NOW THE SONS OF ISRAEL AGAIN DID EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD:

Did evil in the sight of the LORD - a repeated phrase in Judges - see notes Judges 2:11, 3:12, 4:1, 6:1, 10:6, Judges 13:1 The phrase did evil is common in is also common in 1 & 2 Kings (24 times), increasing in frequency in second Kings (click for all 41 uses of the phrase "did evil" in the OT). It is as if the closer they got to judgment, the more evil they became or the more certain the judgment had to be. Just a thought to ponder. Note it is also interesting that this phrase did evil is not found in 1 & 2 Samuel. Could it be that the reason is that the leaders were godly men like Samuel and David? Note also that the evil began with Baalim (plural) but progressed to the point documented in Judges 10:6 (note)!

Gave them - Jehovah repeatedly gave Israel into the hands of their enemies. See notes Judges 2:14; Judges 6:1; Judges 11:32; Judges 13:1)

The primary introduction to this cycle was in [10:6-16]. Sadly each new generation seemed to have to learn the lesson of the price to be paid for sinful indulgence. There is also a sad "omission" in this text. Every other time they reached a time of desperation they would cry out to God for a deliverer (3:9, 15, 4:3, 6:7, 10:10) but that did not happen in this case--even though it was the longest recorded oppression!

The Philistines disarmed the Jews (1Sa 13:19-23) and therefore had little fear of a rebellion. Jdg 15:9-13 indicates that the Jews were apparently content with their lot and didn’t want Samson to “rock the boat.” It’s frightening how quickly we can get accustomed to bondage and learn to accept the status quo. Had the Philistines been more severe on the Jews, perhaps the Jews would have prayed to Jehovah for help. Samson would "begin to deliver Israel" (v5) but It would take the prayers (& one military battle fought by prayer) of Samuel (1Sa 7) and the conquests of David (2Sa 5:17-25) to finish the job that Samson started and give Israel complete victory over the Philistines.

Preacher's Commentary offers a thought provoking comment on Israel's failure to cry out for deliverance writing that...

What is different now is that there is no record of repentance, no desperate calling on God, such as we have seen in earlier chapters. Israel’s heart has hardened that much. It is a peril that besets us all. We need often to be reminded that our relationship with God is not static. Every time we hear God’s Word, we either make ourselves more open and responsive by receiving and obeying it, or we harden our hearts in unbelief and disobedience. The danger which the writer to the Hebrews warns about in Hebrews 3:12–13 is that of a hardened, or dried-out, heart. The unbelief which is endemic to our sinful human nature and the deceitfulness of sin combine to persuade us that we do not need to respond to God’s voice today. And the result is that the heart starts to dry out, as surely as apricots or raisins left in the sun. Successive acts of resistance to God make it increasingly difficult to respond positively. We can illustrate this biblically from the story of Pharaoh who hardened his heart until God confirmed that decision and there was no way out. Or we can think of Dr. Faustus, in Christopher Marlowe’s play of the same title, who is brought in the end to lament bitterly, “My heart’s so hardened I cannot repent.” “Will not” hardens into “cannot.” (Jackman, D., & Ogilvie, L. J.  The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 7: Judges, Ruth. Page 201. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson)

SO THAT THE LORD GAVE THEM INTO THE HANDS OF THE PHILISTINES 40 YEARS (Longest recorded oppression):

Philistines cross references: 1st mention (Ge21:32-34), Ge26:1, Ex13:17,18 (Note: from Abraham > Exodus ~ 700yr), Ex23:31, Jos13:1-3, Jud3:1-4, 31, 10:6-11.

Philistines worshiped Dagon, Ashtaroth (Astartes) & Baal-zebub (Baal = "master, possessor, husband"). When the Israelites entered Canaan, they found that every piece of land had its own deity, its "owner". There were thus many "Baals" (plural = Baalim"). Yahweh was the "Master" & "Husband" of the Israelites, and therefore they called Him "Baal" in all innocence. But naturally this led to confusion of worship of Yahweh with the Baal rituals. It appears also that the 40 year period of oppression did not end until the Battle of Mizpah (1Sa7:7-13) when Samuel led Israel to victory over their Philistine foes. They were not finally defeated until the early years of David's reign (2Sa5:17-25). The Philistine dominion began before the birth of Samson [Jdg13:5], and was in force during Samson’s 20 years’ judgeship [Jdg14:4; 15:20].

Philistines (sea people) = non-semitic people, sometimes = "the uncircumcised" (Jud14:3; 15:18; 1Sa14:6; 31:4; 2Sa1:20; 1Ch10:4) who settled in the plain and low hill country of SW Palestine, being part of the great invasion of the sea peoples referred to by Rameses III of Egypt about 1200 BC. They organized a "pentapolis" or confederation of 5 cities (Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ashdod on the coastal highway, with Gath & Ekron on the edge of the foothills of Judea). The Jews weren’t able to occupy that territory during their conquest of the land (Jos13:1,v2). The land between Israel’s hill country and the coastal plain was called the “Shephelah,” which means “low country”; and it separated Philistia from Israel.

