Growing up my family was always strapped financially. Even though my parents worked multiple jobs, and their primary ones paid really well, money was always tight. The reason for this is that when my parents owned their own business, they were conned by their bookkeeper and left on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars to the IRS. Because of that, they had to work twice as hard to provide a good living for us.
So I didn’t get the name brand clothes. I didn’t get the news products. We didn’t have the best TVs, or best cars. And as a kid I didn’t really know why, when it seemed like even my poorest friends had better things than me. So as a kid I always had this belief that one day, when I was older, my parents would surprise me and tell me we were actually millionaires and that they just wanted to teach me a valuable life lesson. And that they could now end the charade and all of my desires to have to coolest things could now happen.
Well, I’m still waiting for them to make that reveal, and now there’s a part of me that doesn’t think that it’s going to happen. But I’m still holding out hope that soon, my parents are goin to reveal their millionaire status.
But it’s this idea of wanting better circumstances as a kid that bring us back to our series in the book of Judges where we’ll be covering chapter 13 starting in verse 1. And as we open up to Judges 13:1, let’s recap where we are.
Coming to the end of the main judges, in the ten weeks we’ve covered three themes: God is faithful despite unfaithfulness of humans, God calls us to obedient living, because disobedience leads to all the problems we see in our world. The book of Judges takes these three themes and shows how they work out generationally over the course of several hundred years. Judges also shows us that as we become more unfaithful and disobedient as individuals, society moves further and further away from God.
Specifically, what we have been seeing in Judges is how the good judges like Othniel and Ehud at the beginning, soon give way to judges that show that they’re not being obedient to God. Because of this cracks begin to show through, and though they end up following God, they do so half-heartedly.
This leads to a hinge point in the life of Gideon where, though he did follow God, at the end of his life by making small sinful acts, he opened the gates to other judges taking the role for their own benefit instead of being called by God. This ends with the judge of Jephthah who isn’t even called by God and who’s reign ends in tragedy, both personally with his daughter and socially with a mini-civil war.
The downward spiral of both the judges and the nation of Israel are then culminated in the final judge of the the book, Samson. Who’s life we’re going to look at in three parts, over the next three weeks.
So let’s start reading about Samson and his brith, as we open up to Judges chapter thirteen, verse 1.
“1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
“2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, ‘Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, 5 for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.’ 6 Then the woman came and told her husband, ‘A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, 7 but he said to me, "Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.”’
“8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, 'O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.’ 9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, ‘Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.’ 11 And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, ‘Are you the man who spoke to this woman?’ And he said, ‘I am.’ 12 And Manoah said, ‘Now when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission?’ 13 And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, ‘Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14 She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.’
“15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, ‘Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.’ 16 And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, ‘If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.’ (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.) 17 And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, ‘What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?’ 18 And the angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?’ 19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching. 20 And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.
“21 The angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. 22 And Manoah said to his wife, ‘We shall surely die, for we have seen God.’ 23 But his wife said to him, ‘If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.’ 24 And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.”
Sampson’s story seems to start out like every other judge so far. We get the standard, “Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…”, but little do we know as the reader, this would be the last time this phrase would be used.
But as soon as we’re given the standard line, we’re told that a new people group has entered the story. We’re no longer looking at the Canaanite people groups, but rather a new group called the Philistines. This group made their home in the land of Canaan, migrating from the Mediterranean Sea.
God uses them, as he used the Canaanite groups to judge Israel who continues to do evil. Except instead of a few years under their rule, Israel experiences forty years of conquest; this mirrors the wandering of the desert for forty years. But what’s interesting here is that we’re never told that the people cry out to God for deliverance like they had in the past. Instead, it is God who moves first.
This is really telling, because it shows us two things: First, the downward spiral of Israel is getting to such a horrific point, that they are not even acknowledging their covenant God anymore. Instead of turning back, they would rather just live under the boot of someone else. But this also shows us God’s character. Even though the people are not seeking him, he stills seeks them and seeks to end their captivity. Forty years is enough for God, and so he moves to rectify the situation without Israel coming to repentance. Paul recognizes this type of God’s grace when he states about Jesus’ death and resurrection in Romans 5:8, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God’s great love for humanity does not require humanity to act first. God puts in place the means of salvation without humanity doing anything, yet the means of receiving that salvation is another story. Which we’ll talk about next week when we look at the rest of Sampson’s story.
Once it’s established that Israel has done evil again, and God has given them over to be conquered, the story takes a new turn.
Samson’s story is unique among the other judges. Whereas all the other judges are called or come to be a judge when they are young men, Samson is actually being called before he was born. This puts him in a unique category of people within Scripture. Samson’s parents are like Abraham and Sarah who also could not conceive a son, but the Lord made it happen. They are like Jacob and Rachel who God had to open her womb so that she could have children.
This is unique because by showing Samson’s mother being unable to have children and it being the Lord who makes it possible for her, what’s happening is that Samson is being set up as a wonderful judge. Whereas we ended the last section with a dud in Jephthah, someone not even called by God, this new judge has been set apart before birth to be a judge, and not only that, but he comes by divine action in the opening of a barren womb.
