Following our Easter Service and 7-week Series on the Sunday Gathering (check out Tim’s recent blog post regarding the Gathering series), today we have returned to the book of Judges. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES:  Judges: Christ in the Chaos
TEXT: Judges 12:8-13:1-25
TITLE:  The Faithfulness of God on Display
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: The Gospel opens our eyes to behold the faithfulness of God.

POINTS:
1. God’s faithfulness on display
2. Our sin that blinds

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”The people did what was right in their own eyes as we witness the cycle of them returning to grievous sin. This is the way of the world. YET, through this book of Judges, we can marvel at the shocking Grace of God as we witness His mercy that meets His people’s sinfulness, immorality, rebellion, idolatry, and loss of innocence.”

“In the face of all of the CHAOS, the LORD mercifully raises up judge after judge… deliverer after deliverer… savior after savior… each chosen and sent by God. We witness the repeat cycle: the people turn away from their God and run after idols and sin. Yet, all of this has been pointing to their (our) need for THE Deliverer… THE Savior… the book of Judges has been revealing CHRIST in the Chaos!”

“Chapter 12:8-15 reveals three Judges that ruled over a combined 25-year period - Ibzan of Bethlehem, Elon the Zebulunite, and Abdon of Pirathon. This stretch of 25 years can be summarized as one of peace. Following the death of Abdon in Verse 15, we find in Chapter 13:1 that the people of Israel return to their sin. The peace that they were enjoying had come to end. They were at it again! This time they are lower than ever before. They were suffering dearly for their sin and this time the oppression lasted longer than ever before (40 years)… under the hand of the Philistines (13:1). Forty years and no one cried out to the LORD!”

“Manoah’s wife was barren (vs 2). This would have been of double concern for them, being both Hebrew and intertwined with the Canaanite culture and gods. For the Israelites, to be barren was to be in a sense bearing under God’s curse. She and Manoah would have believed themselves to be suffering under God’s reproach. Others would have believed the same. AND to make matters worse, they had become one with their pagan Canaanite worldview. Being barren would carry with it the stigma and self-judgment that somehow you had offended one of the gods that ruled over reproduction and were now bearing under their punishment. In both worldviews, their hope of their family continuing on would die with them. This was judgment on judgment!”

“How the husband and wife must have felt regarding this personal matter is not recorded here. But we can imagine how difficult this must have been. They likely ached privately and likely over time their hearts could have given up. BUT what we do know from the text is that like the people of Israel who were so lost, they had not cried out to the LORD for help.”

“Their child was to “be a Nazirite to God from the womb until the day of his death”: A Nazirite vow (literally - “oneself in dedication/consecration”) was voluntarily made by the individual to God for a season of time. During this time, the individual would “separate” themself apart to God (consecrate themselves to God). During this brief period of time, they were to abstain from three things: no wine/alcoholic beverages, no cutting of the hair, and no contact with a corpse. (Numbers 6:1-21) If you failed at this… if you became defiled during this vow (read Numbers - if some guy “dies very suddenly beside” you) - your vow time clock starts all over again - your previous time is voided!”

“The point of the Nazirite vow was to call God’s people to wholehearted dedication to God!”

“There is a beautiful truth in God’s calling of Samson’s whole life to this “wholehearted dedication to God!” Yes, Samson was to exemplify this for the people as God called them back to himself (Samson will fail miserably at this), But God's faithfulness to his people, even in the face of their terrible sin, is on display because of God’s own “wholehearted covenantal dedication” to his people!”

“Enter the woman’s husband…We find in the unfolding verses Manoah clamoring for center stage, seeking to manipulate the messenger of God - struggling for control.”

“Manoah requests to have the ‘man of God’ return. He is blinded by unbelief that this man is divine (certainly refusing to acknowledge it). This is the first step in trying to gain control of the situation - I want to hear this for myself and understand what is happening. (vs 8) This is way outside his wheelhouse of understanding so he is now going to get to the bottom of this and get on top of what is happening. Hold this man to account…”

“The husband declares what is truth for us all - In the presence of the holiness of God, we see clearly that we deserve the fires of hell! …YET… God who is faithful to His promise gives them GRACE and MERCY.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Romans 12:1
Ephesians 4:1
2 Peter 1:3-11

QUOTES:
”Christ Our Wisdom” by Sovereign Grace Music -
Christ our wisdom, we will follow
Though the way ahead is veiled
As we journey through the shadows
Grant us faith where sight has failed
Help us cling to Your commandments
Strengthened by Your faithful Word
We will never be abandoned
You are God and we are Yours

APPLICATION:
- Marvel at the grace of God. God comes to us when we have not come to him, for He is Faithful!! While our eyes were on ourselves, His looked upon us, because He is faithful! Christian - are you at a new low? God will meet you there! He has not and will abandon you! He is faithful to you. 

- Marvel at the Cross of Christ 
The LORD has wholeheartedly dedicated Himself to His people - to the point that His son, Jesus, would die in our place to save us!

- God’s faithfulness toward us now calls for our faithfulness to Him
In a sense, we have been called by God into a “Nazirite Vow.” He has called us out / “separated” us from death into life and calls us to respond by “separating” / consecrating ourselves unto Him… to wholehearted dedication to Him!