings.  This young man was not living in the correct city and it was probably because the children of Israel were not supporting the Levites according to how the Law of God had set this up.  Instead of seeking the will of the Lord as to what he should do because he was not being supported the way that he was suppose to he decided to take out on his own and eventually joined up with Micah, who was a worshiper of idols even though he mentions the name of the Lord on different occasions.  Micah hired Jonathan to be his personal priest and so Jonathan would do as the one who was paying the bills told him to do.  A true shepherd of the Lord is called by the Lord and does the things that the Lord instructs him to do of which is written in His Word.  Jesus speaks of a hireling when He says, “11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12  "He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep” (John 10:11-13).  In this world that we live in today there are hirelings who are imposters of true shepherds, they are just like Jonathan who are in it for the money and not for the people.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that what I am learning for today’s section of Scripture is that there are times when life gets tough and that seems to be what happened to Jonathan, but it is how I handle those tough times will determine whether or not I choose to follow the Lord’s teachings or to go off on my own, which or course, is the wrong thing to do.  I have read or heard somewhere that living the Christian life is impossible, and I suppose living the Christian life correctly is impossible because of the sin nature that has been left behind after conversion, however I think that for myself I need to be perfectly going towards perfection in my walk with the Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Be perfectly going towards perfection in my walk with the Lord today.

 

2/25/2010 8:40 AM 

Confusion in the Home (Judges 17:1-6)

2/24/2010 8:44 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Confusion in the home

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 17:1-6

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. 2  He said to his mother, "The eleven hundred pieces of silver which were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it." And his mother said, "Blessed be my son by the LORD." 3  He then returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, "I wholly dedicate the silver from my hand to the LORD for my son to make a graven image and a molten image; now therefore, I will return them to you." 4  So when he returned the silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith who made them into a graven image and a molten image, and they were in the house of Micah. 5  And the man Micah had a shrine and he made an ephod and household idols and consecrated one of his sons, that he might become his priest. 6  In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

            This begins the third to last chapter in Warren Wiersbe’s book “Be Available,” his commentary on the book of judges.  I have been using Warren Wiersbe’s “Be Books” to help me understand the Scriptures for over ten years, and as one of my friends commented on his writing “he puts the cookies on the shelf where you can reach them.”  I owe a great deal to the teaching of Warren Wiersbe, along with John MacArthur, whose study Bible I have used for many years too.  David Jeremiah is another of my favorite authors      who has taught me many things too.

            The title of chapter eleven in “Be Available” is “THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD,” and Wiersbe gets the idea for this title from a poem that is written by an Irish poet William Butler Yeats who wrote a poem entitled “The Second Coming.”  Yeats writes in this vivid description of civilization during the time of the second coming “Things fall apart the center cannot hold.” 

            Dr Wiersbe seems to always give a short outline in his beginning commentary of each chapter, and he writes the following that makes it easier for me to understand this difficult section of Judges:  “The events described in chapters 17-21 took place earlier in the period of Judges, probably before the forty-year rule of the Philistines.  The movements of the tribe of Dan would have been difficult and the war against Benjamin impossible if the Philistines had bee in charge at that time. The writer departed from historical chronology and put these events together as an ‘appendix’ to the book to show how wicked the people had become.  In three major areas of life, things were falling apart:  the home, the ministry, and society.”

            Verse six of chapter seventeen seems to be a major theme of the book of Judges as the author writes “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

            This section of Warren Wiersbe’s commentary is priceless to me as I will quote several portions of it for this SD.  First I want to say that after reading that this was an “appendix” to the book of Judges it began to make sense to me, for there are times, in fact many times when the Bible is not in chronological order, and I am speaking of the history portion which goes from Genesis to Ester. 

            Way back in the beginning of Genesis when God was the One who married Adam and Eve God established the family or home, and then He established human government, and finally the worshiping community, the covenant with Israel in the OT and the church in the NT.  This first portion of Judges Seventeen speaks of the problems that were occurring in the home during this most difficult time of Jewish history. 

