In this six-week study, we will dig into the lives of biblical heroes who were messy people just like us but who were used by God in powerful ways. Together we will examine the stories of five wonderful but messy people and one messy parable character: Rahab, the Prodigal Son, Josiah, Mary, David, and Daniel.
Abram lied about his relationship to Sarai (Genesis 12:10-20). Moses grew angry and struck the rock instead of speaking to the rock, thus disobeying God (Numbers 20:7-12). David committed adultery and murder (2 Samuel 11-12). Solomon started out well but turned from God (1 Kings 3:5-9;1 Kings 11).
He was captured, blinded, and enslaved by the Philistines, but in the end God granted Samson his revenge; through the return of his old strength, he demolished the great Philistine temple of the god Dagon, at Gaza, destroying his captors and himself (Judges 16:4–30).
God also used such “imperfect people” as Abraham, Moses, Daniel, Samuel, Joseph, Joshua, David, Ezra, Nehemiah, Ester and Gideon to “achieve his perfect will.” Mr. Trump just might be the next one chosen to carry out God's will.
Cain's selfishness caused him to hate his brother and kill him (1 John 3:11-12). Ahab—an example of one whose selfishness led him to be concerned about things before he was concerned about people. King Ahab coveted Naboth's vineyard and pouted when he could not get it (1 Kings 21).
In Luke 7:36-50, we are introduced to the sinful woman. Many versions of the bible call her Mary but for this blog post, I will call her the sinful woman who loved God so much that in spite of her sins, and in spite of her shame, she had to present herself to God.
According to the Gemara, the reason for Samson's harsh punishment is because "Samson rebelled [against God] through his eyes as it said, And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me, because she is pleasing in my eyes; therefore the Philistines put out his eyes, as it said, and the Philistines laid hold on him and ...
Samson was called by the Lord to help free the Israelites from the Philistines. Samson's mission would require physical strength. The Lord made a covenant with Samson that as long as he obeyed the Lord, he would be physically strong. Samson's long hair (see Judges 13:5) was a sign of this covenant.
While he slept, the faithless Delilah brought in a Philistine who cut Samson's hair, draining his strength. The Philistines took him prisoner, gouged out his eyes, and forced him to work as a draft animal, turning a mill in a Gaza prison.
Many men start strong but fail to finish well.
The graphic story of King Rehoboam's derailing in 1 Kings 12 shows common threads in the stories of many men. He was the son of King Solomon and the grandson of King David. If anyone should have had the advantage to repeat successes and to reject failures, it was him.
Failure Can Be Repeated
For example, Abraham failed to trust God to look after Sarah when he went down to Egypt. He ended up telling lies about his relationship with her to a heathen king who eventually found out and rebuked him for it (Gen. 12:10–20).
The stories of Peter's mistakes often are in the forefront: when he lost faith and sank when walking on water toward Jesus in Matthew 14:22-33; and when Peter denies knowing Christ three times in John 18:15-27. Yet the high points of Peter's leadership also are known.
Samson was a man who went astray.
The very worst mistake, of course, is the instruction to commit adultery, a typographical disaster that could have been averted by three simple letters: n-o-t. The passage in question – the 10 Commandments – is so crucial that some reckon it was a case of sabotage rather than slip-up.
Samson's parents, Zoah and Manoah, who weren't supposed to be able to conceive, were told that Samson was to be a Nazirite and a deliverer for Israel. A Nazirite kept three promises: 1) He would not eat grapes or drink wine; 2) he would not touch anything dead; and 3) he would never cut his hair.
The good news of Samson's story is the same message many of us sing to our children: we are weak, but God is strong. If we put our hope in ourselves or others we become like Samson: weak and enslaved. Samson is a reminder that our true strength and hope is found in the Lord.
Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.
Delilah, however, persists and Samson finally capitulates and tells Delilah that God supplies his power because of his consecration to God as a Nazirite, symbolized by the fact that a razor has never touched his head, and that if his hair is cut off he will lose his strength.
The most important lesson we can learn from Samson and Delilah is that God prefers to forgive than to judge. Furthermore, Samson is named in the hall of faith, indicating that God viewed him as a man of faith (Hebrews 11:32).
Abigail was married to Nabal, a rich but foolish man (25:1-3). We do not know how this situation came about.
Deborah was strong and brave and trusted God completely. God told Deborah to command Barak, one of the generals of the Lord's army, to go into battle against Sisera, the commander of the enemy army. God promised He would deliver Sisera into Barak's hands.
According to the Gospel, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on Sabbath, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her: "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity."
Nehemiah showed self-control and didn't fight back. Instead, he stationed some of his men to be guards while the others worked. Nehemiah knew that God would protect them. He acted calmly and with self-control.