1.
God gives
strength to Samson
From the book of Judges
throughout chapter 13 to 16 we can see the life of Samson whom God raised him
to deliver the Israelites from the oppression of Philistine. He was raised as
the Nazirite. Samson is believed to be the strongest man ever whom God had special
anointing.
Samson's
weakness and strength at Gaza 16:1-3
Gaza lay on the sunny
Mediterranean coast in the heart of Philistine territory. It was probably a
popular vacation site for compromising Israelites as well as the Philistines.
Perhaps Samson went there to enjoy the amusements that flourish in such places
and to show off his physique on the "muscle beach" of his day. As the
judge assigned to destroy the Philistines, his presence there for recreational
purposes was inappropriate to say the least. It also reveals his great
self-confidence since after 20 years of judging Israel he was undoubtedly a
wanted man in Philistia. In contrast, Samuel, who was only a few years younger
than Samson, was at this time ministering as a faithful circuit-riding judge in
Israel's heartland (1 Sam. 7:15-17). Samson's weakness for women stands out in
the record of his evening with the Gaza prostitute (v. 1). This was
unquestionably inappropriate behavior for a Nazirite whom God had called to
deliver Israel from the very enemy he was romancing. Any reference to the
leading of the Lord is notably absent here (cf. 14:4). Samson's weakness
contrasts with his strength throughout this chapter. Here we see his moral and
spiritual weakness.
Samson and
Delilah 16:4-21
The first three verses present
Samson sowing "wild oats." Verses 4-21 picture him reaping a bitter
harvest (cf. Gal. 6:7). Samson allowed a woman to seduce him again. She lived
in the Sorek Valley between Samson's home area of Zorah and Eshtaol and the Philistine
town of Timnah. The place itself was a compromise between Israelite and
Philistine territory. Delilah is evidently Jewish and probably means
"devotee" or "worshipper." However she seems to have been a
Philistine, possibly a temple prostitute. Her devotion to the Philistines is
obvious in the text, and her devotion to their gods may well have motivated her
actions in this instance. Evidently she and her family had chosen to live among
the attractive and advanced enemies of God's people.
"It is strange that Samson's three loves
should have been numbered amongst his inveterate enemies, the Philistines.”
Samson posed a great threat to the Philistines. The leading lords of the
Philistines initiated the plan to capture him, and they offered a reward that would
have made Delilah rich (v. 5). "Eleven hundred . . . of silver" was a
fortune since a person could live comfortably on "10 . . . of silver"
a year (17:10). Samson may not have possessed an abnormally muscular physique
since the Philistines did not know where he got his great strength.
"The Philistine princes
thought that Samson's supernatural strength arose from something external,
which he wore or carried about with him as an amulet."
Moral compromise always makes one
vulnerable to temptation. We see this in Samson's case and in Delilah's in
these verses. Temptation usually comes in attractive packages. The wrong
companions can lead us into temptation (cf. 1 Cor. 15:33). Temptation is
persistent (cf. Matt. 4). Yielding to temptation starts us on a toboggan slide.
We find ourselves going faster and faster downhill, and soon we can get off
only with great personal pain.
2.
Solomon's wisdom from God (1 Kings 3 and 2
Chronicles)
This chapter emphasizes one of
the chief blessings God bestowed on Solomon for his commitment and submission
to Yahweh. By giving Solomon unusual wisdom God also blessed the nation he
served as king.
God promised to bless Solomon for
putting His interests before Solomon's (cf. Matt.
6:33). He gave him much more than
he asked (v. 13). This incident demonstrates that God did indeed give Solomon
the unusual wisdom He had promised (v. 28).
Solomon’s
foolishness (1 Kings 11)
The other side of Solomon life is
quite contrast to the wisdom which God gave him. He failed to maintain the
decree of the Lord and married foreign wives. Solomon had sown some seeds of
departure from God and His Word early in his reign. They bore bitter fruit as
he grew older.
Solomon did not abandon Yahweh,
but he worshipped the gods of the nations along with Him (syncretism; vv. 4,
6). His sin was that his heart (affections) went after false gods (v. 4). He
did not follow Yahweh fully (exclusively, v. 6; cf. Exod. 20:3; Deut.
