Judges Series - Week 15 - “A Horrific Situation”

 In our day and age, the term “trigger warning” gets used when someone is about to say something that might bring bad memories of a situation back to someone; the topic triggers the memory and the person relives that event. It’s gotten to a place in our society where “rigger warning” is used for any little thing that might create some sort of anxiety in a person. For the most part, I don’t think we need trigger warnings when talking about most problems in the world, but I do think that when we speak of things such as abuse, we need to be as gentle as can be.

In the topic we are going to cover today, this is one of those cases where we need to be gentle. We are going to cover a case of extreme sexual abuse. We are not going to be graphic, nor are we going to dwell on it, but the Scriptures deal with it and so, we must as well. This is a PG-13 to NC-17 rated sermon, so we move forward as true to Scripture and as gentle as we can be. 

We come back to our summer series where we will be picking it back up in chapter 19 of the book of Judges. And as we open to Judges 19:1, let’s look at where we are from last week.

We’ve come to the final section of the book of Judges, which is two stories that span the last five chapters of the book. The first of these two stories, was about Micah, an unnamed Levite, and the Danites. What we saw from this story was a desire to make a kingdom for one’s self separate from the prescribed boundaries that God had laid out. Each of the three groups in the story turned away from God’s allotted boundaries and decided to search for their own place in the world. By taking this one step of disobedience, it leads to eventual destruction of entire tribes of people. 

We walked away from last week with the understanding that, God created boundaries for us so that we may thrive,  because outside of those boundaries, we descend into sinful practices. Those boundaries are found in God’s word, that’s one reason why we should be studying it. 

With the understanding of staying in God’s setup boundaries, we move on to the last story of the book of Judges. We’re going to divide this story into two parts. The first part is the instigating situation, whereas the second part is the ramifications of that situation. 

In addition, because the instigating situation covers so many verses, we’re going to look at the core of the passage, and so your homework is to read the entire chapter on your own.

So let’s read chapter 19, starting in verse 1. 

“1 In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 And his concubine was unfaithful to him, and she went away from him to her father's house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there some four months. 3 Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back. He had with him his servant and a couple of donkeys. And she brought him into her father's house. And when the girl's father saw him, he came with joy to meet him. 4 And his father-in-law, the girl's father, made him stay, and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and spent the night there.”

These first four verses set the stage for the rest of the instigating situation. Like the previous story, we’re following a Levite. A similar, but probably not the same Levite, because no where in the story is there a connection made. But this Levite, like the one in Micah’s story, is not living in a Levitical town, so that already tells us something about him. He’s not living in God’s boundaries and his actions will eventually show where his heart is. 

We also see that he has a concubine. What’s interesting about him having a concubine is that his wife is never mentioned. So that opens up two possibilities: either he is married and therefore has gone outside of God’s prescribed marital boundary of one man and one woman, or he doesn’t have a wife, and he is treating this woman poorly by not taking her his a full wife, because a concubine has less legal status than a full wife. However you slice it, this Levite is not being a godly man. 

But the question should arise in our mind, why is it that all the judges come from various tribes, but the last two stories focus on Levites? Most likely this is because the Levites were the priests of God and by giving us stories about them at the end, it tells us just how bad Israel’s rejection of God has gone. It’s not just those who are a part of the covenant people who area descending into sin, it’s also those who’s specific task is to implement the covenant and be an example for the rest of God’s people; these are also descending into sinful rejection of God.

Now that we’ve established the Levite, let’s take a quick glance at the concubine. Like I just said, she’s not a full wife and therefore not privy to certain protections under the law. But we’re told that she is “unfaithful” to her husband. Now, what’s funny is that that the unfaithfulness most likely doesn’t mean she’s committed any act of adultery, but rather hasn’t fulfilled her role as a concubine. The way the passage sets it up, she is more likely angry with her husband and so has left their arrangement, going back to her father’s house. She is unfaithful to the situation she finds herself in. Why is she angry, my guess would be because she’s not a full wife. Maybe the full wife died and this concubine wasn’t elevated. Maybe the Levite is a straight up jerk, which isn’t out of the realm of possibility because of the callousness he shows later on. Whatever the reason, she’s left him and now he’s come to woo her back, as it says in verse 3 he goes to, “speak kindly to her…” 

