Judges 15. Samson part 8 – Three major lessons from the battle of Lehi.

Title: Judges 15. Samson part 8 – Three major lessons from the battle of Lehi.

 

Jdg 15:14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds dropped from his hands.

 

Jdg 15:15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out and took it and killed a thousand men with it.

 

Jdg 15:16 Then Samson said,

 

"With the jawbone of a donkey,

Heaps upon heaps,

With the jawbone of a donkey

I have killed a thousand men."

 

Jdg 15:17 And it came about when he had finished speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi [hill of the jawbone].

 

Jdg 15:18 Then he became very thirsty, and he called to the Lord and said, "Thou hast given this great deliverance by the hand of Thy servant, and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"

 

Jdg 15:19 But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi so that water came out of it. When he drank, his strength returned and he revived. Therefore, he named it En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.

 

Jdg 15:20 So he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

 

1. The Holy Spirit can overcome any hindrance.

 

Every believer has genetic and environmental handicaps. We have limitations and frailties. Of course we are not referring to God making us physically stronger or healthier or richer or smarter according to worldly standards. The Holy Spirit can overcome any handicap that stands in the way of God's will.

 

When it comes to the commands, the way of Christ, the law of love in Christ, God the Holy Spirit breaks the bonds that hold us.

 

Joh 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

 

Joh 7:38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'" 

 

Joh 7:39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

 

Thirst is true need and not human desire. We need divine love, peace, and joy. There are many factors in every person's life that are obstacles or cords.

 

Act 1:6 And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"

 

"We need to know." Do they "need" to know?

 

Act 1:7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;

 

Act 1:8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

 

He tells them not to be concerned about the future prophetic program of God, but rather to walk by means of the Spirit in order to be His witnesses.

 

Are these eleven prepared for such a calling? Have we seen them as being strong up to this point? They are clueless as to the cup that they will each have to drink in order to be able to be His witnesses all over the world. They have no idea how strong the opposition will be against them and how much suffering, sleeplessness, disappointment, and loss they will have to endure to realize the fulfillment of this calling, but Christ states confidently that they will because He knows something that they don't - the Holy Spirit will provide what they need. He will give them superior power when they will set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

 

The hindrance in this case is fear or anxiety concerning the future. We don't have to know what's coming so as to be prepared for it. We walk by the Spirit and He prepares us for anything.

 

He can certainly see the future.

 

Rom 8:26 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

 

Rom 8:27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

 

Rom 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

 

The restraint here is arrogance. Our pride tends to think that we have to ask in a certain way or in a very intelligent way in order to be answered by God. It is prayer by works.

 

Do we need to know the exact words in prayer or the exact way that God wants to hear it? We only need to communicate to Him as a son would to a Father. He knows what you ask before you ask Him. He searches the minds and hearts.

 

The hindrance of our pride is laid aside as we ask plainly of God and trust the Holy Spirit to intervene for any weakness we may have in understanding.

 

This certainly doesn't mean that we don't work hard at studying and learning God's will through studying His word. If we do not learn, we will know nothing of God's will. But even as diligent students of the word of God, we have to admit that we still are ignorant of some things concerning God. Pride would like to hide this fact, but humility bears it open to God and joyously trusts God the Holy Spirit to intercede for us. It is God who is to be glorified and not us. Sometimes God is glorified in our weakness rather than our strength, 2Co 12.

 

Rom 15:17 Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God.

 

Rom 15:18 For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,

 

Rom 15:19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum [modern Bulgaria, Albania, Croatia, and Bosnia] I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

 

Paul was able to overcome his limitations and evangelize an enormous area through the power of the Holy Spirit because it was God's will for him.

 

2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

 

Anything that binds causes slavery. Our only Master is Christ. He is our husband and He has given His bride the Spirit so that they may enjoy the freedom they possess eternally in Him.

 

There are over 200 verses that refer to the Spirit in the NT. The ones we have noted will suffice for our understanding that He is in us always to break the cords that bind. The condition is that we must completely rely upon Him and set our minds upon His things and not the things of the flesh. We are not to be deceived as to the difference between them.