King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 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.]
Date: Wednesday, April 05, 2023
Chapters: JUDGES 16-18
Study: The Power of Christ
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
I do not care what generation you came from or whether or not we were here before Jesus came to earth in the flesh, salvation has always been granted to believers by the grace of God. The reason why works never were what was needed for salvation is for the fact that no matter how many good things we do to get to the top, all it takes us one sin to bring us back down to the bottom. Ask any of those who were here and saved before Christ gave His life for us and they will tell you of the multitude of sin that they committed. Well, actually they cannot tell you because all of their sins are forgiven and forgotten by God just as our are when we accept Christ as our Saviour. How do I know this? The answer is right here in this passage.
[Hebrews 11:32-33,35,39-40 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.]
Samson, was not what you would call a model Christian, in fact, he was the complete opposite, and even though he was raised by his parents to be a Nazarite, he was far from following that vow. As we continue in the reading of Judges, Samson, continues to judge Israel, but his lust for Philistine women continues.
[Judges 16:1-4 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.]
[and took the doors of the gate of the city,] Samson, carried those doors about twenty miles upon his shoulders. Why? Well, perhaps it was to show his great strength, not for himself, but for the encouragement of his people to join with him, and for the great terror and contempt of the Philistines. Remember, Samson’s strength came from God, so, it may seem strange that Samson, immediately after his sin would have all this courage and strength from God to defeat the Philistines, but then again, that is why we are saved by grace. We always have Jesus to come to for forgiveness, [1 John 2:1-2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.]
Christians, who continually live in what we would call voluntary sin, may not face judgment of their souls as their sins are covered under the blood of Christ, but that does not mean that their flesh will not suffer. Those who knowingly engage in immoral behavior fully knowing that it goes against what God says is right will suffer as their sins will catch up to them. Samson’s, sin was about to catch up to him when he actually fell in love with Delilah. The Philistines were determined to find out how they could weaken Samson to take him, and Delilah was more than happy to assist once they paid her a large sum of money to find out where his strength came.
[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.]
[and she bound him with them.] Did Samson even feel her wrapping those cords around him? I am pretty sure that he did, but even if he did not, then she must have knocked him out with something. Did she not realize that he actually said those things on purpose? Our physical strength can only go so far before it gives out, which is why Jesus gives us the rest of the strength we need to rip those cords off us when the enemy attacks, [2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.]
Women, do have a great deal of influence on a man and his faith in God, we truly are their weakness when it comes to their flesh, but we can also be their strength as well. A Godly woman is truly a blessing from God to a man, but a wicked woman, will tear a man down fast, especially, if he loves her. I do have to say that the same thing is actually true in regards to a man who influences a woman who loves him. It took a few tries, but Delilah knew when she had finally gotten Samson to open up his heart and tell her where his strength came from.
[Judges 16:15-19 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. 16 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.]
[How canst thou say, I love thee,]These are the very words that can bring down the strongest Christian, especially when they love someone who is not so understanding in the Word of God. The mere pressure of the constant nagging and pressing on about the matter will bring us to give into them and also bring us down to our lowest. [for he hath shewed me all his heart.] Samson’s hair and physical strength was not all that he lost that night, he lost the most precious gift we will ever receive, the presence of God.
[Judges 16:20-24 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. 22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. 23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 24 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.]
[And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.] We can praise God that once we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and we receive the Holy Spirit into our soul that He does not remove it whenever we sin. However, that does not mean that He will sit back and watch us living in sin, there are always consequences to unrepentant sin. However, when we come to Him in full confession He will forgive us and even save us if it is the last thing that we do. Samson, knew his days were done, as they brought him into their celebration, tying him up to these pillars, little did they realize that the true source of his strength was coming back and it was not his hair. He begs God for one last gust of strength.
[Judges 16:28-30 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. 29 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.]
[And he bowed himself with all his might;] Can you picture Jesus on the cross right now? Can you picture the man beside Jesus on the cross asking Him to take him with Him when He died? Can you picture Jesus calling out to His Father and asking Him why He forsook Him? Can you picture Jesus saying, “It is finished” as He bowed His head and died? With all His might, Jesus, gave His life to save us from more than death and hell, He saved us from boring the nails of all those sins and we would be hung to for our sins. Remember, God, made Him to be sin that He might bore our sin on that cross with Him, [2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.]
Because we belong to Christ, through our faith in Him, Satan cannot touch our soul, and there is nothing that we can ever do to lose our salvation, unless we believed in vain. That still does not excuse sin, We will come to repentance one way or another. You see, there is a reason why God has commandments for us to follow even when we are saved, not for the sake of our salvation, but for the sake of needless suffering caused by sin. If we are lawless about the Law, it will bring a great deal of not only pain to our lives. Now, after Samson died, things got very lawless and we actually get a glimpse of the things that were taking place that would anger God to the point that He would deliver them into the hands of their enemies. 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, they got the money from a mans mother, and his name was Micah. Micah, retrieved the money, and brought it back to her, but what she did with the money was unthinkable.
[Judges 17:3-6 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. 5 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.]
[I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD] So, she dedicates this money that was returned to her to God by making an idol? Does this not sound familiar? How about the virgin Mary? Her statue is plastered all over right now as many religions are observing the week that Jesus would be captured and crucified. It is one thing to make up a god, it is another to make up some statue or picture and say that it is of and for God. Okay, as much as people like to believe that they can worship God however they choose, that is not how God works. The only way that we can one; dedicate anything to God and two; worship God is through His Son, [John 6:39-40,44 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.]
Did you notice how these people who make up these false religions mimic true religion? And thing is, they know they are in the wrong here. Watch as Micah was about to make things even worse for him when he ran into a Levite who was an actual priest.
[Judges 17:7-10,12-13 And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. 9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place. 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. 12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. 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,] Micah thought that a Levite priest, one who was supposed to be one of God’s ministers, coming to his door was a sign that he was doing right and God was going to finally bless him. This tells me two things, his entire family was suffering, and he had no clue what he was doing. Oh, and it gets even worse, When the promised land was distributed by Joshua, considerable territory was allotted to each tribe, including Dan, but they were not very faithful to God, and as a result they had been run out of theirs. Now, in search of their own and coming upon the Levite they wanted God’s blessings too.
[Judges 18:1-2,6-7 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. 6 And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go. 7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.]
[that might put them to shame in any thing;] Do you see what they saw? Complete lawlessness. 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 and taking their gods. They took not only the objects used to worship their false gods they convinced the priest to come with them too.
[Judges 18:9,15,18-20 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. 15 And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him. 18 And these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye? 19 And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel? 20 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.]
[And the priest’s heart was glad,] How ridiculous! Do you see what was happening here? They were all lost, and followed whatever path got them the better deal. They had no clue who God is, and how to worship Him, and they certainly did not have His Word to guide them. Oh, and this was not the end of the story, Micah, all he could do was whine and cry that his gods was taken away from him.
[Judges 18:22-26 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.]
[Let not thy voice be heard among us,] 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.]
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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