But as he convinces her to return, we get some travel information from verses 5-21. It’s starts out with the father keeping them from leaving his house for a few days. After this they start their journey, but because they get such a late start on the day they leave, they don’t make it as far as the Levite would have liked. Instead they have the choice of staying at the city called Jebus, which is home to unfriendly Jebusites, or the town of Gibeah (gib-e-ah), which is home to their fellow Israelites from the tribe of Benjamin. They choose Gibeah. 

Yet when they arrive no one will take them in, so they decide to make camp in the town square. Already somethings off about the town. The normal practice in dealing with travelers, would be to offer then lodging in your house, but this common practice isn’t extended to the Levite’s party. That is until an old man, who is not a Benjaminite, but rather from the Ephraim area returns from his job in the fields and invites the party to stay with him. It’s here that we pick the story back up in verse 22, and we see the most heinous and gruesome act in all of the book of Judges.

“22 As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, ‘Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.’ 23 And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, ‘No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. 24 Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.’ 25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. 26 And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man's house where her master was, until it was light.

27 And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, ‘Get up, let us be going.’ But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home. 29 And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. 30 And all who saw it said, ‘Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak.’”

We’re almost at the bottom of that downward spiral that we have seen descend further and further down throughout the book of Judges.

In this horrible situation, we’re told that these mean are worthless fellows in verse 22. This sounds like the worthless men from Abimelek’s and Jephthah’s story, but those guys were better than these. Where they were void of morals and out for their own good, these mean are perverted and the language here is taken directly from Deuteronomy 13 (v.13) and 15 (v.9). It means they are destructive in wickedness, we would say, they are pure evil. These guys not only have no morals, they are ravenous wolves, ferocious in their sexual debauchery.

We know its sexual desire that motivates them, because we’re also told in verse 22, that they desire to “know him.” This language is used thought the Bible to indicate intimate knowledge of a subject. It’s used of God to help us understand how he knows every thought and desire of a person, and it’s used of humans to let us know that people have had a sexual encounter. These men are seeking a forced sexual encounter with this Levite. 

When the old man, who let the party stay at his house speaks of the men’s actions, he uses the word “ra’a’ (raw-ah), which means evil, and connects this situation directly to Genesis 19 and the story of Sodom. In that story we’re told a pair of angels, disguised as men, stayed at a man’s houses. The men of that town came and demanded that those guests be sent out, just like the Levite in this story, and that they may sexually abuse them, like these are seeking to do to the Levite. It’s as if we are being told, how the act of the wicked city of Sodom, whom God judged, has taken root in the people of God. 

In verse 24 we’re that the old man offered his daughter and the concubine instead of the Levite. This might sound horrible to us, but in his society the act of sex between men, was the greater sin. So when put between a rock and a hard place, this old man chose the lesser of the two sins in his mind. We’re not justifying his actions, but we’re trying to understand them. But it’s here that the old man uses the word vile, in Hebrew this word (nebalah [neb-aw-law’]) means disgraceful and senseless according to the the Law of God. This is another connection the story is making to early Scripture, this time in the book of Leviticus chapters 18 and 20. 

One of the questions that should arise in our minds, is, where is God in all this? This word choice is to let us know where God is. God set up boundaries, but these men, both the Levite and the ravenous mob, have gone outside those boundaries. In addition, these men are being confronted by the law of God that tells them what they are doing is against God. But even when confronted with the knowledge that their acts go against the law of God, they proceed anyway. It’s almost like the old man is putting up a no stealing sign, or no gun sign and hoping the criminals would respect it and turn away. What’s happening in this story is the result of a society who has turned their back of God. A society where God has removed his hand of protection, because the people have chosen to follow themselves. Something we’ll talk more about in the coming weeks.

