Judges 13:1-14:20 "God Raised Up the Perfect Savior"

0:52But this Friday, there's a cool movie coming out. It's a new Fantastic Four movie. I'm excited about it for a few reasons. First, it stars Pedro Pascal of Mandalorian fame. He's cool. Second, it's got that like retros 1960s vibe, like the Incredibles movies. I love that. And then, third, it's an origin story, which I think is the most fun kind of superhero movie. Origin stories are great because you get this backstory to what is going on and why things are the way they are, and you get a preview of what's going to happen in the future.

1:29And, friends, This morning, we've got an origin story of our own to enjoy here in the scriptures. At the beginning of the book of Judges, we noted that people love hero stories. And we love hero stories because there's a desire in each one of us for someone to come and rescue us from the things that we fear. That's why we love hero stories. We want somebody to come and rescue us from what we fear. And at this point in the book, God has raised up a bunch of heroes, or would-be heroes, 11 of them, in fact, and every one of them judged Israel, and they brought rest to the land for between 20 and 80 years.

2:11So they enjoyed that rest, that time of peace, but it never lasted because of the people's sin. Well, today we come to the story of Samson, the 12th and final judge mentioned in the book. Samson's story is the longest. It's probably the best known. And as you heard in the reading, there are a number of things about this story that are unique, that are different from every other judge. With all of the other judges, they just kind of seem to appear out of nowhere.

2:43God raises them up and they do some things and then they're gone. But with Samson, it's different. It's a true origin story where we get the background on his parents and his birth and some details about his growing up that we just don't get. With the other judges. And so this leads you to wonder: could Samson be the one that God foretold back in Genesis 3? Could he be the Savior that is the seed of the woman who's going to grow up to crush the head of the serpent once and for all? Could he be the hero that we need?

3:28Well, here's the spoiler for you. No. Samson is not the fulfillment of God's promise in Genesis chapter 3. He is not going to save God's people once and for all. He is far from perfect. He's more like the perfect representative of his people, a people who, on the whole, do not know the Lord or the things that he has done for Israel. But through Samson's failures and his few successes, Samson points us to the truth that we can never hear enough. Here it is on the screen.

4:06In Jesus, God raised up the perfect Savior for us. In Jesus, God raised up the perfect Savior for us. So let me give you the roadmap for today. Let me show you where we're going in the sermon. First, God must raise up a Savior for us. Second, our Savior must. Be perfect. And third, Jesus is the perfect Savior we need. Let's turn our attention to the beginning of Judges chapter 13, where we see that God must raise up a Savior for us.

4:45If you take a look there in verse 1, you see that the people yet again did evil in the sight of the Lord. Now that phrase, in the sight of the Lord, is very important because the refrain of the book of Judges is that the people consistently did what was right in their own eyes. They didn't do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. They did what was right in their own eyes. And friends, that is what people do.

5:15That is what you and I do, left to our own devices. We do what is right in our own eyes instead of what is right in God's eyes. We do evil things. And that is what we see here in this chapter. The people are doing evil in the sight of the Lord. So what does God do? He allows them to experience the consequences of their sin. He sells them into the hand of the Philistines. Now, you may or may not be familiar with the Philistines, but these people were very fierce warriors who lived on the western part of the promised land, the seacoast there on the Mediterranean Sea. They knew how to make weapons out of iron. They had... More numbers, they had tactical advantages, they were better fighters than Israel. And so God commanded Israel to drive these people out. When Joshua led the people into the promised land, they were supposed to fight and drive out all of these people who did not worship God and would not submit to him.

6:18But they didn't drive out the Philistines. Israel failed to do that. And until the time of David, the Philistines would be Israel's archenemy. They would be the biggest thorn in Israel's side. And here at the end of verse 1, you see that the Philistines ruled over Israel for 40 years. Now, maybe you notice something here, something missing at this point at the end of verse 1. Every other time the Israelites sin against God, God sells them into the hand of other nations, just like he does here.

6:56But every other time God sells them into the hand of the other nations, Israel cries out to God for rescue. They cry out to God for salvation, for deliverance. But not this time. There is no mention of them crying out to God for help, not even after 40 years, four decades of Philistine rule. All of these other nations ruled over them for seven years to 20 years, and every single time they cried out for help. But the Philistines were killed. Philistines are ruling over them for 40 years, and there's nothing, not even a whimper.

7:37So, why is that? Well, we aren't told in the text. Perhaps they've just given up hope. They've just decided these people are just stronger, they're better warriors. Even with God's help, there's no way we could drive them out. We just give up. Maybe that's it. Or maybe they've come to believe that Philistine rule and the Philistine way of life is not really that bad. That maybe this is a better way to live. Maybe they've just assimilated into Philistine culture.

