Samson had a Nation to Protect (Judges 13:1)

2/10/2010 8:30 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  Samson had a nation to protect

 

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Judges 13:1

 

            Message of the verse:  “1. Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, so that the LORD gave them into the hands of the Philistines forty years.”

            This begins the story of the life of Samson, the last judge in Israel, and the only judge who did not deliver Israel from the oppressive nation that was oppressing them.  Dr. Wiersbe writes in “Be Available” that the only thing dependable about Samson was that he was undependable, as there were many flaws in the character of Samson.  His name means “sunny” however he ended his life in darkness because his eyes were put out by the Lord’s enemies.

            The name Palestine comes from the word Philistine and they were a people who migrated from Greece to live in the land that was given to Israel by the Lord.  The name Philistine means “sea people and they lived on the costal land of the “Promised Land,” and they began to oppress the nation of Israel, according to Dr. Leon Wood, around 1095 B.C. and it ended in 1055 B.C. with Israel victory at Mizpeh (1Samuel 7). About the middle of the period came the battle of Aphek, where Israel was soundly defeated and the ark was taken by the Philistines.  Dr. Wood suggest that this was the time that Samson began to rule.

            The phrase “the Lord game them into the hands” from verse one has been seen throughout the book of Judges, and this is the last time it is seen in Judges.  There is no indication that Israel prayed to receive help from the Lord, as they were not treated to badly by the Philistines, but were still oppressed by them, and this is a sad commentary on the part of Israel.  I guess that the time period given in the paragraph above is the period in which the book of Judges ends even though there are more chapters in Judges after the life of Samson is described. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to think about the phrase “the Lord gave them into the hands” for a moment in this section of my SD.  This is a similar phrase that is seen in the book of Romans chapter one, when the phrase “and God gave them over” is used several times.  I think that these two phrases mean similar things.  In the book of Judges when this is used six times it means that the nation of Israel sinned and so God would give them over to a foreign nation to “spank” them.  In the book of Romans it is used to describe people who were sinning and were enjoying themselves in their sin and so God would give them over to their sinful habits because that is what they wanted.  In the case of the section today, as stated in the first part of this SD, Israel gave no indication of asking for help from the Lord and so they must not have wanted His aid to rid them of the Philistines.

            I believe that the worst thing that can happen to a person is for God to give them over to their sins, for that means that God is giving them what they want and the result of their wanting it will surely bring punishment or discipline in the case of the believer.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Lord please keep me from getting what I want when it is not in Your will for my life.
2. Lord please give me the grace to handle what it is that You want to bring into my life and may I live my life for Your glory.

 

2/10/2010 9:15 AM