Mon.’s Devo - Deliverance Has Come!

Read: Judges 13:1-14:20; John 1:29-51; Psalm 102:1-28; Proverbs 14:15-16 In reading Samson it is important to remember what Judges 17:6 and 21:25 tell us as a synopsis of the time of the judges. It says that in the days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in their own eyes. *** In today’s reading, Israel had gone back into idolatry and God had turned them over to the Philistines who tormented them for 40 years. God went to the tribe of Dan and found a man named Manoah which means “rest”. It was time to bring rest to the children of Israel and God was going to bring it through his line. Manoah’s wife was barren but the angel of the Lord appeared to her and told her that she would have a son who was be a Nazarite unto God from the womb. She was not to drink any wine while she carried him. He would begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. *** When she told her husband, he prayed that the angel would come back and speak to him. The angel did come back and told him the exact same thing. He also gave him the name of the son, Samson. Samson means “little sun”. He offered a burnt offering to the Lord and the angel went up in the flame of the offering. Manoah’s wife did have a son and they named him Samson. *** Samson grew up and would go down to Timnah into the land of the Philistines. On one visit he saw a beautiful Philistine woman and wanted her as his wife. His parents asked why he couldn’t find a wife among their own people instead of the pagan Philistine women. They didn’t realize that God was going to use this to launch Samson’s mission. One day as Samson and his parents were going to see his wife-to-be a lion came out against Samson. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he tore the lion with his bare hands. No one saw what he did. On his return trip he noticed that bees had made honey in the carcass of the lion. He went and scooped up some of the honey and brought it home to his parents. *** When it came time for the wedding, Samson went to Timnah for the week long wedding party. He had been given 30 Philistines to be in his wedding party. As was the custom, he proposed a riddle for them: “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strongwomen came forth sweetness.” If they were not able to figure out the answer, they would have to pay him a garment of clothes each. They went to his fiancé and told her that if she didn’t tell them the answer they would burn her and her father’s house with fire. She begged Samson all week for the answer and finally got it out of him the last day of the feast. *** When Samson asked them their answer they said, “What is sweeter than hone? and what is stronger than a lion?” He told them that if they hadn’t have gotten it out of his wife, they wouldn’t have been able to answer it. *** Samson was irate and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he went down to Ashkelon and slew 30 Philistines and gave their garments to the men then went home without his bride. They gave her to his best man thinking he wasn’t coming back for her. *** In John, Jesus had come to John to be baptized and when he came out of the water, John saw the Spirit of God like a dove land on Jesus’ shoulder and remain. He knew this was the sign he had been given to point out the Messiah. He saw Jesus later, walking along the shore and pointed him out to his followers and said, “Look! There is the Lamb of God.” Many of his followers began to follow Jesus. Jesus asked two of them what they wanted from him and they said they wanted to stay with him. One of them was Andrew. He ran home to get his brother, Simon to come with him. When Simon met Jesus he gave him the name Peter. The next day, Jesus picked up Philip who was also from their town, Bethsaida. Phillip went to get Nathaniel and told him about Jesus from Nazareth. Nathaniel had a hard time believing anything good could come from Nazareth but when he met Jesus, Jesus told him he had seen him under the fig tree. Nathanael changed his mind immediately and proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God - the King of Israel. Jesus told him that he would see greater things than this. He would see all heaven open and the angles of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth. *** Samson was a type of Jesus. Samson came to physically deliver Israel out of bondage and Jesus came to spiritually deliver the world from bondage and sin. *** Lord, thank you for bridging the gap between heave and earth and making a way for us to come into God’s presence. May we live in your presence and bring your heaven to earth.