The Life and Times of Samson
A Lion in the Vineyard
Judges 14:5-6
In our last study we saw how Samson was beginning a downward path in his life. Three times in Judges 14 we read that Samson went down. In verse 1 we read, "And Samson went down." In our text verse, verse 5, we read, "Then went Samson down." The third time is found in verse 7 where we read, "And he went down."
This was more than a case of Samson going down geographically. It was a case of Samson beginning to go down spiritually. Just as a word of reminder, in our last study we saw that one always goes down spiritually when there is deviation from the will of God, disobedience to the Word of God, and distraction in the work of God. Going downward always means that we are going backward in our Christian life.
When we talk about going downward in our Christian life, contrary to what we may think, it is not always the young Christian who is the victim. It usually happens to those who have been saved for a period of time and who have demonstrated some measure of spiritual growth and advancement in their life. You can't go downward unless you have first gone upward.
Joe Aldrich in Leadership stated, "It's scary to realize that most of the people who failed in Scriptures failed in the second half of their lives."
Now, you think about that statement for a moment. The beginning for many is a time of growth and maturity that is marked by excitement and zeal. Oftentimes, it is the new convert that is on fire for the Lord. But over time, it seems that the older we get in the Lord the colder we get.
I once read about a man who taking a tour of a machine shop. He was shown the many machines and told how each worked. It was also pointed out to him the dangers that were involved in each job and the operation of the machinery. He said, "I guess it is the newer workers that are often injured on the machines?" The man who was giving him the tour replied, "No, it is usually those who have worked here for a long time. They get used to what they are doing and that's when they become careless. And when they become careless, that's when they get hurt."
It is those who have reached a certain level or stage in their Christian life that began to take things for granted, and when they began to take things for granted, that's when they began to take the things of God lightly. And when they began to take the things of God lightly, that's when they began to go downhill spiritually.
For some, spiritually speaking, their best days were yesterday. Yesterday, they were so on fire for God. Yesterday, they were excited about the Lord, following Him, serving Him, and worshipping Him. The joy of the Lord filled their life. But today, their Christian life is more drudgery than a delight. It always happens when one begins to go downhill spiritually.
Today I want us to consider Samson returning to Timnah to take the Philistine girl as his wife. Verse 5 indicates that Samson had convinced his parents to get her for his wife. In verse 3 they questioned his desires and tried to persuade him to marry according to God's command which was to take a wife of his own people. But now, it appears they consented to his request. We not only see Samson going downhill, but his parents as well.
Verse 5 tells us how Samson came to the vineyards of Timnath and was met by a lion. You will always find a lion in the vineyard. Let me explain by first saying a word about:
1. The Place
The place that we see Samson going "down" to and "came to" was the "vineyards of Timnath." As we have seen in our past studies, as a Nazarite, Samson was to have nothing to do with a vineyard. He was neither to eat nor drink anything that came from the vine. If there was a place that Samson should not have been, it was the vineyards of Timnath.
For Samson, the "vineyards of Timnath" were:
A Place of Disobedience
To be in such a place was in direct disobedience to the command and plan of God for his life. He was out of God's will being where he was. Did Samson know better? I have no doubt he knew exactly that the vineyard was out of bounds. He knew what God had prohibited in his life. He was in a place of disobedience.
Oswald Chambers said, "If you have received the Spirit and are obeying him, you find he brings your spirit into complete harmony with God, and the sound of your goings and the sound of God's goings are one and the same."
Disobedience is being out of harmony and out of step with God. The sound of disobedience is always that of a person doing what they want rather than what God wants. Again, let me quote Oswald Chambers, "It is not what we do that matters, but what a sovereign God chooses to do through us. God doesn't want our success; he wants us. He doesn't demand our achievements; he demands our obedience."
We read in Joshua 24:24, "And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey." May we as God's people say the same. Furthermore, the "vineyards of Timnath" were:
A Place of Defilement
Being in such a place not only meant for Samson that he was disobeying God's command as a Nazarite, but he was also defiling his Nazarite vow. As we shall see in future studies, Samson would defile every area of his Nazarite vow. This would be the reason he lost his power. The instructions of the Nazarite vow as given by Numbers 6:7, "Thou shalt not make thyself unclean." Being where he was an act of defilement of his vow.
