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"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do"(Luke 23: 34).
The analysis of Samson's acts is rendered difficult by the strong intermixture of the
flesh with the leading of the Spirit.
Samson "began to deliver" (Judges 13: 5), but it was left to another, Samuel, more
completely to realize the true type of deliverer. He also was dedicated to the Lord before
birth, but did not fall from his high calling by giving way to the lusts of the flesh as did
Samson. The strongest man, and also the weakest man, of the book of Judges is Samson.
What a lesson for ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in "God that
quickeneth the dead!"
No treatment of Samson's life and deeds can be considered complete that does not
deal with the meaning and purpose of the Nazarite vow. Insufficiency of space, prevents
our giving the subject consideration here, but we refer the interested reader to the article
on the subject in the series entitled "Fundamentals of Dispensational Truth" in
Volume XXII, page 123.
The Book of RUTH.
#1. The book as a whole;
and the loss of the inheritance (1: 1-22).
pp. 127 - 132
The Book of Judges ends on a sad note:
"In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his
own eyes" (Judges 21: 25).
It would be difficult to exaggerate the deplorable condition of Israel during many of
the years covered by the Book of Judges. On the other hand it would be a mistake to
paint the whole picture in the same somber colours. In Judges 10:, for example, we have
the names of the two men who judged Israel for a period of 45 years, and there is nothing
recorded of that period except the fact that Jair had 30 sons, who rode 30 colts and
possessed 30 cities, so that it would appear that during this period things were fairly
normal. The Book of Ruth gives us a glimpse of one of these periods "when the judges
judged" (Ruth 1: 1).
The book of Ruth fulfils several purposes: