…When Israel surrendered to the Lord, and followed him as Lord, they prospered. * However, when they began to make decisions apart from the Lord, and use their own wisdom as their basis for daily living, they suffered the consequences. And at the beginning of the book, Israel started out well, but quickly began to be influenced more strongly by the worldly culture around them than by God.
So that one day, when they went out to battle, they looked only from what could be seen, and they failed to subdue their enemies because their enemies had chariots of iron, and so they feared the world, and abandoned the Lord. Worldly wisdom was their guide. And James calls worldly wisdom “demonic.”
But unfortunately, Israel continued to embrace the wisdom of the world, and invited the prevailing culture to influence them. And as the years went by, Israel looked more and more like the world, than like the holy, distinct, people of God. Until one day, God completely gave them over to their sin, and removed himself from their presence.
In Judges 16, we come to the final narrative in the life of Samson. And these final verses are a warning to God’s people, to not neglect the great mission and responsibility given to them by God because tragedy befalls all who forsake the Lord and pursue the world.
