THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013
Judges 15:1–16:31
John 2:1–25
Psalm 103:1–22
Proverbs 14:17–19
“But he [Samson] did not know that the Lord had left him.” (Judges 16:20c)
A couple of weeks ago, Danielle and I had the pleasure of watching an episode from the DVD of The Bible, a 10-hour series that had run on History, with an inquisitive 10-year-old girl. Our friend posed the question: “Why didn’t Samson realize what Delilah was doing?” Her innocent incredulity brought joy to my heart, but I tried to explain how men will sometimes take brash action in order to please the women in their lives. (Clearly, when lust becomes part of the equation, these actions may become downright stupid and lead us away from our commitments to family and the King.)
Samson’s great strength had indeed come from God, and Samson gave praise to His Father and received renewed strength when he called out to the Father. Still, in several instances, Samson had become complacent and unguarded, believing that he would always enjoy God’s favor. He had toyed with the Philistines and allowed Delilah’s greed and pleading to overwhelm his first commitment.
This account brings to mind a key teaching: We must not allow other people to suffocate our devotion and obedience to our heavenly King. We may too easily fall into the trap of side-stepping full obedience in order to maintain appearances with others or to keep from seeming “too extreme.” Or we may forget to attribute God’s goodness to its true Giver, claiming some credit for ourselves or expecting some measure of grace because of our supposed exalted status.
In Psalm 119:9–11, we read the antidote to straying from God’s intended path for us. It involves a daily pursuit of His truth and revelation.
“How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.”
Please note, too, that, while Samson’s death would bring judgment upon the ungodly Philistines, Jesus’s sacrificial death would conquer death and the power of sin for all people: “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” (2 Timothy 1:9,10)
“What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” (John 2:11)
In John 2, we discover the beginning of Jesus’s self-revelation through miracles, which highlighted His divinity and command over all creation. Through His ministry, He would progressively reveal greater and greater depth to His disciples. Yet, Jesus would protect Himself from allowing the people to install Him as their earthly king: “But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.” (John 2:24,25) In fact, Jesus would rankle the power structure in Israel, pointing out their empty-hearted ceremonialism and their endorsement or condoning of extra-Biblical practices, such as money-changing at the Temple (2:13–16).
Interestingly, His first miracle comes at a wedding feast and offers a few takeaways:
1. Jesus blessed this marriage and welcome the union of man and woman in marriage, following right after the Creation design:
“But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
“The man said,
“’This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.”
2. Responding to the faith within His followers, Jesus made use of common, earthly vessels: “Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.” Many of Jesus’s miracles involved the very objects at hand – mud into the eyes, the bread and fish broken for 5,000-plus, or the fish already in the Sea of Galilee. His presence and Word spoke life and transformation into these everyday objects. In a similar fashion, we may become His vessels for His purposes, should we give ourselves to Him in service. As D. L. Moody resolved, “the world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. I will try my utmost to be that man.”
3. He would give and enliven joy, not stifle it. He desires “complete” joy for His followers, just as God had promised the Israelites at the harvest-time Feast of the Tabernacles. In addition to bringing “many sons to glory” in a spiritual harvest, Jesus’s ministry would consistently be marked by joy, laughter, and community.
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:11,12)
Father, we praise You for the amazing breadth of Your grace. We cannot fathom the distance from its end to its beginning. Please allow us to sense, if only faintly, the depth of Your love, and strengthen us to become worthy ambassadors for the glorious Gospel that You have given through Your Son, Jesus Christ. We bow at His feet in worship, recognizing that He is the Alpha and the Omega and worthy of all praise, honor, and glory. May Your truth saturate our hearts today, and may Your joy be complete in us. Empower us to live in light of your miracle-working power and the clarity of Your Word. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.
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