Join me in Judges 15. I think
we're going to start at verse 16. We've had Samson again demonstrate
the strength that God has given to him in dealing with the Philistines. And he uses a very odd instrument. It's an unclean instrument. He's
not supposed to be dealing with that. He's a Nazarite. And yet
in God's purpose, He had him do this and I can just see these
Philistines say, well, we got him now when he grabs a bone
and puts it in his head, not a leg bone. Nothing very long,
but it was very close to him. And God permits him to use it
in such a mighty way, demonstrating that it is really God that's
winning the victory here with the Philistines. And that's what
we read so often. I think of Nicodemus. And Jesus said, you being a ruler
of the Jews, don't know these things, don't know the power
of God. And if you just start in the book of Genesis and work
ahead a little bit, how many times does God demonstrate and
declare to the people that I am the one that gives the victory?
It's not you, it's me. So this has been a blessing that
was given to Samson too. He's gonna have the strength
that God has given him. Here in the book of Judges chapter
15 and verse 16, Samson said, now this is his song. It's a
very short song. It's kind of like a prayer. It's
a prayer of thanksgiving, kind of reminds us that When we speak
to God, it's a good idea not to be too lengthy about it, because
him speaking to us is far more valuable. So he said here, and
Samson said, with the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps,
with the jawbone of an ass, have I slain a thousand men. So he
has used a very uncommon thing. And you know, that is so true
as we look into the scriptures that God has shared that so often. He uses the most uncommon things. And if you'll turn with me to
a passage we've read, I believe last Sunday, over in the book
of First Corinthians, chapter one. In First Corinthians, chapter
one, we read there about what God uses and he uses things that
are not common. They're not something that we
can do. We're going to find out here in just a moment that God
brought a gusher of water out of a jawbone. That's not a common
thing to take place. Well, here in the book of 1 Corinthians
1, verse 26, it says, as Paul was writing to the church, and
if we get up just a little bit earlier in this chapter, we find
out that he's dealing with divisions in the church. Now, you know,
you and I probably grew up in churches that said, this God
is showing us how to deal with problems and get after the folks.
Well, Paul had a complete different view of it. He's gonna deal with
problems by preaching Christ. Now, if Christ becomes the issue,
and if Christ is the one that we're looking at, and Christ
is the one that we're saved by, then we will be led more by that. Now, I think I've told you that
I heard a preacher preach a couple of messages, and what he did,
he told me what I should be doing. And I told the pastor of the
church after the service that says, I don't need to be told
what I need to be doing. I need to be told about someone
who will do it. Someone who has taken care of
those issues. So that's preaching Christ. Samson
had pictured the Savior's victorious, victorious, Do dealings overseeing
he did it was something so strange and as we read here for you see
your breath calling brethren how that not many wise men after
the flesh. Not many mighty not many noble
are called and we find that that term is used down through here
and then he's going to change the tune just a little. and say,
chosen, God chose these things that he's going to use. Verse
27, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise. And as I mentioned, I can just
see all of those Pharisees, Philistines that were gathered around Samson
that day after those ropes just melted off of his hands, he grabbed
that jawbone, And they said, we got him now. All of us can
take care of this. And look at the puny little weapon.
He said, and Sam said, this is a knife. He had the compunction,
the grace given to him, the gift given to him. to know that this
is going to work. So he goes on to tell us, God
has chosen the foolish things of the world. And then in verse
28, in the base things of the world, the things which are despised
hath God chosen, yea, the things which are not to bring to not
the things that are. You know, in our original standing before
God, we were certainly despised. We despised him and we have a
problem against God. And yet he uses, it's amazing. Then you take us out of that
and use, as Paul says in another place, by inspiration, we have
this treasure in earthen vessels. It's just earthen vessels. It's
just flesh. So he shares with us here, and
then in verse 29, that no flesh should glory in his presence.
He's not going to allow that. No flesh will glory in his presence.
If we go back now to the book of Judges, the book of Judges
chapter 17, excuse me, chapter 15 verse 17. And it came to pass when he made
an end of speaking that he cast away the jawbone. Now, Samson
has demonstrated a wonderful picture of God taking care of
our sin with what would commonly be felt is unacceptable, the
blood. When natural man says, that's
not necessary, I'm pretty good as it is. But God knew that it
was necessary and it took the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse
us from all sin. Samson threw away this jawbone
now and it says there, that cast away the jawbone out of his hand
and called the place Raphahele. And that means, height of a jawbone. So he's thrown it uphill. You
know, immediately after doing this, we find that he cries out,
he was sore a thirst and called on the Lord and said, now there's
not one thing that has taken place in the book of Judges that
we find did not declare the glory of God. Sometimes I make a mistake
and say that all these things is a declaration. Oh, how do
I put it? They demonstrate the glory of
God. Anyway, we'll move on and that may come to me here. Was
for the glory of God. Everything was for the glory
of God. No, that's not a proper way of
putting it. Everything declares the glory
of God. And this whole incident here
with Samson declared the glory of God. Now God's not gonna let
him die of thirst. Just as we found God's not going
to take his mama and dad's life before Samson is born. This is
not going to be the issue, but it certainly is a statement that
Samson makes that brings glory to God, that shares glory of
God, that declares the glory of God. He is going to bring
water out of a place that normally wouldn't be a place of water.
