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| To Part 4B |
Merrill
Unger catalogs six results of Samson’s defilement of His separation (Jdg
16:20-25).6
1. Ignorance of his
spiritual powerlessness – he did not know that the LORD had departed from him (Jdg 16:20).
2. He was taken captive
by the Philistines – then the Philistines took him (Jdg 16:21).
3. He lost his eyesight
– the
Philistines … put out his eyes (Jdg 16:21).
4. He was enslaved by
the Philistines – and brought him down to Gaza (Jdg 16:21).
5. Samson became a scandal
and a means of glorifying a pagan god instead of the Lord – Our god has delivered
into our hands Samson our enemy (Jdg 16:23-25).
6. Samson became the
object of Philistine ridicule and a religious clown – Call for Samson, that
he may perform for us (Jdg 16:25).
Above
are six situations that Samson could have avoided had he not defiled himself. Yeah,
holiness matters in all aspects of our lives. We can learn from Samson on what
not to do in our commitment to Yahweh. We seem to overlook the fact that the
divine expectation is total commitment (Rom 12:1-2), not a partial one.
It
is best to be holy as the LORD is commanding us all; for we have no idea where
the consequences of disobedience may take us. Loss of fellowship (not salvation) is immediate. Failing to repent, it all goes downhill after that (1 Jn 1:9).
Some consequences are irreversible, like Samson’s
eyesight, or we deal with the relentless ripples for the rest of our days
though we may have been forgiven and restored to fellowship. Samson’s hair
would grow back, but he would never be able to see again. His strength was
useless if he could not see, or so the Philistines thought, which is why they
made the fatal mistake of bringing Samson into the temple, full
of men and women (Jdg 16:27).
Then there was the feel by Samson of those two load-bearing pillars at the temple of Dagon (Jdg 16:26, 29), and the temple fell (Jdg 16:30).
Then there was the feel by Samson of those two load-bearing pillars at the temple of Dagon (Jdg 16:26, 29), and the temple fell (Jdg 16:30).
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| Judges 16:28 |
I
can think of, say, at least six reasons, can’t you, on why Samson should have
avoided violating his Naziritic vows and imperatives and principles from the
law (cf. Jdg 21:25). You and I both share, of course, the luxury of hindsight being 20/20 and all. But
like most of us, whenever we sin in knowledge, there is no way in knowing just how far the ripple effect of our disobedience will travel, and we cannot reverse the wake of it once we
throw that rock into the water of life. Does this verse sound familiar?
Do
not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also
reap (Gal 6:7).
Some
will pay the rest of their days from a single throw though forgiven by Yahweh.
It is of vital importance that we look at sin in the manner that Yahweh does
and refrain from treating it as the world does. That, my friends, will only happen
if we wisely choose to move beyond being “under the Word” to being “in” the Word as well:
understanding, knowing, and applying its principles as a rule of life!
Does
personal purity matter for a believer? I think that you can make a case for
that as illustrated by Samson’s life. Even as great a man as King David was, we
see imperfections, and yet, he was described as a man after God’s own heart. He
had his bouts with personal impurities that plagued him, too. But is this not true with any of us who desire to live for God, and yet, we stumble due to unwise
decisions? God knew all of our flaws when he saved us, and yet, the Holy Spirit
remains within us (cf. Heb 13:5).
Being
holy as Yahweh is holy is effective preventative medicine for our spiritual
and physical well-being. We can see the wisdom that an ounce
of prevention is worth a pound of cure, yes? One commentator commented about Samson victory over the
Philistines in the end,
“Samson
may have died in victory, but he lived in moral and spiritual defeat. He
destroyed God’s enemies, but he did not live like God’s friend (John 15:14).”7
Barring the rapture, we have to ask ourselves is
this how we want our life to play out, known as a man or woman of faith but unfriendly in life after we are gone? We were saved but didn’t think or act like a friend of God? How odd! Imagine the mental epitaph in the mind of people who knew us who think this way whenever our name is mentioned, “Saved but unfriendly towards God.”