What happens next is horrific. The Levite throws his concubine out to the group of men; they sexually and physically abuse her for the rest of the night. After they are done with her, she collapses at the front door and dies. When the Levite goes to leave the next day, the callousness of his call for her to get up, shows just how horrible a person he is. She left him for some reason, and his actions here show she should’ve never went back, because with him, only meant her death. His actions show he isn’t a godly man, he should have fought for her, he should have protected her, instead, to save his own skin, he sacrificed her.

Then he uses her to stir the entire nation of Israel into a frenzy. He mutilates her body and sends out the pieces to the other tribes to show the horrors that just took place. But he is at the center of blame. And it’s the ramifications of these actions, which we’ll talk about in a few weeks.

What are we to walk away from this with? Sin is a ferocious beast that devours whatever it can. The sexual sin of these men devoured this woman. The ungodliness of this husband devoured his wife. The blame is squarely on both; on the group of men for the actions taken to mutilate the woman and on the Levite for not standing between those men and her.

This is why standing against sin is so important in the believer’s life. Paul speaks of this in Ephesians 6, “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…(v.10-18)”

We are in a battle, personal and communal. That battle is against that beast of sin and it’s insatiable hunger for destruction. The Levite chose to not fight, but to sacrifice another in his place. But God has called us to stand between those things which seek to destroy, and we do this by putting on the armor of God. 

It starts with truth; the word of God is truth, and we need to know it and live it. It’s living in righteousness, that means we seek the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives to remove sin’s footholds and we live in the commands of Jesus. It’s being ready to share the Gospel, that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect standard, but there is forgiveness in Jesus given as a free gift to all those who would accept it (Romans 3:23-24). It’s holding faith and trust in the work of God, that he will work all things out for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes (Romans 8:28). It’s being secured in our salvation, we know we have it because we accepted Jesus as Savior, and no attack on it to sway us from that truth, will work. It’s wielding the word of God, speaking God’s word and not our own to the enemies of God. And finally it’s praying; speaking to God so that we may seek him, seeking that we may be transformed into the image of the Son, and interceding on behalf of others as they too fight in this battle; either being devoured by sin or standing against it, they need prayers.

Brothers and sisters, this story, as horrific as it is, is to be a wake up call for us. Sin is real, the effects of sin are devastating to say the least, and can lead to even more tragedy as we’ll see in the coming weeks. Let us therefore stand against sin, both in our own lives and in the world around us. We’re either in the battle standing against sin’s ferocious appetite, or we’re placating it, throwing others to destruction, hoping it eats us last.

My challenge for you this week is to read the whole story, I know it can be stomach turning, but we need to know the reality. Then read Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10-18, seeking the Holy Spirit to move in you that you may wear the armor of God, not just today, but every day. Finally, in the bulletin and on the Welcome table, there are armor of God book marks, I want to challenge you to place it somewhere where you’ll see it every day.  When you see it, ask God to strengthen you to stand against sin, doing so in the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God, and the salvation of man. 

Let us be the warriors that God saved us to be, on the front lines fighting the battle for the souls of the people around us. Amen. 

Judges Series - Week 14 - “Boundary Blessings”

 What is the most hated aspect of any sport? The official judge. So why do we have these hated refs and umpires in games? It doesn’t matter if it’s chess or boxing between two minds, two teams of eleven people like in Football, or even individual sports like Nascar racing, every sport has some sort of referee or judge to let you know what is permissible and what is not. The reason why we have these referees is to make sure the rules of the game are followed. 

In our modern era, we want to make sure those rules are followed to a “T”, so we even have judges who judge the judges. In the modern era, teams can challenge a referee’s call and it will be video reviewed by either the field judge, or another judge who sits up in a box. These judges, referees, and umpires, keep everyone playing the same game, within the same rules. 

These guys and gals get a lot of hate, because when their call goes against your team, they are attacked and ridiculed, but they play an important job. Without them the game would dissolve into chaos; nobody would play, and it would end pretty quickly in popularity.

Judges help keep the boundaries of play in view, so that everyone is held to the same standard and fair play can proceed

And it’s this idea of good boundaries that brings us back to our series in Judges, where we’ll be picking it up in chapter 17, verse 1. As we open up to Judges 17:1, we are entering into the final part of the book. As we have seen, the book of Judges is divided into three parts: the unique introduction of both past and present intertwined to help us understand the state of the nation of Israel. After that we looked at the judges themselves, who started with the best in Othniel, progressively getting worse until we ended with Samson last week. 

