Samson 'Pillars'

[duxrow]

SAMSON Judg 14:14

A mighty Judge of Israel; Samson was his name,
His strength inspired Hercules to try to do the same.
He wouldn't drink strong drink, and he wouldn't cut his hair,
With bare hands he slew the lion, and then left him lying there.

A mighty Judge of Israel: Samson was his name..
Used the jawbone of a donkey to put the Philistine's to shame.
Women were his weakness, they persisted in their plot,
To learn his riddle and his secret: which eventually they got!

"From the eater came forth meat; from the strong came sweetness",
Plowing with his heifer brought all the guest's completeness.
And when the Feast was over and the bride was kissed at last,
They got a change of garments just before the die was cast.

The honey from the lion was the Riddle to his love..
The secret of his strength was that it came from "up above".
Then blinded by Delilah and forced to turn the wheel,
Samson's hair kept growing as he grinded out the meal.

Came the day the Philistines brought Samson for their fun..
They chained him tween two pillars so that he couldn't run.
He flexed his mighty muscles; it got quiet as a mouse..
His prayer to God was answered by bringing down the house!

They say he killed more in his death than when he was alive,
And through the Cross of Calvary, many millions have revived.
Samson ate the honey, but he killed the lion first,
And now we see the story was a tale for those who thirst.


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"Samson is a type and figure of the Old Covenant Hebrews who didn't see the coming of the Church Age: they were "blinded" to the understanding of how the Jew & Gentile would be "One Body", Eph3:5,6.
Having the strength in his hair (which is on the head, naturally) is a precept of how our spiritual strength abides in the Head of the Body of Christ. In heaven, beyond the reach of razors.

[duxrow]

Elisha was plowing when Elijah came along, and maybe he was plowing in rocks, or somewhere that wouldn't grow fruit, because
after that he "burned his bridges" and followed closely after Elijah.

Samson's 'guests' wouldn't have received the New Garments if they hadn't "plowed with the heifer" (trope, you think?)

[duxrow]

'You don't have a leg to stand on', is what they say when they think your argument is full of holes -- right?

The two pillars supported their temple, like our two legs... maybe?

John19:32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.

v.33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:

[duxrow]

The Temple of Solomon had two (2) pillars.. they even had names! Boaz & Jachin
Two pillars led the Israeli's: one of Fire, one of Cloud
Two pillars were what Samson was chained to -- that Temple came down when Samson pulled on the pillars.

But in New Covenant times, WE are a Temple that walks on two legs.. and WE are Pillars of Salt (maybe?)

That's right -- ALL SCRIPTURE, from Genesis to Revelation, because the Holy Ghostwriter knows... Acts 15:18

[duxrow]

Could 'pulling our leg' and 'ribbing us' actually be two different ways of saying the same thing?

[duxrow]

Hi there, Cupbearer13.. Thanks for that comment -- Yes, I believe Lot's wife was twinkled into a pillar of salt (for their amazement and maybe consternation..), but also for the Gentile perspective to see the analogy of how WE can become pillars..

Lot's Wife - Genesis 19:26

If you would become a Pillar of Salt,
Repent! Look back, and consider your fault.
Then follow the teachings of Jesus,
believing He's who he said..
Forgetting the things that are past..
Reaching forward to what's ahead.

If you would become a Pillar of Salt,
Your wicked old ways must come to a halt.
Die to that old way of life!
Leave Sodom forever behind!
Get yoked together with Jesus
(Don't look back!)

It's the Way to get straight in your mind!

As for the male/female roles, I'm not disagreeing with your take, but..

[David M]

Whatever we might think of Lot's wife, we are all guilty of failing. Lot's wife looked back, but that does not tell us really why she looked back. Did she look back with longing to return to what was considered "good" about Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities which were also destroyed in similar fashion?

We have the example of the Children of Israel in the Wilderness not long after they had been delivered out of the bondage wanting to return to the better times when they had food in Egypt compared to what they did not have in the wilderness. The story of the Children of Israel shows their short-sightedness and lack of faith for God to provide for them. Before God provides for them, they reveal their weakness and lack of faith by complaining.

These times might be regarded as fairy stories by the skeptics, but Jesus believed the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and that which befell Lot's wife. The words of Jesus are recorded in Luke 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. 32 Remember Lot's wife. Anyone who believes in Jesus has to believe in the what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah.

The evidence of what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities in the same region are there to be seen. You can go to these places now (while they are in Jewish hands) and collect the brimstone that is found there in no other place on the planet. You can visit the ashen cities and see that these are man-made structures that have been destroyed by intense heat. The burning brimstone (pure sulphur) would have been so suffocating that the people would have been rendered unconscious in a very short time and long before they would have suffered the intense pain of being burnt alive. Even in their death, God was merciful and did not torture them as evil men do.


David

[duxrow]

When Lot's wife looked back, God turned her into a block of salt! Sure taught her a lesson, didn't he? Was she sorry for having disobeyed?

Excuse my sarcasm, please. We aren't saying God couldn't do it--nothing is impossible for Him, but why would a God of Love inflict such a bizarre punishment? And Jesus said "Remember Lot's wife", Lk17:62, confirming He knew what was written. Earlier, in Lk9:62, he had had cautioned: "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God".

She had turned her head (a physical action), but "looking back" figuratively is something else again. Paul wrote: "Forgetting those things that are past..." Phil 3:13.

Numb21:9 "And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived". Seems as though some of them wouldn't even turn their head to look!

We should see Lot's Wife as a precept example of how Christians are to become the salt of the earth and pillars in their community.
As the first person in Scripture to 'become salt', she epitomizes not only that we mustn't disobey God, but that He expects us to flavor the earth wherever we go.

[toxon]

"Everyone with fire shall be salted," (and every hailstone crown as it were the weight of a talent).

Also concerning the two brass pillars of the right hand, (Yakin) and of the left, (Boaz) please correct accordingly as your Master sees fit: "And the certain one clothed in linen led them out as far as to Bethany; and he raised up his arms of burnished brass, and with his hands raised up he blessed them. And it came to pass that while he blessed them he stood apart from them and was carried up into the heavens!"

[CWH]

When Lot's wife looked back, God turned her into a block of salt! Sure taught her a lesson, didn't he? Was she sorry for having disobeyed?

Excuse my sarcasm, please. We aren't saying God couldn't do it--nothing is impossible for Him, but why would a God of Love inflict such a bizarre punishment? And Jesus said "Remember Lot's wife", Lk17:62, confirming He knew what was written. Earlier, in Lk9:62, he had had cautioned: "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God".

She had turned her head (a physical action), but "looking back" figuratively is something else again. Paul wrote: "Forgetting those things that are past..." Phil 3:13.

Numb21:9 "And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived". Seems as though some of them wouldn't even turn their head to look!

We should see Lot's Wife as a precept example of how Christians are to become the salt of the earth and pillars in their community.
As the first person in Scripture to 'become salt', she epitomizes not only that we mustn't disobey God, but that He expects us to flavor the earth wherever we go.

Hi duxrow,

Lot's wife turned into a block of salt is quite ambiguous. Turning into a block of salt does not necessarily means killed and even so God can easily resurrect or "desalt" Lot's wife if He wanted to. Chemically and theorectically, it is humanly not possible to turn a human being into a block of salt but of course everything is possible with God. Looking at commentaries, one of which explains that Lot's wife was so shocked when she looked back that her body froze and her face turned pale which made her looked like a block of salt. It may be God's punishment for disobeying His instruction but on the other hand who is to blame if supposed someone told you not to look back at a strong laser light that is shining at your face and you disobeyed and did it and become blind?

God Bless.