The Natural Man Receiveth Not the Things of the Spirit (continued)
Nevertheless, let us always remember that God is faithful; and He is always working all things after the counsel of His Own Will. Therefore, He would use the Philistines to teach His people how they must make war; and as they learned how to make war, the Philistines and their antichrist activities would be subdued, which means the Philistines would not only be defeated, but they would be vanquished: - they would be made to bow the knee to God's King, they would be humiliated, they would be brought down low, they would unwillingly be brought into subjection to God's King. Beloved, this points to the Cross, the Resurrection, and the Ascension of Christ. It is because of the Cross that satan and all his host have been forever vanquished. They are under the feet of Christ, they are the unwilling footstool of the King of kings (Ephesians 1:20-23).
We know that God's people as a whole have never learned how to make war, they have never learned to walk in the good of all that Christ Is, and of All that He Accomplished. This was true in the Old and New Testament, and it is true right up to the present time; but God has always had those who became overcomers. So in Judges, and in 1 and 2 Samuel, the Lord would use Samson and Hannah and Samuel and David and David's mighty men in this great conflict against the Philistines.
God had said that each generation must learn to make war against His enemies; but in this case, a generation to God does not necessarily mean the literal father to child succession. No, a generation to God are those who are His own, those born of the Spirit. And Samson along with the others, we just mentioned, would become the generation of their time who learned to make war.
Samson Shall Begin to Deliver Israel Out of the Hand of the Philistines
Samson was dedicated to be a Nazarite before he was born: he was to drink no wine nor strong drink - which we have seen means that he was not to let his natural man's lusts and desires rule his life. He was to touch no unclean thing - which means he was not to touch death even if his parents were to die, and this symbolizes that which is born of the natural man can only produce death. No razor was to touch his head, his long hair was to be a symbol of Samson's dedication and submission unto the Lord. Thus, God called Samson for His Own use, and the Lord said that Samson "shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines" (Judges 13:5). But first, Samson would have to learn to make war!
Samson was dedicated to be a Nazarite, but he was only one in outward appearance; he was not a Nazarite in his heart, for he allowed the lusts of his natural man to rule his life. He desired and took as his wife an uncircumcised Philistine - he touched the unclean thing. He went in unto the harlots of the Philistines - he partook of the strong wine of his own lust. He loved Delilah, a Philistine prostitute, an agent of the antichrist, who was used by satan himself to entice Samson to break his vow before God.
Notice, that each time Samson ave in to his lusts, the lusts of his natural man became stronger, until finally, he revealed the secret of his strength, and the Philistines overcame him. They blinded him, and they chained and enslaved him, and "he did grind in the prison house" (Judges 13; 14; 15; 16). But the Philistines made a fatal mistake when they made him grind the grain; for God was about to "begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." In Exodus 11:5, where the Word compares the highest position in the world with the lowest, it compares the Pharaoh of Egypt with the maidservant who grinds the mill; hence, the Philistines gave Samson what they considered to be the lowest and the most humiliating position of all. Nevertheless, this is just where the Lord wanted Samson; for it is God Who is dealing with Samson, not the Philistines. Beloved, the Lord uses the symbolism of the grain throughout His Word to reveal His processing in our lives.
~. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 49)
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