Through these first two parts of Judges we have seen three themes: God’s faithfulness despite people’s unfaithfulness; God’s call to obedient lives, following his commands; and how disobedient lives lead to all sorts of personal and social problems. In each of the judges, we have seen these three themes play out. And it was last week that we leaned heavily into the first theme. 

It’s in Samson’s last moments that we see the heart of God. God responds to even the slightest sign of humility from his people, because his main goal is to bring people back into right relationship with him, and he is willing to work even in the smallest of humble actions on our part. 

But moving into the final section, we’re going to see how the rejection of being obedient, embracing unfaithfulness, leads into disobedience, outright destroying individuals and the social structures. For the next few weeks, we are going to be covering several chapters at a time, this is because the stories are so big and interconnected. Because of this we will only be reading select passages and your homework is to read the stories in as a whole.

With that all in mind, let’s read Judges chapter 17, starting in verse 1.

“1 There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, ‘The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.’ And his mother said, ‘Blessed be my son by the Lord.’ 3 And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, ‘I dedicate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.’ 4 So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

The overall story that begins with Micah is separated into three parts and introduces three parties. The first is  Micah, who’s name means “Who is like the Lord?” The meaning of the name is to put God up against other deities, asking the question who is comparable to God? Last week we answered this question in comparing Samson and Jesus, and the answer is, no one. It is the same answer that is given throughout the book of Judges; no one is comparable to the God of the Israelites. And so, the final section begins with a man who’s name brings this comparability to the forefront of the reader’s thought. In addition to this, we must notice that he is an Ephraimite. We need to remember that it was the Ephraimites that were twice upset in not being called to war with the other tribes, and in once case entered into civil war with their fellow Israelites. 

But Micah doesn’t seem to follow in this understanding that no one, neither human nor god are comparable to the God of Israel. In fact, we see Micah breaking God’s commands. The first of these commands is that he stole the silver coins from his mother. Only giving it back because of a curse she said. He follows this up by disobeying another command which is to not make a carved image, which is an idol. These are two of the ten commandments that we talked about from Exodus 20. The purpose of not stealing is to keep right relationships between people and to keep people’s personal possessions safe. Whereas the prohibition against making carved images into idols, was so that the people wouldn’t confuse the unseen immaterial God who created the universe, with the creation itself. Yet, here in Micah’s disobedient acts, he is destroying relationships through theft and is comparing the Lord to a material possession.

And once he starts down this path of sin, he takes another step away from God. He sets up a shrine with the carved image, a shrine separate from God’s prescribed tabernacle in Shiloh, and then ordains, or sets up a priesthood from his own sons. This is in direct violation  Exodus 28, where we see the priesthood established through the tribe of Levite. So Micah has, stolen, set up an idol, which God said not to, in a shrine, that is not where God said to have it, and has established a priesthood that is separate from God’s prescribed priesthood. We’re basically seeing a modern cult, and what eventually will be called, syncretism. Basically Micah starts out as a thief, and eventually combines what little he knows about God it with other religious practices around him, to establish his own religious group that is both within God’s covenant people, and separate from them.

And this introduction ends with these words, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” These words are really important, because it tells us that, one, Israel wasn’t following anyone, be it a man nor God himself. Therefore a human king was needed to corral these people from creating sub-nations and sub-religions within the greater state of Israel. And it lets us know that, like Samson who, in chapter 14 verse 3 said about the Philistine woman, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes,” this sentiment, of following whatever your eyes desire, has permeated all around Israel. In fact this phrase, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” replaces the previous statement of, “The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…” The sight of God has given way to the sight of man. The evil that is seen by God, fills the sight of the people to the point where selfish desire is all they see.

And so we leave Micah for the moment and look to the second character in the story, the unnamed Levite. Let’s read in verse 7, “7 Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. 9 And Micah said to him, ‘Where do you come from?’ And he said to him, 'I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place.’ 10 And Micah said to him, ‘Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living.’ And the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, ‘Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.’”

