A Riddle, a Woman and a Fight

Judges 14 (CSB)

1 Samson went down to Timnah and saw a young Philistine woman there. 2 He went back and told his father and his mother, “I have seen a young Philistine woman in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Can’t you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines for a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” 4 Now his father and mother did not know this was from the Lord, who wanted the Philistines to provide an opportunity for a confrontation. At that time, the Philistines were ruling Israel.

The previous chapter ends with the Lord stirring Samson against the Philistines.

Here the author almost makes it seem like Samson is starting out by acting on his own without God’s direction.

He goes to Timnah and sees a woman - again, his attraction to this woman seen to come from selfish desire.

Samson’s parents do not like the idea of him marrying a Philistine woman so they protest. Their protest is from a cultural perspective and not theological.

What they didn’t say is important to - they didn’t remind Samson that intermarriage with pagan peoples was against the LORD’s commands, they didn’t remind him that he was called to a special Nazirite vow and this could compromise that call, they didn’t even remind him that his calling was to deliver Israel from the Philistines NOT to marry them.

Samson answers his parents objection much like Israel has been living… “she is right in MY eyes” or “Israel did what was right in their own eyes”…

Verse 4 reminds us that God has a plan even when we do our own thing - if the Israelites won’t take action against the Philistines then God will get the Philistines to take action against the Israelites.

The New American Commentary makes a great statement about this section - “With brilliant irony the narrator describes a free spirit, a rebel driven by selfish interests, doing whatever he pleases without any respect for his parents and with no respect for the claims of God on his life, but in the process he ends up doing the will of God.”

5 Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Suddenly a young lion came roaring at him, 6 the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. 7 Then he went and spoke to the woman, because she seemed right to Samson. 8 After some time, when he returned to marry her, he left the road to see the lion’s carcass, and there was a swarm of bees with honey in the carcass. 9 He scooped some honey into his hands and ate it as he went along. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had scooped the honey from the lion’s carcass.

Samson convinced his parents so they headed down to Timnah.

At some point Samson was separated from his parents or else they would have seen what happened next.

A lion attacked Samson but remember God has a plan for him so the Holy Spirit empowered Samson with supernatural strength. We tend to think of the Holy Spirit doing only spiritual things but God is in control of all things, spiritual and physical.

Often marriage had little to do with love but was treated more like a business deal. This is why Samson is in the process of becoming engaged and its only the first time he speaks to her. We have no idea what she thinks of Samson.

Negotiations have been completed so Samson returns to claim his bride.

He sees the carcass of the lion and three things stand out - 1. This is clearly an act of God because bees do not usually inhabit dead animals (flies and maggots do), 2. The original language uses the word congregation in place of swarm… this is ironic symbolism that in a world of decay a community not only exists but is producing sweetness to the world around it. 3. It provides a test of Samson’s character.

Samsons contact with the honey is problematic - contact with a corpse renders any object unclean so the honey should be left alone - contact with a corpse is against the Nazirite vow - finally, he defiles his parents as well by offering them the honey without telling them where it came from.

10 His father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as young men were accustomed to do. 11 When the Philistines saw him, they brought thirty men to accompany him. 12 “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can explain it to me during the seven days of the feast and figure it out, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes. 13 But if you can’t explain it to me, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” “Tell us your riddle,” they replied. “Let’s hear it.” 14 So he said to them: Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet. After three days, they were unable to explain the riddle. 15 On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Persuade your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s family to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?” 16 So Samson’s wife came to him, weeping, and said, “You hate me and don’t love me! You told my people the riddle, but haven’t explained it to me.” “Look,” he said, “I haven’t even explained it to my father or mother, so why should I explain it to you?” 17 She wept the whole seven days of the feast, and at last, on the seventh day, he explained it to her, because she had nagged him so much. Then she explained it to her people. 18 On the seventh day, before sunset, the men of the city said to him: What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion? So he said to them: If you hadn’t plowed with my young cow, you wouldn’t know my riddle now! 19 The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men. He stripped them and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. In a rage, Samson returned to his father’s house, 20 and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.

As is custom a party was thrown for the bride and groom - in this case the story deals with the grooms side.

The term feast is a little misleading because what it really was is 7 day of drinking… Samson is about to violate a second of the Nazirite vow.

The 30 men were most likely sent because the Philistines were afraid of Samson and these “bodyguards” were sent to keep an eye on him.

Samson is not afraid of them, in fact he has a little fun with them by issuing a challenge via a riddle.