AND THERE WAS A CERTAIN MAN OF ZORAH:

Zorah was a town first assigned to Judah (Jos15:33), but later given to Dan (Jos19:41). It became the point of departure for the Danite migration northward (Jdg18:2, 8, 11). Zorah was on the border between Dan & Judah, opposite Beth-shemesh on the N side of Sorek valley, less than 15 mi from Jerusalem in the foothill country (shephelah - lowlands). The city was on the summit of a lofty hill on overlooking valley of Sorek The summit itself is occupied by the Mukam Nebi Samit, overhung by a lofty palm, and there are many remains of ancient tombs, cisterns, wine presses, etc., around. From here Eshtaol, Beth-shemesh and Timnah are all visible. Nearby is the border of Philistia. Why was Danite village of Zorah located on a summit? One cannot be 100% certain but see (Jdg1:34).

The tribe of Dan was originally assigned the land adjacent to Judah and Benjamin, extending to the Mediterranean Sea (Jos19:40-48). Since the Danites weren’t able to dislodge the coastal inhabitants, however, the tribe relocated and moved north (Jdg18,19), although some of the people remained in their original location.

OF THE FAMILY OF THE DANITES: From chap13-18, the author concentrates on the tribe of Dan, which had been one of the largest and most prominent tribes during the wilderness march (Nu2:25-30,v31). In the period of the judges, however, Dan seemed helpless against the Amorites (Jdg1:34) and moved northward to find new territory (Jdg17,18).

WHOSE NAME WAS MANOAH AND HIS WIFE WAS BARREN AND HAD BORNE NO CHILDREN:

"Barren" (aqar) refers to the state of not being fertile or not being able to become pregnant. The recurring theme of the barren mother is familiar in biblical history Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, the mother of Samson, and Hannah are chief examples of this situation (Gen. 11:30; 25:21; 29:31; Jdg 13:2, 3; 1 Sam. 2:5). God is often mentioned as the one who brought about this condition and/or the one who overcomes miraculously opening the wombs of Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel and enabling them to give birth to sons (Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Benjamin) who played a significant role in Israel's history. In light of the prior use of this type scene one might expect Manoah's wife's child to be important, like Isaac, whose birth was announced in a special manner (Gen. 17-18).

If the basic problem of Judges is that “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (21:25) then Samson is the supreme example of that attitude.

Samson contrasted with Samuel

Comparing and contrasting the lives of Samson ("sunlight" or "sun-like") and Samuel ("heard of God") reveals several interesting points: 

Samuel was totally committed to God

Samson was victorious only in his death because he was controlled by his passion

Both were raised by godly parents,

Both of their mothers were barren,

Both lived in days of the moral anarchy of Judges

Samson was probably "judging" Israel during time that Samuel was ministering to the LORD at the Tabernacle in Shiloh under the tutelage of Eli the High Priest so their lives overlapped),

Both had a call to a SEPARATED life (Angel of LORD instructed Manoah's wife to raise him a NAZARITE to God [Jdg13:5], and Hannah vowed to give Samuel to the LORD all the days of his life & that no razor would ever come on his head which also sounds like a NAZARITE VOW although Samuel is never specifically called a Nazarite [1Sa1:11]), Samuel ministered to the LORD (this phrase is used 3x to describe Samuel in his youth [1Sa2:11, 2:18, 3:1) and finally heard the voice of the LORD but we have no similar record of Samson ever having intimate fellowship with the LORD; Samson received the Spirit of the LORD for strength; the LORD actually spoke with Samuel (1Sa3:4,v6, v8, 11ff) and revealed HIMSELF to him (1Sa3:21)

Both were JUDGES (Samuel also prophet) but only Samuel fulfilled the function of the judge to be a deliverer (Jdg2:18).

Both had the Philistines as their main ENEMY

Samson was defeated by the Philistines & had only partial success; Samuel defeated the Philistines after 40 years of rule and brought peace to the land. (1Sa7:10, 13, 15).

Samson rebelled against the AUTHORITY of God & his parents; Samuel submitted to AUTHORITY, submitting to God, his parents (who had dedicated him to the LORD ALL the days of his life [1Sa1:11]) and Eli. Samson DISOBEYED. Samuel OBEYED.

Samuel was a PROPHET & called Israel to REPENT from their idolatry; Samson was a PRODIGAL & promoted compromise and collaboration with the uncircumcised Philistines and did not confront Israel for her idolatry.

Samson's PRAYERS were primarily self serving (Jdg15:18, 16:28); Samuel's were for the salvation of Israel (1Sa7:5, v8, v9,10). God answered both of their prayers!