We move from Micah the Ephramite to the sojourning Levite. Now the fact that there is a Levite in the story isn’t that strange, what is strange is why he’s there to be encountered. We’re told that he left his home in Bethlehem and was looking to find a place. In fact, Micah asks him, “Where do you come from?” Why because he’s not in the typical place that you would find a Levite. God had given them specific places and cities to live. They weren’t like the other tribes who had vast swaths of land to live in, they were supposed to live within a certain area around a city, because their allocation of territory was basically nothing, because it was understood that their inheritance was to serve God. And they accomplished this by either serving him in their cities or when called upon to Shiloh at the tabernacle.  But this Levite was off on his own trying to find a new place to call his home. 

And once we know that, we can begin to understand everything that happens here on out. Micah the cult leader, sees a wandering Levite and makes a deal with him, which gives legitimacy to his cult. Now he had the idol, the shrine, a priesthood and a genuine priest. And Micah believes that God will now bless it. But will he though?

We move to the third group of the story in chapter 18, verse 1, “In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. 2 So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, ‘Go and explore the land.’ And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, ‘Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?’ 4 And he said to them, ‘This is how Micah dealt with me: he has hired me, and I have become his priest.’ 5 And they said to him, ‘Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.’ 6 And the priest said to them, ‘Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.’”

The final party to this story is the tribe of Dan. Their out looking for their inheritance, but they haven’t been able to conquer it like their fellow Israelites. Except somethings off. Their tribal lands were not in the north, they were in the west by the Mediterranean Sea. So not only is the Levite way out of the way from his home, so is this group of Danites. And when the two meet, the Danites are confused with why the Levite is so far from home. But they don’t bat an eye as to his explanation, rather they want to know if God is going to bless their journey. 

Not here’s the interesting part, God never speaks in this story. In fact, God won’t speak, nor will he do anything until chapter 20. That let’s us know, somethings off; somethings not right with this whole situation. But that’s because, remember, everyone’s doing right in their own eyes. Micah did it by making an idol, setting up a shrine, and installing a new priesthood. The Levite did it by leaving his God given land in the south and moving north and then becoming a priest for Micah’s cult. And the Danites are doing what is right in their own eyes, by leaving their allotted land in the west from something else in the north. No one is doing what God wants them, but they still want to be blessed by God. And we get no confirmation that God does bless the journey, we only get the Levites word, which at this point is suspicious at best. In fact God would later call out these type of people who look as if they are speaking for God, but are really not. In Jeremiah 23:16-17, we read, "16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, “It shall be well with you”; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, “No disaster shall come upon you.”’”

The Levite is fulfilling the role, not of a seeker of God, but a seeker of self, and he is speaking from his own mind, and not the mind of God.

So the scouts go on their way with the confirmation that they are going to get what they came out for. They then meet up with the rest of their group and the group returns to the Levite; they take the idol and the priestly ephod that was made, and they tell the Levite to come with them. And in verse 19 we get this interaction between the Danites and the Levite, “And they said to him, ‘Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?’” To which we read, "And the priest's heart was glad (v.20a).” Why was it glad? Because it was about him. Micah gave him a sweet deal, but these guys were giving him a sweeter deal. And now the cult that was started, grows with the Danites.  And the chapter ends with, “30 And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 So they set up Micah's carved image that he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.” 

This idolatry continues for hundreds of years, and is one of the reasons that God eventually uses the Assyrians to destroy the northern tribes. 

And so the first of two stories about a Levite end with worship of God being replaced with the worship of idols. It ends with a cult growing within God’s covenant people. It ends with people following selfish desires that seem right in their own eyes, but are evil in God’s. And it ends with people setting up their own kingdoms apart from God’s intent. And it leads into the most horrific story yet, which we’ll cover next week.

But what are we to take away from this? It’s really easy for us to fall into the trap of Micah, the Levite, and the Danites. How many of us want something for ourselves? We want something grander than our parents or the childhood we grew up with? We want the security that we can build with our own two hands. Even if that security is outside of the command of God. 