David's prayer was, "Create in me a clean heart" (Psa. 51:10).
When there is disobedience, there is always defilement. They go hand in hand. Disobedience is sin, and sin defiles the heart and life of a Christian. Our dedication can be spoiled by contamination. Anything outside of God's will for our life defiles our life. Our prayer ought to be, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psa. 139:23-24).
Secondly, think with me of not only the place we find Samson, but also:
2. The Peril
Samuel Ridout says, "If one forsakes God's place, and goes down on low, carnal ground, need he be surprised if he finds an assault of the adversary, Satan, who is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour? Satan flourishes where the path of obedience is left . . . There is always a lion when you leave God's path."
When we find ourselves in the vineyard of disobedience and defilement we will always find the lions. Let me give you a couple of lions that are always found in the vineyard. First, there are:
The Lion that Bring Us Down
This world is a vineyard in which there is a lion that lurks that can bring us down spiritually. When one is out of the will of God they are always in danger of this lion. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
Satan is a lion and the world is his vineyard in which he works to bring a Christian down. Think with me for a moment about this lion.
First, the Bible describes Satan as our opponent. The word "adversary" describes an opponent in a lawsuit. The word "devour" literally means "to swallow." It speaks of how a lion would tear its prey from limb to limb and consume it. I want you to understand that the devil wants to do more than just bother you. I have heard people say that the devil had bothered them all day or all week. His purpose is to do more than bother you. He wants to destroy you.
As our opponent he is just waiting for an opportunity to devour you. He "walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." Like a lion lurking in the bushes, he is just waiting for the moment to pounce on you and me and devour us. He is just waiting for a moment of weakness or carelessness.
As I said earlier, this world is the vineyard in which the devil walks about as a lion waiting for the moment to devour us. This is one reason the Bible talks about the separation of the Christian from the world. A Christian is in the world but is not to be a part of the world. The vineyard was off limits for Samson, and likewise, the world is to be off limits for a Christian. It was in the vineyard that Samson was confronted by the lion. It is when a Christian fools with the world that they find themselves in danger of being devoured by a lion.
The world is filled with temptations of various kinds that have one objective--to pull us away from God and pull us down spiritually.
James gave us a very depictive illustration of how the world seeks to bring us down. We read in James 1:14-15, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death."
The words "drawn away" speak of baiting a hook or trap. The purpose of the bait is to entice, to draw the prey to the hook or trap. Once the prey is caught in the trap it too late. This world is filled with many things that appeal to our flesh. Satan uses these temptations to draw us away so that he can devour us as a roaring lion. That's why James said in James 1:16, "Do not err, my beloved brethren."
That is why Christians should stay out of the vineyard. It is not only a place of disobedience and defilement, but it is also a place of destruction. It is a place where there is a lion waiting to devour us.
Furthermore, there is:
The Lion that Brings Us Back
Warren Wiersbe asks the question, "Did God send the lion as a warning to Samson that he was walking on the wrong path?" Was this lion a warning from God that Samson was in place where he should not have been? Was this lion a warning from God that Samson was in a place of disobedience and defilement? It very well could have been!
God has His ways of getting our attention when we are walking contrary to His commands and will. As Christians, we can't get out of God's will and not expect God to intervene.
God often sends a lion to get our attention in order to bring us back into His will. God sends his lions to say to us, "You are not pleasing me!"
A familiar image in the Bible is that of sheep and shepherd. Occasionally a shepherd would have a lamb that would wander away from the flock. The shepherd would often pick up a rock, or his rod, and throw it in the direction of the lamb to startled it and get it to run back to the flock. Sometimes God throws rocks in our direction to get us back where we should be.
When Samson drifted from the will of God he was warned with a lion. You can expect a lion when you get out of God's will and get away from God. The roar of the lion can be a frightening thing. Yet, God's intention in sending his lions is to cause us to run back to Him. Maybe there is a lion roaring at you today. Maybe you are not where you should be with God, and, God is trying to warn you, bring you back to where you should be. Maybe He is trying to get you out of the vineyard!
