God at Work in a Mess

Good morning, introduction.

We’re in the second chapter of the story of Samson today, Judges 14, Samson was called before his birth by God to be a Judge of Israel- the judges being sort of like mini-saviours against the Philistines who warred against God’s people and for a time ruled over them. What is so interesting about Samson, in some ways strange, is that though he is the twelth and last judge, in many ways he is the worst. He is supremely arrogant and disobedient in light of God’s blessing. There are very few redeeming qualities and moments of Samson and he lives this life of like, delayed obedience- always putting his duty off, procrastinating from his calling. The paradox of Samson is that he is physically strong, but morally weak. Physcially strong but spiritually weak. He has the strength to defeat armies but not the strength to surrender and be obedient in the face of temptation.

Samson, in many ways, is the most human of the Judges and an embodiment of the famous line “God uses crooked sticks, to make straight lines.” The story of Samson is summaried in verse 3 and 4 of our reading today.

Judges 14:3–4 ESV

But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.

This is a summary of the Gospel. Humans do “what is right in their own eyes”, but God is bringing about redemption.

I’ve entitiled my sermon today “God at work in a mess”, it is fitting because the very first words recorded of Samson set the scene for the whole chapter: that Samson’s ministry begins on a foundation of flawed desires.

Flawed Desires (vv. 1–4)

Samson sees what looks good and pursues it. Emphasis here is on what looks good- not what is good. For Samson, goodness is subjective and he is the authority who gets to determine what fits into that category. He is pursuing his heart, but his heart is not obedient to God or the holy calling of his life. And what happens?

We’ve talked a lot about this through our series in Matthew- the condition of your heart is of great concern to God. He isn’t so much concerned with your actions or your serving or what you bring to the table. What you do and say are often an overflow of the heart. To right your actions, you need to right your heart.

Samson’s heart was not obedient to God and what flowed next was mess.

Samson disregards God’s law. Deuteronomy 7:3–4 “You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.”

Samson disregards his family. His Fafter, as head of the house, reserves the right and responsibility to find suitable spouses for their kids. Samson takes this away from his father. When his parents plead with him- he disreards their authority in his life and allows his desire for a women to overpower his duty to his family. Where and how the wedding ceremony is held was also not following typical hebrew practices, some commentators make the argument it was very much a philistine wedding and not a hebrew one.

Samson disregards his calling. Samson was to a saviour for God’s people from their philistine overlords, instead, he seeks to marry one. The Phlistine’s recieve from Samson fraternity rather than fear.

Samson’s flawed desires led to a foolish decision with cascading consequences. Someone who was supposed to be consecrated for God’s purposes is running in the opposite direction.

However, v.4 gives us an indication of what God is doing amongst the mess. While Samson is failing to be God’s Judge, He is still in control and will use Samson’s foolishness to bring His judegment against His enemies. Whilst God’s chosen people may fail, He won’t- and He’ll make that clear to the Philistines.

Though he allows it, God obviously does not endorse Samson’s marriage as it breaks His Law.

However, if God is sovereign, then we know He often allows us to make poor decisions and to sin. Perhaps, God is using Samson’s foolishness here to bring judgement upon him. God is allowing this marriage so that it’s cascading consequences force Samson into conflict with the Philistines, and into his appointed role.

Samson pursued what was good in his eyes, and it led him to being compromised by his sin.

Compromised by Sin (vv. 5–9)

Judges 14:5–9 ESV

Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson’s eyes. After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.

This next sequence is a loop. It begins with Samson leaving for Tinmah with his parents, and then him returning to them back at home at the end. However, in a Biblical story about a supposed hero, you’d expect this part of the tale be where the hero learns new skills or has some development, where he starts to step into God’s calling of his life- instead he seems to get worse. Instead, he returns a sinner, in his arrogance having broken his Nazirite vow. Yet- God hasn’t smited him, or kicked him to the curb- God is still in control. Samson’s sin, does not hinder God’s plan.

He becomes separated from his parents, which is a physical act of what played out in his heart in verse 2. Where his heart wanders from his familial duty- he physcially wonders off from them and finds himself in danger.

Off the main path he encounters a lion and defeats it. It’s worth pointing out- we will see this phrase “the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him” a few times. What it means isn’t “God endorsed this” but rather it’s the author pointing out that it was truly by God’s strength, given to him due to his calling, that he did it- rather than Samson’s own strength. So he slaughters this Lion. BUT a moment that should have driven Samson to his knees in awe and adoration for the Father who delivered him, he instead treats it like a game. He has forgotten where his strength comes from.

In verse 7, he doubles down on marrying a P{hilistine woman, once again it says “she was right in his eyes”. The near death experience of the lion hasn’t awoken him from his foolishness or disobedience to God’s law, then in verse 8 he returns to take this woman as his wife and turns aside to see the lion’s carcass.

As part of Samson’s Nazirite vow, he is to obstain from death- not touching dead bodies. Instead, the simplest of temptations coerces him to break his vow by touching the lion’s dead body. His breaking of the vow is less about his foolishness and more about his disregard for the calling of God on his life- he breaks his vow for honey! Prideful, arrogant and foolish- plain old human nature. It’s by God’s grace and his grace alone that Samson is wiped out right then and there, for his faithlessness. Despite Samson, God will still enact His plan through him.