            Without going into a lot of detail about this text I do want to point out some of the obvious things that are seen here and none of them are good.  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following to describe this section pretty well:  “Breaking seven of the Ten Commandments without leaving your home is quite an achievement.”  That is what Micah and his family did.  He goes on “Because Micah and his family didn’t submit to the authority of God’s Word their home was a place of religious and moral confusion.  But their home was a good deal like many homes today where money is the god the family worships, where children steal from their parents and lie about what they do, where family honor is unknown, and where the true God is unwanted.  Television provides all the ‘images’ the family will ever want to ‘worship’ and few worry about ‘thus saith the Lord.’

            “I recall hearing Vance Havner say, ‘We shouldn’t worry because the government won’t allow children to have Bibles in school.  They’ll get free Bibles when they go to prison.’”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  While reading about the sins of Israel in the book of Judges it is far too easy to be critical of them, but that is not the reason that I study the Word, to be critical of the sins of the people in the OT.  I study the Bible to receive my daily food and marching orders and to learn from the sins of the people in the OT so that I won’t commit the same sins that they did. I have been convicted for some time now about the amount of TV that I watch and have cut it down a lot lately.  This is a good thing for it gives me more time to read some good books and to study for Bible Study on Friday.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Not watch so much TV and study more of the good things in God’s Word.

 

2/24/2010 9:50 AM 

Samson Destroys Himself (Judges 16:23-31)

2/23/2010 8:38 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Samson destroys himself

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 16:23-31

 

            Message of the verses:  “23  Now the lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice, for they said, "Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands." 24  When the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, "Our god has given our enemy into our hands, Even the destroyer of our country, Who has slain many of us." 25  It so happened when they were in high spirits, that they said, "Call for Samson, that he may amuse us." So they called for Samson from the prison, and he entertained them. And they made him stand between the pillars. 26  Then Samson said to the boy who was holding his hand, "Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them." 27  Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there. And about 3,000 men and women were on the roof looking on while Samson was amusing them. 28  Then Samson called to the LORD and said, "O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." 29  Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. 30  And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. 31  Then his brothers and all his father’s household came down, took him, brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. Thus he had judged Israel twenty years.”

            Before commenting on the above verses I wish to think about the overall life of Samson, for in many ways his life was sad as the man whose name meant light lived most of his life in darkness because makes one think of Proverbs 25:28 which states, “Like a city that is broken into and without walls Is a man who has no control over his spirit.”  Proverbs 16:32 is another Proverb that perhaps Solomon may have been thinking about Samson when he wrote 16:32 “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.”

            Dr. Wiersbe quote Alexander Maclaren who write this on the life of Samson:  “Instead of trying to make a lofty hero out of him, it is far better to recognize frankly the limitations of his character and the imperfections of his religion….If the merely human passion of vengeance throbbed fiercely in Samson’s prayer, he had never heard ‘Love your enemies’; and for his epoch, the destruction of the enemies of God and of Israel was duty.”  I find that difficult to understand whether or not Samson was doing all of this out of just duty or if he truly wanted to honor the Lord with his death, and thus his life had changed when he lost his sight and then had a time to reflect upon his life when he could see and then drew close to the Lord.

            In Samson’s life one can see that he was a man who liked to play jokes on people and now at what is the end of his life he is asked again to amuse the people at the party to honor their god, Dagon.  It is no wonder that the Philistines were so mad at Samson for burning their fields, for Dagon was the god of grain.  It is rather ironic that at this party the Philistines were giving glory to their god, but in the end, because of their deaths the God of heaven will receive glory. 

            The words that the KJV uses for “make sport” come from two different words.  “The first means to celebrate, frolic, joke, and entertain; and the second means to perform make sport, and laugh.”  The second word means laughter and it is related to the word from where Isaac get his name, for his name means laughter. 

