Samson’s Unconsummated Marriage, 1-20
This account of Samson and the Philistine girl is similar to that of Samson and Delilah in chapter 16.
Samson is not presented here as a man to be admired. Indeed,
‘With Samson, the quality of Israel’s leaders reaches an alltime low. But God—once again, strange and improper as it may seem to us—will use even a Samson to accomplish his purposes.’ (Brown)
14:1 Samson went down to Timnah, where a Philistine girl caught his eye. 14:2 When he got home, he told his father and mother, “A Philistine girl in Timnah has caught my eye. Now get her for my wife.” 14:3 But his father and mother said to him, “Certainly you can find a wife among your relatives or among all our people! You should not have to go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines.” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, because she is the right one for me.” 14:4 Now his father and mother did not realize this was the LORD’s doing, because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble with the Philistines (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).
“A Philistine girl in Timnah” – According to Brown, the word order in the original is ‘a woman – in Timnah – a Philistine’:
‘Samson waited until the end to divulge her ethnic identity, because it was unacceptable to marry outside of the circle of Israelites, especially to marry someone from the occupying power.’
“Get her for my wife” – Samson’s demand is disrespectful to his parents and also to the family traditions, which were themselves based on God’s law (Brown).
“The uncircumcised Philistines” – A highly perjorative phrase, cf. Judg 15:18; 1 Sam 14:6; 17:26, 36; 31:4; 1 Chron 10:4. (Brown)
“She is the right one for me” – lit. ‘She is right in my eyes’. This reflects a common theme in the stories about Samson, and also the refrain, repeated later, of ‘everyone doing what was right in their own eyes.’ (Brown)
This was the LORD’s doing – This is what Brown calls a ‘narrative intrusion’ where we are told something that noone in the story – including Samson – is aware of. Once again, God shows that he is able to bring good out of evil (cf. Gen 50:20; Rom 8:28).
14:5 Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him. 14:6 The LORD’s spirit empowered him and he tore the lion in two with his bare hands as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.
The text does not explain how, since Samson’s parents were traveling with him, they were not present (or even aware of) the encounter with the lion.
A meme has been circulating on Twitter. It pictures Samson and the lion, along with the comment: ‘Samson killed a lion in the desert. Lions don’t live in deserts’. According to ‘The Amateur Exegete‘:
- Some lions do live in deserts (there is a population of desert-adapted lions in Namibia)
- The text doesn’t claim that Samson encountered the lion in the desert, but near ‘the vineyards of Timnah’ (v5).
The likely site of Timnah (Tel Batash) is:
‘located in the wide alluvial Sorek Valley, close to the river bed…. The valley provided sufficient fertile land, available water sources and a convenient road leading from the coastal plain into the inner Shephelah and the Judean hills; these environmental conditions were ideal for the development of an ancient settlement, although the location in the low alluvial valley lacked strategic advantages.’
Evidence of a wine press has been found on one building on this site.
(I should add that ‘The Amateur Exegete’ is no friend of ‘fundamentalist’ readings of Scripture, but maintains that this story should be doubted for the ‘right’ reasons, and especially the ‘ludicrous’ account of Samson’s strength and his finding bees and honey inside the carcass of a lion.)
He did not tell his father or mother what he had done – Neither now, nor later when he gave them some of the honey to eat, v9. Contact with a carcass was a violation of his Nazirite vow.
14:7 Samson continued on down to Timnah and spoke to the girl. In his opinion, she was just the right one. 14:8 Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to see the lion’s remains. He saw a swarm of bees in the lion’s carcass, as well as some honey. 14:9 He scooped it up with his hands and ate it as he walked along. When he returned to his father and mother, he offered them some and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had scooped the honey out of the lion’s carcass.
The celebrated Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon preached from vv8-9 on the morning of Sunday 28th January 1883. Spurgeon announced that he would not being dwelling on Samson’s character, nor the riddle he set, based on the experience recorded here. No, declares the preacher:
‘My one intention is to cheer the desponding and stir up all God’s people to greater diligence in his service. I conceive that the text may legitimately be employed for this purpose.’
In pursuance of this aim, Spurgeon directs the attention of his hearers to this picture of
‘the Israelite hero with a slain lion in the background, standing out in the open road with his hands laden with masses of honeycomb and dripping with honey, which he holds out to his parents.’
