- Pastor Bud Miller’s Message
- Betty Miller’s Message
- Commentary on “The Bible” Mini-Series (What the Bible Says About Samson’s Race)
Personal Messages:
Bud’s Message:
I want to invite you to visit Christ Unlimited’s website, BibleResources.org. I’m Pastor Bud Miller and along with my wife, Betty, we want to invite you to become a part of our online community. Our motivation behind establishing this ministry on the Internet is to take the church where people live.
We want to communicate an Overcoming Life Message to help you in your daily walk with God. Our hearts are burning with the Lord’s command to obey the Great Commission and take the gospel to the world so they can know Jesus. We want to strengthen the body of Christ with teachings that will help you and others grow in the Lord.
Today, all it takes is a little connection to plug into the Internet to make available the truths in the Bible in an online setting so that we can communicate the life of Christ to others. This is so amazing to us. At this time there are 2 billion people that use the Internet and more than half a billion people go online using a mobile device.
As you probably know, today the Kingdom of God is being established as frequently through the social media websites, as it is in person, and with results suggesting the huge harvest online may be the greatest Internet moment in human history. Because of this, we want to help equip you to be a part of this great move of God. We previously founded Bible.com and have now moved over 10,000 pages of content to this new site in order to continue our work on BibleResources.org. We are still adding material and will soon be launching our new online video ministry. Pray for us as we make these preparations as this has been a long time coming. We are excited about sharing our testimony and our walk of faith with you.
The church now has the technology and manpower to reach every man, woman, and child on earth. We are the first generation in all human history to have this capacity available to us. Christ Unlimited Minsitries is here to help equip the people of God to rise up and meet this challenge. We invite you to join us at BibleResources.org in this endeavor. — Pastor Bud —
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Betty’s Personal Message:
When Bud and I talk with other Christians, they are feeling the same urgency as we do, and that is to share their faith with as many people as possible in this hour. You probably sense this too, as we all know the Lord’s return to this earth is drawing near. This being the case, we want to share God’s love and truth through the BibleResources.org website to reach as many people as possible and equip God’s people to do the same.
We want to help you and others that are eager to serve the Lord. Our mission is to reach out and share Bible messages on this website that will help you in your daily walk with the Lord. The Lord has given us insight and revelation from the Bible that we both have lived by over the years and by applying that knowledge in faith we were able to overcome the challenging things we all face in this world. What do we do when we are faced with loss, discouragement, failure, fear, financial and health problems? The good news is the Bible has the answer to every problem we face and we can confidently tell you that God has never failed us. Sad to say, we have failed Him, but He is so good and merciful to us by helping us overcome our failures and by continuing to encourage us to walk in His ways. We want to help you in your walk of faith with God through the content we offer at BibleResources.org.
Many in this hour have actually left their roots of Christianity to search on their own for truth in the cyber world, only to be deceived by the many false doctrines being spread throughout the Internet. We have a call from God to share solid, Bible based teaching and preaching in order to strengthen and prepare God’s people for the coming of the Lord. We want to make available teaching tools that will help you and God’s people become cyberspace missionaries, so they too can help in the building of the Kingdom of God.
We want to encourage you, and all who come here looking for answers, by making available messages inspired by the Holy Spirit that are based on the Bible. Most of our messages are tailored to fit busy people as they are not lengthy, but are prayerfully anointed and easy to be entreated. We are using the gifts that God has given us to reach out and help you discover the gifts He has given you, so we can all see the Kingdom of God come to this earth. We are here to serve you and bless you.
Our prayer is that this website will be a help to you and others and will meet the needs of each individual that comes here. We invite you to pray about helping us. We do appreciate your prayers for us and Christ Unlimited, as we are His servants sent to help you. May God bless you with His Unlimited blessings! — Sister Betty —
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Teaching
What the Bible Says About Samson’s
Race
By Betty Miller
Many people who have viewed the TV mini-series of The Bible that débuted in March of 2013 have asked the question, “Was Samson in the Bible really a black man?” To answer this we must look at scripture, as the Bible reveals the answers to our questions. In essence, the Bible interprets itself outside of man’s suppositions, opinions and ideas.
Before discussing this topic, we should note that the producers’ motive in filming this series was to better acquaint this generation with the Bible. And I do believe they are accomplishing this. They kept the theme of this production closely in line with the Bible–showing that Bible stories are real and that the God of the Bible is with His people. It was emphasized that the same God is still here for all who will turn to Him in faith and repentance. Since some are asking if casting Samson as a black man in this series is really in the Bible, we will first respond by stating that the most important thing the producers have done is that people are being exposed to the amazing stories in the Bible and I applaud them for bringing forth such a challenging work.
Now, most all Bible movies over the years have taken poetic license in an attempt to make the stories more realistic. However, the added things are usually more suppositional than the actual facts written in the Bible. Perhaps the authors of this series wanted to use something that was not traditional in order to try and reach this generation? Perhaps by portraying Samson as a black man, they were trying to make this socially and culturally acceptable—even by giving Samson dread locks?
However, as a teacher of the Word of God, when people ask me a direct question about the accuracy of something, in all good conscience I feel I should reply forthrightly. Since BibleResources.org is in the public forum, I felt the need to address the questions of all those who turn to this site for their Bible answers. Although I have only seen the first two series at this time, I have noted some things that do not line up exactly with the Word of God in the story about Samson and I will discuss those in this article and will particularly address the question of Samson’s descent.
