By Captain Michael Ramsay
To see a similar 2022 homily presented to Alberni Valley Ministries, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2022/05/judges-13-16-gods-faithfulness-to-and.html
A couple of summers ago we were posted to The Salvation Army Corps (church) in Maple Creek. They had this bakery right across the street from the corps that had all of these great desserts in it. It really was a great bakery and I would often go there for a treat. One day my kids were so good –they’re always good –but they are particularly good this day. They remember their manners, always say please and thank-you and don’t even respond to provocation (it is amazing!). We are so proud of them that Susan decides to take them for a treat, a dessert, at the bakery… then one of them has a temper tantrum (!) and a big one at that! She is quite upset. She is uncharacteristically sticking out her tongue and hitting us and because of this…. well, she doesn’t get her dessert. She doesn’t get her treat for good behaviour. Her actions cost her her treat. It was already purchased for her but she has lost it.
There are ministers and priests working for God in poor, occupied and oppressed lands who often do their best to take care of those in Jesus name, being like the sheep of Jesus’ parable about the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46).[1] And through their impassioned sermons, speeches and the mechanisms of their governments they fight for the poor and the downtrodden – all through South America these days we can see people, entire countries being liberated from various sins and oppression. Liberation Theology, an attractive movement within contemporary Christianity, has really been taking hold in many Latin American countries. Members of the clergy have been fighting for Christ-like governments and in some cases it has cost them their earthly desserts, their contemporary treats: it has cost them their lives or maybe even more…[2]
Samson, was a little different than all this. Samson was not your typical fine upstanding young church goer handing out soup at the soup kitchen or organizing a letter writing campaign to the government advocating change. There is no doubt that he (like us all) has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Even though the Spirit of the living God stirred in him as a child and even though the Lord blessed him (Judges 13:24-25), he slept around. He visited prostitutes, (Judges 16:1), and he did murder apparently innocent people who had not personally provoked him (Judges 14:19).[3] Samson was a liar at times (cf. Judges 16:7) and he was a sucker for listening to others - instead of listening to God (Judges 14:17) –especially women. Samson was a partier; Samson was a brawler; Samson was a fighter. Samson had so much potential; Samson…
Can you imagine how his parents must have felt? An angel, a messenger of God, comes to them before Samson is ever even conceived telling them that Samson is to be a special person, a Nasserite and that he will be used by God to deliver His people from the Philistines (13:2ff). He is this son of promise who has the protection of an extra strong covenant – the Nasserite vow – but he refuses to rely through it –it seems- on God.
This Son of their promise is always rebelling against the promise. He’s always rebelling against the covenant and he’s always getting into trouble. He is always provoking Israel’s rulers - so much so that the men of Judah bind him to hand him over to them. He commits all the sins that we mentioned earlier and he even asks his parents if he can enter into a marriage covenant with a Philistine lady. He demands to marry a women who is one of the people from whom he is supposed (to be used) to deliver Israel. How can this be? What must be going around in his parents’ heads? How can the people’s deliver be ‘in bed with the enemy?’ How can a man of God who was supposed to be set apart for God be so seemingly un-set apart? How can a holy one so indulge his secular, his profane desires? He is dedicated to God. He spends his life rebelling against his Nasserite vow. He spends his life rebelling against this atypical life-long covenant that an angel of the Lord set up for him and his parents. Samson’s parents had such high hopes for him and now Samson won’t even keep his covenant. He just won’t do what’s expected of him. He was so promising but the world seemingly leads him astray.
I have met a few people in the churches like this. They seem to be quite promising. They know their Bible. They pray religiously. The Spirit seemingly stirs in them. Then something happens. They sleep around. They fight needlessly and for nothing. They turn to addictions rather than to God. (These are the things Samson was doing.) In our world, what about our Liberation Theologians or famous priests or kings from history who may have crossed the line? What about those who have lived their lives really well and then at the end seemingly care more about the politics or people or their own country than God and His Kingdom? What about the Saint who has lived the almost perfect life and then at the end decides to throw a rebellious temper tantrum and risk her reward from the bakery? What about her?
Leviticus 19:2 says to be holy, for the Lord your God is holy. 1 Peter 1:16 echoes that call. The Law of Samson’s time speaks of the Ten Commandments. We know them but is adherence to their principles or the Golden rule (cf. Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:27-36, 10:25-28; Leviticus 19:18, 34) of doing unto others as we would have them do to us- is this apparent in our lives?