As we follow this out, we find that everything that takes place
declares the glory of God. And that is in all things He
does, declares it. And underneath that, the creation
declared His glory. The fall declared His glory. To have a lamb slain, ready for
sacrifice, if you please, prepared. if you please, before the foundation
of the world for a problem that hasn't even happened yet, but
in the mind of God, knowing this is necessary. It is declaring
the glory of God. The fall declared the glory of
God. Creation declared the glory of God. We find that salvation
of the elect declares the glory of God and the gospel declares
the glory of God. That's why we relish and delight
in it. It declares the glory of God that the God of heaven
would be toward lost people. Without their invitation and
without their desire, he still is toward lost people. His lost
sheep, he is going to declare his glory by saving lost sheep. Heard a little bit tonight again
about Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus went up a tree. You
know, he wanted to see Jesus. He knew him as Jesus. What's
the first word that Zacchaeus says to Jesus after he's brought
out of that tree and drawn to Christ? Capital L-O-R-D. It's exactly the same word that
Saul of Tarsus said when Jesus said, I'm Jesus whom thou persecutest. And Saul of Tarsus was revealed
the truth that he is Lord. So here we have, He declared
the glory of God. The new birth declares the glory
of God. No other way can anybody be saved and yet it's not something
that we can participate in. We have no participation in the
new birth and it is a miracle and it is describable in many
ways. It is a spiritual birth. But
when God brings us out of the death, the death of sin, and
brings us to himself in the life that we have in Christ Jesus,
he causes us to understand some things about God that we never
knew prior to that time. We didn't know that everything
happens for the glory of God. The death of the saint declares
the glory of God. He says, in fact, that it's a
good thing in the eyes of the Lord to see the death of his
saints, the reunion that he has purposed since the foundation
of the world of all his people being assembled. It declares
the glory of God. You know, this we read over in
the book of the Psalms, Psalm 19, Psalm 19, verse one, this
just sums it up. all go out, well, we may not
be able to see the stars tonight. It's a little hazy, as the reporters
are putting it, but in Psalm 19, verse one, it says, the heavens
declare, what? The glory of God. And the interesting thing is
as telescopes were invented and began to be used, and more powerful
ones were beginning to come online, and more powerful ones, and more
powerful ones, and then the ones that they put out in space so
they don't have all of the interference with the stuff in the air, the
farther they looked, the more it declared the glory of God. No end to it. It's amazing, the
creation of God. The heavens declare the glory
of God and the firmament show His handiwork. So everything
around us declares the glory of God. God's people declare
the glory of God, but also those without God declare the glory
of God. He has made all things, yea,
even the wicked for the day of evil. They will declare the glory
of God. They will bow. Every knee shall
bow and every tongue shall confess the glory of God. and that's
the truth. All right? We find in John 11,
would you turn with me to John 11 as we think about the glory
of God? We've reviewed this just like, you know, most of the other
passages that we go to. We've reviewed them from time
to time to realize the effectiveness of God's word on our very soul
when we read it and see it again. But we being fickle and we being
fragile often forget. So it's a good thing to be reminded. And here in John 11 verse one,
a certain man, was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town
of Mary and his sister Martha. And it was that Mary which anointed
the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose
brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore his sisters said unto
him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. Now
notice this in his comment. When Jesus heard that, he said,
this sickness is not unto death. but for the glory of God, that
the Son of God might be glorified thereby." So in the process that
God used for this to come to a conclusion, Lazarus died, Jesus
went, Lazarus come forth, and we have one of the greatest declarations
of how God saves his people. He did not need, he did not get,
and it was impossible to have an invitation from Lazarus before
Jesus would do anything. He's dead. So we have that. But here it's for the glory of
God. The sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God,
that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. In the book
of Second Corinthians, as we think about this glory of God,
it's declared, it was declared by Samson, my goodness, just
a mere man with a jawbone in his hand slew a thousand Philistines. And you know, I can't help but
think that those Philistines had some wrong about them too,
that they were pretty significant in their ability as fighters.