Samson was a LONER; Samuel was a LEADER. Some would say Ehud was a loner also but that is not completely true as he was the LEADER of the sons of Israel in the pursuit of the Moabites (Jdg3:12-26, v27-30).

Samson broke every NAZARITE VOW; Samuel appears to have remained dedicated to the LORD all his life thus fulfilling the vow of his mother Hannah.

Samson manifested WEAKNESSES in the lust of his flesh, the lust of his eyes and the boastful pride of life; Samuel was a man dependent on God and there is no record of similar weakness in his life. Sadly his sons "did not walk in his ways" even his first born name Joel (1Sa8:3, v5).

Samson did what was right in his own eyes (the very Hebrew phrase used of his lust for the Philistine woman Jdg14:3, v7); Samuel was dedicated to the LORD.

Samson's life ended tragically and ignominiously without mourning by Israel; All Israel MOURNED when Samuel died (1Sa25:1)

THEN THE THE ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARED TO THE WOMAN, AND SAID TO HER BEHOLD NOW, YOU ARE BARREN AND HAVE BORNE NO CHILDREN BUT YOU SHALL CONCEIVE AND GIVE BIRTH:

When God wants to do something really great in His world, He doesn’t send an army but a Messenger. The Angel visits a couple and promises to send them a baby. His great plan of salvation got underway when He called Abraham and Sarah and gave them Isaac. When He wanted to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage, God sent baby Moses to Amram and Jochebed (Ex6:20); and when in later years Israel desperately needed revival, God gave baby Samuel to Hannah (1Sa1). When the fullness of time arrived, God gave Baby Jesus to Mary; and that baby grew up to die on the cross for the sins of the world.

Babies are fragile, but God uses the weak things of the world to confound the mighty (1Co1:26-28). Babies must have time to grow up, but God is patient and is never late in accomplishing His will. Each baby God sends is a gift from God, a new beginning, and carries with it tremendous potential. What a tragedy that we live in a society that sees the unborn baby as a menace instead of a miracle, an intruder instead of an inheritance

Other servants of God who were chosen before birth include Jeremiah (Je1:4,5) and Paul (Ga1:15), although Ps139:15,16 teaches that the Lord is involved in the conception of every child (Ps127:3).

NAZIRITE (consecrated or separated) TO GOD FROM THE WOMB:

Normally according to (Nu6:1ff) this vow was undertaken by a man or a woman (though no woman are recorded) VOLUNTARILY and for a LIMITED PERIOD of time to fulfill some special service to Yahweh, but Samson’s was INVOLUNTARY & LIFELONG.

Numbers 6:7 reads literally “because the consecration (nezer) of his God is upon his head.” The basic meaning of the nezer is “separation” or “consecration”; but it is also used of a royal crown (2Sa1:10; Zec9:16; Ps89:39). Samson’s long hair as we read later in his story was his “royal crown” and he lost it because of his sin. “Behold, I come quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown” (Rev3:11). Since Samson didn’t discipline his body, he lost both his crown and his prize (1Co9:24-27).

NAZIRITE (consecrated, separated) TO GOD FROM THE WOMB TO THE DAY OF HIS DEATH:

THEN MANOAH ENTREATED THE LORD:

A good prayer for parents.

GWT says

"Then Manoah pleaded with the LORD, "Please, Lord, let the man of God you sent come back to us. Let him teach us what we must do for the boy who will be born."

The NIV has

"Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: "O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born."

His parents had a fear of God and tried to instill this same fear in their son. They brought offerings to God and dared to believe His wonderful promises ("When...come to pass" NOT "if"). Thus there is every indication that Samson's parents were godly and so why the checkered life? To raise a dedicated and godly child requires godly responses by both the parents and the child. When one or the other is lacking failure is often the result.  

BUT THE ANGEL OF THE LORD SAID TO HIM, "WHY DO YOU ASK MY NAME, SEEING IT IS WONDERFUL (noun form used in Isaiah 9:6 "Wonderful Counselor"):

Something so awesome it is beyond human capability or comprehension (Ps139:6) That the Angel would not divulge his name reminds one of the Angel (God) Whom Jacob encountered (Ex32:24-30), who likewise did not give His name.

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Judges 13.18
G Campbell Morgan

This was even more spectacular than the disappearance of the angel who talked with Gideon (6:21). Manoah’s reaction to the miracle, however, matched Gideon’s; Manoah too thought he would die as a result of seeing God (v21,22; cf. Ge16:13, Jdg6:22).

No man has ever seen God in His spiritual Being or Essence. But in His OT appearances, and especially in Jesus Christ incarnate, God has been seen of men (Ge12:7,32:30; Ex24:9-10; Isa6:1) and in Jesus men could see God (14:8,v9, 1Jn1:1,v2).

 It was the Lord who calmed Gideon’s fear of dying (6:23), but it was Manoah’s wife who relieved his anxiety. Using good common sense, she reasoned that the Lord would not have taken the trouble to come down twice and promise them a child if they were to die immediately. Besides, the Lord had requested and accepted an offering from them.

