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: Friday, April 05, 2024
Chapters: Judges Chapters 16-18
Message: Vain Worship of God
Hello My Friend,
I read that there are four thousand and two hundred religions in the world right now, and I am sure that that number is climbing as we speak. Do you know what that tells me? One; People believe in a supernatural being for healing, prosperity, and protection. Two; People are lost as can be, and Three; People have no idea what god they are worshiping. It is like Jesus said to the woman at the well, [John 4:22-24 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.]
There is not one person on this earth that does not have some sort of religion that they follow, even atheists have a religion in which they worship themselves and the very creations of their Creator, [Romans 1:22-25 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.]
As we continue in the reading of Judges, we learn that Samson still had a desire for the Philistine women. He not only broke the Nazarite vow in which he defiled his body with a prostitute, he met a woman named Delilah. Now, the Philistines despised Samson and would have done anything to get rid of him, and they finally found a woman all too willing to sell him out, for a price that is.
[Judges 16:1-5 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her. 2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him. 3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron. 4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.]
[and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city,] While the men plotted to kill him as soon as he went through the doors of the gate, Samson, ripped off the doors and carried them about twenty miles upon his shoulders. Why? While we do not know the reason, perhaps it was to show them his great strength. Perhaps it was to get them to fear him. I believe it had to do with his pride, he got too confident in his physical strength, thinking that nothing and no one could defeat him. Pride, will even bring the strongest Christian to forget that their strength comes from God, [Proverbs 8:13-14 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. 14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.]
When you stop to think about it, it really was odd that the only thing that Philistines were trying to find out was where his strength lied, but then again perhaps God was trying him at this point. Now with a huge bounty on his head, Delilah, wasted no time in trying to convince Samson to tell him where his strength came from. And for a while, it seemed like Samson actually toyed with her and them.
[Judges 16:6-10 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. 7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. 10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.]
[So his strength was not known.] Everyone has a weakness when they are attempting to live their lives in their own physical strength. While God does want us to be strong in that we fight with all of our might, He wants us to understand that it is Christ who gives us the strength to fight, [2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.]
Now, after several tries, Delilah, pressed and pressed him so much that he finally caved in and gave her the answer that came from his heart. I believe that this was where God thought that since that was what he believed, then so be it.
[Judges 16:16-19 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; 17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. 18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. 19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.]
[Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart.] Our heart reveals everything, Jesus said this in regards to what really defiles a man (or woman), [Matthew 15:17-19 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:]
The number one reason that many Christians fall is because they relied on their own strength to fight temptation. Since, Samson believed that his strength lied in his hair, God, took His strength away from him and sadly, he not only was captured, they gouged his eyes out and turned him into a slave, [Judges 16:20-21 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. 21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.]
[And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.] While no one can lose their salvation once they accept Christ as their Saviour, they can lose His protection if they stop relying on Him. The great thing about God is that once we realize where our strength comes from Him alone, He is right there to help us, [James 4:9-10 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.]
Now, while Samson’s hair did start to grow back he finally realized that his strength came from God. To show all of them this, the Philistines decided to have a party in celebration of their finally capturing Samson. All the lords gathered in the house of their god, and they brought in Samson to brag on how their god was able to deliver him into their hands.
[Judges 16:24-25,28 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. 25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. 28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.]
[Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy,] Is this not what all religions do? They worship their false gods, believing that they are just as alive and capable as the Almighty God. Well, they learn the hard way that there is only one living God and He will remember and defend His people all the way to their death, [Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.]
Knowing that God was with him, Samson, grabbed a hold of the two pillars that he was leaning on and brought the entire roof down, [Judges 16:29-31 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. 31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.]
[in the buryingplace of Manoah his father.] It occurred to me that Samson’s father was dead so maybe that was the reason he lost sight of God in the first place and turned to women for comfort. It is so important that we look to God when we are seeking comfort, physical comforts can only go so far as they too will start to fade, [Psalms 146:3-5 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. 4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. 5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:]
And now we come to the sad state of what happens to those who have no idea what they are doing. They believe in God, want His blessings, and yet insist on making up their own ways to worship Him. Remember when the Philistines came to Delilah and told her they would each give her eleven hundred shekels if she got Samson to tell her where his strength lied? Well, one of the Philistines took his portion of money from a man name Micah’s mother and gave it to her. Micah retrieved it, and brought it back to his mother.