They have kept Israel in check. and they will do it for 20 years
this time. They've kept Israel. Do you remember
the 3,000 from Judah that came to capture Samson? I think that they were brawny
men, but they were held captive by the Philistines and they delivered
them. All right, here in the book of
2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, There in chapter four, 2 Corinthians
chapter four, verse six, we read this. Again, for the glory of
God, declaring the glory of God. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness. Now, we can look at that from
a physical sense, but boy, let's look at that from a spiritual
sense. From a physical sense, we find that God created light
before he created the sun, moon, and the stars. What light that
was! And in every sense of the word,
this is kind of the light that Adam had until he sinned, and
then that light went out. God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts." So now
we have a spiritual light. Shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge, what? Of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Here he is. This is the glory
of God. Jesus Christ is the glory of
God. The work of Jesus Christ is the
glory of God. Those he's going to save is the
glory of God. The purpose that he had in coming
down in his very birth declares the glory of God. Shepherds coming
declared the glory of God. The wise men came declaring the
glory of God. And more than that, when he sat
in the temple and said about himself, preached himself, it
was the glory of God. That message he brought there
about thirsting. It come unto me that thirst,
any that thirst, and I have wells of water. That's the glory of
God that he gives to his people. So what a joy it is to see this
declared. The glory of God would not allow
Samson to die of thirst. He has more to do. He's not gonna
die. So let's go back over there to
the book of Judges again, the book of Judges, there in Judges
chapter 15, verse 18. He was sore of thirst 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? But God claimed
a hollow place that was in the jaw. Now there's a lot of discussion
about that among people who are much more intelligent about the
word of God than I am. But I can tell you this, it was
a not a natural place for water to come from. It was a miracle
that took place. Now, whether it actually flowed
out of that jawbone or the rock that the jawbone was on, to me,
it doesn't make any difference. But water flowed. You know, I
was thinking about that this afternoon as I was preparing
this, and I was going to go over to the book of Exodus and also
in the book of Numbers, it talks about water flowing from the
rock. But then, look with me in the Psalms. Now, the psalmist,
is a commentator on what happened over in the book of Exodus and
the book of Numbers about water coming from the rock. He's a
commentator on that. He's looking back several hundred
years as God gives him the inspiration to write about these events.
He gives him the understanding about them, but he also shares
with us, this is a common knowledge among Israel at that time. So
turn with me if you would, to the book of the Psalms. Psalm
78. Psalm 78. Here we have a commentary
on those events. And Psalm 78 there in verse 15. Psalm 78, verse 15. Well, he enumerates here about
the cloud in verse 14. Fire by night, the blessings
that God gave to Israel in this manner. And then in verse 15,
he claimed the rock in the wilderness and gave them drink out of the
depths, out of the great depths. He brought streams also out of
the rock that caused water to run down like rivers. So this
water that flowed was far more than was necessary to satisfy
the thirst of those people at that time. We have a river of
water flowing in the desert out of that rock that God told Moses
to strike. Next time he told him to speak
to it, we know the results. And I was talking to Brother
Gary about this. You know, as Moses, as a representative of
the law, it can never speak peaceable. It's going to strike every time.
We may ask it to be kind to us, but it can't. We may ask it to
be nice to us, but it won't. The law kills. The law kills. Well, anyway, water came out
and here we have it flowing as a river through the desert. What
an abundance of water God caused to flow out of there. They are
going to have to say, this is more than just a seepage. I like
driving up the Columbia River east. And every once in a while,
you see a place up there that's got some greenery. This time
of year, it's just seepage. Just a slight amount to keep
those things alive. Well, this is more than sea peach. They didn't just find a place
out in the desert where there happened to be a little moisture
flowing. This is a place where three to five, six million people
could bow down and drink water and have a lot left over. Well,
let's follow this again in Psalm 105. Psalm 105, again, some commentary
on this very thing that happened. There's gonna be water flowing
there for Samson to drink. And as a result of that, the
next verse of that chapter says, he judged Israel 20 years. Now
the next chapter is gonna be interesting. That's the last
chapter about Samuel, but he's going to do more in his death
than he ever did in his life. And you know, I see another beautiful
picture of our savior. All right, let's look here. Psalm
105 and there in verse 41, verse 41, he opened the rock. and waters gushed out. They ran
in dry places like a river. He opened the rock. He had that
rock open up. And I don't think it was just
a little bitty rock like this. I think because we read in the
first Corinthians says, and that rock was Christ. What a beautiful
symbol of the one who truly satisfies our spiritual thirst. But it
is great and adequate, more than adequate. What do we find with
regard to comfort them, comfort you, my people? For your sin
has been taken care of, what? Twice. More than adequate. So the water's
more than adequate. Christ is more than adequate.