            I suppose that there is a difference of opinion as to why the Lord answered the prayer of Samson seeing how he would die if God answered his prayer.  Was Samson dying for the cause of Christ so to speak, or was he simply trying to get revenge.  John MacArthur writes the following from his study Bible:  “The full strength of Samson, renewed by God, enabled him to buckle the columns.  As a result, the roof collapsed and the victory was Israel’s not Philistia’s.  He died for the cause of his country and his God.  He was not committing suicide, but rather bringing God’s judgment on His enemies and willing to leave his own life or death to God.  He was the greatest champion of all Israel, yet a man of passion capable of sever sin.  Still, he is in the list of the faithful (cf. Heb. 11:32).  I like Dr. MacArthur’s commentary on the life of Samson and believe that the reason that God answered his prayer in the way that He did was because his life had changed when he lost his eyes.  Look at Psalm 66:18-20 “18  If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear; 19  But certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His lovingkindness from me.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I must say that I have learned a lot about myself from studying the life of Samson.  If the conclusion that John MacArthur comes up with about Samson is correct that he was serving his country and his God then Samson did indeed finish strong and that is one of the things that I have learned from studying his life that it is very important to finish strong.  One can loose all of the rewards he has gained for serving the Lord if he does not finish the race strong and that is my desire.  Samson was a man who allowed his passions to interfere with his walk with the Lord and therefore sinned against the Lord.  I can understand this for at times I have struggled with my passion and it has interfered with my devotion to the Lord.  By God’s grace and some hard work things are much better now and my purpose is to serve the Lord and not to look back but to do as Paul says in Phil. 3: 13 “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.  To press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  2/23/2010 9:54 AM

 

 

Samson Betrays Himself (Judges 16:4-22)

2/21/2010 8:19 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Samson betrays himself

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 16:4-22

 

            Message of the verses:  “4 ¶  After this it came about that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5  The lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and how we may overpower him that we may bind him to afflict him. Then we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver." 6  So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength is and how you may be bound to afflict you." 7  Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man." 8  Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9  Now she had men lying in wait in an inner room. And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he snapped the cords as a string of tow snaps when it touches fire. So his strength was not discovered. 10  Then Delilah said to Samson, "Behold, you have deceived me and told me lies; now please tell me how you may be bound." 11  He said to her, "If they bind me tightly with new ropes which have not been used, then I will become weak and be like any other man." 12  So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" For the men were lying in wait in the inner room. But he snapped the ropes from his arms like a thread. 13  Then Delilah said to Samson, "Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies; tell me how you may be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my hair with the web [[and fasten it with a pin, then I will become weak and be like any other man." 14  So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his hair and wove them into the web]]. And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web. 15  Then she said to him, "How can you say, ’I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is." 16  It came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death. 17  So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, "A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man."

            18 ¶  When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. 19  She made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair. Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him. 20  She said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. 21  Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison.

    22 ¶  However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.”

            I realize that this is long portion of Scripture, however since I have, for the most part, chosen to follow the outline that is in the “Be Books” written by Warren Wiersbe I have chosen to work with the verses above for this SD.

            It is easy to look at the life of Samson and find fault with him, for there is a lot of fault to find with him, however the Lord has chosen to include the sins of the OT saints in order for the NT saints to see these and learn from them so that they will not have to through the same troubles. 

            I have already written about verses in James chapter one and also in 1 John chapter 2 that speak of some of the sins and temptations that Samson went through. 

13 ¶  Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14  But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16  Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”  James 1:13-16  Verse fifteen is the key verse as far as what Samson is going through as seen in this section of Judges.  Samson had formed very bad habits and because of those habits they eventually became part of his character, which is very hard to change, but with the help of the Lord it seems that Samson was able to change his character, and this probably happened when he was attached to the grinding stone where perhaps he had a chance to see better even though he was blind for he had a lot of time to think about his life then.  Now the verses in 1 John also apply to Samson here:  “15  Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17  The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”  It is evident that Samson had a great love for the world system for he would not have done the things that he did if he did not love the world system.  Verse sixteen speaks of the lust of the eyes, and it was the lust of the eyes that caused Samson to loose his eyes and this was a terrible price to pay.  Jesus spoke of this while on earth in Matthew 5:29  "If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”  I realize that Jesus was speaking in a spiritual sense here but the point is made in the life of Samson that if he would had had control of his eyes spiritually then he would not have lost them physically.

            “Samson is one of three men in Scripture who are especially identified with darkness.  The other two are Kind Saul, who went out in the darkness to get a last—minute help from a witch (1 Sam. 28), and Judas, who ‘went immediately out:  and it was night’ John 13:30.  Saul lived for the world, Samson yielded to the flesh, and Judas gave himself to the devil (john 13:2, 27); and all three ended up taking their own lives.”

