Go with me back to Judges 14. Judges 14. Last Wednesday night, we looked
at Judges 13, where the angel of the Lord came
and announced the birth of Samson. And we saw Samson as a type of
Christ. It was prophesied and announced
that he would be set apart from birth unto God. A Nazarite, it's called. A sanctified one, a set apart
one unto God. It was announced that he would
begin to deliver Israel. He would be the deliverer of
his people out of their bondage. And all this was proven and confirmed
by a sacrifice. If you look at chapter 13, verse
19, it says, Manoah, who was Samson's father, soon to be father,
Manoah took a kid with a meat offering and offered it upon
a rock unto the Lord, and the angel did wondrously, and Manoah
and his wife looked on. For it came to pass when the
flame went up toward heaven from off the altar that the angel
of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar, and Manoah and
his wife looked on and fell on their faces to the ground, But
the angel of the Lord did no more appear to Manoah and to
his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was
an angel of the Lord. And Manoah said unto his wife,
we shall surely die because we have seen God. But his wife said
unto him, if the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have
received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands.
Neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would
as at this time have told us such things as these." This is
all clearly a type of Christ. This is a picture of the gospel,
a type of Christ. Here at the end of chapter 13,
the prophecy of Samson's birth came true. Verse 24, the woman
bare a son. and called his name Samson, and
the child grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of
the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between
Zorah and Eshter. So he was born, he grew, and now he's a man. From the end of chapter 13 to
the beginning of chapter 14, he has grown. He's a picture
of the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. We're gonna see that
immediately. Chapter 14, verse one says, and Samson went down
to Timnath. Timnath means assigned portion. an assigned portion. That's exactly
what the Lord Jesus Christ did. He came down, he went down, he humbled himself
down to his assigned portion. Who assigned it to him? His father
did. What was his assigned portion?
What was Christ's assigned portion? It was a bride. He came down
to a bride. Verse one says, Samson went down
to Timnath and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the
Philistines. It was a bride from the enemy. Out of the enemy, out of the,
heathens, not Israel, his people, the Philistines, the enemy, the
rebellious heathens. Verse one, Samson went down to
Timnath and saw a woman of Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
And he came up and told his father and his mother and said, I have
seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines,
now therefore get her for me to wife. Father, would you betroth
her to me? Would you foreordain her to me? Verse three, then his father
and his mother said unto him, is there never a woman among
the daughters of thy brethren? or among all my people that thou
goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? You know, Christ's
bride, it's amazing, I've pointed this out before, but it's amazing
to me that Christ's bride did not come from heaven. Have you
ever thought about that? God's ways are not our ways.
And had it been us, that's what we would have done. Christ's bride did not come from
a place of spotless, sinless perfection. A spotless, sinless
bride. She came from the enemy. His
wife came from the enemy. She came from the gutter. She
came from the vile pollution of sin. Why? Couldn't God the
Father have joined his son into a union of spotless purity? Couldn't he have done that? Couldn't he have prepared the
son a bride from heaven? A bride that never fell into rebellion
against him. Sin against him. Absolutely he could have done
that if that's what he was pleased to do. Had that been what he
was pleased to do, absolutely he could have done that. But
that's not what he was pleased to do. That is amazing. If you really think about it,
that's amazing. Verse three, then his father and his mother
said unto him, is there never a woman among the daughters of
thy brethren or among all my people that thou goest to take
a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father,
get her for me, for she pleaseth me well. If you have a margin,
it says she is right in my eyes. Hold your place here and turn
over to Psalm 2. Psalm 2 verse 7. I will declare the decree. The Lord hath said unto me, thou
art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I shall give
thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the
earth for thy possession. Father, I would like the heathen.
She pleases me well. I'd like to have the heathen.
God commended his love to his people while they were sinners.
