Samson and the Lion

(Judges 14)

Yearly Theme:  “Love Is…”

Series Title:  Kind of a “BIG” Deal

July 7^th, 2019

Something to think about:

 “A young woman asked for an appointment with her pastor to talk with him about a besetting sin about which she was worried.  When she saw him, she said, ‘Pastor, I have become aware of a sin in my life which I cannot control.  Every time I am at church I begin to look around at the other women, and I realize that I am the prettiest one in the whole congregation.  None of the others can compare with my beauty. What can I do about this sin?’  “The pastor replied, ‘Mary, that's not a sin, why that's just a mistake!’”[1]

We come into a new series this month in our ongoing theme of love this year.  The new series this month will focus on the life of Samson in the Old Testament book of Judges and will further develop the teaching on the aspect of love in 1 Corinthians 13 that states that “…love is not boastful or proud.”

We begin in Judges 14, where Samson has grown into a young man.  He is the son of a man named Manoah and his wife.  Being unable to have children, the LORD heard the cries of Manoah’s wife and granted her prayer to have a child with the caveat being, she must not drink wine or strong drink during the pregnancy or go near any dead body.  The reason:  the child was to be a Nazarite (we will talk more about this later).

Samson eventually became one of the Judges over Israel before the time when kings ruled the nation.  We pick up Samson’s story today as he catches eyes with a woman he wants to make his wife.  However, there are problems surrounding the marriage and the situation leading up to the wedding day.  Let’s take a look…

Open your Bibles to:  Judges 14:1-20 (The NLT Version will be projected on the screen up front today).

Here's the key point this morning…

Key Point:  “Pride leads to deception.”

How does this play out in today’s narrative?  Let’s take a look:

• Samson killed a lion with his bare hands but didn’t tell his parents.

When we veer off the path, we oftentimes find ourselves being ambushed by the enemy.  He waits in the bushes to trap us and devour us with his deceptive tactics.  This is something the Apostle Peter (one of Jesus’ disciples) reminds us of in his letter in the New Testament:

• Samson took honey from the carcass of the dead lion and gave some to his parents.

When we get away with something, pride deceives us into gloating over our accomplishment.  Without any direct consequence for our actions we begin to think that we’re invincible and that our actions are undetectable.

• Samson’s wife nagged him to the point of despair in order to know the secret to his riddle.

In a twist of irony, Samson’s greatest strength is also his weakness.  Samson’s God-given abilities which are supposed to be used for God’s purposes, end up becoming a game and a parlor trick for Samson to boast about his amazing strength and invincibility.  However, Samson’s pride will ultimately be his downfall.  Eventually, Samson’s pride will catch up with him.

Something to take home:

Samson’s great strength caused him to let down his guard.  Samson’s greatest ability caused him to lose sight and focus of what really mattered.  This is what happens when we allow pride to take over in our lives.  When pride takes over, we lose sight of the most important things in life.  When pride takes over, we lose the ability to reason through things with clarity.  When pride takes over, we give in to lies and deceit that will ultimately catch up with us.  When pride takes over, we tell lies and foster deceit that, for a time, keeps us on top of things; but where there is a false foundation built on deceit, eventually the bottom falls out.

Love is not boastful or proud.  If it is, then it’s not love.  Where pride exists, love cannot.  Like Samson, when pride rules in our hearts there is no place for anything else but our own desires and our own interests.  Don’t let pride rule your heart.  Don’t allow lies and deception drive your life.  In humility, allow God to use the abilities He’s gifted you with to make a difference in the world around you rather than for you.

[1] Source unknown.