Where the circumstances that surrounded Jephthah seemed to put him on a collision course with disaster, the circumstances surrounding Samson seem to be setting up the perfect judge. But appearances are not always what them seem.
What’s interesting about Samson’s story is he doesn’t have a true parallel in this book, but rather, when we step back and view the full scope of Scripture, he does have a parallel to the final judge of this era. That judge is Samuel, and his birth story happens in 1st Samuel chapter 1.
And it’s because this parallel exists that I think it would be beneficial for us to look at these two birth stories side-by-side.
When we look at Samuel’s story in 1st Samuel chapter 1, we see that his mother Hannah is one of two wives of his father Elkanah. Unlike the other wife who has bore children, Hannah has not. Even though she is favored by her husband, she is ridiculed by the other wife. Now Elkanah is very devoted to the Lord and goes yearly to worship him at Shiloh. One year, while the family is in Shiloh, Hannah goes by herself and worships the Lord at his tabernacle and that’s where we read this in verse 10, “10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.’
“12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, ‘How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.’ 15 But Hannah answered, ‘No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.’ 17 Then Eli answered, ‘Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.’ 18 And she said, ‘Let your servant find favor in your eyes.’ Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
“19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked for him from the Lord.’”
Here we can see the parallels with Samson’s story: Both Samson and Samuel are born from barren wombs. Both are born by God’s intervention. Both are set apart to the Lord’s work before birth. Both are not to shave their heads, pointing to both being under a Nazirite vow.
Yet, though there are parallels, there are major differences as well. Samson’s father shows that he doesn’t know God because of his fear at the realization that he was speaking to the Lord, whereas Samuel’s father seems to be very devoted to God. We’re not told that Samson’s mother seeks God so that she may conceive, but Hannah does and does so with heart wrenching tears. The Nazirite vow is imposed on Samson’s parents, whereas Hannah makes her own vow to the Lord that has a Nazirite bent to it.
By understanding Samson’s story into the bigger context of Scripture with the stories of Abraham on one side and Hannah on the other, the idea here is that Samson is being set up as the perfect judge, but doesn’t fulfill his calling in the way that we would expect. He is born by divine work to open a barren womb, the message is carried by the angel of the Lord, and he is given restrictions that are to help him achieve God’s will in his life.
Yet what we’ll see is a man who continues the judges’ selfishness, instead of fully embracing the call of God on his life. And yet, like we have seen time and time again with the other judges, God’s plan works itself out even when the judge isn’t the best.
If we were to read Samuel’s story on the other hand, a story that parallels Samsons, we see the opposite is true. Samuel follows in the steps of Othniel and Ehud as judges who honor God.
This is important for us to understand. The circumstances we find ourselves in, hardly matter when in comes to following God.
Samson is set up to be the best. He has the divine call even before he’s born. He has divine action in his life where he is born to a barren women. But what does he do with it? Well, we’ll see next week, he uses it for selfish purposes, stumbles into doing God’s work instead of being intentional, and then it leads him to a semi-bad end.
Just because everything goes right in your life doesn’t mean you’re going to follow God. Samuel had basically the same origin story as Samson, but where one followed God in all things, the other didn’t. If you have ever made a statement like, man I wish I would have had it easier, guess what, that doesn’t guarantee anything. Samson had all the advantages, and still turned about to be selfish and a man who bucked God.
What we do with what we have and the choice to follow God or not is what makes the difference. You can have all of the advantages of following God, and end up like a Samson, or a Samuel. Or you could have no advantages and end up like a Jephthah. What we do with what we have and choose to follow God or not is the most important thing.
Paul told the Philippian Church, “4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead (3:4-11).”
Paul had all the advantages of being a really good Jewish man, but those advantages meant nothing, if he didn’t follow Jesus.
So if we look at other people who seem to have it all, it doesn’t matter, if they are not following God. We need to take what we are given, whether good or bad, and chose to say I will follow Jesus.
Because when we begin to look at Jesus, rather than look at our past, then the hurts from the beginning of our story, lose their power over us, and the Author of our Faith writes the new story of eternity.
We need to stop living in the past of “what ifs” and “I didn’t gets”, Samson had all things that should have made him the perfect judge and yet faltered time and time again. Thank God instead that you are here today, that you have chosen to seek of the Lord. So forgive those that have hurt in you the past, and praise God that he has a future brighter than anything.
This week I want to challenge you with re-reading, not just Samson’s birth story here in Judges 13, but also Samuel’s story found in 1st Samuel chapter 1. Then, as you’re reading those, take an inventory of your life, putting those things at the top that you wished you hadn’t had happen, whether good or bad. Thank God that he got you through them, ask God to heal your heart from what happened, ask him to bring forgiveness through you, and praise him for the unending joy and tear free eternity he has in store for you.
No family is perfect and even the best family and best circumstances do not guarantee following the Lord, which is the most important thing. So let us choose this day to not let our circumstances of the past and present detour us from following Jesus, but instead, let us look forward to the life that is a head. Both in our walk with the Lord today, and his eternal life ahead. Amen.
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