What
made Samson, unlike any other man? His strength. Where was that strength derived
from? Yahweh. When his hair was cut, he became weak like any other man
by his own foolish admission to Delilah found in our main text. When he was
abruptly awakened, Samson intended to respond like he normally did, except this
time,
He
did not know that the LORD had departed from him (Jdg 16:20c).
Did
Samson lose his salvation when Yahweh departed from him? No (cf. Heb 11:32). During
the Old Testament economy, the Holy Spirit did not permanently indwell believers until after the ascension of Jesus Christ and the subsequent coming of the
Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This notable difference in the Holy Spirit’s work between
the two Testaments may present a challenge for us to understand because we look
at our current relationship with the Holy Spirit and cannot even imagine the
Holy Spirit leaving us like He did during Old Testament times.
Some
will pay the rest of their days from a single throw, reaping the ripples,
though forgiven by Yahweh. It is of vital importance that we look at sin in the
manner that Yahweh does as revealed by the Scriptures and refrain from treating it as the world does (cf. Mt 12:36; Jas 4:17). That, my
friends, will only happen if we move beyond merely being “under the
Word” to being “in” the Word: understanding, knowing, and applying its
principles as a rule of life!
Unlike OT times, when we are disobedient to Yahweh, it is the power of the Holy Spirit that leaves us, the power needed to
live victoriously for Yahweh. Never is it said that the Person of the Holy Spirit
leaves the heart after spiritual regeneration, never. The only way we can live for Jesus is through Holy
Spirit enablement (cf. Jn 15:5; Gal 5:16; Php 4:13).
In
the book of Judges, for instance, we see the Holy Spirit coming upon Samson for
specific tasks, regardless of his spiritual condition. We see this in many of
the judges. Once the task was completed, the Holy Spirit departed. The
indwelling was viewed as a sign of favor as in the case of David, and the Holy
Spirit’s departure was seen as disfavor or a state of being out of favor (cf.
Saul, 1 Sam 16:14). Blessings were found in the favor. In other words,
blessings are never found in disobedience to God.
Samson’s
case was unique. The Spirit of Yahweh would come upon Samson for specific
tasks, but as long as his hair remained uncut, Yahweh would not depart from him
though Samson compromised other elements of his Naziritic vows and imperatives
and principles of Mosaic law (cf. Jdg 16:19-20).
It
requires a basic understanding of theology to appreciate why the Holy Spirit
could not permanently indwell (or fill) OT saints. This was simply not possible
until Jesus propitiated man’s sin against God the Father, ca. A.D. 30 and
returned to heaven and was glorified (cf. Jn 16:7). His costly sacrifice
satisfied the penalty for man’s sin against God. Yahweh was gracious and
merciful throughout the entire process of making the only option for
man’s redemption available. From an anachronic perspective, OT saints looked ahead
to the cross (cf. Heb 11:13) while we look back to the cross.
Unless
this divine provision is received by faith alone in Christ alone, there is no
judicial declaration to be righteous by God; in essence, salvation remains only
an existing cure for the penalty of one’s sin. To be effective, it must be
received through faith alone (Gen 15:6; Eph 2:8-9). If one steps out into
eternity, sidestepping the provision of salvation, he or she is personally
accountable to pay the penalty of sin on their own, which is eternal
separation from God, or more commonly known as the second death, without any possible remediation.
Allow
me to briefly address those advocating the conditional indwelling of the Holy
Spirit today. Bluntly speaking, it is heretical and an egregious insult to the Majesty of
Yahweh. For the sake of brevity, I will give you the two strongest verses (in
my opinion) of the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit today (Heb 13:5,
five negations in the Greek text that He would ever leave us); also cf. Rom 8:30,
note past tenses). Let me throw in a couple more (1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:19-20; Eph
1:13-14; 4:30).