You know, I really entered into that by looking at this story
because the goodness and kindness towards sinners in this story
of Samson is very clear, very amazing. While they were sinners,
why would he do that? Why would he do that? That's
what it pleased him to do. That's what it pleased him to
do. Go back to Judges 14. Verse 1, Samson went down to
Timnath and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
And he came up and told his father and his mother and said, I've
seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Now therefore, get her. for me to wife. Then his father
and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among
the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that
thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistine?
And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me. for she pleaseth
me well. But his father and his mother
knew not that it was of the Lord. This union was of the Lord. The story says, you know, his
father, Samson being a type of Christ, we speak of Samson's
father and we've already applied him to represent God the Father,
but he still represents man. And in this story, his parents
did not know it was of the Lord to show that the Lord's ways
are not our ways. But Samson knew it was of the
Lord. This is the important thing to
take from that. Samson knew that this union was going to bring
deliverance from bondage. All right, Samson knew that this
union, him with this Philistine woman, was going to bring deliverance
from bondage. Samson knew exactly what he was
doing. It was his predeterminate counsel
and foreknowledge to do this. From a physical point of view,
it's not that this woman was so beautiful he just couldn't
help himself. I know that she's supposed to be off limits, but
she is just so beautiful, I just can't help myself. That's not
the case. As the story continues, there's
so many things in the next chapters that I wanna bring out, but I'm
gonna wait. But as the story continues, we're gonna see her
younger sister was more beautiful than she was. Samson did not choose this bride
for something that he saw in her. And neither did the Lord Jesus
Christ. Christ's bride was not chosen because of something seen
in her, some virtue in her. Turn back just a couple of books
here to Deuteronomy 7. Deuteronomy 7 verse 6 it says, For thou art an holy people unto
the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen
thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that
are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love
upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than
any people, for you were the fewest of all people. But because
the Lord loved you and because he would keep the oath which
he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out
with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen
from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know therefore that
the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth
covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments
to a thousand generations. He said there was nothing in
you It was just because the Lord loved you. It's just because
the Lord set His love and affection on you and desired to do the
will of His Father. Christ knew that it was the will
of the Father that His people be delivered from bondage. And He said, I delight to do
it. I will delight to do this. And Samson knew this is the will
of the Lord. And for that reason, he desired
her and he loved her and he married her. He joined himself into union
with her. And this is how that union took
place. Look back at Judges 14. Verse five says, then went Samson down
and his father and his mother to Timnath, and came to the vineyards
of Timnath. You know what you'll find in
a vineyard? A wine press. Right, he came to the wine press.
This is how this union came about. This is how this marriage came
about. In order for the Lord Jesus Christ
to enter into a union with his heathen bride, he had to endure
a wine press. This really struck me. It's very
interesting that Samson was a Nazirite. Think about this. The scriptures
are just so amazing to me. Samson was a Nazirite and he
couldn't eat a grape. Okay, he couldn't touch a grape. He could not eat a grape. He couldn't drink
the blood of a grape. He couldn't drink the wine of
a grape. But his union to his bride took place in a vineyard.
Isn't that amazing? Christ, being the holy son of
God, could not touch sin. He knew no sin. The law would
not allow him to drink the cup of sin. But his union to his bride took
place in the very cesspool of sin, on the cross of sin. That's amazing,
isn't it? Verse five, then went Samson
down and his father and his mother to Timnath and came to the vineyards
of Timnath and behold, a young lion roared against him. On the cross of Calvary, the
adversary as a roaring lion brought an assault, roared against him.
You know, our Lord crushed his head, but he bruised his heel.
