Judges 15:11 – Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

Judges 15:12 – And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

Judges 15:13 – And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

Judges 15:14 – And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

Hello all, back with a new blog today, learning more from the life of Samson. Samson we know was a judge of Israel. He judged Israel for twenty years, but we only get a small snapshot into his life. His life is covered from Judges 13 to Judges 16, and one of those chapters deals almost entirely with his parents. Much of what we read and hear of Samson seems to be negative, he is mostly used as an example of “what not to do”, he is a much maligned character in the Bible and rightly so in many regards. However, he also had great endearing qualities, and we know he was a man of faith, he had faith in God. Faith that enabled him to be moved by the Spirit of the living God to deal amazing single handed blows to the Philistine enemies of Israel. But Samson had problems that we all have, he had a love of the world and the things of the worldly, chiefly beautiful Philistine women, he was attracted to things he had no business messing around with. Sin in his life leavened his life, he couldn’t quite “shake” the sin off. When his head was shorn, Samson said he would go out and shake himself, it had worked time and time again, but this time it was different. Delilah had shaved his head while he was asleep. Despite her obvious incoming betrayal, he still went ahead and told her of the source of his strength and how to remove it, and we can be so friendly with the world and things of the world, our flesh, that even though they blatantly advertise their harm to us, we still give in to them.We like Samson may even grow so in love with the world, that we want to be of the world. We want to be just like another man as Samson was! God’s strength was in his life, but the internal realities were missing. He did not apply the Spirit of might to his own heart to deliver him from lust and pride. Unless our heart is turned to God, all the strength in the world doesn’t matter. Man’s heart is desperately wicked, we must be changed from inside out.We know some sins are wrong, we reap what we sow, and yet we still sow to our flesh.It’s crazy! We know things will harm us! Yet we still do them! Hosea 13:9 – O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.

Samson was a product of Israel’s society at the time, a society where there was no king, everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.Israel was God’s people and we see a “Christian” system today just like in the book of Judges. Worship of God was mixed with worship of gods, there was humanism and compromise then that we see now, the “life is all about me – my life, my wants, my pleasures, my intellect, my reasoning, my intellect”. God was not set apart in their lives and minds, society was in severe decline as they departed further and further from God. And because we are heading down this path, it is worth noting that as there was no king in Israel, so in “Christianity” today there is no king. The King James Bible has been removed (mostly! – there is still a remnant – God always leaves a remnant that have no bowed the knee to and kissed the image of Baal), and as a result we have a Christian system resembling the ferocious decline that we see particularly at the end of Judges with corrupt Levites and worship and service of God, rampant sodomy and sexual perversion. Proverbs 28:4 – They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.

Samson was a lonely deliverer, all the others before him had some army backing them, but with Samson, it was just him. This was in part because of him, after all how could Israel take him seriously when he was fraternizing with the enemy he was meant to deliver them from. How we Christians, our witness, what we say, can be compromised by the hypocrisy of what we are doing! But this does not justify what the men of Judah did. We are all sinners, but God’s anointed must be respected. Look at David with king Saul, he could have killed king Saul multiple times and felt justified, he was encouraged to kill Saul by those around him, but his respect was so great for God’s anointing. The amazing sovereignty, providence, mercy, long suffering and grace of God is evident and abounds in Samson’s life. He had immense weakness, himself, and immense strength, the Spirit of the Lord. God was using Samson. Because as Jesus said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 – And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Samson’s life is not a call for us to sin, there are warnings from his life that we would do well to take note of. Unless we want end up like him with our eyes put out grinding in the devil’s prison house, blindly doing his work, working for him? Samson became an Ichabod Christian, the glory departed from him. And when the Lord departs, we are just like any other man, exactly as Samson said he would be before he fatefully fell asleep in the lap of Delilah, as he gazed on a beautiful, enticing Philistine woman for the last time.

