The Dark Days of Israel’s Judges Lesson 15 Samson Brings Down the House Judges 16 November 22, 2009

I.Introduction to Lesson 15 A.Brief review of chapters B.Our approach in this message II.Samson goes to Gaza (16:1-3) A.Observations 1.About Gaza 2.About Samson’s moral plunge 3.Concerning the Spirit 4.No casualties 5.About the Philistine posse 6.The gates and the guards – what became of them?

II.Samson goes to Gaza (16:1-3) B.The relationship of vss. 1-3 to the incident with Samson and Delilah 1.It reveals Samson’s downward moral spiral 2.It is an example of divine protection 3.It reveals Samson’s foolish arrogance 4.It may increase his self-confidence 5.It seems to foreshadow things to come – the gates to the city are taken away 6.It intensifies the Philistines’ determination to capture and then humiliate* Samson.

III.Samson and Delilah – 16:4-22 A.Boy meets girl – 16:4-5 B.Samson’s secret – 16: Should it have been a secret? 2.Delilah’s approach is not subtle 3.Samson is not stupid. 4.Samson has never suffered defeat 5.He is toying with Delilah 6.There is a progression in his confessions 7.Delilah prevails C.Two biggest difficulties 1.Can’t Samson see what she’s doing? 2.How can he sleep through this?

III.Samson and Delilah – 16:4-22 D.Poetic justice for Samson 1.Loss of strength 2.Put in bonds 3.Made a slave 4.Loss of sight E.Hope – his hair keeps growing – 16:22 IV.Samson’s Salvation & Revenge – 16:23-30 A.Philistine blunders 1.No haircuts? 2.Keep him alive as a slave 3.Making this a victory for their god 4.Their celebration

IV.Samson’s Revenge – 16:23-30 B.Judgment day for the Philistines 1.A worship service to sacrifice to Dagon 2.God did the work, Dagon gets the praise 3.The Philistines get drunk, call for Samson 4.Samson is the entertainment 5.A full house 6.Samson is strategically placed 7.Samson’s prayer – someone finally cries to God for help 8.Bringing down the house V.Family reunited in death – 16:30

VI.Conclusion A.The Key: Man-centered or God-centered? B.What about Samson? 1.A word of warning a.For believers – Romans 8:1-8 b.For unbelievers – 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 2.The good news – Hebrews 11:32-34 C.When we focus on God: encouragement 1.God’s purposes were fulfilled, in spite of Samson’s (and Israel’s) sin 2.Salvation is by God’s grace, not by law 3.Security is also by God’s grace D.Samson as a picture of Israel E.Is Samson a picture of the church?