Spurgeon's devotional "The Sacrifice has Been Accepted" notes that...

THIS is a sort of promise deduced by logic. It is an inference fairly drawn from ascertained facts. It was not likely that the Lord had revealed to Manoah and his wife that a son would be born to them, and yet had it in His heart to destroy them. The wife reasoned well, and we shall do well if we follow her line of argument. The Father has accepted the great sacrifice of Calvary and has declared Himself well pleased therewith; how can He now be pleased to kill us? Why a substitute if the sinner must still perish? The accepted sacrifice of Jesus puts an end to fear.

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Judges 13:23
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

If the Lord were pleased to kill us, He would not have received an offering.

Manoah was a pessimist, given to dark foreboding, fond of anticipating misfortune. So soon as he realized that he had seen the face of God, he made sure that his wife and he would die. His wife, on the contrary, was prone to look on the bright side of things, and she must have been an admirable helpmeet. How much some of us owe to the temperament of those with whom we live! Many a time would Christian sit down to die, and succumb in the dark waters of the river, if it were not for Hopeful, who pierces the gloom, and beholds the light shining beyond the cloud.

Often enough Foreboding whispers, “We shall surely die.” It is the voice of conscience, dreading the result of sin. It is the voice of mistrust, which fails to look beyond the hills for its help. It is the voice of human frailty. At such times let us look back and recount the blessings of the past. Did not God receive our burnt-offering? Did He not conspicuously answer our prayers? Did He not give his only begotten Son? Has He not led us by his right hand and holy arm? Has He not delivered us in seven troubles? Besides, has He not pledged Himself for the future? Has He not showed us “all these things”? It is impossible to believe that He will allow us to be overwhelmed.
His love in time past forbids me to think, He’ll leave me at last in trouble to sink.

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Spurgeon's Sermon
Judges 13:22-23
Her Excellent Argument
(Manoah's Wife)

“And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would He have showed us all these things, nor would us at this time have told us such things as these” (Judg. 13:22, 23).

The first remark arising out the story of Manoah and his wife is this—that oftentimes we pray for blessings which will make us tremble when we receive them. Manoah had asked that he might see the angel, and he saw him: in answer to his request the wonderful One condescended to reveal himself a second time, but the consequence was that the good man was filled with astonishment and dismay, and turning to his wife, he exclaimed, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God.” Brethren, do we always know what we are asking for when we pray? We are imploring an undoubted blessing, and yet if we knew the way in which such blessing must necessarily come, we should, perhaps, hesitate before we pressed our suit. You have been entreating very much for growth in holiness. Do you know, brother, that in almost every case that means increased affliction? for we do not make much progress in the divine life except when the Lord is pleased to try us in the furnace and purge us with many fires. Do you desire the mercy on that condition? Are you willing to take it as God pleases to send it, and to say, “Lord, if spiritual growth implies trial, if it signifies a long sickness of body, if it means deep depression of soul, if it entails the loss of property, if it involves the taking away of my dearest friends, yet I make no reserve, but include in the prayer all that is needful to the good end. When I say, sanctify me wholly, spirit, soul, and body, I leave the process to thy discretion.

Suppose you really knew all that it would bring upon you, would you not pray, at any rate, with more solemn tones? I hope you would not hesitate, but, counting all the cost, would still desire to be delivered from sin; but, at any rate, you would put up your petition with deliberation, weighing every syllable, and then when the answer came you would not be so astonished at its peculiar form. Often and often the blessing which we used so eagerly to implore is the occasion of the suffering which we deplore. We do not know God’s methods.

This is the Lord’s way of answering prayer for faith and grace. He comes with rods of chastisement, and makes us smart for our follies, for thus alone can he deliver our childish spirits from them. He comes with sharp plowshares and tears up the soil, for thus only can we be made to yield him a harvest. He comes with hot irons and burns us to the heart; and when we inquire, “Why all this?” the answer comes to us, “This is what you asked for, this is the way in which the Lord answers your requests.” Perhaps, at this moment, the fainting feeling that some you are now experiencing, which makes you fear that you will surely die, may be accounted for by your own prayers. I should like you to look at your present sorrows in that light, and say, “After all, I can see that now My God has given to me exactly what I sought at his hands. I asked to see the angel, and I have seen him, and now it is that my spirit is cast down within me.”

A second remark is this—Very frequently deep prostration of spirit is the forerunner of some remarkable blessing. It was to Manoah and to his wife the highest conceivable joy of life, the climax of their ambition, that they should be the parents of a son by whom the Lord should begin to deliver Israel. Joy filled them—inexpressible joy—at the thought of it; but, at the time when the good news was first communicated, Manoah, at least, was made so heavy in spirit that he said, “We shall surely die, for we have seen an angel of the Lord.” Take it as a general rule that dull skies foretell a shower of mercy. Expect sweet favor when you experience sharp affliction. Do you not remember, concerning the apostles, that they feared as they entered into the cloud on Mount Tabor? And yet it was in that cloud that they saw their Master transfigured; and you and I have had many a fear about the cloud we were entering, although we were therein to see more of Christ and his glory than we had ever beheld before. The cloud which you fear makes the external wall of that secret chamber wherein the Lord reveals himself.