Samson did not realized the seriousness of his separation. Separation is not just separating and isolating ourselves from the world, and then feeling good about ourselves. That kind of separation does nothing for us. And we cannot separate ourselves, we have no power to. Cain did not need to see a murder to murder his brother Abel. Sin is IN us. Biblical separation is separation unto God by God. By the new birth we are separated instantly when we are saved. But our minds are not yet. Our life is a life of sanctification. As God renews and transforms our minds. True salvation separates. That’s what salvation is. That’s why true salvation not just saves us, but produces new life. Blood and water flowed from Jesus Christ’s side at Calvary. Many people may want the blood but not the water. And even more want neither. They just want to be saved, and then go on living how they want. But Jesus came to give life, and give life more abundantly. Samson was a Nazarite from birth, he was separated, dedicated, committed to the Lord. From the womb! As born again believers, we are spiritual Nazarites to the Lord. As Samson was called before he was born, we see the immense grace, foreknowledge of God. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord. We must realize we bring nothing to the table. It was God that drew us for us to be saved, we do not approach to him first. But when he drew us, we did make a choice. Our joy is not (or should not be) derived from things on earth, like the juice of the grape, but from serving God, the joy of the Lord is our strength. We are not to touch unclean dead things, we are to have nothing to do with our dead works of the flesh. We died with Christ when we were saved. Move on from the unclean things. Eglon, the very fat king of Moab was killed by Ehud’s dagger which was thrust into his belly and the dirt came out. When the Word of God cuts through that very fat man of our sinful flesh, the dirt comes out, we need the dirt to come out, and come out it will.

Samson was meant to be a Nazarite his whole life. His unshorn head was a symbol of his vow. A Nazarite’s vow ended when his head was shaved. And that’s why God departed from him when Delilah shaved his head. No razor coming on the Nazarites head showed a great spiritual truth. The Lord Jesus Christ is called the Head in Colossians. Jesus Christ is our head. He is the head of the believer. Delilah shaving his head ended his vow. And when our separation to God is over, our strength is gone, he is no longer our Head, and therefore we have no power.Samson broke his vows, but never shaved his head. Jesus Christ was still on his head. Jesus was still running his life. His power was upon him. His strength was not in his physical hair, but in what his hair symbolized. But the unmerited favor and blessing God bestowed on Samson did not humble him. Rather he took it for granted. He despised his longsuffering, he despised the grace, the deliverance, the mercy. Samon’s wretched life, just like our wretched existences still show the glory of God when we are truly saved. God is on show with very great glory in Samson. He is a tribute to the grace of God. He called Samson before Samson was even born. He separated Samson unto himself. He was with Samson, even when Samson was not with him. And God used the circumstances of life to build faith in him in Samson. Because we know Samson had faith. God knows and sees things that we don’t.

When we join Samson’s story today, we find he had stirred up trouble with the Philistines. He had taken a Philistine wife, got into bad company, made bad friends, made bets, and the Philistines had exploited his wife against him. They cheated Samson. His wife was taken and given to his “friend”! This in itself is a warning to those with ungodly “friends”, you never know, your best “mate” might be after your wife. Samson’s mixing with the Philistines shows us that Christians will never have a happy marriage and co-existence with those in the world. We are in the world, but not of the world. We speak in riddles to the world, the preaching of the cross is foolishness to them that perish. Salvation is foolishness to spiritual Philistines. There was a cost associated with that riddle, and most in the world are not happy to pay that cost. Most people have some level of self-righteousness they are not willing to let go, and thus they don’t get saved. The cross is insulting and offensive to unbelievers. And those that are not saved will not receive a clean garment of Christ’s righteousness, but just exchange filthy garments for filthy garments, as those cheating Philistines did. Dead men’s clothing, dead men walking. Samson retaliated against the Philistines. It took him being personally wronged to start doing God’s work. Samson began a personal war with the Philistines, with each side exchanging blows. It ended with a great slaughter of which Samson said afterward he would then cease. He then went and dwelt on the top of the rock Etam. But this was not the end of the story, God had let all this happen to do more than Samson had already done, there were bigger victories to be had.

