Judges 16:27-31 – Lessons Learned Part III

²⁷ Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

²⁸ And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

²⁹ And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

³⁰ And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

³¹ Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

 

As we look back on some well learned lessons from Judges and Ruth. Today, we are looking at the moral at the end of Samson’s story: finish well. The Bible remembers Samson in Hebrews chapter 11 as a man of faith. When one looks at Samson’s life, however, he lived a very self-focused life, not one of faith. Samson’s end, however, is an example of great faith! Samson, the hero of Israel, was now the party entertainment for his enemies, the Philistines. Samson, who had lost his strength by now, asks God for one final request. Samson put himself between the two load bearing pillars of the house and asked God one last time for his strength, which God granted! Then, Samson brought down the house… literally!

Samson, for a good deal of his life, lived for himself. In the end, however, he finished strong and defeated Israel’s enemy! Although Samson’s life is not a very good example to follow, he ended his life on a strong note. We need to strive to finish strong in everything we do. If it’s your school work, make sure you finish strong! If it’s your ministry at church, finish strong! If it’s your job, finish strong! Even with life, we need to finish strong! Whatever you do, do not not quit right before the end. Don’t quit and finish strong!

Life Step: Think about it…

How did Samson finish strong?

In what ways can you finish strong in something?

What keeps us from having a strong finish?

Judges 8:27-35 – Lessons Learned Part II

²⁷ And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

²⁸ Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

²⁹ And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.

³⁰ And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.

³¹ And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

³² And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

³³ And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.

³⁴ And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:

³⁵ Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.

 

Today, we’re looking back on the lessons learned from Gideon and the way the people responded after Gideon’s death. Gideon had a great start, but a lousy finish. He made an idol that the people ended up worshiping. After Gideon’s death, the people quickly forgot all that God and Gideon had done for them and quickly turned back to worshiping other gods.

For us Christians, we need to make sure that we do not do anything that could lead another Christian to sin. Our lives should match up to what we believe. No body should look at our actions and think, “Well, if he is doing that, then it must be okay!” We need to walk the walk, not only talk the talk.

Also, us Christians need to remember the people that have invested into our lives. Gideon invested into the people of Israel. Despite the poor ending to his life, he did a lot of good earlier in his lifetime. Israel, however, completely forgot all the good he had done and was not even kind to his family. All of us have people that has invested into us to help make us into the person we are today. Remember those people who had invested into your life whether it be your parents, a pastor, or whomever. Maybe for you that is as simple as a ‘thank you’, not ignoring them, or maybe it means you need to make good decisions that honors the work they put into your life.

Life Step: Think about it…

What kind of things can we do that could hurt another believer?

Who has invested into your life?

What can you do to avoid forgetting them like Israel forgot Gideon?

Judges 16:22-25 – Finish Strong

²⁶ And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.

²⁷ Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

²⁸ And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

²⁹ And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

³⁰ And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

³¹ Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

After such a deep and detailed look at Samson’s life, it is easy to think of him as a failure to God and His plan. However, Hebrews 11, which lists people of great faith from the Old Testament says, “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets.” Samson is listed right before David! A man the Bible calls a man after God’s own heart! In this final part of Samson’s life we see him act with a lot of faith! He has a boy position him between the load bearing pillars of the house and asked God for his strength one more time. God honored Samson’s faith and Samson literally brought down the house on himself and everyone else, dealing a devastating blow to the Philistine oppressors.

Samson failed to live up to his potential in many ways, but in his last moments he acted with great faith and dealt a crippling blow to the people God had set him apart to defeat, and that is what he is remembered for in Hebrews 11. Samson’s example typifies to importance of finishing strong. Although you may have your whole life in front of you, decisions you make now will influence your future. The friends you have will affect your actions, decisions you make will have consequences, and things that you say will affect your reputation. Make decisions now to finish strong!

Life Step: Think about it…

What kind of decisions can you make now to have a positive influence on your future?

What kind of decisions might have a negative impact on your future?

Judges 16:22-25 – Sin Leads to Slavery

²² Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

²³ Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.

²⁴ And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.

²⁵ And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.

“Sin leads to slavery.” Think about that for a second. For Samson, that statement is literally true. His sin lead him to loose his eyes and become a slave to the Philistines. When we think of “slavery”, a person owning another person is typically what comes to mind. However, we can become slaves, or be owned, by sin, too. Samson kept on sinning and he paid dearly for it! Now, the man that God had set apart to save Israel from the Philistines, who had every advantage and was equipped to do so, is the forced entertainment at a celebration to a pagan god.

There is an old saying that goes, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.” That was true for Samson and it is absolutely true for us! There’s no such thing as “just a little sin.” Sin is sin and it is all dangerous. Jesus said on this matter, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant (or slave) of sin.” If you keep on with your sin, you will end up serving it. No one wakes up one day and says “I want to be a drug addict” or “I want to throw away my reputation”, but people do end up doing that because they are serving their sin.

Do not become a slave to your sin. Have you ever heard the saying about two dogs in a fight? The one that wins is the one that is best fed. Feed the Godly part of your life more than the flesh and allow God to do His work.

Life Step: Think about it…

In what ways does sin lead to slavery?

What can we do to feed the Spirit more than the flesh?