Before thou canst carry Samson in thy arms, Manoah, thou must be made to say, “We shall surely die.” Before the minister shall preach the word to thousands, he must be emptied and made to tremble under a sense of inability. Before the Sunday-school teacher shall bring her girls to Christ, she shall be led to see how weak and insufficient she is. I do believe that whenever the Lord is about to use us in his household, he takes us like a dish and wipes us right out and sets us on the shelf, and then afterwards he takes us down and puts thereon his own heavenly meat, with which to fill the souls of others. There must as a rule be an emptying, a turning upside down, and a putting on one side, before the very greatest blessing comes. Manoah felt that he must die, and yet die he could not, for he was to be the father of Samson, the deliverer of Israel and the terror of Philistia.

Let me offer a third remark, which is this—great faith is in many instances subject to fits. What great faith Manoah had! His wife was barren, yet when she was told by the angel that she should bear a child, he believed it, although no heavenly messenger had come to himself personally—so believed it that he did not want to see the man of God a second time to be told that it would be so, but only to be informed how to bring up the child: that was all. “Well,” says old Bishop Hall, “might he be the father of strong Samson, that had such a strong faith.” He had a strong faith indeed, and yet here he is saying in alarm, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God.” Do not judge a man by any solitary word or act, for if you do you will surely mistake him. Cowards are occasionally brave, and the bravest men are sometimes cowards; and there are men who would be worse cowards practically if they were a little less cowardly than they are. A man may be too much a coward to confess that he is timid. Trembling Manoah was so outspoken, honest, and sincere that he expressed his feelings, which a more politic person might have concealed. Though fully believing what had been spoken from God, yet at the same time this doubt was on him, as the result of his belief in tradition: “We shall surely die, because we have seen God.”

Once again, another remark is that it is a great mercy to have a Christian companion to go to for counsel and comfort whenever your soul is depressed. Manoah had married a capital wife. She was the better one of the two in sound judgment. She was the weaker vessel by nature, but she was the stronger believer, and probably that was why the angel was sent to her, for the angels are best pleased to speak with those who have faith, and if they have the pick of their company, and the wife has more faith than the husband, they will visit the wife sooner than her spouse, for they love to take God’s messages to those who will receive them with confidence. She was full of faith, evidently, and so when her husband tremblingly said, “We shall surely die,” she did not believe in such a mistrustful inference. Moreover, though they say that women cannot reason, yet here was a woman whose arguments were logical and overwhelming. Certain it is that women’s perceptions are generally far clearer than men’s reasonings; they look at once into a truth, while we are hunting for our spectacles. Their instincts are generally as safe as our reasonings, and therefore when they have in addition a clear logical mind they make the wisest of counselors.

Well, Manoah’s wife not only had clear perceptions, but she had capital reasoning faculties. She argued, according to the language of the text, that it was not possible that God should kill them after what they had seen and heard. Oh that every man had such a prudent, gracious wife as Manoah had! Oh that whenever a man is cast down a Christian brother or sister stands ready to cheer him with some reminder of the Lord’s past goodness, or with some gracious promise from the divine word! It may happen to be the husband who cheers the wife, and in such a case it is equally beautiful. We have known a Christian sister to be very nervous and very often depressed and troubled: what a mercy to her to have a Christian husband whose strength of faith can encourage her to smile away her griefs, by resting in the everlasting faithfulness and goodness of the Lord.

God the Holy Spirit shall help us, we will take up the argument of Manoah’s wife, and see whether it will not also comfort our hearts. She had three strings to her bow, good woman. One was—The Lord does not mean to kill us, because he has accepted our sacrifices. The second was—he does not mean to kill us, or else he would not, as at this time, have told us such things as these. So the three strings to her bow were accepted sacrifices, gracious revelations, and precious promises. Let us dwell upon each of them.

And, first, accepted sacrifices. I will suppose that I am addressing a brother who is sadly tried, and terribly cast down, and who therefore has begun to lament—

The Lord has forsaken me quite;
My God will be gracious no more.

