Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
September 11, 1988
Evening Service
Judges 14
SAMSON
I. Moral Problems in Judges.
A. The judges had many moral and religious shortcomings.
B. The biggest problem is Samson.
1) He had little if any religious fervor.
2) His Nazarite vow, though perhaps limited and irregular,
did not separate him from evil.
3) He seems to be motivated by selfishness, not patriotism.
4) Yet NT includes him in heroes of faith. Heb 11:32
II. There is a particular problem with the role of the Holy Spirit.
A. Questions:
1) What was relationship of Spirit to morality in Samson's
life?
a) Some of his questionable feats were done in the Spirit.
Judg 14:19
b) The NT associates the Spirit with uprightness.
1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:18-20
2) Was he responsible for his actions when possessed by Spirit?
3) What is the tie-in with the NT?
B. Observations:
1) Samson was a man of his age of apostasy.
a) He mirrored the prevailing conditions.
b) Even the OT was lightly regarded.
1> Judges is a faithful witness to this.
2) The purpose of the writer must be recognized.
a) He wanted to show the decline of this period, and this
did not need editorial comment.
3) It was widely believed that unusual power was from the Lord
and evidence of his Spirit.
a) Samson was strong, therefore he must have the Spirit.
b) But this is the result of an unenlightened view of this
period.
1> The OT relates all events directly to God himself.
a> He hardened Pharoah's heart. Exod 4:21
b> He sends an evil spirit on Saul. 1 Samuel 16:14
c> He puts lying spirits in the mouths of false
prophets. 1 Kings 22:23
2> If God is sovereign, then all events must be related
to God.
a> "He was seeking an occasion against the
Philistines." Judges 14:4
b> Samson may not have had worthy motives, but
without him Israel would have fallen to the
Philistines.
4) God can use any person as a vehicle of his revelation or
power, apart from the quality of their life.
a) In the Old Testament:
1> Balaam. Numbers 22-24
2> Nebucadnezzar, God's "servant." Jer 25:9; 27:6
3> Cyrus, God's "shepherd" and "anointed." Isa 44:28
(compare Isa 45:4)
b) Limitations of the Spirit in the OT:
1> It does not equate with the fuller teaching in NT.
2> The Spirit did not necessarily produce holiness.
3> The Spirit gave limited abilities to some people.
a> Such a person was still accountable to God.
b> Samson failed at this point.
5) The book of Judges must be viewed in its Biblical context.
a) Its purpose is redemptive in nature.
b) The understanding of God had not reached NT dimensions.
c) It was a period of decline, when God did not have
first-rate material to use.
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Adapted from commentary by Cundall, "Judges," pp 41 ff