            As far as Samson’s hair being cut off which caused him to loose his power, the hair was just a symbol, and part of the Nazirite vow that he was under from birth.  When Samson lost his hair the Holy Spirit left him and that is why he lost his power and strength.  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following in a footnote from his commentary on Judges:  “The Holy Spirit left King Saul because of his sins (1 Sam. 16:14), and he also lost his crown (2 Sam. 1:10).  God wants us to “reign in life” (Rom. 5:17), and we will if we walk in the Spirit and yield ourselves wholly to the Lord.  Sin makes slaves out of kings; grace makes kings out of sinners.”  (Emphasis added)

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are many things in this passage that I can learn from, and most of them are very evident, however what I seen in this passage, and for that matter in the life of Samson is the sovereignty of God being seen in the life of Samson.  The sin in Samson’s life did not prevent God from accomplishing the work that he had chosen for him to do.  I also see God’s grace in the life of Samson.  God did not give up on Samson and even though he was blind God allowed him to grow his hair back and regain his strength, but as stated above I believe that Samson grew closer to the Lord while blind than when he was able to see.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Be zealous for the work that the Lord has for me to do and do it in the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of the Lord.

 

2/22/2010 7:59 AM   

Samson Tempts Himself (Judges 16:1-4)

2/20/2010 6:21 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Samson tempts himself

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 16:1-4

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her. 2  When it was told to the Gazites, saying, "Samson has come here," they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. And they kept silent all night, saying, "Let us wait until the morning light, then we will kill him." 3  Now Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron.”

            The question arises as to thy Samson was in this Philistine city in the first place.  If he were looking for a prostitute he did not have to go out of Israel, for even though it was against the Law of God to be a prostitute there were prostitutes in Israel.  This would actually make the situation worse on the character of Samson if this was the case. 

            Temptation is not a sin for Jesus was tempted “yet without sin,” as the writer to the Hebrews says.  Now there are times when we are tempted by demons, and this cannot be helped.  The Devil tempted the Lord Jesus Christ as seen in both Matthew and Luke chapters four and the way that He confronted the Devil’s temptation was to quote Scripture and this caused the Devil to leave Him until he saw another time to tempt Him again, which may have been in the garden before He would go to the cross.

            This section of Scripture shows a flaw in the character of Samson, a flaw that can happen to a person who has not dealt with a temptation in a Biblical manner.  James writes about dealing with this sort of sin.  “13 ¶  Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14  But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”  It seems evident to me that Samson had made a practice of having sexual relationship with prostitutes many times in the past and that is why he was unable to resist the temptation of sleeping with one at Gaza.  John speaks of this in 1 John 2:15-17 “15  Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”  Now one of the answers to combating sin is in verse 17 where John continues to write:  “17  The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”  When one remembers that this world and all of it’s lusts is passing away and that there is little time to accomplish the will of God, and sinning and being controlled by one’s own temptations is taking up valuable time where the will of God can be accomplished, then one should use their time for the glory of God.

            A little comment on the gates that Samson took with him to Hebron, or at least to the top of the hill, for it was forty miles to Hebron from Gaza.  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following:  “To ‘possess the gate of his enemies’ was a metaphor meaning ‘to defeat your enemies’ (Genesis 22:17; 24:60).  When Jesus spoke about the gates of hell (hades), He was picturing the victory of the church over the forces of Satan and evil.  Through His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ has ‘stormed the gates of hell’ and carried them off in victory!”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There seems to be a theme going on for me in the devotions that I have been doing for sometime now and that is to finish strong in my walk with the Lord.  No matter how much time the Lord has for me to be here on planet earth, whether He takes me in the rapture of the Church or through death, I need to be doing His work while I have time to do it and not to fall into temptations which would be actually wasting my precious time that the Lord is giving me to accomplish His work that He planned for me in eternity past.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. I want to remember the words of the “Lords Prayer,” which speak of leading me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one.