The Philistines came to get Samson, and Israel saw this, and wanting to keep the false peace they had, three thousand men of Judah went to get Samson. They obviously rated his strength, why else send that many people? They knew that Samson had great strength, but did not want any part of it. This scene is reminiscent of the betrayal of Jesus Christ. Three thousand men went to get Samson. That’s a lot of army to fetch one man! People today know a true Christian from a fake Christian. There is power in the life of someone who is truly saved, and although people may see it, most want nothing to do with it, and instead want to bring such people down to their own level. When Jesus was betrayed they sent a great multitude to get him. Samson may not have been the best example to Israel, but he did not fight them. They may have seen the hypocrisy of his separation and calling, they may have seen the abuse of his privilege, after all he was called to deliver Israel from the Philistines, and yet was fraternizing with them! But they came to surrender their deliverer. This shows how far gone Israel was. They were content under Philistine rule. Unlike with the previous Judges where the arrival of deliverers was preceded by a cry to God, the people were silent and yet God provided Samson for them. God equipped Samson with great strength, he gives us what we need to get the job done. His grace is sufficient. Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? The men of Judah were pathetic. Although they would not kill Samson themselves, they were happy to let Philistines kill him. Sound like the apathetic society of today, a society marked by indifference, inaction, endless compromise and downward descent in order to obtain some fake form of peace? They were just as bad as the Philistines, delivering him up was even a lower act then the Philistines killing him, and being an accomplice to a murder is as bad as the murder itself. James 4:17 – Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Dealing with false brethren is a reality to a saved person, and Samson dealt with false brethren here. These blokes were meant to be on his side, but were instead fetching him to bind him and deliver him to the Philistines! There are people in our own lives who want to bring us down. Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve disciples, but was seeking to betray Jesus. Paul spoke in 2 Corinthians of being in perils amongst false brethren. False brethren, used of Satan, will seek to bind the believer who is doing the Lord’s work, who is living for the Lord, whose life is founded upon the rock, as Samson’s was. The Philistines could not do anything about Samson themselves, they were helpless against him, and had to use people close to Samson against him. It is similar to the story of Balaam, who could not curse Israel, but was devilishly smart in realizing he could cause Israel to sin and thus bring a curse upon themselves. A Christian cannot be touched by the devil. 1 John 5:18 says he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. The only way we can be defeated is through being successfully deceived, tricked, by bringing God’s anger ourselves by our own actions. Even Job’s wife said to him, Curse God and die. How strong is your personal relationship to God? Are you like Lot, who once you leave Abraham’s side, you pitch your tent toward Sodom? The reality of your own faith in God will be tested to reveal just how genuine it is. Jesus divides the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares. Many people were brought out of Egypt, but many did not truly believe, you will only stay undetected in the herd for so long.

One of the ways many Christians are brought down today is like the men of Judah attempted to do with Samson. They bound him with two new cords to present him to the Philistines. These two new cords represent false Bibles, which bring a false witness, which declare a false word, which present a false Jesus, and which preach a false gospel. Cords bind. And those cords will bind any believer quickly. This is a serious issue. It was two false witnesses that Jezebel got to testify against Naboth in order to get his vineyard for Ahab in 1 Kings 18. Jesus is the vine, will you be robbed of your vineyard, of your inheritance, of that is rightfully yours by the two false witnesses? Satan wants your vineyard, he is after it. Jezebel gets it for him, will you be seduced, enticed away from truth? A false testimony, a false Bible (the Bible is the testimony of Jesus Christ) has always been a great way to bring a believer down. These new Bibles will destroy faith. They handcuff believers in the service of the Lord. Because faith is based on God’s word. Satan knows if he takes away God’s word, he takes away our faith, and the Bible says the just shall live by faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Faith and God’s word are inextricably linked. Satan caused Eve to doubt God’s word, Yea hath God said? That’s all it takes. Eve added to God’s word, Satan took from God’s word. And mankind plunged into sin. Cords are used to bind, Samson was bound, and new Bibles will bind a believer. They will bind a believer because they destroy faith, they lead the believer astray. They will cause a person to believe and worship a false “Jesus” and a false gospel, and no, just because your little “g” god is called “Jesus”, doesn’t make him the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. New Agers believe in “Jesus” just their Jesus is not the true Jesus. Jesus said in Mark 13″22 – For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. We can create a Jesus that suits us, and new Bibles do just that.

As men of Judah went to fetch Samson from the rock, so things happen in life to test our faith. Jesus will let our faith be tested, to see what we truly are made of. The world, the flesh, the devil wants to remove us from dwelling on the rock. The rock is Christ – 1 Corinthians 10:4. Throughout the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ is referred to as the Rock – Matthew 16:18. He is the rock. He is our rock. When our house is built upon the rock, our house will stand when times of trouble come. The house built upon the sand falls flat. The true church of God is built upon the rock, the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11 – For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. The foundation is laid. He is the cornerstone. He is the rock that we must fall on and be broken, or the rock will fall on us and grind us to powder. If our enemies remove us from the rock, we are vulnerable, it may be your friends, your brethren that bring you down from the rock. In this story we see that the Philistines could not go up and grab him, it was the men of Judah, Samson’s own nation that went to fetch him and bind him for them. Satan will come for you in different ways, he has many different faces, he works many different angles, Jesus had to rebuke Satan who used Peter to deny that he would die on the cross. In Samson’s betrayal we also see that God had more for Samson than just dwelling on top of the rock in solitude for the rest of his days. He was up there doing nothing. God wants to use us. He uses ways we don’t even imagine. The betrayal was evil that God would turn to good in Samson’s life. It was through this that Samson would win his greatest battle over the Philistines yet. Romans 8:37 – Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