Sampson was from the Israelite tribe of Dan. According to the Bible, the Danite tribe consisted of the descendants of Dan, a son of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant (Genesis 30:40). In the Biblical account, Dan is one of the two children of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid and one of Jacob’s wives, the other child of Bilhah being Naphtali. Some scholars see this as indicating that the authors saw Dan and Naphtali as being not of entirely Israelite origin (being descendants of handmaids rather than of full wives) so I can only presume that may be why they portrayed Samson as black in this movie series; however, the Bible does not say Sampson was black, nor that he was not of the Jewish race. This is theory in my opinion, as the Bible does not tell us what color of skin Samson had. Certainly there is a possibility there were Ethiopians who may have been black who joined the original Israelites. Moses married one. (Moses’ first wife Zipporah was “Shemitic” (descended of Noah’s son Shem). However, Moses married a second time to a woman from Ethiopia (Kush)–whose name is never mentioned. This can be found in the Bible: Numbers 12:1: And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.)
Since the Bible pointed out that Moses married a black woman, it stands to reason if Samson was black, the scripture would have also noted that, even as it did concerning the Ethiopian in the New Testament that Phillip witnessed to. With the mention of the Ethiopian in the New Testament and the one Moses married, this seems further proof, that Samson was not black since the scripture did not record it, as in other places in scripture.
Some have written us, questioning this portrayal, as it has created some confusion because the scriptures do not say that he was black. Even previous older movie depictions show him as a Caucasian, an Israelite. The Bible tells us he was a Hebrew judge of Israel from the tribe of Dan. Portraying him as black will not matter for most people’s understanding, but for true students of the Bible it is important to defend the accuracy of the Bible. However, the portrayal of Samson being black does not change the impact of the story of Samson in this movie. Here is what the Bible says about the genealogy of Samson. We want to point you to the entire thirteenth chapter of Judges for the whole story.
Judges 13:2-5: 2And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. 3And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. 4Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: 5For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Sampson was that son.
As a defender of the accuracy of the Bible, we can point out other deviations from the scripture in this mini-series story of Samson, as well. The Bible did not say that Delilah cut off his hair. It states that she caused him to sleep (which could have meant she got him drunk) on her lap and then she called a man servant in to shave his head. The seven locks the Bible spoke of were probably braids (Judges 16:19). Although it appeared to me in the movie there were more than 7 locks on the black man’s head. (The seven locks have a spiritual meaning.)
Now it is not a great departure from Scripture to show Delilah cutting his hair as she was the instigator behind the act. However, to be totally accurate we must acknowledge that the Word of God said that a man shaved his head while he slept in Delilah’s lap. A contributor to his loss of strength could also have been that he broke his Nazarite vow of refraining from drinking alcohol, because he never woke up while his head was being shaved so he must have been in a drunken stupor.
Judges 16:19-20: (KJV):
19And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. 20And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.
Anyway, there are other instances where the producers take poetic license in some of the other scenes that stir me to comment, as does this one of Samson being black. Now I do not approach this casting of Samson from any racist viewpoint as we have many black brothers and sisters that are wonderful saints of God and they have my utmost respect and admiration. However, because many people who have never read the Bible will believe what they see, they might not understand that Samson was an Israelite, a Hebrew judge of Israel and this is important because of the spiritual types in the Bible. Now this will not matter for most people’s understanding, but for true students of the Word it is very important in the understanding of true Bible doctrine. Personally, I think it would have been better if they had not portrayed Sampson as black, as it raises more questions than answers, especially since the scripture is silent on this matter and even previous movies portrayed him as a Caucasian Israelite.
Another departure from scripture in the movie was the scene that depicted Dagon’s house collapsing immediately after Samson’s eyes were put out. This did not happen right away, but there was a time lapse, as Samson was first taken to the prison house for a time and forced to grind at the mill. (The spiritual lesson we learn from this, is that when one sins, they can end up grinding at the mill of bondage in spiritual blindness.) Later after Samson’s hair began to grow again, he was taken to the house of Dagon where he used his last act of strength to destroy his enemies along with about 3,000 of the Philistines when he pushed on the house’s pillars causing the whole house to collapse. (Go to Judges 16 to read the entire story as recorded in the Bible.)
I am rejoicing that someone would invest their time and talents to produce and show this great series. I do not think that it is appropriate to criticize this work because of the lesser scriptural inaccuracies, when overall, so far, they have kept the stories in the Spirit of the Bible. That is good as it is better to have an overall knowledge of the Bible than none at all. This generation is in great need of recognizing the God of the Bible and this series acknowledges Him.
The bottom line: We all need to learn more about the Bible. Our questions should drive us to read God’s Word to see if videos, movies and sermons line up with the Bible records, instead of solely depending on others to tell us what it says. Bible study is rewarding and fun. God can, and will, reveal to every true seeker the answers we are seeking if we will begin to read and study the Bible. In regard to The Bible series, we praise the Lord for every work that brings glory to God. We pray that the Lord will bless this work to direct people to read the Bible, so they can know the God of the Bible.
You can use the Bible search feature at www.BibleResources.org to personally study and search the Bible for topics of your interest in several different translations.