Thursday, November 15, 2007
By Faith... the Judges, Part 25 of 62
TEXT: "What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets" (Hebrews 11:32).
IDEA: God makes even the sin of men to accomplish His purposes.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that God is not dependent on people to carry out His work in the world.
Is God PRO-active or RE-active in history?
Is God like a general who adjusts his plans depending on what is taking place on the battlefield?
Do you think that God adjusts His plans as history develops?
To tackle that question, look at an incident in the life of Samson.
I. Samson is acting in disobedience to what God has told His people about whom to marry, Judges 14:1-3:
“Now Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. So he went up and told his father and mother, saying, ‘I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.’ Then his father and mother said to him, ‘Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?’ And Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me, for she pleases me well.’”
His parents were aware that what Samson was asking was disobedient to God, and they were upset about it. Why do you think they gave in to Samson’s demand?
The biblical writer signals that Samson cared more about himself than about God. The phrase “She is the right one for me” is similar in Hebrew to the phrase in Judges 17:6 and in 21:25—“everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
His emotions were the standard for what he did: “If it feels good, do it.”
Could you imagine the conversation his father and mother had about Samson’s choice? Do you blame them for being upset?
II. The writer of Judges interjects a surprising comment about what was really happening in Judges 14:4:
“But his father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord—that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.”
What do you make of that? Does it surprise you?
That God uses the disobedience and rebellion of men and women to accomplish His purposes is a refrain throughout the Bible.
Joseph in Genesis 45:8: “So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”
Also Joseph in Genesis 50:20: “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”
Jesus’ death is the supreme example of God using evil for good: Acts 2:23, 4:28.
If God is the instigator of Samson’s choice, does this mean that Samson wasn’t responsible for his disobedience?
He wasn’t a chess piece on the board with no will of his own. He paid a great price for his disobedience.
God uses our freedom to choose to carry out His purposes. He is not at our mercy.