And then move on, if you would, to Psalm 114. Psalm 114, we read
this, again, a commentary on what we read there when Moses
was to deal with the rock. It says here, which turned the
rock into standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters. how he commentates on the experiences
that we read about in the book of Numbers and the book of Exodus
about the water. What a commentator, what? mental
pictures he shares with us, what metaphors he carries with us
to share with us the abundance. And then it was far beyond the
ability of Moses or anybody else to get water extracted from that
rock. He turned the rock into standing water. He's the one
that called water out. And he called out so much that
rivers flowed there in the wilderness. And again, if you would turn
with me, another commentator on those events is found in the
book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 41. In Isaiah chapter 41, we
have some more commentary on what happened there in the wilderness.
They're looking at the events that took place there. God gave
them the understanding, the inspiration to write it down and say, let's
think about it this way. Let's think about it that way.
And it's just a glorious demonstration of the mighty power of God and
how God is glorified. In Jeremiah chapter 41, verse
28, excuse me, chapter 48, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. We're
going to be there momentarily. Isaiah 41, verse 17. When the
poor and needy seek water and there is none, Their tongue faileth
for thirst. Isaiah 41, verse 17. I, the Lord,
will hear them. I, the God of Israel, will not
forsake them. I will open rivers in high places
and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the
wilderness a pool of water. What spiritual pictures Isaiah
is called on to give to the church. Oh, in those desperate times,
in those times our very physical is destroyed
and our spiritual is attacked. It says, I will open rivers in
high places and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will
make the wilderness a pool of water. the dry land springs of
water. I will plant in the wilderness,
the cedar and the shithead tree and the myrtle and the oil tree.
I'll set in the desert, the fir tree and the pine and the box
tree together that they may see and know and consider and understand
together that the hand of the Lord hath done this and the Holy
One of Israel hath created it. What is he doing? What did he
do when that water gushed out? This is the hand of the God of
Israel. This is not just a God. This is the God of Israel. This
is the Holy One of Israel. He's created this. The abundance
has been brought on by the Holy One of Israel. And as Moses was
used as an instrument to bring water out of that rock, he couldn't
draw a drop. as religious as he was, Levi,
or excuse me, Aaron, as religious as he was and the obligations
he was responsible for, he couldn't draw a drop. But the, what is
this? The Holy One of Israel brought
rivers of water. And we're gonna find the Lord
Jesus during his personal ministry, bringing that subject up a great
deal. The woman at the well, he brought it up. All right,
as we go here, Isaiah 48, would you join me
in Isaiah 48? And they're in verse 21. I'm just amazed. at the commentary
that these psalmists and Isaiah bring about what went on there
in the wilderness. And we have some of the spiritual insights
here because it says, and they thirsted not. Isaiah 48, 21. And they thirsted not when he
led them through the deserts. He caused the waters to flow
out of the rock for them. He claved the rock also, and
the waters gushed out. There is no peace, saith the
Lord, unto the wicked. He caused the waters to flow
out of the rock. What a statement about the spiritual
application of this whole thing that he wishes for us to see,
that it is a blessing from the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Water is of the Lord. Quenching
of thirst is of the Lord. Resurrection is of the Lord.
It is not us, it is Him in us. Now, join me in the New Testament,
if you would, to the book of John, John chapter four. This
is where he speaks to the woman at the well, and now he's giving
the commentary. John chapter four, verse 13,
we read these wonderful words to this Samaritan woman. Remember,
to the Jews, she was unclean. Did you know that Zacchaeus was
unclean? Well, he was a tax collector. He was unpaid. He's a sinner.
That's what they said. Jesus has gone to the house of
a sinner. Amen. Thank God. That's where
he goes. So here we read, Jesus answered
and said unto her, whosoever drank of this water shall thirst
again. What water is he talking about? The water in Jacob's well. She had to come down every day.
And the ladies of the community came down every day. And she
came down at a time that they weren't there because she hated
to face the wrath of these other women. She came down there and
she's after water. She's after physical water. That's
just like most religious people. They're after physical blessings.
That's why this, what is this gospel called today? Prosperity
gospel. Isn't that a popular gospel?
I mean, it's not a gospel at all, but it's so popular. If
you give your heart to Jesus, he will prosper you. But it kind
of reminds me of Herbert Hoover saying, there'll be a Ford in
every garage and two chickens in every pot. You know, it's
just, and it's just, there's no stability behind it. Did you
know that people have sued churches over that very subject because
they were not blessed and they won? I was telling brother, Give me a minute here. Our missionary, Lance. I kept thinking Rob. It's so
much easier for God to lower it than for us to raise it. Think about it. All right. Notice here, going
on, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him,
shall never thirst. You know what that means to us?