See God isn’t denying that we should be secured, but he wants us to be secured within the boundaries that he sets up. Micah didn’t stay in the boundaries of no idols and so it leads to not only him loosing the idol, but also his priest and what he thought was a blessing from God. The Levite didn’t stay in God’s boundaries and it led to Micah thinking he was blessed by God, but he wasn’t, and it led to the Danites thinking their moving away from their allotment of land, was being blessed by God, but it wasn’t. Finally the Danites didn’t stay in God’s boundaries which caused problems with Micah, and it puffed up the self importance of Levite who himself was outside the boundaries of God.

When we move beyond God’s boundaries, which are God’s commands, as set down in the Bible, we can have short term victories, like Samson, but it leads to long term problems. In this case, its the destruction of the unity of Israel and eventually the almost full eradication of the northern tribes. 

God calls us to his boundaries, because it’s within those boundaries that we thrive. God knows us better than we know ourselves, and when we submit ourselves to his knowledge, we are more satisfied with ourselves, and we are more at ease with what’s happening around us.

If we take a moment and look at the world around us right now, our society, which was built on the principles found in the Bible, i.e. the boundaries, has moved so far away from those principles that we are seeing dissatisfaction with ourselves personally, and with the people around us. Corruption is up, justice is down. Suicides are up, love is down. Contentment is down, uncertainty is up. 

Only when we submit and say, God I’ll do what you want and go where you want me, can we ever get to a place where we are no longer sojourning for our own kingdom and our own fame, but finally be satisfied in who God created us to be.

God is calling us to his boundaries, not to constrict us, but so that we may experience this life to its fullest. This is why Jesus states in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” The thief breaks the boundaries of God and in turn brings about destruction. Whereas God puts in place boundaries so that we can experience life to it’s fullest. 

This week I want to challenge you to first read Judges chapters 17-18 in light of God’s boundaries. Then look at your life and ask the question, what boundaries of God am I going beyond. It could be in the area of self desire, where we want something God has said no to. This can pop up in lust, in pride, in letting our mouth run. It could be in worry, where we see things falling down around us and we go outside of God to fix it, when he says rest in me. It could be something in holding anger or grudges, instead of seeking God’s love for others through praying for God’s blessing and work in their life. This week, let’s seek God to bring us back into his boundaries, repenting of going beyond them, and for any sins that follow it.

We are called to be a boundary seeking people, that know, when we live within God’s appointed boundaries, there lay the blessings of God, the abundant life. And by doing so, we may be blessed and bless our Lord in return. Amen.

Judges Series - Week 13 - “A Jesus, Not a Samson”

  Brian Scalabrine is considered by fans as one of the worst NBA players to make it to the professional level. Fans would degrade and mock him for being so bad. It got to the point where fans began to call him out that they could beat him, saying he didn’t deserve to play and that they were more NBA material than he was.

Well Scalabrine got tired of it and issued a challenge to those fans. He challenged them to a one-on-one game, and took on several in a row. Every game was a blow out. Scalabrine showed the difference between an NBA player and someone who isn’t. He went on to say to those fans that thought they were better, “I’m closer to Lebron James, than you are to me.”

When comparing two things, we try to only compare things that are close in approximation. But there are times when we need to realize just how different two things, we think are close, actually are.

So today, we’re going to do just that, and it’s this comparison that brings us back to our summer series, where we’ll be ending Samson’s story in Judges chapter 16, starting in verse 21.

And as we open up to Judges 16:21, let’s look at where we are so far in Samson’s story. In the last two weeks we looked at two parts of Samson’s life. First we looked at his birth, noticing that Samson had everything prepared for him to do well as a judge. In fact, by being informed that the Angel of the Lord came to a barren woman to bring about a divine work in the birth of Samson, Scripture is basically telling us, Samson should have been the greatest of the judges. But we walked away with an understanding that it isn’t our genetics, nor is it our environment that compels us to follow God. The faithfulness of God’s people comes from an active choice in doing what the Lord says.

