The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
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The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
The Impulses Of Samson
Judg 13-16
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Parents’ Plans
 Where “seeds of potential” are planted
 Manoah & his wife learn of a son 13:2-5
 Knew what God had in mind
 A Nazirite from birth Num 6
 Usually chosen voluntarily…Samson different
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Parents’ Plans
 Their prayer 13:8, 12
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Prayed to be shown what to do for the boy
Sought to know his “mode of life & vocation”
Very noble requests
Showed they had a deep concern
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Parents’ Plans
 Children are a “gift” Psa 127:3
 No more sobering thought than to bring
children into a cold, harsh, ungodly world
 One day, parents must turn children loose
 Modern-day parents should imitate Samson’s
parents Prov 22:6 Eph 6:4 Col 3:21
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Unwise Choices
 Eventually the child grew…decisions made
for him now being made by him
 The most worrisome part of parenting
 Uncharted territory for the child
(no experience)
 Important to heed parental advice, wisdom
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Unwise Choices
 His Wife 14:2-4
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His parents’ concern was valid, reasonable
Translates to modern dating
Samson’s criteria  entirely carnal
Some may object based on v. 4 …not so
cp. Gen 37:18-28 50:20
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Unwise Choices
 His Conduct 14:5-10
The lion carcass vv. 5-9
 Not in killing the lion (God’s spirit on him)
 Defiled by the carcass Num 6:6-7 Lev 11:27
 Any implications for not telling his parents?
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Unwise Choices
 His Conduct 14:5-10
The drinking feast v. 10
 Nazirites = must have total abstinence from
the grape Num 6:3-4
 Hebrew word for “feast” = drinking feast
 If he didn’t drink, he at least “hosted”
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Unwise Choices
 His Conduct 14:5-10
 Parents want their children’s conduct to
reflect the “plans” & prayers they had
 Samson was to live in such a way…a
“dedicated” & “holy” life Num 6:8
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Unwise Choices
 His Conduct 14:5-10
 His choices don’t appear to reflect such an
honorable goal
 One’s conduct reflects his priorities in life
1 Pet 1:14-16 2:11-12 4:3-4
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Unwise Choices
 His Companions 16:4-21
 One would think after his earlier encounters
with Philistine women, Samson would have
had enough cp. 14:12-20 16:1-3
 Obviously not…he was “drawn to” others
who weren’t helpful but were hurtful
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Unwise Choices
 His Companions 16:4-21
 Delilah didn’t have his best interest at heart
 She only wanted to help herself vv. 5, 18
 She used her “ways” to help accomplish
her goals v. 19
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Unwise Choices
 His Companions 16:4-21
 Samson seemingly “toying” with her re: his
strength indicates he wasn’t serious about
his God-given blessing vv. 7, 11, 13
 “Delilah’s lap” is not hard to find!!
(enchanting…extremely dangerous)
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Unwise Choices
 His Companions 16:4-21
 Rightly so…parents are concerned about
their children’s companions
(friends…dating…marriage)
 Wrong influences can be deadly
1 Cor 15:33 Jas 4:4
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Tragic End
 The sad ending to Samson’s life story
 In the hands of his enemies…at their mercy
 Not slaughtering them…but abused, injured
and scarred for life 16:21
 Why?? 16:20b
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Tragic End
 The sad ending to Samson’s life story
 His super strength notwithstanding, he
continually put himself in bad situations
 Eventually, such conduct (“the odds”) will
catch up with you cp. Prov 6:27-28
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Tragic End
 The sad ending to Samson’s life story
 He is now only a “shadow” of what had been
planned and prayed for him
 Definitely not what his parents had desired
 Yes, God still used him 16:22b, 28-30
 But, did it have to end this way?
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Tragic End
 This is precisely what parents worry about
 They don’t want to see their children beaten
up and abused in “the house of Dagon”
 Such is far from their plans & prayers
 Samson got to this point because of his
choices…one at a time cumulatively
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
His Tragic End
 Parents (grandparents) have wisdom that
should be used
 Samson seemed to ignore this 14:3
 Look where it got him
 Youth = a time to be enjoyed…but also a
time to heed instruction Eccl 11:9-10 12:1a
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
Conclusion
 Choices we make should be consistent
with the kind of life intended for us
 God can use us anyway Heb 11:32
 However, it will turn out better if we live by
principle…not by passion (impulses)
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
Conclusion
 Will we end up like Samson?
 Spend the majority of our time serving
ourselves
 Find ourselves at the end of our days only an
“empty shell” of what we really could be
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
Conclusion
 His mistakes can be avoided if we live as
we should…consistent with the “vow”
we’ve made to God as a faithful child
The Impulses Of Samson Judg 13-16
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