Judges 15:14-2014And 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. 15And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. 16And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. 17And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi. 18And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? 19But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day. 20And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years. (Judges 15:14‑20)
When the Philistines saw that the men of Judah had bound Samson with new ropes, they shouted for joy, but Samson broke the cords with which he was bound, like flax before the fire, and then ran out and killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. While it is true that Samson had failed in his faithfulness to God (as the Church has), it is also true that as long as he remained a Nazarite, faithful in a measure, God used him against the Philistines. It is sad to see, however, as we have remarked, that the people of God, as well as the Philistines, were opposed to a separated one.
This has an important lesson for us today, for just as the Philistines remained quite peaceful as long as their rule was not questioned, so the world will accept Christianity as a moral force to build a better world. They would have received Christ if He had acknowledged their order of things, and sought to improve their world, morally and socially, but when He showed man’s true condition before God and exposed their enmity against Him; when He told of coming judgment too, they hated Him. They had no place for the true Nazarite who walked in entire separation from the whole world system of things. And so with the religious world today, they have no use for one who walks in separation from all that man has set up, and only acknowledges the claims of Christ. He meets not only the scorn of the unbeliever, but even the misunderstanding of true Christians who think the systems of men should be acknowledged, and would “bind the hands” of the one who separates from them. Nevertheless just as Samson was able to break the ropes with which he was bound, in his Nazarite strength, so there is true power in this path of faith. Oh, dear fellow Christian, may we be more willing to “go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.” Hebrews 13:1313Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. (Hebrews 13:13). As the Lord’s coming draws nearer, and the true character of Christendom becomes more manifest, it is the more important that we be found walking for His glory here. One feels it is going to cost more and more to be faithful, as time goes on, for the great tendency today is to take the easy path. May we be found “looking unto Jesus” the One who suffered so much for us, and who never turned aside from the path of faith. He would rather die than disobey.
One victory, however, is never the assurance of another, as Samson had to learn. Unless we cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart we, are as weak as water. Indeed there is always the danger of resting on past experiences and not realizing that it is the Lord we need, for without Him, experience is of no value in divine things. After Samson’s great victory over the Philistines, he thirsted and cried to the Lord, who graciously met his need. He caused water to come out of the very jaw bone Samson had used in battle against the Philistines. The Lord will never fail in His faithfulness, but Samson’s heart was growing cold, and the God-given boldness which was so manifested at first, gave way to a secret fear of the Philistines.
The beginning of the sixteenth chapter shows where Samson’s heart really was, and his secret departure soon manifested itself before others. If our hearts are secretly cold to the Lord, it will not be long before our feet will lead us into wrong paths.
ML 12/13/1953