Samson would have been familiar with the Law and the Ten Commandments. Through rebellion against his covenant, some of these principles, and against God, Samson was maybe like many today who seemingly even try to separate themselves from God. The NT speaks about the fruit of the Spirit that is supposedly evident in every believer, each follower of Christ - such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) How do we do at displaying these in our lives? We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23); so what then? What will be our fate? If we don’t fulfill our part of our contract, our covenant with God (like Samson did not fulfill his Nasserite vow); if we aren’t even holy this side of the cross, what can be our fate?
Well what is Samson’s fate? At the end of Samson’s life, the Lord’s enemies and Samson’s captors are having a celebration. They are celebrating their successes and the power and what looks to be the triumphs of Dagon, their god. They mock the true God and praise Dagon. They are revelling in what they see as their successes. Everyone is there: everyone who is anyone. All the leaders and the important people of Philistia are gathered to celebrate and, in doing so, they mock God.
When their spirits are at the highest as the party progresses, they send for Samson: Samson, who once upon a time was the troubler of Philistia. They send for Samson. They ridicule him. And they ask him to perform for them. He is led out of prison and made to entertain them and he does. Three thousand more people also clamour onto the roof so that they too can see the spectacle of Israel’s once mighty ruler, so they can see the mighty man, Israel’s former Judge performing a show for Dagon, for Dagon and the Philistines.
It is then –if not before- it is then that Samson turns (repents) from his selfish covenant-defying ways. It is then that Samson turns (repents) to the Lord and joins Him in a solid covenant at this one last time. As we read in Judges 16:28, he cries a heartfelt cry to the Lord. He cries, “remember me oh God;” “remember me oh God.” He repents. He turns back to the Lord. He then saves his people as in one blow he is used by God to save (deliver) Israel from the power of their rulers.
The Lord is our strength and Samson’s strength returns to Him. Now the Lord never gave up on Samson and He reached out to Samson long before Samson had ever reached back. Samson’s hair –the symbol of his covenant with the Lord, which was his tie to the Lord’s strength – Samson’s hair (16:22) starts to grow even before his cry. He then, in our story today, pushes the central pillars of the building apart and the whole thing crashes down. Israel is saved. Samson, though he is dead, is saved. The Lord does not give up on Samson even when Samson is not perfectly following the Lord. When Samson disobeys his covenant with God, God does not let the tie that binds break. He does not sever the shackle of salvation nor release him from His covenant – no matter what he did (cf. Rom 3:3,4). When Samson comes out, turns (repents) and asks God to remember him, God lets Samson know that He does. This is good news.
Samson, who in the end ruled Israel for 20 years, Samson is even recorded as one of the ‘Heroes of the Faith’ in Hebrews 11 alongside Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab (the prostitute), Gideon (the doubter?), Barak (of Deborah fame), Jephthah (the son of a prostitute that we looked at the other week), David, Samuel and the prophets.
Now, like Samson, we have two options: as was mentioned the other week, we too can be added to that list as a hero of the faith no matter what we have done. No matter how far we have strayed…or, we can turn away from him. If we continue in rebellion against His covenant, if we do not persevere, we do not get our eternal reward. We do not get our dessert from the heavenly bakery.[4] However, if we (re)turn to God and persevere we will receive our dessert from the heavenly bakery.
Speaking of the bakery, there is a conclusion to the story I told earlier about our daughter who, through her actions, lost her dessert from the bakery. She - who is often so nice - she did not deserve it and we so did not give her a treat. She lost her dessert. In the end though, she did repent and guess what…? Her sister, her sister gave her her treat. She, who did not lose her reward, sacrificed the better portion of her dessert for her sister. She sacrificed (most of) hers for her sister. Likewise, Christ sacrificed himself so that we may be saved.
No matter what we have done, even we may even now be saved. Samson turned; he repented. He is a Hero of the Faith. You too can be a Hero of the Faith. We too can be heroes of the faith all we need to do is confess and turn from our sins to the Lord no matter what are sins may have been. He can forgive them and you know what? He will.
Now is the time to persevere for those of us who have fought the good fight all our lives and now is the time to repent for those who haven’t. The Lord will take us. The Lord will take us back. All we have to do is ask.
If you want to claim that heavenly treat, if you are not sure that your name will be numbered among the heroes of the faith, if you have any doubts. Don’t. Just pray.
---
[1] Oscar Romero, for one famous example.
[2] I have the ‘perseverance of Bonhoeffer debates’ in my mind here. He was greatly used by God BUT in the end he crossed the line and killed others in his attempt to murder his democratically elected head of government (as bad as he was) – thus the debate…did he sacrifice his soul for his politics?
[3] This may not necessarily be bad in this case. It does say that ‘the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power..”
