Title Judges 16:15-22 Today's Nazarite
Contents
Today's Nazarite (Judges 16:15-22)
The only way to live is to pray
A church that has lost its spiritual authority, must gain the power of the book of repentance 1. Samson was weak against women.
There were no three things in Israel in the time of the Judges, when Samson was born. First, there was no knowledge of Jehovah. Second, there was no conception. Third, there was no rest. It was just like our time. At that time, the nation of Israel was being trampled on by a foreign country called the Philistines, and the people still worshiped idols. At this time, Samson is born as a Nazarite. God has prepared a system of vows to serve God for a certain period or a lifetime among His people, and this is the Nazirite system. During their dedication to God, they did not drink fermented beverages, wine, or strong spirits, nor did they cut their hair. And he didn't even touch a dead body. Samson was God's leader in his time, and he was a judge and a Nazarite who had to sanctify himself, devote himself to the kingdom of God, and lead the people of Israel.
In Judges 14, there is the story of Samson as a young man. He sees a Philistine woman from a place called Timnah, falls in love with her, and begs her parents to marry her. Everyone has one or two weaknesses. Samson was a weak person to women. Samson is a Nazarite who has a mission God has given him. However, Samson is going to enjoy the world rather than trying to endure while holding on to his mission. Samson is in trouble because he loves Delilah, a foreign woman he should not love.
2. A church being dyed by the world
Although the Israelites were children of the covenant, they were falling apart in the Canaanite culture. Even though the Canaanites were enemies that the covenant people had to fight and overcome, just like white paint mixed with gray, the Canaanite culture and religion quietly entered the hearts of the Israelites and colored them.
Samson's love for a Philistine woman, and the joy of going in and talking with her, and that she was in a room with them, and later lying on her knees, is a symbolic act that shows the phenomenon of the fall of the people of Israel. . Through Samson's life, it shows us the corruption of Israel, where Canaan, who used to be an enemy and enemy, is now friends, lovers, living together in the same house, and later becoming a Canaanite captive.
Through this story of Samson, I think of today's church, the saints and leaders. The Church, too, was at war with the world when it was first born into the world. He kept himself from being polluted by the world. When the spirit of lies and deceit penetrated through Ananias and Sapphira, God protected the church. They fought against the world and struggled to live a separate life. So, the early Jerusalem church was afraid the world could not handle it, and because of that, the church suffered great persecution from the world.
But now, the world does not persecute the church very much. The reason is that there is no difference between the church and the world. The church has become too much like the world. There are even times when it's worse than the world. So I rush to teach you a lesson. The church compromises with the world and lives as the world goes. Just as Samson lay on Delilah's lap, the church now lay on the knee of wealth, vested interests, and comfort.
3. Samson and Delilah
Israel's leader, Judge Samson, loved Delilah. Not by lawful marriage. Delilah stole Samson's heart. Unable to control his emotions, his heart completely turned to Delilah. The Philistines bought Delilah for a thousand and one hundred shekels of silver to find out the source of Samson's strength. Delilah finally learns the secret and cuts Samson's hair, weakening his power. In fact, Samson's strength was not in his outward hair. It is merely a symbol of gender as a Nazarite, and only an outward evidence. The reason Samson lost his strength was because he gave up on becoming a Nazarite and vomited his heart out to Delilah.
Through Samson's failure, I think of the church, the saints, and the leaders of today. Through Samson, we must be able to see ourselves. To have your eyes pulled out means that you have lost your spiritual eyesight. To be tied to a brass cord and mill a millstone in prison would mean that you were completely controlled by the power of Satan and became a slave to sin.
Samson wanted to put everything back in its place. Finally, he puts his life on God and prays. I beg you to strengthen me this time alone (Judges 16:28). God answers repentance and life-threatening prayers. And he accomplishes the work of destroying the power of Satan. This fact conveys a precious truth to the churches and leaders of our age who today are despised and ridiculed. We testify that only life-threatening repentance and restoration of prayer is the only way for us to live.
?쏷oday?셲 Nazarite??is our church, its leaders, saints and officers. God has set us apart as holy Nazarites, and He wants us to build His kingdom on this earth through our holy devotion. God will work through our repentance and prayer. The whole earth will be filled with the acknowledgment of the glory of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea, binding the satanic forces of the earth. This is the mission and hope of our ?쐔oday?셲 Nazarites?? Sermon notes
In Amos 2:11-12, there are words that pointed out and rebuked the prophets and the Nazirites for corrupting them. The sin of keeping the prophet silent and corrupting the Nazirites into wine was not unique to that time. Through constant self-examination and self-control, we must fulfill the mission of a prophet and a Nazarite. Restoring the glory of the church and the saints is a priority