It is the Spirit of God that busts those two new cords. Because as they observed of Jesus, his word, God’s word, is with power. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth, and the truth makes us free. And it makes us free indeed. Those cords could not hold Samson. The true word of God in our hearts, dwelling in us gives us our great power as the Holy Spirit works through the word, not around the word. In 1 John 2:14, I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. People professing to be saved who live contrary to God’s word, yet justify it on the basis of being Spirit led, are deceiving and being deceived. God does not honor those who disobey his word, the Spirit never works contrary to the word. The Spirit bears witness of Christ. Those cords handcuffed, bound his hands. We see a lot of Christians today with their hands tied. No power. We have seen a loss of the power of God today because we have scores of Christians whose hands are bound by false Bibles. 1 Timothy 1:7 – Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. If you don’t have your Bible sorted first, you can’t make another step. One Bible says this, one Bible says that. Who is the authority, God or man? Is God’s word subject to man? How many times do we want to “revise” God’s word? God warns multiple times against adding and taking from his word, it carries a mortal, severe, eternal curse. Why partake of the accursed thing?

We see that these two new cords represent false Bibles, corrupt seed, false seed. And this false seed sows discord among brethren.In Proverbs 6 we read of seven things of which are abomination to God. Proverbs 6:19 – A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. That is what new Bibles do. They sow discord. What is discord? Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines discord with words such as disagreement, difference, variance, opposition, contention, strife. Sound like “Christianity” today? Today we see that there are countless numbers of Bibles in Christendom today. The devil has been hard at work. Matthew 13:25 – But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. The devil sows false seed, the Lord Jesus Christ sows the good seed. Men have been sleeping, nobody has been watching and praying, the watchmen are silent upon the wall. Today we have a tower of Babel “Christian” system. Many different voices saying different things. Confusion. Discord. Cords of Discord. Cords that bind, that bring bondage. People over the world in bondage, serving a false Jesus, a false gospel, that Paul warned of in 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 11:4 – And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. And Satan’s ministers appear as ministers of righteousness. Satan’s masterpiece does not lie in other religions of the world that are blatantly different, but within the sphere of “Christianity” itself. While men slept, the enemy has come, there are tares sown amongst the wheat. But Samson busted the ropes through the Spirit of God as if they were flax burned with fire. Flax is first mentioned in an Egyptian context. All “new” Bibles come from Egypt. The Authorized King James Bible traces back to Antioch, Syria, while all other new Bibles trace to Alexandria, Egypt – a corrupt source, a corrupt spring, a corrupt fountain, a corrupt river. The theme of the Bible is get out of Egypt, stay out of Egypt. Judge for yourself whether you should be reading and believing an Egyptian Bible today.

The Spirit of the LORD came upon Samson and Samson was loosed. Only God’s Spirit and his true, pure, preserved, sure word will free you. God knows his own. God knows his sheep, his sheep know him, they hear his voice. The Holy Spirit is described as the Spirit of might, and God’s might was upon Samson and he broke out of the two new cords. He then found a new jawbone of an ass! God’s provision to him, for him. The two new cords were man’s doing, and they were binding, but the new jawbone was just there, provided for Samson by God, and wielding that weapon would deliver him from the enemy that shouted against him. The Spirit always leads us to the Word. The true Word of God, the new jawbone of an ass. An offensive, refused, unlikely weapon. God that saw no corruption, Jesus Christ who died, but lives. Jesus Christ, who did no sin, who became sin for us, who is alive forevermore. And Samson used that jawbone to kill a thousand Philistines. And Samson later drank water from a hollow in that jawbone. The true Word of God delineates between death and life. What will you do with God’s word? Will it slay you or save you? It depends on whether you believe it and receive what it says, or not. Because God’s word is the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you believe in him? Samson was snowed in by his flesh, by the world, by the devil his whole life. Yet he overcame the world by his faith in God. 1 John 5:4,5 – For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? Samson overcame because of God. Samson without God was just as any other man. The two new cords that were binding Samson became as flax burned with fire. Jeremiah 23:29 – Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? If you are seeking truth, you will find truth, God promises so. The Spirit of truth guides you into truth. And Jesus said when he prayed to his Father, Thy word is truth. And the truth is what sets you free. Samson was set free that day.

Blog Christian Christianity Faith God Gospel Grace Jesus Judges Salvation Samson Saved Spirit Word of God