The men can’t figure out the riddle so they go to Samsons new bride - of course she doesn’t know anything but they threaten her to find out and tell them.

Samson really has no care for anyone but himself at this point. He won’t tell her and his reason is he hasn’t even told his own parents.

He broke down and told her the answer because she “nagged” him. She employed persistence and emotional blackmail (if you love me).

Day 7 is almost over and the men come at the last second.

He knows the cheated and he is angry - The CSB says “young cow” but the original word is heifer and no it was not a nice thing to say back then either…

Samson could not back out of his pledge even thought hey cheated so he went down to Ashkelon and killed 30 Philistines and took their garments to pay the wager - seems strange this was done under the power of God but keep in mind God is the only one able to judge people and decide life or death and He is the One who will keep Samson’s plan on track despite Samson.

Samson was mad so he went home to his house… but he kind of forgot something or should I say someone.

Judges 15 (CSB)

1 Later on, during the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat as a gift and visited his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter. 2 “I was sure you hated her,” her father said, “so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Isn’t her younger sister more beautiful than she is? Why not take her instead?” 3 Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless when I harm the Philistines.”

After some time Samson goes to his wife’s house. Not sure what his intentions were but he seems to be trying to make amends by bringing a gift.

‘Well, Samson had run off and left his wife so her father thought Samson called off the marriage and gave his daughter to another man.

Unfortunately for Samson this cannot be undone so the girls father tries to remedy the issue and keep the spirit of the agreement and offers his younger daughter.

This time it is not Samson who starts the trouble but this slight by his “father-in-law” is to blame.

4 So he went out and caught three hundred foxes. He took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5 Then he ignited the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned the piles of grain and the standing grain as well as the vineyards and olive groves. 6 Then the Philistines asked, “Who did this?” They were told, “It was Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because he took Samson’s wife and gave her to his companion.” So the Philistines went to her and her father and burned them to death. 7 Then Samson told them, “Because you did this, I swear that I won’t rest until I have taken vengeance on you.” 8 He tore them limb from limb and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.

Foxes is used here but a less offensive word would be jackals (no one likes a jackal).

Why he tied their tails together is unclear but two animals attached at the tail with fire in between would most likely cause some erratic behaviour in the animals thus distributing the fire quickly.

He burned up grain, grapes and olives.

To try and please Samson the Philistines went and burned Samson’s wife and her father to death but they misjudged.

Samson vowed vengeance and got it by tearing them apart.

9 The Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and raided Lehi. 10 So the men of Judah said, “Why have you attacked us?” They replied, “We have come to tie Samson up and pay him back for what he did to us.” 11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines rule us? What have you done to us?” “I have done to them what they did to me,” he answered. 12 They said to him, “We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.” Then Samson told them, “Swear to me that you yourselves won’t kill me.” 13 “No,” they said, “we won’t kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them.” So they tied him up with two new ropes and led him away from the rock.

The Philistines decided they had enough of Samson and attacked.

The people of Judah sent 3000 men to bring Samson in.

Samson let himself be tied up and taken peacefully to the Philistines.

14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and the ropes that were on his arms and wrists became like burnt flax and fell off. 15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand, took it, and killed a thousand men with it. 16 Then Samson said: With the jawbone of a donkey I have piled them in heaps. With the jawbone of a donkey I have killed a thousand men. 17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone and named that place Jawbone Hill. 18 He became very thirsty and called out to the Lord, “You have accomplished this great victory through your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 So God split a hollow place in the ground at Lehi, and water came out of it. After Samson drank, his strength returned, and he revived. That is why he named it Hakkore Spring, which is still in Lehi today. 20 And he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

God came on Samson again and the ropes just melted off him.

Samson grabs a “fresh” donkey jawbone. Fresh is important - 1. The bone wasn’t dried out and hard yet making it a less useful weapon. 2. Because it wasn’t dry Samson was technically touching a corpse again breaking part of the Nazirite vow.

In the power of God, Samson killed 1000 men but notice he never gives God credit - in fact, in a pretty narcissistic way her writes a song about his accomplishment. He even renamed the place based on his accomplishment.

Killing is thirsty work apparently. It must have been bad thirst because Samson seems scared of how thirsty he is and cries out to God.

Again, Samson is only concerned with himself and not the calling he has on his life.

Samson judges for 20 years - it says in the day of the Philistine’s indicating Israel was of little consequence during this period - it also proves God was at work because that is the only way Samson could have stayed in power.