King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Thursday, April 04, 2024
Chapters: Judges Chapters 13-15
Message: Trust God’s Understanding
Hello My Friend,
Every time I read through Judges it reminds me of what is happening today as our nations have done evil in the sight of God and how He turned them over to our enemies. Do you think it is coincidence that we have a man in office that declares Easter Sunday as a day to celebrate sin? God, put this godless, nepotist in office for a reason and our nation needs to come back to God before He turns His back on us just like He did Israel, [2 Chronicles 7:13-14 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; 14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.]
Believe it or not, God, does not give up very easy, He tries and tries to get His people to turn from their wicked ways. It actually fitting that I read this this morning, [Look to thy perfect Lord, and remember, thou art complete in him; thou art in God’s sight as perfect as if thou hadst never sinned; nay, more than that, the Lord our Righteousness hath put a divine garment upon thee, so that thou hast more than the righteousness of man-thou hast the righteousness of God…O, I beseech thee, lay hold on this precious thought, perfection in Christ! For thou art “complete in him.” With thy Saviour’s garment on, thou art holy as the Holy one. “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Christian, let thy heart rejoice, for thou art “accepted in the beloved”] -Charles Spurgeon
God, is not looking for perfection, He is looking for willing vessels, in fact, saved, born again willing vessels, who will teach these people how to turn from their wicked ways and trust God completely. We cannot hide and we certainly cannot lean on our own understanding, we need the power of the Holy Spirit for this. As we continue in the reading of Judges, we learn that the Israelites did evil in God’s sight again, and that was when He sent them into the hands of the Philistines again, and it was forty years. This time, we get a deeper insight as to how He may choose a judge, in fact, He chose this one from his birth.
[Judges 13:1-5 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. 2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. 3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. 4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: 5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.]
[for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb:] A Nazarite is a person who was bound by a vow of a peculiar kind to be set apart from others for the service of God. The Nazarite vowed to abstain from drinking wine and even eating grapes. They were forbidden to cut their hair, handle a dead body, or go against the Word of God, [Numbers 6:2-8]. When Manoah’s wife told him what the angel of the LORD had told her he was not quite sure how to handle that news, so, he prayed for God to send the man back.
[Judges 13:7-8,12-14 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death. 8 Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born. 12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him? 13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. 14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.]
[Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.] The angel gave him no direct answer to his question, he only reminds of and repeats what he had said to his wife, which she should be careful to observe, and that was enough for him to know. There are some things that we do not need to ask “Why?” we are simply to observe and do what we are commanded as it is in our best interest, [Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.]
Do you see that? God, will direct our paths, no matter how strange they might be to us. Now, with all that news Manoah felt the need to do something for the man, he insisted that he stay until he had made him a meal. The angel agreed, but had specific instructions.
[Judges 13:16-20 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD. 17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? 18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? 19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. 20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.]
[that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?] This is why the angel said that his name was a secret, he was not the one to give honor to this miracle, it was God. Even though Jesus is God, He is still the Son of God in the flesh and will not place Himself above His Father, [Luke 18:18-19 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.] We are to never lift up the man or woman of God above God Himself, we are just His messengers. Since we never know who we are talking to it might be wise to entertain strangers, [Hebrews 13:2,7 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.]
[and fell on their faces to the ground.] Whenever you realize that something came from God the first thing you do is fall on your face so to speak because you know you are not worthy. Nevertheless, God, knows who we are and what purpose He chose us and He will follow through. Manoah, just knew that they were going to die because they saw God, but his wife eased his fear.
[Judges 13:22-25 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. 23 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 shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these. 24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.]
[If the LORD were pleased to kill us,] The strangest thing about God is that we can mess up a thousand times a day, but He will continue to use us that is unless one has turned on Him as He did with Saul, [1 Samuel 13:13-14] and that is when He will move on to someone else. Even though Samson was raised up as a Nazarite, he was far from fulfilling that vow, however, God, did have a plan, all the way down to Samson’s desire for the Philistine women. Samson, actually went to his parents to ask for this woman to become his wife.
[Judges 14:1-4 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. 3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.]
[mother knew not that it was of the LORD,] Sometimes God does have some strange ways of doing things, we tend to think that our weaknesses in our flesh as our biggest downfalls, but God sees them as opportunity. God, gives Samson a glimpse of what that opportunity would be when a lion came at him and killed it with his bare hands, with the power of the Holy Spirit upon him.
[Judges 14:6-9 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. 7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. 8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. 9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.]
[And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him,] By enabling him to kill a lion, God, let Samson know what he could do in the strength of the Holy Spirit, that he might never be afraid to face the greatest difficulties that he would face, [Psalms 56:3-4 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. 4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.]
[a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.] So, what was the purpose of all this? God, will take us where we need to be and give us the knowledge, strength, and guidance to fulfill His plan, whatever it may be. Now, Samson, prepared a feast that would last seven days in celebration of his marriage, he took thirty companions who were Philistines, along with his parents. He actually made a bet with them to see if they could solve this riddle of where he got the honey. For three days they tried and failed until they threatened his wife.
[Judges 14:17-20 And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people. 18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle. 19 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house. 20 But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.]
[his companion, whom he had used as his friend.] We have all had those people in our lives who we might associate with, but are not actual friends, they are usually the first to stab us in the back. God, has a reason for that as well. What God is doing in all this is strengthening us for what He will have us to do, [2 Timothy 2:20-21 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.]
You know, sometimes it may not seem like we are completely off the mark, that we are not in the will of God at all, and are making these huge mistakes in what we are doing. When Samson found out that his wife’s father gave her to his companion, Samson went crazy and set their crops on fire.
[Judges 15:1-5 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in. 2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her. 3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. 4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. 5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.]
[Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines,] And this was God’s purpose, to anger them and get them in one place. God, would use this to show His strength through Samson, not only to the Philistines, but Israel as well. The interesting thing is that the Philistines retaliated and ended up killing Samson’s wife’s family anyway because they stirred up Samson. Then the Philistines gathered an army together, but when the men of Judah saw them they feared for their lives.
[Judges 15:6-11 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire. 7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease. 8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam. 9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us. 11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.]
[Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us?] This is exactly why our nation is falling quickly into the hands of the wicked rulers, they will not put their faith in God, they will not stand up to them and cower in fear. The men in fear did bind Samson up with the promise that they would not kill him, and well, Samson wasted no time in freeing himself from those cords.
[Judges 15:14-15,18-19 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. 15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. 18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? 19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.]
[But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw,] God, made water come out of the jaw and it revived his spirit. This is proof that we are saved by grace, and we can mess up a thousand times a day and still have God’s favor. Is that not was Jesus does for us, revives our spirit every morning, [2 Corinthians 4:15-17 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. 16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Judges 13:20-21 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. 21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.]
Today’s Prayer: God, I will not dare say that I understand Your ways all the time, but I will say that Your ways are the best and will do much more for me than anything I try to do on my own. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your mercy, grace, strength, and guidance as you work in me to follow Your plan and purpose for my life. Work on my heart, keep me faithful, true, and from trying to handle everything on my own. I know that as long as I am faithful, true, and repentant, that You will see me through and I will see Your mighty hand bring it all together. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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