[4] Doctrine 9 of The Salvation Army: “We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ.”
A couple of summers ago we were posted to The Salvation Army Corps (church) in Maple Creek. They had this bakery right across the street from the corps that had all of these great desserts in it. It really was a great bakery and I would often go there for a treat. One day my kids were so good –they’re always good –but they are particularly good this day. They remember their manners, always say please and thank-you and don’t even respond to provocation (it is amazing!). We are so proud of them that Susan decides to take them for a treat, a dessert, at the bakery… then one of them has a temper tantrum (!) and a big one at that! She is quite upset. She is uncharacteristically sticking out her tongue and hitting us and because of this…. well, she doesn’t get her dessert. She doesn’t get her treat for good behaviour. Her actions cost her her treat. It was already purchased for her but she has lost it.
There are ministers and priests working for God in poor, occupied and oppressed lands who often do their best to take care of those in Jesus name, being like the sheep of Jesus’ parable about the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46).[1] And through their impassioned sermons, speeches and the mechanisms of their governments they fight for the poor and the downtrodden – all through South America these days we can see people, entire countries being liberated from various sins and oppression. Liberation Theology, an attractive movement within contemporary Christianity, has really been taking hold in many Latin American countries. Members of the clergy have been fighting for Christ-like governments and in some cases it has cost them their earthly desserts, their contemporary treats: it has cost them their lives or maybe even more…[2]
Samson, was a little different than all this. Samson was not your typical fine upstanding young church goer handing out soup at the soup kitchen or organizing a letter writing campaign to the government advocating change. There is no doubt that he (like us all) has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Even though the Spirit of the living God stirred in him as a child and even though the Lord blessed him (Judges 13:24-25), he slept around. He visited prostitutes, (Judges 16:1), and he did murder apparently innocent people who had not personally provoked him (Judges 14:19).[3] Samson was a liar at times (cf. Judges 16:7) and he was a sucker for listening to others - instead of listening to God (Judges 14:17) –especially women. Samson was a partier; Samson was a brawler; Samson was a fighter. Samson had so much potential; Samson…
Can you imagine how his parents must have felt? An angel, a messenger of God, comes to them before Samson is ever even conceived telling them that Samson is to be a special person, a Nasserite and that he will be used by God to deliver His people from the Philistines (13:2ff). He is this son of promise who has the protection of an extra strong covenant – the Nasserite vow – but he refuses to rely through it –it seems- on God.
This Son of their promise is always rebelling against the promise. He’s always rebelling against the covenant and he’s always getting into trouble. He is always provoking Israel’s rulers - so much so that the men of Judah bind him to hand him over to them. He commits all the sins that we mentioned earlier and he even asks his parents if he can enter into a marriage covenant with a Philistine lady. He demands to marry a women who is one of the people from whom he is supposed (to be used) to deliver Israel. How can this be? What must be going around in his parents’ heads? How can the people’s deliver be ‘in bed with the enemy?’ How can a man of God who was supposed to be set apart for God be so seemingly un-set apart? How can a holy one so indulge his secular, his profane desires? He is dedicated to God. He spends his life rebelling against his Nasserite vow. He spends his life rebelling against this atypical life-long covenant that an angel of the Lord set up for him and his parents. Samson’s parents had such high hopes for him and now Samson won’t even keep his covenant. He just won’t do what’s expected of him. He was so promising but the world seemingly leads him astray.
I have met a few people in the churches like this. They seem to be quite promising. They know their Bible. They pray religiously. The Spirit seemingly stirs in them. Then something happens. They sleep around. They fight needlessly and for nothing. They turn to addictions rather than to God. (These are the things Samson was doing.) In our world, what about our Liberation Theologians or famous priests or kings from history who may have crossed the line? What about those who have lived their lives really well and then at the end seemingly care more about the politics or people or their own country than God and His Kingdom? What about the Saint who has lived the almost perfect life and then at the end decides to throw a rebellious temper tantrum and risk her reward from the bakery? What about her?
Leviticus 19:2 says to be holy, for the Lord your God is holy. 1 Peter 1:16 echoes that call. The Law of Samson’s time speaks of the Ten Commandments. We know them but is adherence to their principles or the Golden rule (cf. Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:27-36, 10:25-28; Leviticus 19:18, 34) of doing unto others as we would have them do to us- is this apparent in our lives?