Brother, is that possible? Has not God of old accepted on you behalf the offering of his Son Jesus Christ? You have believed in Jesus, dear friend. You do not believe in him now. Lay your hand on your heart, and put the question solemnly to yourself, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” You are able to say, “Yes, Lord, notwithstanding all my unhappiness, I do believe in thee, and rest the stress and weight of my soul’s interests on thy power to save.” Well, then, you have God’s own word, recorded in his own infallible Book, assuring you that Jesus Christ was accepted of God on your behalf, for He laid down his life for as many as believe in him, that they might never perish. He stood as their surety, and suffered as their substitute, is it possible that this should be unavailing, and that after all they may be cast away? The argument of Manoah’s wife was just this—“Did we not put the kid on the rock, and as we put it there was it not consumed? It was consumed instead of us; we shall not die, for the victim has been consumed. The fire will not burn us: it has spent itself upon the sacrifice. Did you not see it go up in smoke, and see the angel ascend with it? The fire is gone; it cannot fall on us to destroy us.”

This being interpreted into the Gospel is just this—Have we not seen the Lord Jesus Christ fastened to the cross? Have we not beheld him in agonies extreme? Has not the fire of God consumed him? Have we not seen him rising, as it were, from that sacred fire in the resurrection and the ascension, to go into the glory? Because the fire of Jehovah’s wrath had spent itself on him we shall not die. He has died instead of us. It cannot be that the Lord has made him suffer, the Just for the unjust, and now will make the believer suffer too. It cannot be that Christ loved His Church, and gave himself for it, and that now the Church must perish also. It cannot be that the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all, and now will lay our iniquity on us too. It were not consistent with justice. It would make the vicarious sacrifice of Christ to be a nullity, a superfluity of cruelty which achieved nothing. The atonement cannot be made of none effect, the very supposition would be blasphemy. O, look, my soul, look to the redeemer’s cross, and as thou seest how God accepts Christ, be thou filled with content. Hear how the “It is finished” of Jesus on earth is echoed from the throne of God himself, as he raises up His Son from the dead, and bestows glory upon him: hear this, I say, and as thou hearest, attend to the power of this argument—If the Lord had been pleased to kill us, he would not have accepted his Son for us. If he meant us to die, would he have put him to death too? How can it be? The sacrifice of Jesus must effectually prevent the destruction of those for whom he offered up himself as a sacrifice. Jesus dying for sinners, and yet the sinners denied mercy! Inconceivable and impossible! My soul, whatever thy inward feelings and the tumult of thy thoughts, the accepted sacrifice shows that God is not pleased to kill thee.

But, if you notice, in the case of Manoah, they had offered a burnt sacrifice and a meat offering too. Well, now, in addition to the great, grand sacrifice of Christ, which is our trust, we, dear brothers and sisters, have offered other sacrifices to God, and in consequence of his acceptance of such sacrifice we cannot imagine that he intends to destroy us.

First, let me conduct your thoughts back to the offering of prayer which you have presented. I will speak for myself. I recall now, running over my diary mentally, full many an instance in which I have sought the Lord in prayer and he has most graciously heard me. I am as sure that my requests have been heard as ever Manoah could have been sure that his sacrifice was consumed upon the rock. May I not infer from this that the Lord does not mean to destroy you? You know that it had been so with you, dear brother. You are down in the dumps today, you are beginning to raise many questions about divine love; but there have been times—you know there have—when you have sought the Lord and he has heard you. You can say, “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and delivered him from all his fears.” Perhaps you have not jotted down the fact in a book, but your memory holds the indelible record. Your soul has made her personal boast in the Lord concerning his fidelity to his promise in helping his people in the hour of need, for you have happily proved it in your own case. Now, brother, if the Lord had been pleased to kill you, would he have heard your prayers? If he had meant to cast you out after all, would he have heard you so many times? If he had sought a quarrel against you he might have had cause for that quarrel many years ago, and have said to you, “When you make many prayers I will not hear.” But since he has listened to your cries and tears, and many a time answered your petitions, he cannot intend to kill you.

Again, you brought to him, years ago, not only your prayers but yourself. You gave yourself over to Christ, body, soul, spirit, all your goods, all your hours, all your talents, every faculty, and every possible acquirement, and you said, “Lord, I am not my own, but I am bought with a price.” Now, at that time did not the Lord accept you? You have at this very moment a lively recollection of the sweet sense of acceptance you had at that time. Though you are at this time sorely troubled, yet you would not wish to withdraw from the consecration which you then made, but on the contrary you declare,

High heaven, that heard the solemn vow,
That vow renewed shall daily hear,
Till, in life’s latest hour, I bow,
And bless in death a bond so dear.

Now, would the Lord have accepted the offering of yourself to him if he meant to destroy you? Would he have let you say, “I am thy servant and the son of thy handmaid: thou hast loosed my bond?” Would he have permitted you to declare as you can boldly assert tonight, “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus,” delighting to remember the time of your baptism into him, whereby your body washed with his pure body, was declared to be the Lord’s forever? Would he enable you to feel a joy in the very mark of your consecration, as well as in the consecration itself, if he meant to slay you? Oh, surely not! He does not let a man give himself up to him and then cast him away. That cannot be.