8:14They've started to worship their gods and to marry their sons and daughters and to become just like them. And if Samson's future behavior is any indicator, this is pretty likely. But whatever the reason, the Israelites sin against the Lord, he gives them into the hand of the Philistines, and the people do not cry out for deliverance. But how amazing is this? Although the people don't cry out for rescue, God still raises up a Savior for them. Isn't that incredible?

8:53We concluded last week with the words of Romans 5 that you just heard in the assurance that Pastor Joshua read to us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Before we ever cried out for help, before we recognized our need, before we said we need to be rescued, God raised up a Savior for you and me. And friends, this is what Judges 13 is all about. God working to raise up a Savior for his people that they did not call out for.

9:32God raises up a Savior in spite of the fact that they don't even ask. What amazing grace. And if you think about the details of this story and you are familiar with the Gospel of Luke, you might notice some interesting parallels. An angel of the Lord appears to an ordinary woman before he appears to her husband and says that they are going to have a child who will be special, set apart for God's purposes. Manoah and his wife are righteous people, people who seem to fear the Lord, people who pray. They assume that God's word is true. Two times in the passage, Manoah says to the angel, when your words come true.

10:20And then I want you to look at these last couple of verses in the chapter. Look at verses 24 and 25. And the woman bore a son. And called his name Samson. Listen to this. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. Does any of that sound familiar? Does that sound like Luke's gospel to you? I mean, doesn't it remind us of how an angel of the Lord appeared to Mary and then to Joseph to tell them that they're going to have a special child?

11:01Doesn't it remind you of how Mary was perplexed by the messenger and the message? Or of how both Mary and Joseph assumed that God's word is true and obeyed it? Doesn't it remind you of how Luke says that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God and men and was filled with the Spirit? If you know Luke's gospel, it certainly should. There are striking parallels between the birth of Samson and the birth of Jesus.

11:32But, friends, here is the key difference. I want you to look back at verse 5 of chapter 13. The angel of the Lord says of Samson in verse 5, look at the end, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. But look at what the angel of the Lord tells Joseph about Mary and her son in the gospel of Jesus. Of Matthew. Take a look at this on the screen. Mary will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. You see the difference there? Samson will begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. Jesus will save his people from their sins. What a difference. You see, Samson couldn't even save God's people from the hand of the Philistines, much less from their sins. He could only begin to save the people from the hand of the Philistines. And that is because Samson was not perfect. And our Savior has to be perfect.

12:48Let's look at chapter 14 now and just see how Samson fails to be perfect. Look at Judges 14, verse 1. Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother, I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife. But his father and mother said to him, Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives or among all our people that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? But Samson said to his father, Get her for me, for she is right. Right in my eyes. His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time, the Philistines ruled over Israel. Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timna. And behold, a young lion came toward him, roaring. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson's eyes. After some days he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion. His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do.

14:40Now, as we recall from the reading, Samson was supposed to be a Nazarite to God from the womb. A Nazarite was a person that was set aside for God's special purposes. It's talked about in Numbers chapter 6. And so, usually that was a temporary vow that you took. For a period of time, but Samson was different. He was going to be set aside as a Nazarite from the womb for his entire life. And what that would mean is that he could not cut his hair, he could not drink alcohol, and he could not touch a dead body.

15:17Now, why those three things? I have no idea. This is one of those moments where in the Bible, it's God said it, that settles it. We move on. At any rate, Samson is supposed to be set apart for God's special purposes. His life is supposed to be an example of holiness and obedience and sacrifice for all of the people. And on top of that, he has been chosen by God to begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines. So Samson is up to bat. How is this going to go? Well, first, we find him wandering down to the Philistine village of Timna to fight them, right? To bash some heads. No, Samson is not going to fight anyone.

16:13He's looking for love. And he sees a Philistine woman, and he comes and tells his parents, Now get her for me as my wife. Imagine talking to your parents that way in 2025. I would have gotten punched in. The face. Imagine talking to your parents like that 2,000 years ago. My dad never hit me in the face, just to be clear. In ancient Israel, marriages were arranged by parents, not by children. Kids did not arrange their own marriages. They certainly didn't order their parents around, like, go get this girl for me. But his parents, who in every respect seem to be God-fearing people, they try to dissuade Samson. They never refer to the Mosaic law, but they seem to understand this is not okay. You cannot marry a foreigner who does not worship God. But how does Samson respond? He says, verse 3: Get her for me. Why?

