If you would, go ahead and turn
with me to the Old Testament book of Judges, chapter 16. This will be our fourth look
at the life of Samson, a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. But
I will also add that Samson is also a type and a picture of
man who because of his sin and disobedience has died to God. This is something that I fear
many men and women today have yet to see, that they're dead
in trespasses and sins, spiritually dead. God was very specific when
He told Adam, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil thou shalt not eat of it, For in the day that thou eatest
thereof, thou shalt surely die. And you know the rest of the
story. Adam ate of the forbidden fruit and Adam died spiritually. The God of the Bible means what
he says. And he says what he means. You
see, God is not a man that he should lie or a son of man that
he should repent. That simply means he's not a
man that he should change his mind. We change our mind all
the time, don't we? We're so fickle, we're like the
weather, but not God. He says what he means. He's not
a man that he should lie. not a man that he should change
his mind. Adam disobeyed God. He did what God told him not
to do, and he died. You might say, well, Brother
David, he lived 930 years according to the Bible. Yes, he did. But
spiritually, he died when he ate of the tree. He died to God
the very moment that he disobeyed Him. And as our representative,
We died in Adam. Now, if you asked any somewhat
intelligent person to name ten things that a dead man can do,
well, they would look at you and say that you're crazy. Yet,
men and women who are dead in trespasses and sin believe that
they can keep the Ten Commandments. I've heard folks say that. They
believe that they can do a work of righteousness that God will
accept and that they can exercise a will of their own in order
to be saved. But how can one who's dead, how
can one who is dead appease the justice of God by doing when
a dead man can do nothing? Where does religionists talk
out of both sides of their mouth? I'm sorry, but they just do.
And they say that man is dead and trespasses and sin, and yet
they believe they can do something to save themselves. So in essence,
they don't really believe that they themselves are dead. That's
the only explanation there can be to that. The psalmist David
said, Lord, make me to know mine end. You ever prayed that way?
Make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what
it is that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made
my days as a hand-breath. You know what a hand-breath is? From here to here. Pretty insignificant. Pretty
short. A handbreadth is the width of
a man's palm under his four fingers, not including his thumb, and
depending on the size of the hand, three to four inches, not
very big, not very long. In other words, our days are
short. I was telling Will when he came
in a minute ago, I didn't know he was back from Germany, And
I looked at him, and I said, boy, time just passes by so quick. I said, just seemed like yesterday
you were a young tot, and now you're a young man, and you can
even grow a beard. Things change. Life is short. What are the few years we have
in this life? Even if they'd be 100. What are they compared to eternity?
And what are they before an eternal God? They're a hand breath. Nothing, David says. Barely every man at his best
state is altogether vanity. Lord, make us to know our end.
Lord, make us to know how short this life is. make us to know
how frail we are. We're so frail. The word translated
frail in this passage is the Hebrew word called qaldael, and
it means vacant. It means destitute. It means
rejected. It simply means that to God,
we are dead. We're spiritually vacant or rejected
of God. We have physical eyes, but no
spiritual vision. We hear physical, audible tones,
but we can't hear a word from God. Not by nature we can't. Not until God gives us life.
We can speak words to one another, but not to God. To Him we're
dead in trespasses and sins. And He won't hear us. He don't
hear us. in and of ourselves. Dead is
dead. You can't be half dead and you
can't be half alive. You're either dead or alive,
but you can't be both. And God says that apart from
the Lord Jesus Christ, we're dead. Dead. That's not a profound statement. It's simply the truth. Then why
do men and women think that they can be dead and still do something
to save themselves? Again, the answer is simple when
you think about it. They really don't believe themselves
to be dead. Lord, show us how frail, how
dead we are. Until He does, we'll never see
our need of Christ. Show us the shortness and the
vanity of this physical life. Our age, our time, our life is
nothing before Him. In our best state, we're nothing
but vanity. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,
said the preacher Solomon. He said, I've seen all the works
that are done under the sun and behold, all is vanity and vexation,
irritation and annoyance of spirit. And he continued by saying, then
I looked on all the works that my hands have wrought and on
the labor that I've labored to do and behold, all was vanity
and vexation of spirit. And there was no profit to the
things I did under the sun. Therefore, I hated life, he said,
because the work that is wrought unto the Son is grievous to me.