Some of us, dear friends, can recollect how, growing out of this last sacrifice, there have been others. The Lord has accepted our offerings at other times too, for our works, faith, and labors of love have been owned of his Spirit. There are some of you, I am leased to remember, whom God has blest to the conversion of little children whom you brought to the Savior, and there are others on earth whom you can look upon with great joy because God was pleased to make you the instrument of their conviction and their after conversion. Some of you, I perceive, are ministers of the Gospel, others of you preach at the corners of the streets, and there have been times in your lives—I am sure that you wish they were ten times as many—in which God has been pleased to succeed your efforts, so that hearts have yielded to the sway of Jesus. Now, you do not put any trust in those things, nor do you claim any merit for having served your Master, but still I think they may be thrown in as a matter of consolation, and you may say, If the Lord had meant to destroy me, would he have enabled me to preach his Gospel? Would he have helped me to weep over men’s souls? Would he have enabled me to gather those dear children like lambs to his bosom? Would he have granted me my longing desire to bear fruit in his vineyard, if he did not mean to bless me.?

Now, the second argument was that they had received gracious revelations. “If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have showed us all these things.” Now, what has the Lord shown you, my dear brother? I will mention one or two things.

First, the Lord has shown you, perhaps years ago, or possibly at this moment he is showing you for the first time—your sin. What a sight that was when we first had it. Some of you never saw your sins, but yours sins are there all the same. In an old house, perhaps, there is a cellar into which nobody goes, and no light ever comes in. You live in the house comfortably enough, not knowing what is there; but one day you take a candle, and go down the steps, and open that moldy door, and when it is opened, dear me! What a damp, pestilential smell! How foul the floor is! All sorts of living creatures hop away from under your feet. There are growths on the very walls—a heap of roots in the corner, sending out those long yellow growths which look like the fingers of death. And there is a spider, and there are a hundred like him, of such a size as cannot be grown, except in such horrible places. You get out as quickly as ever you can. You do not like the look of it. Now, the candle did not make that cellar bad; the candle did not make it filthy. No, the candle only showed what there was. And when you get in the carpenter to take down that shutter which you could not open anyhow, for it had not been opened for years, and when the daylight comes in, it seems more horrible than it did by candlelight, and you wonder, indeed, however you did go across it with all those dreadful things all around you and you cannot be satisfied to live upstairs now till that cellar downstairs has been perfectly cleansed. That is just like our heart; it is full of sin, but we do not know it. It is a den of unclean birds, a menagerie of everything that is fearful, and fierce, and furious—a little hell stocked with devils. Such is our nature; such is our heart. Now, the Lord showed me mine years ago, as he did some of you and the result of sight of one’s heart is horrible. Well does Dr. Young say, “God spares all eyes but his own that fearful sight, a naked human heart.” Nobody ever did see all his heart as it really is. You have only seen a part, but when seen, it is so horrible that it is enough to drive a man out of his senses to see the evil of his nature.

Now, let us gather some honey out of this dead lion. Brother, if the Lord had meant to destroy us, he would not have shown us our sin, because we were happy enough previously, were we not? In our own poor way we were content enough, and if he did not mean to pardon us, it was not like the Lord to show us our sin, and so to torment us before our time, unless he meant to take it away. We were swine, but we were satisfied enough with the husks we ate; and why not let us remain swine? What was the good of letting us see our filthiness if he did not purpose to take it away? It never can be possible that God sets himself studiously to torture the human mind by making it conscious of its evil, if he never intends to supply a remedy. Oh no! A deep sense of sin will not save you, but it is a pledge that there is something begun in your soul which may lead to salvation; for that deep sense of sin does as good as say, “The Lord is laying bare the disease that he may cure it. He is letting you see the foulness of that underground cellar of your corruption, because he means to cleanse it for you.”

But He has shown us more than this, for he has made us see the hollowness and emptiness of the world. There are some here present, who at one time, were very gratified with the pleasures and amusements of the world. The theater was a great delight to them. The ballroom afforded them supreme satisfaction. To be able to dress just after their own fancy, and to spend money on their own whims, were the very acme of delight; but there came a time when across all these the soul perceived a mysterious handwriting, which being interpreted ran thus: “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” These very people went to the same amusements, but they seemed so dull and stupid that they came away saying, “We do not care a bit for them. The joys are all gone. What seemed gold turns out to be gilt; and what we thought marble was only white paint. The varnish is cracked, the tinsel is faded, the coloring has vanished. Mirth laughs like an idiot, and pleasure grins like madness.”

We have heard the words, “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity,” sounding in our hearts; and now do you think that, if the Lord had meant to kill us, he would have taught us this? Why, no; he would have said, “Let them alone, they are given unto idols. They are only going to have one world in which they can rejoice; let them enjoy it.” He would have let the swine go on with their husks if he had not meant to turn them into his children, and bring them to his own bosom.
But he has taught us something better than this—namely, the preciousness of Christ. Unless we are awfully deceived—self-deceived, I mean—we have known what it is to lose the burden of our sin at the foot of the cross. We have known what it is to see the suitability and all-sufficiency of the merit of our dear Redeemer, and we have rejoiced in him with joy unspeakable and full of glory. If he had meant to destroy us he would not have shown us Christ.