17:14For she is right in my eyes. She's right in Samson's eyes. She's not right in the Lord's eyes, but Samson doesn't care about that. Strike one. Then Samson is wandering down to Timna again. This time he's got his parents who either are way ahead of him or way behind him because they don't know what's going to happen here. And they arrive at a vineyard. You know, the place where they grow grapes to make wine that Samson's not allowed to drink. A lion comes rushing at him, roaring, and the Spirit of the Lord rushes upon him and he tears the lion in pieces. It's almost as though God created this opportunity to say, Samson, This is what you should be doing to the Philistines.

18:04But does Samson go tear the Philistines to pieces? No. He goes to talk to his girlfriend. They probably went to the mall, like all immature couples. And again, the author notes, verse 7, and she was right in Samson's eyes. Some time passes, and Samson returns for the wedding ceremony. He turns aside to look at his trophy kill. I guess it was too mangled to mount on the wall. And he notices there are bees in there, and there's honey. And so he scrapes it out. He's eating as he goes, like, what a caveman, you know, just licking the stuff off his hands. And he gives some to his parents. But notice the text says he doesn't tell his parents where he got it from. Why not?

18:54Because he's not allowed to touch dead bodies. Strike two. And finally, we see in verse 10 that it's time for the wedding. We read, and Samson prepared a feast there. Now, that Hebrew word translated feast is Mishta. And what that means is a drinking party, like a bachelor party. This is what Samson is doing. But according to his Nazarite vow, he is not allowed to drink alcohol at all. So why did he do this? Look again. At verse 10, look at the end of the verse.

19:34For so the young men used to do. It's customary. It's just what you do. It doesn't matter what you believe about God. It doesn't matter what God's word says. If people dunk their Aggie ring in six gallons of alcohol and drink it in 30 seconds, that's just what you do. Right? Samson is assimilating himself into Philistine culture. Samson is drinking alcohol and breaking his Nazarite vow yet again. Strike three. Samson's out. So we see God raised up Samson to begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines. He was set apart by God, but with his choices, he broke God's law and his Nazarite vow multiple times. Now you remember at the outset of chapter 13, we noticed that although God's people were being ruled by the Philistines, they never once cried out for deliverance, for a savior, for rescue. Well, here in chapter 14, Samson, God's chosen savior, God's chosen deliverer, he is not fighting the Philistines or delivering Israel. Instead, he's marrying a Philistine and he is assimilating into Philistine culture.

20:56But look again at verse 4. This is in reference, chapter 14. Verse 4, this is in reference to Samson's parents being upset that he wants to marry a Philistine. His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. Who was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines? Not Israel, but God. Israel didn't cry out to God for help, but God raised up a Savior anyway. Israel's judge, Samson, wasn't seeking an opportunity against the Philistines, but God was.

21:38Friends, all of this reminds us of God's unfailing love for his people. Our God is a God of unfailing love. You see in this passage over and over again that even though we don't cry out to God for deliverance, even though we don't ask to be saved, God raises up a Savior for us. We are so lost in our sin that we don't fight it at all, but he does. And so, if you've ever thought for a moment, God does not care about me, God does not love me, God will not save me from my sins and their consequences because I've just done too much, I've been too bad, I've been too sinful, I pray that you will see this morning that God. God has gone the entire way for you. So many people seem to think that God has gone 90% of the way, and you've got to go the other 10%.

22:43You've got to work it up in yourself to go and make yourself savable, to make yourself worthy of salvation by what you do, by how you pray, by how often you read the Bible, by how many good works you do. Friends, that is not the message of the Bible. The message of the Bible is that God goes all the way, 100% of the way, to raise up a Savior that we didn't ask for, to go to the cross, to die and rise again, because that's what we needed. He did it, and He did it for you. So don't believe for a minute that God doesn't care about you, that God won't save you. He proves again and again that He will do it. God raised up a Savior, and He sought the opportunity to save us. The people of Israel didn't. Samson didn't, and we didn't. But He did. Look what the Bible says: Galatians chapter 4. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son. Romans 5, yet again, for while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.

23:58Friends, God loves you. He did everything for you, everything necessary to save you in Jesus Christ. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's pick up Samson's story again in verse 10. Judges 14, verse 10. His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do. As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. And Samson said to them, Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is within the seven days of the feast and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes. But if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes. And they said to him, Put your riddle, that we may hear it. And he said to them, Out of the eater came something to eat, out of the strong came something sweet. And in three days they could not solve the riddle. On the fourth day, they said to Samson's wife, Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us? And Samson's wife wept over him and said, You only hate me, you do not love me. You've put a riddle to my people, and you have not told me what it is. And he said to her, Behold, I have not told my father nor my father. My mother, and shall I tell you? She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted, and on the seventh day he told her, because she pressed him hard. Then she told the riddle to her people. And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?

25:52And he said to them, If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town, and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger, he went back to his father's house. And Samson's wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.