Cannot go back. This satisfied the thirst that
we had. God gave us the satisfaction
of that thirst by the water of life, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And once you've been given the water of life of the Lord Jesus
Christ, you cannot go back. You can't go back to the pigpen
and eat husk. Here he goes on to say, shall
never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in
him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. What's
that mean for us? When someone asks us a reason
for the hope that lies within us, we may only be able to say,
as we heard read over there in 1 John, It says, he that hath the Son
hath life. He that hath not the Son hath
not life. Now that's about the simplest
statement we can give, but that's the truth. That is pure righteous
theology. All right, and then if you'll
turn with me over to the book of John chapter six, John chapter
six. John chapter 6 and verse 35. And Jesus said unto them, I am
the bread of life. One of his I am statements. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger. And then the second, and he that
believeth on me shall never thirst. The thirst is satisfied, it's
quenched. Now the water that flowed out
of that rock was natural water. They had natural thirst and they
thirsted again. And you know what? They complained
to Moses and to Aaron and could not remember 39 seconds that
they just got water out of a rock back their ways. I mean, and
that's just the way natural man is. He cannot see the spiritual
blessings of God. They are hidden from him. So
he'll complain about that. And they did. Now there were
several among that group says, you know what? God's gonna provide
water. He's not gonna leave us out here
in the desert. We're headed for the promised land. And some of
them could not see that because they didn't know the first thing
about the promised land. Oh, it's some acreage over there
we're gonna grow peas on. Well, turn with me if you would
to the book of John chapter seven, John chapter seven. John chapter
seven, verse 37. In the last day, that great day
of the feast, Jesus is up by the temple and he stood up and
cried. Can you hear this? He cried, if any man thirst,
let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the
scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. But this spake he of the Spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive." What a blessing
he reveals here. And right in the middle of this
whole host of people on this great day, he says those words, If any man thirst, let him come
to me. And finally, if you turn with
me over to the book of Revelation chapter seven, Revelation chapter
seven, we have another commentary on this wonderful subject that
was brought up here by Samson when he cried for water and the
Lord gave it to him out of the most uncommon place. The Lord
gave it to him. Samson didn't provide his own.
It says here in the book of Revelation chapter seven, verse 14, And
I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are
they which came out of great tribulation, and hath washed
their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore
are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night
in his temple. And he that sinneth on the throne
shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more. Neither thirst any more, neither
shall the sun light on them nor any heat. For the lamb which
is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead
them unto living fountains of water, waters, excuse me, and
the Lord shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Now, you
know, my friends, I don't have to wait for eternity to enjoy
those blessings. Those are spiritual blessings
that he gives us today. He satisfies our spiritual hunger.
He satisfies our spiritual thirst. And He is the Lamb on His throne
that does this. He's the one that leads us. He's
the one that brings us. He's the one that draws us. He's
the one that waters us. He's the one that feeds us. The
Lamb of God. All right, let's quickly go back
over to the book of Judges now. And I'll read that verse and
then the last verse of that chapter. Verse 19, verse 19 of this chapter. Verse 19 of Judges chapter 15,
but God. That's a wonderful statement
to run into. But God. Everything looks kind of harsh,
but God. Everything looks impossible,
but God. But God claimed a 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 Enhokareli, which is in Lehi unto this day. Now, you
know, when he said he was a thirst, in verse 18, he was sore a thirst. It'd be very easy to go over
to the book of the New Testament and read about the thirst that
the Lord declared on the cross. And sometime we probably will
do that. But as it... I just lost this. Sometimes this
is just a little... 15 verse 19. And water came out. Now verse 20, and he judged Israel
in the days of the Philistines 20 years. Now, would you go to
the next chapter, the last verse of that chapter. Then his brethren and all the
house of his father came down and took him and brought him
up and buried him between Zorah and Esau in the burying place
of Manoah, his father. And he judged Israel 20 years. He was God's servant for 20 years.
Don't ever forget all the things that he did. He's listed in the
list, the whole of faith in Hebrews chapter 11. He was a Nazarite
chosen by God before his birth. He was set aside. He was tremendously
strong and that strength was given to him by God. His strength
is taken from him by cutting his hair. Isn't that interesting?
Just cut his hair off. He lost all of his strength.
And yet those Philistines didn't notice that it grew back. and
we'll see what happens as a result of that. We'll stop there for
tonight, and we'll pick up Chapter 16 of the Book of Judges, Lord
willing, next time.