Sometimes also we have strong desires after God! What pinings after communion with him have we felt! What longings to be delivered from sin! What yearnings to be perfect! What aspirations to be with him in heaven, and what desires to be like him while we are here! Now these longings, cravings, desirings, yearnings, do you think the Lord would have put them into our hearts if he had meant to destroy us? What would be the good of it? Would it not be tormenting us as Tantalus was tormented? Would it not, indeed, be a superfluity of cruelty thus to make us wish for what we could never have, and pine after what we should never gain? O beloved, let us be comforted about these things. If he had meant to kill us, he would not have shown us such things as these.

I shall have no time to dwell upon the last source of comfort, which is what the Lord has spoken to us—many precious promises. “Nor would he have told us such things as these.” At almost any time when a child of God is depressed, if he goes to the Word of God and to prayer, and looks up, he will generally get a hold of some promise or other. I know I generally do. I could not tell you, dear brother, tonight, what promise would suit your case, but the Lord always knows how to apply the right word at the right time; and when a promise is applied with great power to the soul, and you are enabled to plead it at the mercy-seat, you may say, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have made us such a promise as this.” I have a promise that hangs up before my eyes whenever I wake every morning, and it has continued in its place for years. It is a stay to my soul. It is this: “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.” Difficulties arise, funds run short, sickness comes; but somehow or other my text always seems to flow like a fountain—“I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.” If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have said that to us.

What is your promise, brother? What have you got a hold of? If you have not laid hold of any, and feel as if none belonged to you, yet there are such words as these, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came not the world to save sinners,” and you are one. Ah, if he had meant to destroy you, he would not have spoken a text of such a wide character on purpose to include your case. A thousand promises go down to the lowest deep into which a heart can ever descend, and if the Lord had meant to destroy a soul in the deeps, he would not have sent a gospel promise down even to that extreme.

SAMSON: So Samson was born, like Isaac, a child of promise. Note that nearly 1/5th of the entire book of Judges is about Samson so even though much of his story is difficult to understand and evaluate it cannot be ignored or minimized.

Samson’s name was given by his mother, which compares with Hagar’s naming of Ishmael (Ge16:11; cf. Isa7:14). "Samson" means "little sun" (or sunlight or brightness) from shemesh meaning "sun". About 2 miles across the valley of Sorek was Beth-Shemesh where the sun god was worshiped!

LORD BLESSED HIM: To bless in the OT means "to endue with power for success, prosperity, fecundity, longevity, etc." It is frequently contrasted with qalal "to esteem lightly, curse" (cf. Dt30:1,19).

While other judges were said to be clothed with God’s Spirit (3:10; 6:34; 11:29), only of Samson is it said “the Lord blessed him” (13:24; Lu1:80,2:52). The hand of God was on him in a special way. He began his ministry blessed by the Lord and closed his life mocked by a heathen crowd. Yes, in Samson’s death he achieved his greatest victory, killing more than any time in his life, but how much better had he been a living sacrifice (Ro12:1-2) and not a dead one.

Few men in the Bible exhibit such a contrast of strength and weakness. When we think of Samson, we ordinarily think of his strengths. He killed a lion with his bare hands (14:6). He killed thirty Philistines single–handed (14:19). He broke the cords with which the men of Judah had bound him, and slew 1000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey (15:14-16). In escaping from a trap which the Philistines had laid for him, he walked away with the gates of Gaza (16:3). Three times he escaped the treachery of Delilah—once by breaking the seven fresh bowstrings that bound him, once by snapping the new ropes as if they were a thread, and once by pulling out the pin that fastened the seven locks of his hair to a loom (16:6-14). Finally, he pulled down the pillars of the house in which the Philistines were being amused by him, killing more in his death than he did in his life (16:30).

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD BEGAN TO STIR HIM (impel): Three times the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson (Jud13:25, 14:6; 14:19; 15:14), and it is implied in his other exploits as well. In the OT the Spirit came upon individuals to empower them for special service and He did not permanently indwell them in contrast to the NT (Jn14:16,17). Contrasted with Jephthah, the son of a harlot who was driven out of his home, Samson had every advantage as a boy.

What potential: His birth announced by Christ Himself, godly parents, dedication to God at birth and set apart as a Nazirite for special service, blessed of the LORD as he grew, and finally stirred by the Holy Spirit of God. All members of the Trinity are intimately involved in his development. BUT SPIRITUAL PRIVILEGE IS NO GUARANTEE OF SPIRITUAL SUCCESS. That's what Paul recounts in 1Co10 as he lists the numerous privileges of the Israelites and their repeated failures, closing witht the somber warning in (1Co10:12).