Thursday, 19th January 2023
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-8 Wilfulness
V1-2 ‘After a while, in the time of wheat harvest, it happened that Samson visited his wife with a young goat. And he said, “Let me go in to my wife, into her room.” But her father would not permit him to go in. Her father said, “I really thought that you thoroughly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please, take her instead.”’ There was nothing wrong with the decision of the father, because Samson ran away so he had to marry his daughter to someone. But Samson did not think like that, he was self-centred and he felt everything should be about him.
V3 ‘And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be blameless regarding the Philistines if I harm them!”’ Samson was using God as an excuse to express his anger and act out his own flesh desires. A lot of time we also have a lot of excuses for our own actions. We told people it’s from God, but in fact it’s from our selfish desires and wilfulness. At the very beginning God was displeased with Samson falling in love with the Philistine woman.
V6 ‘Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they answered, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.’ When Samson burnt the field of the Philistines, his wife-to-be and her father paid the price and were killed because of Samson’s actions. We can see that Samson’s wilful actions caused the death and harm of others. When we don’t have God but use God to be our excuses for our actions and behaviour, not only it will lead to the path of death for us but also for others around us.
V7-8 ‘Samson said to them, “Since you would do a thing like this, I will surely take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.” So he attacked them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; then he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of Etam.’ Samson was fighting against the father of his wife-to-be, but when he heard that they were killed by the Philistines, he turned against the Philistines, and again used God as the excuse for his action. Samson completely lost himself and did everything according to his own wilfulness.
Section Two V9-13 Negative Teaching
V9-10 ‘Now the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and deployed themselves against Lehi. And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” So they answered, “We have come up to arrest Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.”’ Unlike the other judges, who brought peace to the Israelites, Samson brother the enemy to them. His actions caused the death of his wife-to-be and her father, then again caused the troubles for the Israelites.
It’s like how we were hurt in the past by our parents or authorities, then when we come to church, we use the same lenses to look at our spiritual authorities and our church. When we live in this generation without God, we don’t have God in our lives, then we make judgement out of desires, emotions, and selfishness. Samson did not lead the people to God, instead he brought back the teaching from the Philistine. How the Philistines took revenge against him, he took revenge against back to the Philistines.
Section Three V14-20 God is Always Here
V14 ‘When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands.’ In the generation without God, God is always there. It’s the people who do not respond to God and do not see God. When the time came, God gave Samson the authority and position, He did not let Samson lose his authority in front of the Philistines. The strength God gave to Samson was still there.
V16 ‘Then Samson said: “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men!”’ Everything Samson had was from God, but he was living in his wilfulness and anger, he only revealed himself and did not uphold the Name of God. Do we reveal God’s strength in our lives? Or do we only let people see us? Samson was well aware that his strength was from God, but people saw him more than they saw God.
V18-19 ‘Then he became very thirsty; so he cried out to the Lord and said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?” So God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out, and he drank; and his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he called its name En Hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.’ Finally Samson cried out to God, and God answered him straight away. In the time of wilfulness and wrong teachings, God is still there. God is always here for us, but do we really carry out God’s Will for us? Samson was the judge for the Israelites for 20 years, but he didn’t lead the Israelites out of the oppression of the Philistines. Samson did not walk in the calling of God, even though God had been answering him all this time.
Let us examine into our lives, live in the calling of God, get rid of our wilfulness and shine for God in this generation without God.
士师记 15 – 无神的世代
2023年1月19日 星期四
潘锡安牧师
当人没有配合神的预备时，会发生什么呢？今天的经文帮助我们察验自己的生命。参孙的命定就是成为以色列士师，然而他所影响的世代却是一个无神的世代。
一、v.1-8 任意妄为
V1-2 参孙曾经为了自己的怒气而不管当下的环境，径直离开自己的婚礼。一个看似有神的人心里却没有神，因为参孙看重的只是自己的情绪。当参孙心情好转后，就转头回来找自己的妻子 – 他并非是来道歉，而是想与她行夫妻之道。参孙仍然活在情欲中。
V3 参孙知道自己之前在婚礼上做的事是不对的，于是便觉得这次加害于非利士人的就不算是坏事。他将自己的怒气发泄在非利士人的身上，公报私仇。很多时候，我们明知道我们做的事是不对的，却仍然在罪中满足自己的情欲，甚至把事情合理化，不承认自己做的事有罪的。
V4-5 参孙有神的呼召，却没有将非利士人赶走，只想借着毁坏庄稼来发泄情绪，因为他里面充满情欲，眼中看到的只有非利士的美女。
V6-8 听说自己的妻子和岳父被烧死，参孙就为他们报复，杀死了非利士人之后就住在野兽的洞穴里。他完全活在自己的情欲中。他的的杀戮不是在战场上，而只是个人报复。参孙任意妄为、发泄怒气，完全活出一个无神的生命。
二、v.9-13 负面的教育
V9-10 非利士人的的信仰就是以恶报恶。
V11 参孙给以色列人带来的不是自由，反而让他们被非利士人围攻。我们是否会因为个别非信徒的不良行为，或者过去某位权柄对我们的伤害而一竿子打翻一船人，认为所有非信徒或者所有权柄都是不好的？我们如此行，是因为活在一个无神的世代，让我们里面的情欲控制我们的全人。参孙讲的话跟非利士人的话是一样的。我们带出来的是什么影响呢？是否只对那些对我们好的人好，是否不愿意跨出自己的小圈子？我们里面无神的时候，就只想着满足自己的情欲。
V12 本来参孙是带领者，然而他没有带以色列脱离非利士人，却在以色列人面前表现出贪生怕死。一个任意妄为的人呈现出来的是负面的教育。
三、v.14-20 神一直都在
V14 神给参孙位份，他给参孙的能力还存在，没有让他被非利士人伤害。
V15-16 “未干的驴腮骨”说明是有血肉的尸体，是被分别为圣的拿细耳人不应该触碰的。然而，参孙就是拿着它去杀人，并且“杀人成堆”。
V17 “拉未利希”就是腮骨山。 当初亚伯拉罕给献以撒的山起名耶和华以勒，他高举神，让人看到神的供应；然而参孙留下的只是不洁净的尸骨。让我们所存留的是神能力的彰显，而不是让人只看到我们自己。
V18 参孙自己知道神，但是他任意妄为，活在自己的情绪中，只有在口渴需要水的时候才开口祷告神。参孙知道神给了他呼召和能力，却明知故犯。我们是否也会这样用一时软弱和神有怜悯来为自己的犯罪行为开脱？
V19 “隐哈歌利”就是 “求告之泉” – 记念耶和华听祷告。在黑暗的时候，在我们任意妄为的时候，神一直都在，他在等我们回转。
V20 这二十年，参孙没有让非利士人离开以色列，他只是一个能打拼的人而已。参孙带着神的呼召却没有走在神给他的命定里，但神一直在等他。让我们鉴察自己的生命，不要活在自己的情欲和任意妄为里，而是活出神的呼召，在这个无神的世代兴起发光！