Lastly, think with me of:
3. The Power
We read in verse 6, "And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done." This is the first specific event in which we see Samson displaying his supernatural strength. It was an amazing display of physical strength.
Let me say two things about the power Samson displayed. First, notice:
The Source of His Power
Notice carefully the opening words of verse 6: "And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him." The source of his power was the Spirit of the LORD. The power that He displayed was not his own. The power he displayed was a power given him by God. His physical strength was a spiritual strength.
In fact, each time you find Samson doing some great feat that involved and displayed his physical strength, you will read that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. His power was God's power, and apart from God's power, he was as any other man. What he did was not by his own ability, but by the ability imparted to him when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.
One of the most important lessons we can learn as a Christian is that being what we should be and doing what we should do is never by our ability. Regardless of how long you have been saved or the level of your spiritual maturity, it is never in our self. We were not saved because of anything we did. Why do we think that after we are saved that it living as a Christian depends on what we are or what we do? We are like Samson! Our ability to live as a Christian is the ability that God gives us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18 tells us to "be filled with the Spirit." The verb "filled" was a word that was used to describe the wind filling the sails of a ship. Think about that image for a moment.
Here is a ship designed and built for a specific purpose--to carry cargo or passengers. It can be a ship built by the finest and most reputable ship builders in the business, but it is powerless to fulfill the purpose for which it was designed and built until the wind filled its sails. No wind and it would do nothing but float in the harbor. It was dependant on that which was outside itself in order to fulfill its purpose.
In ourselves we are a ship powerless to fulfill God's purpose for our lives. But when the wind of the Holy Spirit fills our life, then we are able to be what we should be and do what we should do.
Furthermore, think of:
The Force of His Power
Verse 6 tells that when lion roared against him, "he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand." The word "rent" means "to tear apart." For the average person, the lion would have ripped them apart. The lion would have pounced upon him and ripped him apart with its teeth and claws.
Take the African lion for example. It is perhaps the most familiar with its long flowing mane. The male weighs anywhere from 330 to 550 pounds and when it leaps on its prey it brings them down with its crushing weight. It great canine teeth are set far apart in its square jaws and lock together like a vice. The molars are transformed from grinders into incisors, and are so strong they can crack heavy bones.
Its claws are large and sharp and when it strikes every claw is like a hook and dagger that tears, cuts, and rips.
No ordinary man would stand a chance with a lion without a weapon. The Bible is specific and wants us to understand that Samson had no weapon when confronted with the lion--"he had nothing in his hand." The Bible is telling us that with his bare hands he handled the lion as if it were nothing more than a kid (a goat).
Again, where did his strength come from? It came from the Spirit of the Lord that came upon him. By the power of the Holy Spirit he was able to kill the lion with his bare hands. That is the force of the power God gives.
Now, in closing let me ask a question about what we see happening here. Why did the Spirit of God come mightily upon Samson when he was in a place he should not have been? He is in a place of disobedience and defilement, yet experiences God's power in his life. How can that be when we know that God does not fill a dirty vessel?
First, as many writers I have read after said, it was because of God's grace and mercy. He did not deserve what God did for him. It was only an act of God's mercy that he was spared from the attack of the lion. You can be sure that it was not endorsement of what Samson was doing, and we should never think that God will bless us when we are out of His will. However, God always shows His grace and mercy to us.
Secondly, I believe that the reason God gave him power was to teach him the secret to overcoming in life. It was like God was saying to Samson, "Samson, you are getting out of My will. You are taking a path in life that is not according to my plan and purpose for your life. Samson, there is a way you can be what I have called you to be and a way to do what I have destined you to do, and that is by My Spirit.
Listen to what the Bible says in Galatians 5:16, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." The secret to overcoming the flesh is walking in the Spirit. The flesh pulls us to vineyards of Timnath. The flesh pulls us out of the will of God. The flesh leads us to disobey God. The flesh brings us face to face with lions in the vineyard. Walking in the Spirit enables us to overcome when otherwise we would be overwhelmed.
Where are you today? Are you walking in the Spirit or walking in the vineyard? I encourage you to always remember that there will always be a lion in the vineyard.
Let’s pray.
