God
can take something evil and use it for his glory.
Does
that seem strange to you? Well, it is strange, but we must remember that God
works in ways that may seem to be strange to us. In the reading we heard from
the Book of Judges a few minutes ago, we heard an example of how God takes something
evil and uses it for his purposes.
Samson
wanted to marry a Philistine girl. She looked good to him, and at the time the
Book of Judges was written, the Israelites were doing what was good in their
eyes and not what was good in God’s eyes. Samson’s parents were upset that he
would break the Law of Moses, which barred the Israelites from marrying
foreigners. Hiding the truth was a sign of disobedience. Samson didn’t tell his
parents what happened at first because his actions violated the Laws of Moses.
Sometimes
being involved with a nonbeliever means that the nonbeliever will pull us down
spiritually. That’s not part of God’s plan for us. Any step away from God is a
step down, but as I will explain, God uses evil things for his holy purposes.
How
could Samson’s disobedience be “of the Lord?” God did not want Samson to marry
the Philistine girl, but he used Samson’s disobedience for His glory. God is
never responsible for evil acts, but he is so wise that he uses evil acts to
accomplish his good purposes. God oversees our wicked actions. No sin happens
that God does not deliberately allow. He is not the source of our sins, but sometimes
he steers the sins that are already in our hearts so that we fulfill his plans
and not ours.
God
uses Samson’s evil actions for his own purposes. Many times in the Old
Testament the Holy Spirit acted in individuals and gave them the power to serve
God and his people. Samson depended on God’s power and strength, and we must
also depend on God for power and strength. The Holy spirit gave Samson the power
to kill the Philistines and honour the wager he made. In doing so, God showed
the Philistines that he was their worst enemy.
Samson
had a motive for vengeance against the Philistines. They solved his riddle by
seducing his wife, and he had to pay them what he promised. So under the power
of the Holy Spirit, he killed 30 Philistines (who were enemies of God) and
stole what he needed to pay his debt.
We
are wrong if we think that God works only in ways that we approve of. The Book
of Judges argues that this belief is false. It, like the rest of the Bible, is
a book about grace and undeserved mercy. God often uses people that we would
not normally approve of to do his work in the world. When we look at Samson,
our first impression is that he was a failure. God used Samson’s mistakes as
the foundation for success, and he can do the same for us.
Bibliography
1.
Jeremiah,
David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, New King
James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013, pp. 333-334, 1497)
2.
ESV Study
Bible. Part of Wordsearch 11 Bible software package.
3.
Jackman, D.
& Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s
Commentary Series, Vol. 7: Judges/Ruth (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.,
1991; pp. 212-223)
4.
MacArthur,
J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, New
American Standard Version (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5.
Stanley,
C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life
Principles Bible, New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles;
2005)
6.
Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville,
TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010: pp. 329-330)
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