26:24That worked out great. Who could have seen that coming? Stories like this one really drive home Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 6, do not be yoked together with unbelievers. Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. The worldviews are incompatible. But more than anything, this story shows us why Samson could only begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines and why he couldn't be our Savior. As we noted earlier, Samson is not fighting the Philistines. He's just assimilated himself into their culture. He's more concerned with Looking clever and enriching himself than he is with serving God's purposes in his life. Not a single time do we see him pray, or do we see him ask for God's wisdom or help or direction, something you see at least a little bit in several of the other judges before Samson. When his Philistine wife betrays him, he's angry, not because he realizes that he's been a fool or because he sees the error of his ways, but because he's got to figure out where to find 60 outfits for his rental friends.

27:38He goes to Ashkelon, another Philistine city, not to make war on them, but to murder and rob 30 men to pay off his gambling debt. He's so angry that he never even consummates his marriage. He delivers the garments and then stomps back to his mom and dad's place in hot anger. And his father-in-law just shrugs off the whole thing and gives his daughter to his best man. Like a Jerry Springer episode. You see, Samson was supposed to be a man who is set apart from the people.

28:18But as we see in the text, he was really no more than a man of the people. Israel is doing what is right in their own eyes. And so is Samson. By touching Dead bodies and drinking alcohol, he broke his Nazarite vow. By marrying a Philistine woman, he broke God's law. By killing out of anger to pay off a gambling debt, he used his God-given gifts to serve himself in his own purposes. Samson was really no different than the people that he was supposed to judge who did evil in the sight of the Lord.

28:57Samson is a man who lived for his own pleasure and amusement. He could not be the Savior that we need. Friends, there is good news this morning. God has raised up a perfect Savior for us, and his name is Jesus. Unlike Samson, Jesus kept God's law perfectly. He was tempted to do all of the stuff that Samson did in his life. And yet, Hebrews tells us that he was without sin. He obeyed God every day, all the way.

29:41But like Samson, Jesus married an ungodly woman, so to speak. You see, when Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God, he often used the imagery of weddings and marriage to describe it. He spoke of himself as the bridegroom. And his people, the church, as his bride. But here's the difference: when Samson married an ungodly woman, she made him even more unholy. When Jesus united himself to us, the church, through faith, he makes us just as holy as he is.

30:28Take a look at Ephesians chapter 5. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. You see, friends, the good news is that our perfect Savior Jesus gave himself up for us to present us to himself holy and without blemish. We come to him dirty and defiled, but he washes us clean, makes us white as snow through his shed blood on the cross in our place for our sins.

31:25And so, if you have not put your faith in Jesus Christ, I hope that you will. Will do that today. There is no hope for you making yourself clean by anything that you do. Not through your religious works or your church attendance or your good intentions or your New Year's resolutions or anything else. There is nothing that you can do to wash yourself white as snow, to make yourself holy as God requires. But the good news for you is that Jesus has done everything. Through his perfect and sinless life, his death in your place on the cross, his resurrection from the dead, he washes you white as snow. Anyone who will put their faith completely in him for the forgiveness of their sins. And so if you have not done that, men, women, boys, and girls, put your faith in Jesus today, and he will wash you white as snow.

32:28If you are already a believer in Jesus Christ, I hope that you will rest in the fact that Jesus has washed us clean, that he has made us white as snow. He has washed us clean, he is washing us clean, and he will wash us clean to present us holy and without blemish on the day that he returns. And friends, on that day, we are going to eat and drink with him in the greatest marriage feast in the history of the Of the world. Take a look at what Revelation 19 says.

33:06Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, Hallelujah, for the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true words of God.

33:58Samson was not a perfect Savior. He could only begin to deliver the Israelites from the hand of the Philistines. But, friends, Jesus is the perfect Savior we need, and God raised him up for you and for me. Look to him afresh this morning and trust that you are white as snow, thanks to his shed blood in your place. Let's pray. Father, through this text we see your grace on display. We didn't ask for a Savior. We were lost and dead in our sin.

35:03And yet, while we were still sinners, you sent your only Son to live and die and rise again for us. Thank you. Thank you for doing for us what we could not and would not do. Thank you that you have invited us to the marriage supper of the Lamb, where we get to look forward to being pure and spotless and sinless for all of eternity, enjoying this world recreated and our bodies remade together in your presence forever. We have so much to look forward to.

35:59And so we pray. Pray, come, Lord Jesus. Would you return? Would you come quickly? But we know that Jesus has not come yet because you are patient, you are kind, you don't want anyone to perish, you want everyone to come to repentance. And so we pray that even those among us who are not yet Christians this morning would receive Jesus Christ and receive the purifying grace that only comes through Him. Thank you, Lord, for the Savior that you have given to us. In Jesus' name, amen.

36:47Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.