[Judges 17:1-4 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son. 3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee. 4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.]
[gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image] The man took those two hundred pieces of silver and of all things made an idol. Does this sound familiar? This is what Aaron did when he had made the golden calf, [Exodus 32:3-4 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.] Did you notice how these people who make up these false religions mimic true religion? Micah, not only had one idol, he had several and actually called them his gods. Watch as Micah was about to make things even worse for him when he ran into a Levite who was an actual priest.
[Judges 17:5-7,10-11,13 And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. 7 And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons. 13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.]
[Now know I that the LORD will do me good,] Oh my goodness, can you believe how lost people are and how clueless they are when it comes to God? Forget the fact that the very first command that He gives them is to have no other gods before Him, [Exodus 20:2-4 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:]
We really cannot blame Micah for his ignorance as he was brought up to believe that one needed several gods in order to be pleased by God. Do you see what was happening here? They were all lost, and followed whatever god got them the better deal. They had no clue who God is, or how to worship Him, but they knew that they needed God, when learn this when a group from the tribe of Dan ran into the Levite.
[Judges 18:1-3,5-6 In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel. 2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here? 5 And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous. 6 And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go.]
[the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in;] When the promised land was distributed by Joshua, considerable territory was allotted to each tribe, including Dan, but this group was run out by the Philistines and Amorites. We all seek an inheritance to dwell in, in fact, we all want a place that we can call home, which is often why we get ourselves into messes. Thankfully, those whom have received Christ as their Saviour do have an inheritance awaiting them, an eternal one, [Hebrews 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.]
[before the LORD is your way wherein ye go.] People are so clueless when it comes to God, but again, we cannot blame them for their ignorance, even though they will still be held accountable for following the false religion, [Acts 17:30-31 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.] Jesus, shows us the way to go, [John 14:6-7 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.]
The Danites find their way to Laish where they observed the lawlessness and carelessness of the Zidonians who lived there. They figured if these people were living wickedly and no one got in trouble, then this must be the place to live. They plotted to take the land from them, but not before invading the house of Micah.
[Judges 18:8-10,13,17 And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye? 9 And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land. 10 When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth. 13 And they passed thence unto mount Ephraim, and came unto the house of Micah. 17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.]
[God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing] This is the problem with the world even today, they want everything handed to them without any consequence and without doing any work to get it. Why do you think we have every kind of fruit and vegetable available at any time? Why do you think that children are growing up as giants and the obesity rate is astounding? None of this is from God, and yet God will use all of it to His advantage, [Romans 9:21-23 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,]
Now, because the Levite priest was just as lost as the others, he gladly took the offer to go with the Danites. Oh, and this was not the end of the story, Micah, just stood there wand watched them take his gods.
[Judges 18:20,22-26 And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people. 22 And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah’s house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan. 23 And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company? 24 And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee? 25 And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household. 26 And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.]
[Ye have taken away my gods…and what have I more?] Religion will forever send souls to hell, and let me tell you as much as God does not want to see any of them on hell, especially when they go through such great lengths to show Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, if they are trusting in the religion over the truth, He will give them up, [Luke 13:24-27 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Judges 16:28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.]
Today’s Prayer: God, You have given us an example of how You want us to worship You and that is by first receiving Your Son as our Saviour. We are not required to be perfect, just to believe in Your perfect Son, but You would like us to live our lives in a way that others can worship You in the truth of Christ. Lord, give me Your power and wisdom to be more like Jesus, keep me in Your word, help me to discern right from wrong, and if there is anything I need to repent of, give me Your strength to do it. As I walk with You, love You, talk to You, and walk in the strength of Your Son, I know I can do all things. I ask these things in Your name Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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