Thurs.’s Devo - Samson

Read: Judges 13:1-14-14:20; John 1:29-51; Psalm 102:1-28; Proverbs 14:15-16 Today we read of a man and his wife who lived in the town of Zorah in the tribe of Dan. Zorah means “she was smitten with leprosy”, which probably means the person they named the town after, died of leprosy. Dan means “judge” and the man’s name, Manoa means “rest”. So that tells me that the people of Israel had being judged for their sins and now God was bringing them rest. *** This rest came in a very dramatic way. God came to Manoa’s wife and told her that though she was barren, she would have a son who would be dedicated to the Lord as a Nazarite from the womb. His hair was never to be cut. She was to drink nothing alcoholic or eat anything from the vine. He would begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines. The word Philistine means “to wallow”. Wallow means to roll about in mud, dust, water, slime, etc.; to live or indulge oneself fully with immoderate enjoyment. You’ve heard the expression: “wallow in self-pity”. *** When Manoa’s wife told her husband what the angel told her, he prayed that the angel would come back and give them more instructions about how to raise him. (Haven’t we all prayed that about a child of ours?) God did come back and told him exactly the same thing. (God gives us a framework and trusts that we will make the right decisions. God’s Spirit leads us in the way we should go.) *** When the child was born they named him Samson which means “little sun”. He was to be God’s light in the midst of darkness. *** Samson was greatly attracted by a Philistine woman from Timnah and wanted to marry her. Finally, his parents agreed and they plan a wedding. On the way to Timnah, God activated Samson’s power. He was attacked by a young lion and by the Spirit of God, Samson tore the lion’s jaw apart with his bare hands. He did it so easily it was obvious to him he did it with supernatural power. *** On his way home he saw that bees had made honey in the carcass of the lion. He ate some and took some home to his parents. *** Samson threw a party for the elite men of Timnah which tells me Samson’s parents were wealthy. The bride’s parents met Samson and chose 30 men to be his attendants at the wedding. Samson challenged them with a riddle which he got from his episode with the lion and the honey. If they figured it out, he would give them each a new outfit but if they didn’t, they would have to each give Samson a new outfit. *** The 30 men told Samson’s fiancé that if she didn’t tell them the answer, they would burn down her house with her family in it. She nagged Samson for a week until he finally told her the day before the wedding. They came to him early, the morning of the seventh day and told him the meaning. Samson knew they had gotten it from his fiancé. He went to the town of Ashkelon and killed thirty men and took their clothes to the 30 men, then went back to live with his parents. At the wedding that day, Samson’s fiancé was given to his best man. *** John had told the Pharisees the day before that one among the crowd was the Messiah. Today, he saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized and it was revealed to him that he was the one. John said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” He explained that he was the one he had been talking about before. John said that he had been baptizing in water so that Jesus might be revealed. It was like he was washing scales from the peoples’ eyes so they might be able to see the Messiah. Two of John’s disciples began to follow Jesus. One of these men was Andrew. He ran and got his brother Simon and brought him to meet Jesus. Jesus told him his name would change to Cephas or Peter which means “a stone”. *** The next day, Jesus went to Galilee and found Philip and told him to follow him. Philip went and got Nathanael and brought him to Jesus. Jesus called him a genuine son of Israel - a man of integrity. Nathanael, who had been skeptical, asked how Jesus knew him, and Jesus told him he saw him under the fig tree. (Those who wanted to spend time in meditation and prayer would retreat under the fig tree.) Jesus was telling him that he knew he had been pouring out his soul to the Lord, and he was his answer. Nathanael got what Jesus was saying and was amazed. Jesus told him he would see greater things than this. He would see the heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man. He was the stairway - the mediator between heaven and man. *** I noticed that Jesus didn’t give a word of knowledge to Andrew or Philip because they didn’t need one. Signs are for the unbelievers like Peter and Nathanael. *** Lord, may we operate in your gifts and have discernment as to the timing and the people. May our efforts be effective. Open our eyes for opportunities to bring hope and life.