The
Spirit-led life is the richest quality of life that can be had on planet earth.
We are told do
not grieve the Holy Spirit of God (Eph 4:30) but to be filled with the
Spirit
(Eph 5:18). This last reference is about being controlled by the Holy
Spirit. In the Greek, the tense, voice, and mood of the verb phrase be filled is in the present tense
(continuous action) passive voice (subject being acted upon by the verb) and
imperative mood (commanded). We are commanded to allow the Holy Spirit to
control us at all times (24/7/365)! Does this characterize our thinking, feelings,
and energy? We can see this playing out in Gal 5:16,
I
say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Now
that’s supernatural power available to all believers! A Naziritic vow is
unnecessary today being replaced by a total commitment in service to Yahweh found in
Romans 12:1-2 for life. In the Greek of the Galatian text, the verb walk is in the present tense (continuous action), active voice (the
subject is performing the action), and imperative mood (commanded). We are
commanded to walk
in the Spirit continuously
(24/7).
Nobody
can do this for us; it demands a total commitment. By doing so we are being
controlled by the Holy Spirit rather than fulfilling the impulses of the flesh
or our sinful nature. The verb walk is indicative of a lifestyle of godliness in stark contrast to
sinful behavior as reflected in the world.
Blessings
are found in the realm of obedience; burdens inhabit the sphere of
disobedience. The latter is being weak like any other man or woman (unbelievers)
or carnal believers; the former is unlike any other man or woman (unbelievers
or carnal believers).
When
we sin in knowledge, the Holy Spirit does not depart from us, but His
enablement does something similar to what happened to Samson. Our divine
strength has left us by our disobedience, and we are weak and vulnerable to
defeat. We lose power to be victorious but unlike Samson, not His presence (cf. Jdg 16:20 with the 5x-never promise to leave us, Heb 13:5, the most emphatic promise in the NT).
Upon spiritual regeneration, we receive all of the Person of the Holy Spirit. What ebbs and flows is the power or Spirit-enablement to obey God’s
will predicated on our holiness unto God, not walking in the flesh but in the
Spirit. We are squarely back to the personal choice to live by faith or by the flesh. It’s a choice between obedience and disobedience, a choice of blessings or burdens, a choice of love (agape) or hate.
Disobedience
results in losing power, peace, blessings, effectiveness, and so forth, but never
salvation. As with any faithful father worth his grain of salt, Yahweh chastens
us when we disobey Him, but even in our disobedience, He will never leave us
nor forsake us. It is an amazing solid promise!
We
have to conclude that it is not worth being weak like
any other man or woman, and besides, we show our love for Yahweh through our
obedience to His Word (Jn 14:15). Conversely, we project an appearance of hatred for
Him when we are disobedient – “If you hate me, you will disobey my
commandments.”
The
source of our strength to know and do God’s will is found only in Yahweh. It was true of
Samson; it is true of us. As long as we obey Yahweh, we are not weak like any
other man or woman.8
(Rom
8:28) And we know that all things work together for good to those who
love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
(Rom
8:32) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how
shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
(Rom
8:37) Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him
who loved us.
It
is Yahweh who enables us to triumph to keep us from bringing the house down upon
our heads (2 Cor 2:14). Truly, there is no sense or need to be weak like
any other man. <><
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| End of Series |
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6.
Merrill F. Unger, Op. cit., 179.
7. Warren W. Wiersbe, Nelson’s
Quick Reference, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, 1991), 152.
8. In fairness to our
brother Samson, there are at least 5 things commendable concerning Samson. (1)
His birth alone among the judges was foretold of the Spirit of Yahweh. (2) We
know more about him than any other judge. (3) We are told 4 times that the
Spirit of Yahweh came upon him (Jdg 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:19). (4) Yahweh
restored the strength of Samson and used him mightily at his death. (5). He is
listed among the heroes of the faith (Heb 11:32).