And the adversary, and I love how the scripture says, as a
roaring lion. You know who the lion is? The
lion of the tribe of Judah. And we'll get to that in just
right now, just give me one second. As a roaring lion, the adversary
brought his assault on Christ. Right there on the cross, all
of the sin of God's people, my sin, your sin, our sin as a roaring
lion brought an assault on him. Death as a roaring lion brought
an assault on him. Everything brought an assault
on him. Verse 6, and the Spirit of the
Lord came mightily upon him. You know, I don't even know how
to word this, but Christ on the cross, in all of his emptiness,
all of his emptiness, everything that he was stripped of, everything
he had to lay aside, everything he was cut off from and cast
out from, When it was all finished, the
Spirit of the Lord entered him mightily. It entered him mightily. And
in absolute victory and defeat, strength came back to him. Glory came back to him. And it says in verse six, the
Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him. And he rent that lion
as he would have rent a kid. And he had nothing in his hand,
but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.
By himself, with nothing in his hand, no other source of help,
with his bare hand, Christ, by the cross and the grave, he defeated. all of the assault that came
on him. By himself, he got the victory. Verse 7, and he went
down and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well.
And after a time, he returned to take her, and he turned aside
to see the carcass of the lion. After some time, maybe a good
while went by, and it was just a carcass of bones. After a time, he returned to
take her and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion
and behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass
of the lion. Oh, the sweetness of the cross. Have you tasted the victory of
the cross? You know, our Lord is called
the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And it's his death that brings
the sweetness of the gospel to his people. The victory was won
through his death. The victory was won, the victory
was gotten by his own sacrifice, his own death. Manna in the Old
Testament was a picture of the death of Christ. It was the sustaining
sacrifice of Christ. That's what God's people lived
on, the bread of life. And I love this, do you know
what the scripture says manna tasted like? Wafers dipped in
honey. I'd like to try that. That's
what it says manna tasted like. Wafers dipped in honey. The victory of the cross, the
victory of death, the death of sin, the death of death. through the death of Christ,
through Christ's own death. That's the sweetness of the gospel.
That's the honey of the gospel. That is the sweet savor to God.
His death was a sweet savor to God, sweet savor to the Father. Verse 9, He took thereof in His
hands and went on eating. and came to his father and mother,
and he gave them, and they did eat. But he told not them that he'd
taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion. So his father went
down unto the woman, and Samson made there a feast, for so used
the young men to do. And it came to pass, when they
saw him, that they brought 30 companions to be with him. And
Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you.
If you can certainly declare it me within the seven days of
the feast and find it out, then I will give you 30 sheets. And
that means shirts and 30 changes of garments. That means 30 complete
outfits or however you want to say that. But if you cannot declare
it me, then shall you give me 30 sheets and 30 changes of garments. All right, so Samson's one man,
and there are 30 of them. And if they can guess his riddle,
then he has to go get 30 changes of clothes. And if they can't
guess it, each one of them has to personally give one change
of clothes, which would make 30 come to him. The end of verse 13, and they
said unto him, put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.
And he said unto them, out of the eater came forth meat, and
out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not
in three days expound the riddle. Now let me just tell you before
we go any farther, that's the gospel. That is the gospel. That is the message of the gospel. That is the mystery of the gospel.
That is the riddle of the gospel. that no one can know it until
it's revealed. After the service this morning,
I was talking with a few of you and I had this same conversation
that, you know, we read the scripture and it's in black words on white
paper. And sometimes I think, why don't
you believe this? Why don't you believe this? And the answer is, it's not belief
or unbelief or convinced or unconvinced. It's death or life. That's what
it all boils down to. But this gospel is a mystery. People hear this and they think,
you know, you might as well be speaking a different language.
