Christmas In June
Judges 13
– The story of God’s salvation in Judges 13 begins with the miraculous birth of a ‘saviour’ named Samson
– The story of Samson’s birth teaches us three important lessons about God:
I. God’s Unmerited Favour
1) The nature of sin
- “evil in the sight of God” – sin is defined by God, not by human opinion
- Sin enslaves us
- Sin lulls us to sleep
2) The nature of salvation
- God’s initiative in salvation
- No plea for help from Israel
- No natural ability to procreate
- The ‘saviour’ is chosen before birth
- God’s instrument of salvation – a baby!
II. God’s Forbearance
1) A display of divine glory
- The ‘Angel of the Lord’ appears for the third time in this book (cf. 2:1-5; 6:12-24)
- Glad tidings of great joy!
2) A display of human ignorance
- Contrast between Samson’s Mom and Dad
- spiritual discernment vs. spiritual dullness
- submission to God vs. control of God
- high view of women in Judges
- A pagan name for the new ‘saviour’ of Israel – ‘Samson’ = ‘little sun’
III. God’s Future Plan
1) Samson’s birth is a picture of Israel and of Israel’s coming Messiah
- Miraculous birth
- Life of Separation
Samson’s only ‘begins’ to save Israel (v. 5) – a key word in the narrative which points us forward to Jesus Christ
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