Samson would have been familiar with the Law and the Ten Commandments. Through rebellion against his covenant, some of these principles, and against God, Samson was maybe like many today who seemingly even try to separate themselves from God. The NT speaks about the fruit of the Spirit that is supposedly evident in every believer, each follower of Christ - such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) How do we do at displaying these in our lives? We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23); so what then? What will be our fate? If we don’t fulfill our part of our contract, our covenant with God (like Samson did not fulfill his Nasserite vow); if we aren’t even holy this side of the cross, what can be our fate?
Well what is Samson’s fate? At the end of Samson’s life, the Lord’s enemies and Samson’s captors are having a celebration. They are celebrating their successes and the power and what looks to be the triumphs of Dagon, their god. They mock the true God and praise Dagon. They are revelling in what they see as their successes. Everyone is there: everyone who is anyone. All the leaders and the important people of Philistia are gathered to celebrate and, in doing so, they mock God.
When their spirits are at the highest as the party progresses, they send for Samson: Samson, who once upon a time was the troubler of Philistia. They send for Samson. They ridicule him. And they ask him to perform for them. He is led out of prison and made to entertain them and he does. Three thousand more people also clamour onto the roof so that they too can see the spectacle of Israel’s once mighty ruler, so they can see the mighty man, Israel’s former Judge performing a show for Dagon, for Dagon and the Philistines.
It is then –if not before- it is then that Samson turns (repents) from his selfish covenant-defying ways. It is then that Samson turns (repents) to the Lord and joins Him in a solid covenant at this one last time. As we read in Judges 16:28, he cries a heartfelt cry to the Lord. He cries, “remember me oh God;” “remember me oh God.” He repents. He turns back to the Lord. He then saves his people as in one blow he is used by God to save (deliver) Israel from the power of their rulers.
The Lord is our strength and Samson’s strength returns to Him. Now the Lord never gave up on Samson and He reached out to Samson long before Samson had ever reached back. Samson’s hair –the symbol of his covenant with the Lord, which was his tie to the Lord’s strength – Samson’s hair (16:22) starts to grow even before his cry. He then, in our story today, pushes the central pillars of the building apart and the whole thing crashes down. Israel is saved. Samson, though he is dead, is saved. The Lord does not give up on Samson even when Samson is not perfectly following the Lord. When Samson disobeys his covenant with God, God does not let the tie that binds break. He does not sever the shackle of salvation nor release him from His covenant – no matter what he did (cf. Rom 3:3,4). When Samson comes out, turns (repents) and asks God to remember him, God lets Samson know that He does. This is good news.
Samson, who in the end ruled Israel for 20 years, Samson is even recorded as one of the ‘Heroes of the Faith’ in Hebrews 11 alongside Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab (the prostitute), Gideon (the doubter?), Barak (of Deborah fame), Jephthah (the son of a prostitute that we looked at the other week), David, Samuel and the prophets.
Now, like Samson, we have two options: as was mentioned the other week, we too can be added to that list as a hero of the faith no matter what we have done. No matter how far we have strayed…or, we can turn away from him. If we continue in rebellion against His covenant, if we do not persevere, we do not get our eternal reward. We do not get our dessert from the heavenly bakery.[4] However, if we (re)turn to God and persevere we will receive our dessert from the heavenly bakery.
Speaking of the bakery, there is a conclusion to the story I told earlier about our daughter who, through her actions, lost her dessert from the bakery. She - who is often so nice - she did not deserve it and we so did not give her a treat. She lost her dessert. In the end though, she did repent and guess what…? Her sister, her sister gave her her treat. She, who did not lose her reward, sacrificed the better portion of her dessert for her sister. She sacrificed (most of) hers for her sister. Likewise, Christ sacrificed himself so that we may be saved.
No matter what we have done, even we may even now be saved. Samson turned; he repented. He is a Hero of the Faith. You too can be a Hero of the Faith. We too can be heroes of the faith all we need to do is confess and turn from our sins to the Lord no matter what are sins may have been. He can forgive them and you know what? He will.
Now is the time to persevere for those of us who have fought the good fight all our lives and now is the time to repent for those who haven’t. The Lord will take us. The Lord will take us back. All we have to do is ask.
If you want to claim that heavenly treat, if you are not sure that your name will be numbered among the heroes of the faith, if you have any doubts. Don’t. Just pray.
---
[1] Oscar Romero, for one famous example.
[2] I have the ‘perseverance of Bonhoeffer debates’ in my mind here. He was greatly used by God BUT in the end he crossed the line and killed others in his attempt to murder his democratically elected head of government (as bad as he was) – thus the debate…did he sacrifice his soul for his politics?
[3] This may not necessarily be bad in this case. It does say that ‘the Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power..”
[4] Doctrine 9 of The Salvation Army: “We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ.”
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