Today we are going to again look at Samson, in doing see the true source of his strength, and understand the cause of it leaving him. We will see it written in Judges as a coinciding pattern of Isaiah 7, 8 & 9, and both foretelling the coming of the LORD and the children God has given Him. We will see the source of strength is in eating honey, this strength coming to release those who in their comfort have become complacent and then confederate with those who are actually their enemies (the enemies of all humanity), and this being a repetitive pattern until the LORD comes in the finale.
The story of Samson (sun rising) begins in Judges 13 with his parents, who are visited by the Angel of the LORD telling them of a son that will be born. The father’s name is Manoah, meaning, unknown (what) confederacy, and we are never told the mother’s name. Also unknown is the name of the Angel, though we are told when Manoah asks Him if he is he Man who has spoken to his woman, He answers, “I am.” We know this is the name (I am) the LORD uses to tell of Him manifesting (self-generating) Himself into the present time and place.
This speaking to the woman is referring to what is recorded in verse 8 telling of why the Angel, the messenger of the LORD’s presence, has come: “Then Manoah entreated [prayed] the LORD, and said, O my LORD, let the Man of God which you did send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.”
Judges 13
1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
2 And there was a certain man of Zorah [stinging], of the family of the Danites [judgment], whose name was Manoah [ignorantly joined in a confederacy]; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, you are barren, and bear not: but you shall conceive, and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware, I pray you, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
5 For, lo, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite [separated and abstaining – from the confederacy] unto God from the womb: and he shall begin [beginning the pattern of the LORD coming as the beginning and the ending] to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
7 But he said unto me, Behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
8 Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my LORD, let the man of God which you did send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.
10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man has appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.
11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Are you the man that spoke unto the woman? And he said, “I am.”
12 And Manoah said, Now let your words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
14 She may not eat of any thing that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray you, let us detain you, until we shall have made ready a kid for you.
16 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though you detain me, I will not eat of your bread: and if you will offer a burnt offering [abstaining], you must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.
17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is your name, that when your sayings come to pass we may do you honor?
18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why ask you thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
19 So 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.
20 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 it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
21 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.
22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
23 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 shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.
24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan [judgment] between Zorah the [stinging] and Eshtaol [the entreating and asking].
I have added the bracketed portions above to both translated the proper names and also to better show the commonality between this passage and what is written in Isaiah 7, 8 & 9 and Revelation 19.
Before looking at these chapters we must consider the following: when we are first told of Samson’s strength we are told exactly where it has come from. Out of the carcass of the lion came strength, and we know from our recent discussion it is the Word of God in His mouth (spoken – delivered) as sweet as honey (Revelation 5 & 10). This is what had come by the stinging creatures infesting the dead carcass. The carcass is the same one the LORD speaks of in Matthew 24:28 as where the eagles will gather, at the sun rising.
The carcass is also the one come from the confederacy we are told of in Isaiah 8, where the people instead of seeking God manifested among them, were seeking advice from the dead. There in Isaiah 7, 8 & 9 as in Judges 13 we are told of the coming son, who would be judge and deliverer. His burden being delivering is the Word of God, and with it raising up just government and carrying it upon His shoulder. We know these fallen governments of church and nation are depicted in the sun and moon going dark, no longer shining or reflecting God’s light of just rule on the earth. (Again, see Matthew 24:27 – 31)
In Isaiah 7:20 begins a description that is only able to be understood in the light of Judges 14 & 15. It tells of the hair being shaved, as was Samson’s, speaking of the loss of strength, and of the return of strength to the remnant left in the land, as Samson’s returned. There in Isaiah 7 we are told of them eating butter and honey, as we read in versed 15 does the child born of the woman (virgin who hasn’t been defiled by man – Revelation 14:4), so they know to refuse the evil and choose the good.
Isaiah 7
13 And he said, Hear you now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?
14 Therefore the LORD himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that you abhors shall be forsaken of both her kings.
17 The LORD shall bring upon you, and upon your people, and upon your father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.
18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.
20 In the same day shall the LORD shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep;
22 And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land.
In Isaiah 8 we see exactly what the butter and honey are as we are admonished to choose the word of God, as in chapter 7 the son and the children eating butter and honey know to choose the good and refuse the evil. This is what we are told in Isaiah 8 when it askes, “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards [manipulators] that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? [Should they seek] for the living to the dead [carcass]?” The chapter goes on to tell of those who continue to look to the confederacy of the dead, and by choice remain in darkness.
Isaiah 8
… O Immanuel.
9 Associate yourselves, O you people, and you shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all you of far countries: gird yourselves, and you shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and you shall be broken in pieces.
10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
12 Say you not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear you their fear, nor be afraid.
13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hide his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwells in mount Zion.
19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
When verse 17 above tells of the LORD hiding His identity from those He is speaking to, and when He says in Judges 13:18 His name is a secret, they are the origin of what is written of the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End of the creation of God, the Word of God, in Revelation 19:12, “His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.”
This description also tells of Him in righteousness judging and making war, and of Him wearing garments dipped in blood. All of these are a reference to Isaiah 9 and what is written there of the one the LORD sends as His presence, as a light lighting on Israel, the people He has chosen. I am that I am.
The unbelieving are those also spoken of as those who continue with the dead confederacy (the coalition of the corrupt establishments), and their vain attempts to rebuild using the same techniques that have destroyed and degraded all they infest. In doing they consume themselves, as is their chosen end.
Isaiah 9
2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined.
3 You have multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before you according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
4 For you have broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.
5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
8 The LORD sent a word into Jacob, and it has lighted upon Israel.
9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,
10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.
11 Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together;
12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
13 For the people turns not unto him that smites them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.
14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
15 The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teaches lies, he is the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the LORD shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
18 For wickedness burns as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
Revelation 19
1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the LORD our God:
2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he has judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
3 And again they said, Alleluia And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you his servants, and you that fear him, both small and great.
6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the LORD God omnipotent reigns.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
9 And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See you do it not: I am your fellow-servant, and of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16 And he has on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And LORD Of Lords.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