30:15-20). Solomon was noteworthy for his love for God when he began reigning
(3:3), but at the end of his reign love for women characterized him. Solomon's
sin in going after other gods was the quintessence of covenant infidelity.
David had sinned against God deliberately (2 Sam. 11), but his heart remained
devoted to Yahweh. His sin was not as serious as Solomon's was (cf. Deut. 6:5).
The one tribe Solomon's heir would retain was Judah. Judah had absorbed the
tribe of
Simeon almost entirely by this
time, though some Israelites from Simeon had moved north (2 Chron. 15:9; 34:6).
3.
Determination of
Peter’s faith
Among the disciples, Simon Peter
is considered to be one of the most determined. He is the first disciples to
call Jesus as Lord when they had experienced the mystery fishing (Luke 5:8).
When there were many different
opinions about who Jesus was, some says he is Herod Antipas, some believed He
was the resurrected John the Baptist (14:2). Others believed He was the
fulfillment of the Elijah prophecy, namely, the forerunner of the Messiah (Mal.
4:5-6; cf. Matt. 3:1-3; 11:9-10; 17:10-13). Some concluded that Jesus was the
resurrected Jeremiah probably because of similarities between the men and their
ministries. Among the disciples too there was confusion but Peter was the only
one who boldly answered “You are the Christ, the son of the living God” (Matt.
16:16). This is a more definite identification of Jesus as deity than
"God's Son" or "a son of God" (14:33). That title leaves a
question open about the sense in which Jesus was God's Son.
Peter's denials
of Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75, Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:55-62; John 18:15-18,
25-27)
All four evangelists recorded
three denials, but the details differ slightly. From Matthew’s account we see
that:
1.
26:69-70
Peter was warming himself near the fire in the center of the courtyard (Mark
14:65; Luke 22:55; John 18:18). The servant girl's words expressed both
curiosity and accusation. She referred to Jesus derogatorily as "the
Galilean" (cf. Mark 14:67). Residents of Judea, and especially Jerusalem,
regarded Galileans as inferior to themselves because the area was mainly rural.
Evidently several people overheard her comment and may have joined in her
questioning. Peter replied with words similar to a formal legal oath.
2.
26:71-72
Peter withdrew to the gateway leading from the street into the courtyard perhaps
because that area was darker and there were fewer people there. There another
girl pointed him out to others standing about as one who had been with Jesus
"of Nazareth," another derogatory slur in view of the bad reputation of
Nazareth. Peter denied her accusation this time with an oath. Matthew did not
mean that Peter used profanity, but he invoked a curse on himself if he was lying.
He appealed to something sacred to confirm his truthfulness (cf. 5:33-34;
23:16-22).
3.
26:73-75
A third person, one of the high priest's servants who was a relative of the man
whose ear Peter had cut off in Gethsemane (John 18:26), approached Peter with
some bystanders about an hour later (Luke 22:59). They accusingly asked Peter
again if he was not one of Jesus' disciples since he was a Galilean. Galileans
had an accent that set them off as distinctive. This shows how thoroughly
residents of Jerusalem connected Jesus' ministry with Galilee since it was the
site of most of His activity. Most if not all of His disciples were Galileans. Peter denied that he knew Jesus a third time
using more oaths to confirm his testimony. Immediately a rooster crowed. Peter
heard it and remembered Jesus' prediction that he would deny Jesus before the
cock crowed (v. 34). Peter left the courtyard and wept bitterly over his
cowardice and failure. This is Matthew's last reference to Peter. At this point
of time how Peter undermined his faith is rather a fatality.
From the above discussions we see
three different personalities. Considering these people how strong, wise, and
determined they are yet they have their weaknesses as well. If these people
whom God has chosen had their weakness how weak we are to be is the big
question here. This discussion is not to justify our weakness but to rediscover
ourselves in our daily walk with God. There are so many valid ways to lead us
astray and there comes the temptations but God is faithful and He opens a way
to escape from them (1 Cor. 10:13).