He now returns to his parents carrying the honey. He offers the spoil of his sin to his parents, his sin corrupting himself, his secrecy now corrupting them too.

I see a parallel here between Samson and the Fall. As Samson saw what would corrupt him as “good in his own eyes” so did Eve, as Samson shared with his parents, so does Eve with Adam. When sin causes compromise, we often see then weight of that sin drag down others in it’s proximity.

Samson is no different to us. You read his story, and it’s hard not to find good things about him… but we should be wary not to look down on him, be dismissive to end up missing the mirror he holds to our own lives. Samson lived a life of foolishness but God still uses it to train his church for glory.

Our flawed desires lead us to places of compromise where we play foolish games in the place of reverence and holiness. Chapter 14 ends with Samson doing just that, playing foolish games.

Foolish Games (vv. 10–20)

Judges 14:12–15 ESV

And Samson said to them, “Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes, but if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Put your riddle, that we may hear it.” And he said to them, “Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet.” And in three days they could not solve the riddle. On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?”

Let’s hit the big notes of this sequence.

Samson arrives at the wedding- but if he was obedient to God’s Law, it would be at his fathers house, in a room he built and prepared for his bride! So far starters, he is where he shouldn’t be.

Arrogantly, he tells a subjective riddle that no one else could possible know the answer to.

He is so certain of himself he tells 30 men and gives them 7 days to figure it out.

Still so certain of himself he makes the prize impossibly tantalizing- but high stakes. He never had any intention of having to pay it.

His poor bride gets threatened with murder so high are the stakes. She clearly thinks so highly of Samson and his character that she keeps that a secret.

He travels 37km to Ashkelon to find 30 men to kill and steal the garments from. Probably a full day there. Samson was probably gone multiple days on this journey, and this outcome happened over only a few days.

Samson is not a great communicator, so it is possible that his in-laws possibly did not know where he went. Possibly assuming, in his anger, that he just left. And so, to save face, his bride is given to his best man instead.

Samson made no attempt to find an alternative solution to his situation other than murder. Didn’t try make a deal, recognise his error or try to use some intellect and reason to reslove it. Even though he has made previous mistakes in his anger and pride with his strength, he is choosing white knuckle vengance.

He hasn’t consulted God. Samson was sort out by God, empowered by God but still acting in his own wisdom (which is actually foolishness compared to godly wisdom). His own wisdom, human wisdom, attributes his strength and capactiy to himself, not to God, and it’s certainly going to be a “reap what you sow” situation.

“Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him” again, just to re-emphasise, probably doesn’t mean God’s endorsement. The author is pointing out that Samson truly did this by God’s strength- not his own- even if he doesn’t recognise it!

*Communion Helpers*

Judges 14 doesn’t end with a moment of triumph or clarity — it ends in rage, betrayal, brokenness, and a man who, despite his calling, is driven more by his impulses than his identity in God.

Samson is meant to be a saviour, a judge — and yet what we see is compromise, arrogance, foolishness, and a disregard for the very God who gave him his strength. His life becomes a mess of his own making. And yet… God is still at work in the mess.

That’s the hope we find here: not in Samson, but in the God who doesn’t abandon His people even when they fall short — a God who will work through broken vessels to bring about His purposes. A God who would one day send a better Saviour, not driven by pride but by obedience, not by flawed desire but perfect love. Jesus, the true Deliverer.

In the story of Samson, I’m left wondering if it unfolded exaclty as God intended and designed, or did God allow Samson to cause the mess, so He might be able to demonstrate both His power and His intent to work admist our mess? I feel like there’s a bit of a “what if?” moment: what if Samson, instead of being arrogant, prideful and self-absorbed had been a man of surrender, obedience and faithfulness to God’s calling? Either way, Samson’s story is over but ours is not. Until each of us are called home to the Father you can be assured- there is a calling upon your life, in your conext, to be a light for His Kingdom and an advocate for the Gospel.

And so, we’re left with this: Where are the places in our lives where we, like Samson, are doing what is right in our own eyes?

Where are we disregarding God's voice, compromising with sin, wandering off the path, choosing revenge over reconciliation, comfort over calling?

Samson’s story is a warning against disobedience — but also an invitation. An invitation to surrender. An invitation to trust that even in the mess of our decisions, God is at work. God doesn’t need our perfection, Christ fulfilled that for us, but He does desire our obedience and our heart. Not only that, but through Jesus He promised us life, and life in abundance. This life is a life lived in freedom from the slavery of sin and instead in freedom, serving God and walkling with Him.

This freedom was bought at a price. And it was Jesus, our great Deliverer who lived this perfect life of obedience and surrender, that ultimately led Him to the cross where He gave Himself for you. Will you surrender to Him?

Bread and the cup.

So as we reflect, here are a few questions to help us respond:

Where are you seeing with your own eyes instead of seeking God’s wisdom?

What flawed desires are you entertaining that are leading you to compromise?

Are there any areas in your life where you're playing games instead of living with purpose?

Do you need to surrender control and stop trying to solve spiritual problems with human strength?

Communion.

What “dead lions” are you feeding from—things you should be avoiding, but instead you're finding sweetness in?