The God Who Redeems
Ephesians 1:7 & Judges 16:22
St. John’s United Church of Christ
Greeley, Colorado
June 11, 2023
Rev. Juvenal Cervantes
Ephesians 1:7
He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people - free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds.
We find the story of Samson in the book of Judges, specifically, Judges, chapters 13 thru 16. It is a remarkable story of God’s grace and God’s redemption.
Many of us are familiar with the account of Samson, how the secret of his strength was that He was a chosen vessel of God, called to be a Nazarite even before he was conceived, God’s hand was upon him.
The Bible tells that after his hair was cut, Samson's strength left him. He was locked in prison, blind and humiliated. Yet, there was hope as Judges 16:22 tells us, “...the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.” In other words, the Spirit of God began to stir within Samson again.
Let us pray: God, as we gather to worship and we focus on your word we need to know how loved we are this morning. Holy Spirit, come and impress and imprint in our minds your unwavering, relentless, and unbound love for your people.
Following our celebration of Pentecost a few weeks ago, we began a study of on what God can do. Last week we shared how God is calling His people to serve and to follow and obey, specific or general calling. The spirit of God is alive and his movement in people’s lives is fluid, ongoing, unstoppable.
The thesis of our text today is that God has a hope for your life and for my life. God has a dream, hoping someone you will become throughout the course of your life, sometimes we find this early in our lives, other of us find this in as we mature.
A secondary objective of our text is to teach us what happens to us, to the kingdom of God when we don’t live up to that hope. All of us know the feeling of not living up to the hope. What is life like when we fall short?
Romans says we all fall short of the glory of God. Often our lives are on auto pilot, our lives our running, it appears, without end, but the business of God takes second or third place or is dormant in our lives. Sin, my friends, the things that we do and we don’t do propel us into an abyss of sorts, at a minimum a state of fogginess. Our human condition can lead us away from God.
Today’s sermon reveals to us that God can redeem. It is a big church word. The word “redeems” means that God will rescue us when we are far from him. It is the idea of what you or I would you do to get our child if they were lost?
God can and will redeems and there is nothing that makes us unredeemable, for God is able to see beyond our frailties, mistakes, and our setbacks can become a setup to God’s power and glory in our lives.
Samson. Perhaps our study will destroy some myths about this man. The lesson from Samson’s journey teaches us that no matter what you’ve done in your life. What shame that nags at you, how long you run from God, none of us are disappointed as Samson. None of us. No one in the bible more than Samson.
Samson was a judge, thus the book of Judges. Here’s the background: The people of God did not have a king, therefore God appointed judges. For four-hundred years in the promised land, God raised women and men, military leaders to bring people back to God’s fold.
In the narrative of Samson God does something different. God goes on this recurring theme of a women unable to conceive a child as was the case of Samuel. God appears to Samson’s mother and informs her that she will no longer be barren; she will have a child and the child will be a Nazarite, dedicated to God for a period of time. There were certain expectations of the new child, no wine, not haircut, abstain from touching corpse, mingle and remain among its own people group, to dedicate themselves to God service.
From the beginning, He will be dedicated, used, gifted by God. Samson was set out to be a judge from the time he was born.
From that time Samson is a disappointment and here is God doing something that was done only to Samuel. From that announcement forward.
Samson’s assignment was to draw God’s people back to God. Samson violates each of the vows, selfish, impulsive, reactionary. Wins no battles that lead to freedom, was focused only on his feelings, desires, and he was ruled by the them.
When Samson comes of age he sees a woman who is a Philistine and orders her mom and dad to get her that woman for she is ripe in his eyes.
This becomes the theme of Samson: doing what is right in his eyes. Never in the story does Samson voice consideration for Gods voice in his life. His parents give in. Samson goes to the marriage feast, thirty of the Philistine are there and he proposes a riddle and if they can say the right answer he promises a garments, if not it will cost their lives.
They are unable to correctly answer the riddle, so Samson settles his bet, murders thirty Philistines. The Philistines take revenge and he goes back to him home. The father of his bride thinks Samson is not coming back and he gives his daughter away. Gets 300 foxes, ties them in sets of two, places torches, lights the torches and burns all the crops. Then the Philistines come back and with them Samson’s former wife, to murder Samson and destroy his people. Samson is bound and breaks away and is blessed with super strength. Picks up jawbone of donkey and slaughters 1000 men. As we read the story of Samson we see cascading results of doing what is right in his own eyes. One poor choice after another that lead to consequences.
An episode in the story that is an incredible visual depiction of sin. Goes to the wedding and lion tries to attack Samson and his parents and Samson tears the lion to pieces on the road. A few days later Samson stops on the road on his way. He notices in the rotting corpse, there are bees and he chooses to violate his vow and reaches to taste the honey and even gives some to his parents to eat.
Samson sees the momentary sweetness and reaches out and takes it.
There is the famous story of Samson when becomes infatuated with Philistine women named Delilah. Philistines ponder, “Samson has defeated thousands, what must be the secret to his strength?”
So Delilah is charged by the Philistines to uncover Samson’s secret. She insists, “What is your strength Samson? Samson don’t you love?” Samson give her a few false answers, tie bows on around my hair, weave seven locks of my heir and pin them. She persists, “Samson, don’t you love me?”
Finally, Samson gives in: “I’m a Nazarite. I have never cut my hair.” More than strength, God leaves him. Samson delusion that he is special comes to an end, vengeance comes for him.
God leaves Samson, he is captured, he is placed in prison and his eyes are gouged out. Samson has squandered his life and is now helpless, fully surrendered to the Philistines.
Samson was perhaps forgotten. Samson did little for the cause of God, a lost cause in a wasted life. Samson story should end right there. His eyes gouged out, defeated and forgotten. You feel worthy of God forgetting you.
Anyone here feels or has felt like Samson? Surely I’m not the only one. Far in the back of your mind you are struggling. You wonder if you are redeemable and there is something in your life, too deep and too rooted. You feel hopeless.
You have prayed for loved one and you wonder if their story can turn around. Can God reach them, can God move to redeem, to help.
God can and does redeem in his own time and own way. We don’t know how long Samson was left powerless and defeated.
In Judges 16:22 we read, “The hair on his head began to grown again.” The symbol of God’s promise was growing again. God would not abandon, even Samson, God would draw him back to himself.
Our loved ones return to God, may not begin with hair growing. Story may be that the heart begins to heal, stubbornness begins to recede. Forgiveness, Grace came back. God gave strength to Samson one more time as he was being paraded in front of 3,000 people. What did he do? Killed 3,000 men, seeking his own vengeance.
God was there ready to forgive and receive fooling old Samson.
Do you know how much God loves you, how far God would go to bless you, to redeem you and restore your soul.
God has a hope for you and there is no qualification, other than to receive that love and mercy that God has for us.
Prayer: Compassionate and Loving God, may each of us have the courage and humility to start right where we are to walk toward you, to know that you run to receive us. Amen.