I look back on my life and the things that I've done, the works
that I've done, just grievous to me, of no profit to me spiritually,
no profit to anyone. For all is vanity and vexation
of spirit. Everything done by men and women
is vanity. And that word vain means evil
and ruin and uselessness. It means deceptive and desolate
and destructive. And that's in our best state.
That's what we are. That's what we do. We're dead
in trespasses and sin. No longer alive. Lacking emotion. Lacking sympathy or sensitivity. No longer functioning. No longer
relevant or important in the eyes and the heart of God. spiritually
dead. And that, my friends, is what
shuts us up to the grace and mercy of God. To some who are
dead in trespasses and sins, God has quickened, God has made
alive. To some who being dead in their
sins and in the uncircumcision of their flesh, hath God quickened
together with Him. That being Christ having forgiven
them all their trespasses. Isn't that good news? That's
why we call it the gospel. It's good news for sinners. Dead
sinners. Not what we do for God, but what
God has done for us. That's the good news. And this
is the truth about ourselves. We're all together vanity. wholly, completely, thoroughly
vain. We're wholly evil. We're completely
ruined. Our hearts deceitful above all
things. Thoroughly and desperately wicked
we are. And you might say, well, Brother
David, I'm not all that bad. Well, compared to me, you're
not. But compared to God, you are. Those that are well have no need. You see, that's the problem.
Those who are righteous, well in their own eyes, have no need
of a Savior. God must first reveal to them
just how dead, just how frail they are. Now, back to Samson. Samson is no doubt a type of
Christ. We've seen that in our past three
studies. but he is also a type and picture
of the sinner. And I've told you many times
in our studies of the Old Testament scriptures that the types and
pictures of Christ are not perfect. You know, how could they be really?
Jesus Christ is a perfect man. He was a perfect man. He lived
perfectly. He was a perfect Savior. He lived a perfect life. So every type and picture of
Christ is imperfect. Why? Because man in his best
state is imperfect. Altogether imperfect. Evil, ruined,
deceptive in sin. And that can truly be seen in
the person and in the life of Samson. Samson is an imperfect
type like all the others found in the Old Testament Scriptures.
These Old Testament types can never provide a full revelation
of who and what they picture and portray because every type
and picture of Christ is imperfect and falls short of His perfection. So in our study this morning,
I want us to see, and I want to show you, and only God can
show you, I might add, that Samson is also very much a picture and
type of you and I. who are in our best state, nothing
but fallen, vain, miserable, death-deserving sinners. Oh, may God be pleased to show
us that. We'll never see our need of Christ
apart from that. Samson, no doubt, a part of Christ
and His power and ability to save Israel, but Samson also
very well pictures and typifies and represents the frailty found
in each of us. If I was given this message a
title, it would be vanity and frailty. Judges chapter 16, verse one. Then went Samson to Gaza and
saw there an harlot and went into her. Again, in the Bible,
a harlot can refer to a common whore who sells her body for
gain, but a harlot also in the scriptures can typify and represent
one who in the sinfulness of sin has sold themselves out to
the worship of a false god and that false god's religion. Many
times in the scripture it is said concerning men that they
go whoring after other gods. 18 times to be exact. So in the verses before us this
morning, Samson serves, yes, as a type of Christ, but he also
serves as a very accurate picture and type of the sinner. And that's
what I want you to see. That's why I'm being so redundant.
then went Samson to Gaza. Why did Samson go to Gaza? That's
a good question. First, we know it was the will
and purpose of God. All things are. Everything that
happens and transpires in this world, in this life, is according
to the will. of God. All things come to pass
for that reason alone. But secondly, his going to Gaza
shows us a great deal concerning his nature and a great deal concerning
ours. Samson had an eye for the ladies,
let's just put it bluntly. And what a representation here
we find of man's sinful nature. Samson's trouble always began,
and so does ours, when he took his eyes off the Lord and put
them somewhere else. It's the same with us. It's the
same with us. No doubt the city of Gaza was
a big enough place where Samson or any man or woman could easily
fulfill the lust of their heart. Samson's no different than us
in this respect. Good and evil are always present
with us. Paul said, I find in a law within
a corruption of nature that has great force and power within. He calls it a law because it
forcibly demanded compliance with its lust. He said that when
I would do good, evil, that force within is present with me. It came into the world with me.
