303
T H E
K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
May 1924
immigrants from Crete. They were a warlike race who, with the .aboriginal tribes, had subdued Israel. So definite had this subjection been that Israel was left without a weapon of war,— not even a smith to forge them— and were compelled to go to the Philistines to sharpen their instru ments. The Philistines occupied the territory of Dan and Judah, including forty miles of seacoast. They were masters of the arts, had chariots, an army, navy, walled cities, great merchants and great prosperity. The conditions were of a character to produce heroes. In time of peril and trials God produces men like Samuel, Saul, David and his famous thirty leaders. Samson is a unique character and may be judged by nine distinct acts: (1) Slaying the lion, 14:5, 6, 7. (2) Slaying the thirty Philistines, 14:19, 20. (3) Burning the standing grain, 15:4, 5. (4) The great slaugh ter of the Philistines, 15:8. (5) Submission to Judah, 15:11-13. (6) Slaying of 1000 men, 15:14-16. (7) Carry ing away the gates of Gaza, 16:3. (8) Yielding to the charms of Delilah, 16:4-18. (9) The destruction of the house, 16:23-31. (1) SEPARATED UNTO GOD, “ For the child shall be a Nazarite unto God,” 13:5. In the home of Manoah, of the tribe of Dan, there were no children. An angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and told her she was to have a son and that he was to be consecrated as a Nazarite— (one separated unto God), and the first Nazarite named in the Scriptures. The law of the Nazarites is set forth in Num. 6:11. Dur ing the period of his Nazarite vow a man could eat nothing made of the vine (Num. 6:3-5). Samson stood alone. Sep arated from his birth to his death, he had n.o following, but was a living testimony of the right of Jehovah to reign over His people. Israel heard the story of Samson’s achievements, under the power of God. Samson never despaired and displayed his confidence in the power of God in his death. He must be viewed in the light of the times and conditions which prevailed. In his life was displayed a wonderful interming ling of strength and weakness. (2) STRENGTHENED BY THE SPIRIT “ And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him” 14:6. Samson’s strength was spiritual and was manifested in physical power. He could do all things through Jehovah. His strength was not due to physical culture, nor to the growth of his hair, but to his choice by God and his separa tion. It was the same power which God gave to David when he slew the lion and the bear (1 Sam. 17:31-37) and that encouraged him to boldly say to Goliath, “ This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand” (1 Samuel 17:46), The purpose of God in bestowing this power is to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). “ F or this purpose the Son o f God was manifested, that he m ight destroy the w orks o f the devil.” (3) SEDUCED BY SATAN, “ I have seen a woman of the Philistines” 14:2. Israel was a separated people. God’s law was definite concerning the intermarriage of Israel with the heathen na tions. It is the story so old and so sad, “How can two walk together except they be agreed?” “What fellowship hath light with darkness?” The blight came upon Samson as soon as he looked and lusted. “ The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life” (1 John 2:10). He was God’s man, but was not' content to obey God’s law and be obedient to God’s purpose for his life. The life story of many of God’s serv ants is reflected in this sentence, “ I have seen a woman of
self-will, candy, and many other things they will name for you. If they ask Christ’s help to get rid of these, they will get God’s help, just as Gideon. (Touch upon the Trinity,— Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one God, yet three persons.) (Tell how Gideon tested God, before preparing to fight.) There were 135,000 enemies. Gideon had 32,000 men in his army, AND GOD! God had the 22,000 cowards sent back. God wants no cowards in His army. The ones who were in no hurry to do God’s will, were sent back. God wants those who will hurry in His work, when it comes to fighting sin. If we think, “ Oh, well I can take my time in fighting any sin,” we are mistaken. GOD and 300 were left to fight 135,000. Let us remember God does the fighting for us, and lets us help just a little bit. The proportion of the armies was, one Gideonite against 450 of the enemy, but GOD was with Gideon. The division into three companies showed that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was helping. The trumpet reminded them that they were called by God to do His will, that they were warned against evil, and were called to praise God for His help and goodness. The pitcher reminded them to be self-emptied, just as Christ was, if they were to do God’s will rightly. The torch reminded them, how the Holy Spirit would show them God’s will and way. With these three fighting with us against sin we are sure to win. Alone we can do nothing. The great lesson is, we must listen to God when He calls, we must obey Him, and He will always help us to conquer our enemy sin, in any form, and will bless us, as well. Memory Verse: “ If God be for us who can be against us?” Rom. 8:31. Study till you have every detail of this battle clearly, then you can make it practical to the children. . . I Golden Text: “ If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (1 Cor. 3:17) OUTLINE OF LESSON: (1) Separated unto God. (2) Strengthened by the Spirit. Sin. (5) Self-Surrender and Signal Triumph. INTRODUCTION: This was the “ Seventh Apostasy and the Seventh Servi tude” in the period of the Judges. (13:1) “ And the children o f Israel did evil again in the sight o f the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand o f the Philis tines fo rty years.” God has never changed in character LESSON and never will. Evil must always event- EXPOSITION uate in the evokingof God’sjudgment and, T. C. Horton finally, in the extreme of punishment. Never be led astray by any one who seeks to paint a God who overlooks punishment for Violation of law. Such a God is not the God of the Bible, neither would such a God be worthy of worship. Sentimentalists are al ways telling us how loving we should be to law violaters . until they themselves suffer from such violation and then demand rigid punishment. From Gideon to Samson was a period of one hundred years. In the northern portion of Canaan, Israel was in conflict with the Canaanites. In the South the Israelites had been subject to attack from the Philistines who were (3) Seduced by Satan. (4) A Slave to Self and MAY 18, 1924 S A M S O N Judges, Chapters 13-16
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker