Samson Dies, Killing His enemy the Philistines
Volume 2, Number 34Vol 2 - No 34 April 17, 2007The Faith of Samson - Part 6:Our last study examined how Samson, in spite of having been blessed with great physical strength, personifies the natural man and the impossibility for anyone to met God's standard of righteousness as set forth in the law given to Moses. Contrasted to Samson and all mankind the Word of God came sinless into the world in the person of Jesus who kept the law to the letter and then died to pay for the sins of all who believe in Him. So it is that Samson's witness... Continue reading →
Samson & Delilah
Volume 2, Number 33Vol 2 - No 33, April 4, 2007The Faith of Samson - Part 5:After killing 1000 Philistines with the jawbone of an ass and slaking his thirst with water miraculously provided by God from that jawbone Samson judged Israel for 20 years - Judges 15:20. However, those 20 years were during the "days of the Philistine." In other words, Samson mediated/judged matters between those in Israel while acting as a buffer between Israel and the Philistines who would have given him a lot of leeway in light of the fact he had single handedly trounced them a number of times.... Continue reading →
Samson Tied & Delivered by His Own, But He Destroys Enemy
Volume 2, Number 32The Faith of Samson - Part 4:Our last study left off with Samson burning the Philistine's crops in retaliation for his wife being given to another man. The Philistines then killed his wife and father for causing their crop loss, which resulted in Samson killing a great many of them in retaliation, after which he went to stay in the top of the rock Etam, a place in or near an area inhabited by the Israeli tribe of Judah - Judges 15:1 - 8. The Philistines then gathered a great army and camped out informing the men from Judah they... Continue reading →
Samson Marries a Philistine Girl who is burnt to death
Volume 2, Number 31The Faith of Samson - Part 3:In our last study we found Samson infatuated by a Philistine girl for she "pleased him well," Judges 14:3 & 7. As was the custom he asked his parents to arrange marriage and they did so (even though they pointed out to him that he should have chosen an Israelite) so Samson was betrothed to her. According to a Jewish Encyclopedia found at the web site: (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=995&letter=B) betrothal in Bible times meant the couple was as good as married at the time they were betrothed. However the "house taking" did not occur until one... Continue reading →
Samson Loves a Philistine Girl & Kills a Lion Barehanded
Volume 2, Number 30The Faith of Samson - Part 2:When the Nation of Israel entered the Land of Canaan under Joshua's leadership God told them it was theirs to possess and they were to be ruled by no one except Him. But their blessings and invincibility were contingent upon strict obedience to His law given through Moses - Joshua 1:2 - 9. Time and again they violated God's law by worshiping the idols of the Canaanites and thus were given over to be oppressed by them - Judges 4:3. When the oppression became unbearable Israel recognized their sin and repented. God responded by... Continue reading →
The Birth, Dedication & Mission of Samson
Volume 2, Number 29The Faith of Samson:"And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:" - Hebrews 11:32. The book of Judges mentions many who judged Israel during the time after Joshua and before King Saul but this verse only refers to these four (4) as having been borne witness to by their faith. We have studied Gideon, Barak and Jephthae and here we begin a series on Judge Samson who is probably the best known of all... Continue reading →
Jephthah, Type of Christ's Return to Israel
Volume 2, Number 28Jephthah is one of only four (4) judges of Israel named in Hebrews 11, the other three being Gideon, Barak and Samson - Hebrews 11:32. The witness of faith of each points to and is a type of a different particular aspect of the work of the second Adam who is Jesus (the author and finisher of Faith, Hebrews 12:2) in relation to the Nation of Israel. It was pointed out in Volume 2, Studies 23 - 26 that Gideon was a type of Christ in His first advent, which occurred 2000 years ago. Here, Jephthah's life and witness of... Continue reading →
Jephthah, Warrier Judge, but made a bad choise of words
Volume 2, Number 27Vol 2 - No 27, November 16, 2006The faith of Jephthah (spelled Jephthae in Hebrews 11:32.)Review: As noted in our last study, Israel had 40 years of peace during the time Gideon (aka Jerubbaal) judged but as soon as he died wickedness and idol worship prevailed again - Judges 8:32 - 35. Gideon had 70 sons by his wives and one, Abimelch, by his concubine in Shechem, Judges 8:31. After Gideon's death and the fall of Israel into sin Abimelech made a deal with his mother's people, the men of Sechem, who gave him money to hire ruthless men. With... Continue reading →
Gideon's Witness of Faith Pointed to Jesus Christ
Volume 2, Number 26Vol 2 - No 26, October 15, 2006Gideon's witness of faith - Part 4:As we complete our study of Gideon and consider the significance of his witness, three (3) important facts must be kept in mind. First; the Bible, in the original languages in which it was written, is the Word of God and from beginning to end reveals God to mankind. The Word was, is and for ever will be and approximately 2000 years ago The Word was made flesh and dwelt among mankind as Jesus Christ - John 1:1 - 4, 14. Second; The Man Jesus Christ personified... Continue reading →
God Prepares Gideon for Battle
Volume 2, Number 25Vol 2 - No 25, September 9, 2006Gideon's witness of faith - Part 3:Our last study left off at the point where the Lord chose only 300 men to accompany Gideon, Judges 7:3 - 7, to defeat an army of 135,000, Judges 8:10. His purpose for using only 300 instead of a much larger force was to make sure Israel would have no reason to boast or glory in themselves but to impress upon them that God gave the victory to them - Judges 7:2.The next few verses of the text demonstrate God's sensitivity to the doubts/fears of Gideon who... Continue reading →