 

2/20/2010 6:54 AM  

Samson Defends Himself (Judges 15:9-20)

2/19/2010 7:56 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Samson defends himself

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 15:9-20

 

            Message of the verses:  “9 ¶  Then the Philistines went up and camped in Judah, and spread out in Lehi. 10  The men of Judah said, "Why have you come up against us?" And they said, "We have come up to bind Samson in order to do to him as he did to us." 11  Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft 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, "As they did to me, so I have done to them." 12  They said to him, "We have come down to bind you so that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines." And Samson said to them, "Swear to me that you will not kill me." 13  So they said to him, "No, but we will bind you fast and give you into their hands; yet surely we will not kill you." Then they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock. 14  When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds dropped from his hands. 15  He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out and took it and killed a thousand men with it. 16  Then Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have killed a thousand men." 17  When he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi.

    “18 ¶  Then he became very thirsty, and he called to the LORD and said, "You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant, and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" 19  But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi so that water came out of it. When he drank, his strength returned and he revived. Therefore he named it En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. 20  So he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.”

            In Judges 13:5, at the end of the verse God told Samson’s wife that he would begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.  Now the twentieth verse of chapter fifteen it says that Samson judged Israel for twenty years, so the days of Samson judging Israel were about to end.

            There are a number of interesting illustrations in this rather long section of Scripture that can teach me things if I am willing to listen to them.  Samson seemed to be kind of a loner and so the people of Israel must not have seen him as their ruler or judge.  They were content to have the Philistines rule over them as seen verse eleven.  Perhaps if Samson would have gotten the support of the three thousand men to help him fight in the power of the Lord against the Philistines then the story may have been different, however Israel was content to be ruled by the Philistines and that is a sad commentary for them.  Israel was in sad shape because they were cooperating with their enemy, for this is treason when you think about it. 

            There seemed to be something heroic about Samson’s decision to allow the Jews to capture him and be given over to the Philistines for if he would have run away, and he surely could have done that, the Jews would have been defenseless against the Philistines for they had no weapons to fight with.  “1Sa 13:19  Now no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, "Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears.’”

            The NASB talks about a fresh jawbone of a donkey that Samson used, for if it had been an old one it would not have worked for it would have been bridal.  This must have been quite a seen as Samson began to slay the Philistines and watching him were the Jews who did nothing even though they could have picked up the slain soldiers swords to help out, but Samson was a loner and they may have sensed it, but just the same they should have helped him.

            The battle is over and now he is thirsty and so he cries out to the Lord for water after making a poem about killing the Philistines.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that the poem is “based on the similarity between the sounds of the Hebrews words hamor (“donkey”) and homer (“heap”).  James Moffatt renders it: ‘With the jawbone of an ass I have piled them in a mass.  With the jawbone of an ass I have assailed assailants.’” 

            Now back to the thirsty Samson.  I can’t remember Samson calling on the Lord before he becomes thirsty.  Why do people care more about their physical needs as compared to their spiritual needs?  That’s a good question, for when one looks at the prayer requests in a church today most of the requests are about physical needs.  Another thing to be seen here is that there are many places in the Scriptures where trouble or testing follows triumph.  Think about Israel’s great triumph when they crossed the Red Sea and then they are tested by not having any water or Elijah’s victory on Mount Carmel followed by his running from the wicked queen and becoming so depressed that he wanted to die.  Paul writes in one of the great NT passages these words:  “2 Cor. 12: 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”  It seems that when believers have great triumphs that in order to keep them (us) humble there comes a trial, but it is the same God who gave the triumphs who will give the victories. 

            God give Samson water through a miracle out of a hollow place and so Samson does not die.  It was good to see Samson calling on the Lord.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think of Jobs words for my spiritual meaning today when he writes:  “Job 2:10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”  It is easy to accept good things from the Lord, but when trouble comes more lessons are learned through them than through the good things, for many times I must admit, that I forget to praise the Lord for those good things and take them for granted.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Remember to praise the Lord for all things that He sends me for they all have their purpose, to make me more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

2/19/2010 8:53 AM

Samson Avenges Himself (Judges 15:1-8)

2/18/2010 9:47 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  Samson avenges himself

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 15:1-8

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat, and said, "I will go in to my wife in her room." But her father did not let him enter. 2  Her father said, "I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please let her be yours instead." 3  Samson then said to them, "This time I shall be blameless in regard to the Philistines when I do them harm." 4  Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned the foxes tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between two tails. 5  When he had set fire to the torches, he released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines, thus burning up both the shocks and the standing grain, along with the vineyards and groves. 6  Then the Philistines said, "Who did this?" And they said, "Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion." So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire. 7  Samson said to them, "Since you act like this, I will surely take revenge on you, but after that I will quit." 8  He struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.”