This becomes apparent when we then looked at Samson’s life. Samson led a life that was self-focused. His selfishness led to many deaths, and his own humiliation. And yet, God was faithful to the people of Israel, working within Samson’s acts to bring about judgement on the Philistines and redemption for Israel. And from Samson’s life we walked away with the understanding that, we might experience good and we might experience evil in our lives, this alone doesn’t mean that we are either being faithful or unfaithful. Samson was unfaithful and yet seemed to come out on top in every situation. True faithfulness is seeking God’s will no matter what situation we find ourselves in.

With these two parts of faithfulness in our minds, let’s start reading from Judges chapter 16, verse 21.

“21 And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. 22 But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

“23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, ‘Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.’ 

“24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, ‘Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.’ 25 And when their hearts were merry, they said, ‘Call Samson, that he may entertain us.’ So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. 26 And Samson said to the young man who held him by the 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. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.

“28 Then Samson called to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.’ 

“29 And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. 30 And Samson said, ‘Let me die with the Philistines.’ Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. 31 Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.”

Samson’s death, like his life, ends in tragedy. From the moment we read about his desire for a woman outside of God’s prescribed allotment, to the moment of his death, Samson is one of the most tragic and relatable people in all of Scripture. Let’s look at his final moments. 

As we saw last week, when Samson is captured by the Philistines, his eyes are gouged out. This is fitting for a man who has spent his life going after whatever pleased his sight. From the first Philistine woman, to the foxes, to the jaw bone, to the prostitute, to Delilah. Whatever Samson saw that could benefit him, he used for that benefit. This is a divine punishment, because it was the eyes of Samson that caused him to sin, and so his eyes were taken from him.

He is then further humiliated by working the mill, to grind grain as a punishment for destroying the Philistine’s crops earlier in his life.

It’s here in verse 23 and 24 that we get the common thought of Near Eastern belief. When a victory happens it means that the god of the victor overcame the god of the defeated. So the Philistines praise their god Dagon, a half-man half-fish deity of fertility and possibly the father of the Canaanite god Baal. But as the reader, who has insight into who Samson was suppose to be and how he chose to live his life, we know that Yahweh is disciplining Samson for his selfish acts. 

Yet it’s at Samson’s lowest that a glimmer of repentance is seen. When Samson is brought out and placed between the two pillars to be laughed at by the Philistines, he speaks this to God, “O Lord God, please remember me…” This statement is really important because the phrase, “remember me” is a Scriptural call for grace. Another version, would be something like, “Lord have mercy.” Even if the reason Samson is calling out to God is to be used to take vengeance, still, it’s a drastic departure from the man we just followed for two and half chapters. 

Samson has relied on his own strength, and his own desires his entire life. In fact there is never a moment where he talks to God in a submissive way. But in this moment, he falls back to God and asks for grace. It’s because of this act that the Hebrew writer would later mention Samson in his list of the faithful in chapter 11 of his book. Why? Because God is not looking for perfect acts from his people, he is looking for humble hearts. Even the slightest act of humility, God blesses. 

This is the point of the of Jesus’ sacrifice. In the opening of the Gospel of John chapter 1, verse 12, John writes, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” What saves us? Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. How do we earn that salvation? We don’t, all we can do is accept it, and in that one act of humility, God lavishes us with his love for eternity.

And it’s in comparing Samson’s death and Jesus’ death that we can understand God’s purposes for us. 

Samson’s sacrifice comes from a life focused on himself and a moment of humility. Jesus’ sacrifice on the other hand, comes from a life given over to servanthood and humanity. And so God calls us to be like Jesus in living humbly. Paul writes in Philippians 2:5-8, “5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” The follower of Jesus is to be a humble servant of their God, like their Lord.

Where Samson’s sacrifice comes from a desire to get even, though he humbles himself asking for the grace of God in that moment, Jesus’ sacrifice comes from a desire to bring about an end that separates us from God. 1 John 2:2 reads, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” That word propitiation means to appease someone who has a justified reason for repayment. It means that the debt that one party owes has been completely dealt with and now, both parties can live in peace. God seeks his people to live at peace with him and those around them.

