The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1888-12-14
DEATH OF SAMSON.
LESSON XII, FOURTH QUARTER, IN
TERNATIoNAL SERIES, DEG. 1e.

TERNATlONAL SERIES, DEC. TO.
Text of tho Lesson, Judges xvi, 21-31.
Commit yerscs-Golden Text, Job xxxii,
documentary by Rev. d. NJ. Stearns.
[Condensed from Lesson Helper Quarterly, by |
permission of II. S. Hoffman, Philadelphia, pub |
iisher.l
III all the Scriptures the great truth is kept
before us that if we would enjoy peace and
have victory over all enemies, 1t must be by
q mind stayed upon God, and by an humble
walk with Him in cheerful and whole hearted
obedience. Another truth brought before
US over and over and over again is that God
often chooses the most unlikely instruments
with which to accomplish His purposes, that
no flesh may glory in His presence. And
everywhere we are taught Gods readiness to
forgive and to restore to favor and useful
ness in some measure when there is q true
turning from sin to Him, either on the part
Of nation or an Individual
Gideon Judged Israel forty years and was
succeeded by Abimelech, Tola and Jair; then
they did evil again and were oppressed by
the Philistincs and Ammonites eighteen
years; God then raised up Jephtha as their
delivercr and judge, and he was succeeded
by Ibzam, Elon and Abdon; then they did
evil again and were delivered into the hands
OF the Philistines, who oppressed them forty
years; God then raised up Samson as q de-
| liverer and Judge, and his is the last rule re-
corded in the book of Judges, the closing
chapters describing the condition Of things
| when severy man did that which was right
in his own eyes" tChap. xvii, 6; xxi, 25)
81. 'sThe Philistines took him, and put out
his eyes," Behold him, prisoner, @ slave,
blind and helpless and consider who he is
and what he had been. His birth was fore
told by the Lord, who appeared twice to his
mother and once to his father; he was a
Nazarite to God from his birth, that is, one
who was fully separated unto tho Lord, hav-
ing nothing to do with the vine, either as to
wine or grapes, and no razor was to come
upon his head (Num. vi, 1-S; US to his
mighty acts, he had rent lion Us he would
have rent kid, he had slain O thousand men
with the jawbone of an ass when shut in a
city by those who wanted to kill him he arose
in the night and took the gates and the posts
and the bar on his shoulders and carried
them away to tho top of hill, and many
other marvellous feats Of superhuman
strength had he performed. but now his
power and glory havo departed from him
and he is in the power Of his enemies, q poor
blind, helpless prisoner. What is the cause
of this terrible fall, and why this reproacf
upon tho Lord through His seryant2 for not
q only Is Samson disgraced, but the name o1
tho Lord is dishonored. Milton in his ssSam
son Agonistes'' makes him say:
\ IL" to God have brought
Dishonor, obloquy, and oped the mouths
OF idiots and atheists, have brought scandal
To Israel, diff1dence Of God, and doubt
. In feeble hearts, propense enough before
: To waver or foil off and join with idols.
f The cause was simply that Samson had dc
f parted from his conservation and had give
his time and attention to things which h
: should have been separated from. He saw
: woman in Timnath; he saw an harlot in GAIA
+. he loved woman in the valley of Sorel
h and thus, instead of making q covenant wit
= his eyes Job xxi, y, he let his eyes lea
9 him into trouble, and now he has lost then
it 233. 's,The hair of his head began to gro
IS again" Not that Samson's strength lay
his hair, but in his conservation to God, {
- which his locks wero On outward token; on
e. as we SEQ the outward evidence of his separ
le ton to God returning, have we not reason
,e believe That in his heart there is true pen
!, tence and n sincere return to the God
" Israel, who had so wonderfully called hir
lc but whom he had so grievously slandered.
l. 90. ga great sacrifice unto Dagon, the
=, god.n Dagon is mentioned ten times In
-. Samuel v, 2-7, and once in Chronicles x, ]
Id 1t was the great national god Of the Phil
tines. The name signifies ''ish," and
40 form is said to have been the face and han
- of man with tho tail Of q fish.
~ A ssThey praised their god" If Sans
m had only praised the living and truo God
,y q whole hearted conservation to Him, tn
! these Gentiles had not had this occasion
- praise their god.
III sOur God hath delivered into our han
to our enemy" In this and tho preceding vel
n We find this statement, and they no dou
:, thought it true. Ncbuchadnezzar probat
" thought that he subdued Jehoia1im, but it
81 written that ''the Lord gave Jehoiallim il
)r- his hantl' dan. ~
25 "Call for Samson, that he may ma
us sport.n a great company of uncircu
cisel Philistines praising and Worship
devils or demons, and q servant of the Gre
of God of Israel in their midst making sp'
:, for them. 1t is true he was not there OF
own accord nor was it by any means to
ne liking; but it he had not of his own free v
ere and by his own choice departed from bei
lie consecrated to God, ho had never come
-, this most pitirul and disgraceful condition
en 81. 's.Tho house was full Of men c
nd women" Three thousand on Che roof,
raj how many thousands inside we uro not tc
n >, all beholding while Samson makes spe
~ ~ How few such gatherings arc found
'li- worship God; ono in Brooklyn, one in L
led don, a few others here and there; but b
lad easy to gather the thousands If there is {
mt sport in the service Of Satan. Which v
1n0 does your own heart tend; l mean, VIII
ase7 company do you honestly enjoy tho MI
ead For know that there arc Sunday sch
The teachers who enjoy the SO called good tt
"a better than the house and service Of God.
uu- 2S sSumson called unto the Lord"
on does not seem to have been raised up to !
on forth an army, like Othneil, Deborah
,ad Barak, Gideon OF Jephthah, but rather
acts of personal valor to avengc Israel