It's been with me all the days of my life and it's hindered
me. And it still does. It wars against the law of my
mind, he said. It brings me in captivity to
the law of sin. It proves again and again that
I am a wretched man. That's what Paul said, O wretched
man that I am. The man that wrote 75% of the New Testament declares
himself to be wretched. He said this is a faithful saying
and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, and then he added, of whom I am chief.
He said I am the least of the least. I'm not worthy to be called
an apostle. Not worthy to be called a child
of God. Neither am I. That's what makes
it grace. That's what makes it mercy. And no matter how many victories
in Christ we experience in life as believers, at any and every
moment, we are prone to the enticements of the flag. You see, Gaza here
represents much more than just a location. Gaza speaks to the
attitude and the obstinance of our sinful human nature. And
the first thing that Samson does when he gets to Gaza is to go
into the house and in the arms of a harlot. God in His Word
never hides or covers man's true nature. And I'm so thankful for
that. God's Word never paints a pretty
picture of humanity. Humanity's sinfulness and weakness
is always very clearly present in both saint and sinner. R. Sampson, the Lord Jesus Christ,
came down to the Gaza of this world, and it was his love for
a most unworthy object that brought him. Oh, may God be pleased to
show us that because of our sinful lust and our horrific deeds and
our depraved nature, that salvation is completely and wholly conditioned
upon the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even
believers, God's children, by nature, are so prone to wander
and so prone to leave the God that they love. In a heartbeat,
in a brief moment, if we take our eyes off Christ, we too will
go a-whoring. That's true of me, and that's
true of you. May we never imagine that the
longer we walk with God and His grace, that our flesh grows weaker. No. The very mention of grace
ought to reveal to us that we have no power to overcome the
flesh. It takes a constant flow of God's
mercy and grace to keep us from falling. So if divine favor comes
to us, it's certainly unmerited and unfavored. We have no ability
to resist evil and sin apart from the mercy and grace of God
that He gives us. The fact that Samson went to
a harlot shows us something of the power and seduction of false
religion. False religion is always lying
in wait to catch the child of God with their guard down. The
heart of false religion is to destroy the true church. Like
the Gazites, religion is very patient as it waits to destroy.
Now, let me also mention that Gaza was a major city of the
Philistines. The name Gaza actually means
strong and fortified. Gaza was well known to have a
city gate that could keep enemies out and prisoners in. Historians
claim that Gaza's city gate was 90 feet across. Very strong and
fortified with a large bar that kept the gates shut, closed shut. Look at verse two, and it was
told the Gazlites saying, Samson has come hither. And they compassed
him in, they secured the city, they placed guards at the city's
gate, that he might not escape, that's what that's talking about
there. And they laid wait for him all night in the gate of
the city and were quiet, they were silent, they were on stakeout.
All the night saying, in the morning when it is day, we shall
kill him. I was thinking as I read that,
our enemies are alive and well, and they lie in wait. And our
adversary, the devil, is a roaring lion, seeketh whom he may devour,
and he continually seeks them. He lies in wait. And if we fall
asleep in the arms of a harlot, the arms of harlot's religion,
we are exposed to great danger, and most of the time we're unaware
of that danger, all the while thinking that we're secure. Paul
confirmed that very thing in 1 Thessalonians 5, he wrote,
for when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction
cometh upon them. But ye, brethren, are not in
darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are
all the children of light and the children of the day, and
we're not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not
sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they
that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are
drunken in the night. But let us who are of the day,
who are of the light, be sober. putting on the breastplate of
faith and love, and for our helmet, the hope of salvation. For God
had not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our
Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep,
we should live together with Him. The Gazites, the enemies
of Samson, did not seek to kill him as he lay in the arms of
whoredom. They're willing to wait all night
in silence. They're willing to wait in the
light of the day to kill him. You see, our enemies by nature
desire to do something visible for all to see. They do this
in order to discredit us and to discredit our Lord. Though
our Lord knew no sin, committed no sin, and certainly was never
guilty of whoremongering, all our whoredoms were made to fall
on Him." Isn't that amazing? Our Lord and Savior was dealt
with in holy justice according to the holy law of God. Why? Though he himself was perfectly
innocent, he knew no sin, our substitute was made guilty of
every offense that the chosen sinner ever committed. Even the
sins of Samson were laid on Christ. And our sin was not simply pasted
on the Lord. He was made sin for His people. So much so that he said, I am
a worm. No man. I am a reproach of men
and despised of the people. The perfect Son of God said that. Why? Because our sin was put
on Him. Samson was compassed about by
a hateful and despising enemy that desired to be rid of him.