            This section begins a new chapter in Warren Wiersbe’s book “Be Available” which is his commentary on Judges.  At the beginning of this chapter “The Light That Failed” he points out the problems with not finishing ones life strong for the Lord.  Samson had a great beginning to his life, yet he could not conquer himself and finished life very poorly compared with the wonderful potential that he had been given to him from the LORD.  Spurgeon write of Samson:  “His whole life is a series of miracles and follies.” 

            Samson is not the only one in Scripture that has not finished well.  Lot started out well with Abraham, but ended up in a cave drunk committing incest with his daughters.  King Saul had a very humble beginning, yet he ended up a suicide.  There are others in the Scripture that did not finish strong, for Paul writes of Demas in 2 Tim. 4:10 “for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.” 

            It is important to learn from these closing scenes from the life of Samson in order not to follow the mistakes, but to finish strong. 

            It seems that Judges 15:11c is a motto for the life of Samson:   "As they did to me, so I have done to them."  Not exactly life the “golden rule.”

            The difference between Samson and David is that David saw the Philistines as the enemy of the Lord, where Samson made it his own private war getting even with them for what they had done to them.  Again I see this as God overruling in the life of Samson because he was not allowing the Lord to rule in his life, but in the end God’s will was accomplished, yet it would have been far better for Samson to be in the will of the Lord because of his love for Him.

            Warren Wiersbe writes the following wonderful paragraph that will help all who read it and put it into practice:  “As Christians, we need to beware of hiding selfish motives under the cloak of religious zeal and calling it ‘righteous indignation.’  Personal vengeance and private gain rather than glory of the Lord has motivated more than one ‘crusader’ in the church.  What some people think is godly zeal may actually be ungodly anger, fed by pride and motivated by selfishness.  There is a godly anger that we should experience when we see wickedness prosper and defenseless people hurt (Eph. 4:26), but there’s a very fine line between righteous indignation and a ‘religious temper tantrum.” 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at all of the examples of the people who did not finish strong that are found in the Scriptures, I chose not to follow them, but by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ I want to finish strong in my walk with the Lord and live a life that is profitable for the cause of Christ.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. To finish strong for the Lord.

 

2/18/2010 10:25 AM

Samson Lost his Temper (Judges 14:19-20)

2/17/2010 8:21 AM

 

SPIRITIUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Samson lost his temper

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Judges 14:19-20

 

            Message of the verses:  “19  Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of them and took their spoil and gave the changes of clothes to those who told the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house. 20  But Samson’s wife was given to his companion who had been his friend.”

            As I read through the OT, and at this time it is in the book of Judges, and over the past week or so it has been on the life of Samson, it is hard fro me to understand the things that are being done by Samson, whether or not they are in the will of the Lord because Samson is seeking His will or whether God is overruling in the life of Samson to get his will done, yet Samson is doing it without realizing it is the will of the Lord.  In verse nineteen it starts out by saying that the “Spirit of the LORD came upon Samson mightily,” and after that he went to Ashkelon to kill thirty men so that he could pay off his “bet” with the men he asked to solve his riddle.  So the question is did Samson pray to the Lord to seek his direction before he went to Ashkelon to kill these men or did he just get angry over loosing the bet with the men and do this deed.  I think that it was the latter rather than the former, yet the point is that it was in the plans of the Lord for this to happen for that is why Samson was born, to begin the process of getting Israel out from under the Philistine rule.

            Verse twenty shows that the consummation of the marriage did not take place for his wife was given to the best man, and as seen latter this will make Samson angry again.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There have been some things going on in my mind that have to do with how Samson lived his life, or a least the way Samson did live makes me think about what has been going on in my mind lately.

            The judgment seat of Christ, the Sovereignty of God, and God overruling in my life to accomplish his will for my life when I am not willing to seek His will for my life, along with Ephesians 2:10 which says, “10  For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago, (NLT).  These are the things that are going through my mind and they add up to a few questions that I have and this section about Samson help me to put these questions together. 