I don't know what you're talking about. None of this makes any
sense to me. Who can know the mind of the
Lord until he reveals it? So the victory now has already
been won. The victory, that's over. Sacrifice
is over. It's already been won. But now
it's set forth and it's declared in this form of a mystery. All
right, verse 15. And it came to pass on the seventh
day that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband that
he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's
house with fire." Have you called us to take what
we have? Is it not so? She became hated
for her husband's sake. They said, are you trying to
take away our covering that we already have? Now, if they didn't
know the mystery, okay, if they did not know this mystery, come
the end of the time, once time was up and time was no more,
if they did not know this mystery, they were going to lose the clothes. They were going to lose the covering
that they had. That make sense? Are we reading into
this? They said, are you trying to
take away our covering that we already have? That's what natural man says
about his own self-righteousness. He hates the gospel of Christ
because it strips him of his own robe of self-righteousness,
his works. You know, Adam and Eve, the moment
they sinned and God called them, they started sowing their own
covering, fig leaves, works, the covering of man's own making,
man's own works. Man by nature is at enmity with
God. He's at enmity with Christ. He's
at enmity with the gospel, the gospel of his cross. He's at
enmity with God's people. But look at this. Verse 16, it
says, and Samson's wife wept before him. and said, thou dost
but hate me, and lovest me not. Thou hast put forth a riddle
unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And
he said unto her, behold, I've not told it my father nor my
mother, and shall I tell it thee? And she wept before him the seven
days while their feast lasted, and it came to pass on the seventh
day that he told her. because she lay sore upon him. And she told the riddle to the
children of her people. And the men of the city said
unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, what is sweeter
than honey and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto
them, if you had not plowed with my heifer, you had not found
out my riddle. You know, that kind of makes
her sound like a trickster, a supplanter. She was. Just like Jacob. Just like Jacob. But that's who
God reveals the riddle to. That's who God reveals the...
You know, Jacob said, I cannot let you go until you bless me. That's who God reveals the riddle
to, unworthy, unlovely, unmerited. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love, wherewith he loved us, his wife. It's not that we loved him. I
can't exactly see her love to him in this. It's that he loved
us and gave himself for us. And then of his own will and
his own doing, he revealed these things to us. He revealed the
mystery of his will, the mystery of the gospel. Verse 18, and
the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before
the sun went down, what is sweeter than honey and what is stronger
than a lion? And he said unto them, if you
had not plowed with my heifer, you had not found out my riddle.
In the spirit of the Lord came upon him and he went down to
Ashkelon and slew 30 men of them and took their apparel. That's what spoil means. He took
their apparel and gave change of garments unto them which expounded
the riddle. I don't know if you're reading
into this yet. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to
his father's house. I'm going to tell you something.
I almost thought about making that a separate message because that is the gospel. Buddy, that is the gospel. By
the death of one, another received a covering. Each one of them received by
the death of one They received a completely new apparel. And
the only reason those scoundrels received it was because someone
made intercession for them. Samson's wife went in and said,
I have to know the answer. Intercession for sinners. Every
one of them received a new change of clothes, a new apparel. This
is gospel picture after gospel picture. Verse 19. The spirit
of the Lord came upon him and he went down to Ashkelon and
slew 30 men of them and took their spoil and gave change of
garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was
kindled and he went up to his father's house. But Samson's
wife was given to his companion whom he had used as his friend."
Still a sinner. Still living in the bondage of
the flesh and sin. Still unfaithful. Still prone to wander. Like the
Apostle Paul said in Romans 7, I am still carnal, sold under
sin. Well, that was before you were
saved, right? No, still. Still. That's how it's gonna
be for God's people until they leave this world in death. I'll
tell you this, and then I'll tell you next time we're here,
Lord will it. In this whole story of Samson,
there are three women, all right? We just looked at one of them.
There are three women mentioned in the whole life of Samson,
and not one good thing can be said about any of them. And I'm
sorry, ladies, that those three women represent
us, the bride of Christ, male, female, Hebrew, Greek, Scythian,
barbarian, bond-free. Not one good thing can be said
about any of them. any of them. They all represent
the bride of Christ. They are all Romans 7 sinners. That's what the bride of Christ
is. A Romans 7 sinner. Thank God we have one who will
deliver us. One who can, one who has, one
who shall deliver us from this body of death. This body of sin
and death. It's our greater than Samson.
a greater than Samson is here. Christ, the great husband of
his bride, in spite of us, in spite of every single one of
us, to him be the glory. If the Lord is willing, we'll
keep going. All right.