But let’s not sugar coat it, Samson action is vengeful at the end, whereas Jesus’ is graceful to the end. In Luke 23:34, we get some of Jesus’ words, “And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’” Jesus’ words come from the very heart of God. God seeks forgiveness over vengeance, and so gives humanity the opportunity to accept that forgiveness, until the time comes, when the only option is a choice on the side of humanity to receive vengeance.

And it’s because of that vengeance that Samson’s sacrifice was meant to bring judgment on others. Yet in Jesus’ sacrifice, he means to remove judgment for those who would believe. Paul writes in Romans 8:1-2, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” Those that accept Jesus as Savior, recognizing that they have sinned and rebelled against God, are fully accepted by God and the wrath of God has been removed from them and they now stand with no crime over them.

One last comparison. Samson is given as the last judge to show us the descent of Israel into rebellion against God. This rebellion is already common among the other groups such as the Canaanites and the Philistines, but Israel was’t intended to go down this path of rebellion, because they were in covenant relationship with the one true God. This brings us back to the Gospel of John and his opening chapter where he writes, starting in verse 9, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

John is referencing the rejection that Jesus encountered by the Israel of his day; the same rejection of God that we see in the days of the judges. But just like Samson who sought the mercy of God in his time of trouble, anyone, whether an Israelite in the judges day, or one of us today, anyone can accept Jesus’ gift of salvation by accepting it. You’re not born saved, you’re not born into God’s family, you’re reborn through the acceptance of Jesus as Savior. That means we agree with God that we are in rebellion, which is what the Bible calls sin, we agree we cannot fix that rebellion on our own, and we accept that Jesus took on the punishment we deserve for rebellion, and now seek God’s will in our lives. 

Samson shows us that human saviors are just stop gap measures in the grand scheme of things. No politician, monarch, or leader of any kind can do what is necessary to fix the ills of humanity. Only through God can we hope that humanity’s descent into chaos can be stopped. And it’s starts at the cross, where God the Son was crucified to break the power of sin. It moves through the empty tomb to the resurrection, that guarantees the acceptance of that sacrifice and opens the door to eternal life. And humanity’s plight ends when Jesus himself returns. Two have come and gone, and we wait in anticipation for the day of his return. Until that day every individual has an opportunity to turn from sin and turn to God’s grace. But when that day dawns, and Jesus returns, there will no be longer any time for salvation. Therefore we must listen and respond to God’s call to come to him and repent of our sin, taking seriously the words of Isaiah 55:6-7, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

To the one who hasn’t believed in and follows Jesus, today you are being called to a right relationship with him. It’s starts with recognizing that you have sinned, like we all have. We all have broken out in rebellion against God, with wanting our own way instead of his. But Jesus gave each of us an opportunity to have that rebellion forgiven and to live his eternal life starting today. After we recognize sin, we thank God for Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, he took the punishment of that sin, and we ask for the grace that gave Samson strength, to forgive us and to take away the power of sin in our lives. And for the rest of our lives we seek God will for us, giving up our self-focused desires for his. And when we do that, we move out of being in rebellion to God and into a right relationship with him, and a whole new world awaits us.

To the believer who has already accepted Jesus as Savior, we should be seeking that grace that first found us and brought us to salvation and a right relationship with God. We seek God’s grace that we may continue to grow in his righteousness. That we may walk more rightly today than yesterday and more in God’s will than ever before.

Let’s learn from Samson, that faithfulness is our choice, yet even when we falter, grace is greater than any miss step we could make.

This week I want to challenge those who haven’t put their trust into Jesus as Savior, to read through Samson’s life and notice how God works even in our rebellion, and see how graceful God is even in our slightest show of humility.

To the believer I challenge you to seek God’s grace in an area that you’re struggling in. It might be like Samson where your eyes are causing you to sin, seek God’s grace. It might be in self-centered desires, seek God’s will to be done. Whatever it is, let us all seek God’s grace in that area this week.

So Let us be a people of grace, both of receiving it from our Lord Jesus and giving it out to those who have yet to experience God’s salvation. Let us emulate our God, so that the world may know he is true, faithful, and coming again. Amen.