            I believe that God planned in eternity past work for me to do in my Christian life, and that this work will get done whether or not I do it or if someone else has to do it because of unbelief in my life, lack of faith in my life or some other sin in my life which causes me not to do this work He planned for me to do.  I believe that this work He planed for me to do is part of God’s overall Sovereign will that He has for this world, (and that is hard for me to believe, but I do).  If I am faithful in doing this work that God has planed for me to do then I will receive rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ.  I need to say that I am to be praying about following God’s will, even fasting if I feel that I am struggling trying to discern His will so that I can make sure that I do His will.  The things that are done through the power of the Holy Spirit will be the things that I believe will be rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ as long as I finish strong and not do anything to loose these rewards. 

            As I look at Samson’s life it reminds me of the statement that Warren Wiersbe has written in this commentary and other commentaries that he has written, and that is something like if God is not ruling in your life then He will have to overrule in Your life to accomplish what He wants you to do.  I see this in Samson’s life in verses nineteen and twenty.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Psalm 32:8-9 are my steps of faith for today:  “8  I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. 9  Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.”  I want to be instructed by the Lord, and I don’t want to be like a horse or a mule who is forced into doing what their master wants them to do.

 

2/17/2010 9:09 AM 

Samson Lost Control of his Tongue (Judges 14:10-18)

2/16/2010 8:33 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                    Focus:  “Samson lost control of his tongue

 

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Judges 14:10-18

 

            Message of the verses:  “10 ¶  Then his father went down to the woman; and Samson made a feast there, for the young men customarily did this. 11 When they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12  Then Samson said to them, "Let me now propound a riddle to you; if you will indeed tell it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes. 13  "But if you are unable to tell me, then you shall give me thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes." And they said to him, "Propound your riddle, that we may hear it." 14  So he said to them, "Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet." But they could not tell the riddle in three days. 15  Then it came about on the fourth day that they said to Samson’s wife, "Entice your husband, so that he will tell us the riddle, or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us to impoverish us? Is this not so?" 16  Samson’s wife wept before him and said, "You only hate me, and you do not love me; you have propounded a riddle to the sons of my people, and have not told it to me." And he said to her, "Behold, I have not told it to my father or mother; so should I tell you?" 17  However she wept before him seven days while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day he told her because she pressed him so hard. She then told the riddle to the sons of her people. 18  So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, "What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?" And he said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have found out my riddle.”

            It looks like the Philistines provided thirty men to be “friends of the groom” for Samson because he did not bring any friends with him.  Dr. Wiersbe thinks that perhaps these were Philistine guards to keep and eye on Samson, for his reputation must have preceded him.  If this were the case then it would have made this festive occasion somewhat tense for all who were there.

            Samson makes up a riddle to bring some happiness to the party, for after all they would all be there for seven days.  The riddle he makes up tells how he had gone against his Nazirite vow, and this meant that he was making light of it, which was a terrible thing to do for it was bad enough to disobey God, but to joke about it made things far worse. 

            I’m sure that thirty changes of clothes were very expensive then as they are now, so the men wanted to get the answer to the riddle so they decided to threaten Samson’s wife to get the answer and she used tears to finally get the answer on the seventh day of the wedding feast for that is when the consummation of the marriage would take place. Dr. Wiersbe writes:  “First the Philistine woman enticed him (Judges 14:1), then she controlled him (v-17), and then she betrayed him (v-17), which is the way the world always treats the compromising believer.  Samson could kill lions and break ropes, but he couldn’t overcome the power of a woman’s tears.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  One of the reasons for studying the Bible is to learn how to live on this earth for the time that is allotted to me by the Lord, and there are times when I do something wrong, according to the Scriptures, and not find out about it until much latter and this makes me feel badly.  The good news is that once I learn it I can put it into practice and not make the same mistake again.  I have been enticed by the world’s system far too often, and now I am learning the folly of it and how to stop it, through the power of God’s Word and His Spirit.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Learn to control my tongue “We all make mistakes in all kinds of ways, but the man who can claim that he never says the wrong thing can consider himself perfect, for if he can control his tongue he can control every other part of his personality.”  This James 3:2 from the Phillips version of the Bible.
2. Not be fall prey to the world’s system.

 

2/16/2010 9:13 AM