And immediately the Lord comes to mind, the kings of this earth
and the rulers set themselves against the Lord Jesus to take
counsel together against the Lord and His anointed. But God
who sits in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision.
He will speak to them in His wrath and vex them in His sore
displeasure. And God will, with complete success,
has set His King upon His holy hill, and He declares, this is
My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And because of that, God is pleased
with me. The will of Samson's enemies
were frustrated and prevented from being accomplished. According
to 1 Corinthians 15, verses 25 and 26, Jesus Christ must reign
until he has put all his enemies under his feet. And the last
enemy will be death. Time and time again in the Scriptures
we read that Christ escaped the cruel dealings of His adversaries
for one reason, His time had not yet come. And as we'll see
here in the beginning in these first verses of Judges 16, it
is the same with Samson. His time had not yet full come. Verse 3, And Samson lay till
midnight, and arose at midnight, now look at this, and took the
doors of the gate of the city, those doors that were to keep
him prisoner, he arose at midnight and took the doors of the gate
of the city and the two posts and went away with them, bar
and all, and he put them upon his shoulders and he carried
them up to the top of the hill that is before Hebron. Do you
see the picture? Do you see the type, the plans
and schemes of Samson's enemies were frustrated and came to nothing. They thought Samson's grave was
sealed with the gates of the city as they sent men to watch
over them. But Samson left Gaza with no
difficulty. He broke down the gate of the
city. He lifted up the boat and the bar and he pulled up the
post and he carried the gate and all that secured it on his
shoulders to the high mount of Hebron. Two things immediately
come to mind. The enemies of the Lord Jesus
Christ thought they had killed our great Deliverer. They put
Him in a tomb and they sealed that tomb with a stone. They
laid Him there and sealed that door, but death in the grave
couldn't hold Him. Christ, the believer Samson,
the strongest man that ever lived under the weight and burden of
all the sin, of all the elect throughout all time, carried
them all to Mount Calvary and put them away forever. Our Lord
has not only opened the gates to eternal life, but He's taken
them away post, bar, and all. Brother Larry once said, and
when he did so, he never wobbled, stumbled, or staggered as he
put our sins away. My, my. Our Lord Jesus carried
death and all that offends, all that attends death upon his mighty
shoulders. Christ bore our sins in his own
body on the tree. And by His stripes, we are healed. The cause of death is gone. The
posts are pulled up. There's no hell for you, dear
believer. The gates of hell, its post and bar are gone. Christ has carried them and put
them away on Mount Calvary. That's what Peter told the Jews.
He said, this same Jesus whom you crucified, God has made Him
both Lord and Christ. God's not only taken away the
curse of death, He's taken away the fear of death. He came on
purpose to deliver those who through the fear of death were
all their lifetime subject to bondage. That's exactly why our
Lord could say, He that liveth and believeth in Me shall never
die. O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? The gates of the city Gaza in
which the Philistines trusted were themselves taken away. God
will see to it that every idol of ours is destroyed. Every idol
of the believer is going to be carried away by our great Samson. And in the end, It'll be upon
Christ the solid rock in whom we stand. Anything and everything
else that we trust is nothing as we sing but sinking sand. That's all it is. Surely there's
some comfort here for you. If you have a desire to be saved,
my friends, if God has given you a deep sense of your sin,
your frailty, if you truly desire to have peace with God, All you
can see is difficulties in your way. But there's no difficulty. Christ has taken away the gates
of hell for you. No gate, no post, no bar. They're all gone. The way is
made clear and it's kept clear to Christ, our great city of
refuge. So come to Christ. If you're
a manslayer, one who's shed innocent blood, you need to get into the
city. the city of refuge. If the thoughts
of your heart are only evil continually like they were in the days of
Noah, then get into the ark. If you're a notorious harlot
living in the doomed city of Jericho, get and stay in the
house where the scarlet thread abides in the window. Yes, in
our best state. We're altogether vain, we're
altogether frail, and even dead. But our great champion, our strong
man, has made the way clear. No gate, no post, no bar. He's carried them all away. He
is the way. He is the truth. And he is the
life. And no man, no woman, no sinner
comes to God, but by Him. May God be pleased to make it
so, for His glory, our good, and for Christ's sake.