This, we are informed, may be regarded as a ‘type’ of the Lord Jesus:
‘He has destroyed the lion that roared upon us and upon him. He has shouted “victory” over all our foes. “It is finished” was his note of triumph and now he stands in the midst of his church with his hands full of sweetness and consolation, presenting them to those of whom he says, “these are my brother, and sister, and mother.” To each one of us who believe in him he gives the luscious food which he has prepared for us by the overthrow of our foes; he invites us to come and eat so that we may have our lives sweetened and our hearts filled with joy. To me the comparison seems wonderfully apt and suggestive: I see our triumphant Lord laden with sweetness, holding it out to all his brethren, and inviting them to share in his joy.’
Moreover, in this example Samson stands as a type of each and every Christian. For:
First, the believer’s life has its conflicts;
Secondly, the believer’s life has its sweets
Thirdly, the believer’s life leads him to share those sweets with others.
Such, then, are the main divisions of Spurgeon’s sermons.
I might merely complain that this is yet another example of a preacher getting the right doctrine from the wrong text.
But it suggest a further question: What sort of sermon could properly be preached from this text?
I turned to The Big Idea Companion for Preaching and Teaching. Here, chapters 14-16 are considered as a single segment.
The suggested ‘exegetical idea’ is:
‘In the end Samson was an enigmatic and tragic Israelite loner whose repeated clashes with the Philistines and eventual death as their slave resulted from his own selfish perspective and self-pleasing ways.’
The following ‘homiletical idea’ is proposed:
‘In the end Samson was an enigmatic and tragic Israelite loner whose repeated clashes with the Philistines and eventual death as their slave resulted from his own selfish perspective and self-pleasing ways.’
Although I regard the ‘Big Idea’ approach to preaching as potentially formulaic and predictable, this approach is likely to generate a sermon that is more true to the Holy Spirit’s intention in the inspired text.
I turn now to a set of sermon notes on verses 1-9 of the present chapter. The sermon is entitled, ‘All The Signs Point To Danger’.
The preacher says:
‘In our text, Samson manifests all the signs of a man who is headed for trouble in his life. Yet, he ignored every one of those signs and traveled ever farther down a road that would lead to dishonor, defeat and death. As Samson took these first steps down the road to ruin, he had no idea where his path would ultimately lead him. He had no idea how bad things would be at the end of the way. Had he heeded the signs, Samson could have avoided many of the problems he faced later in life.’
This, I think, captures the main point of the story quite well.
Here are the main points and sub-points:
1. Samson’s desires, vv1-3
(a) He desired a woman. This was a particular weakness of Samson – Judg 14:1-4; 6:1-3; 16:4-20. He lacked self-control, cf. Prov 16:32. Our spiritual problems might begin where Samson’s did, James 1:14.
(b) He desired his own way. ‘Get her for me…she’s the right one for me.’ He wouldn’t let anything get in the way – not his parents, nor God’s law (Ex. 34:16; Deut. 7:3; Josh. 23:12), nor his Nazirite vow (Judg 13:7). Let us reflect that we are not our own, we were bought with a price; and that we are Christ’s possession, 1 Cor 6:19f; Tit 2:14.
2. Samson’s disrespect, v3
(a) His parents’ charge. He fails to heed their warning. This reminds us of the responsibility of Christian parents and their children, Eph 6:4b.
(b) Samson’s choice. He didn’t listen to the voice of God, or his parents. He listened only to his own desires, ‘This is right in my eyes.’ This is evidence of a rebellious heart. Our decisions do not affect only ourselves; they affect those around us too.
3. Samson’s disobedience, vv5-9
(a) The place of his disobedience. A vineyard – but what is a Nazirite doing in a vineyard (cf. Num 6:3f)? Perhaps he thought he could resist the temptation, or that the rule didn’t apply to him. This is a warning to us to avoid places where temptation is likely to read its head, 2 Cor 6:17.
(b) The proof of his disobedience, v7. He ignores all the warning signs and goes his own way. When you do as you please, having no disregard for God, be warned! James 4:17.
(c) The power of his disobedience, vv8-9. He violated his Nazirite vow by handling a corpse, Num 6:6. His lusts and desires were too powerful for him. We, too, can suffer from seared and insensitive consciences.
(d) The price of his disobedience, vv8-9. Having touched the dead lion, he should have gone to the priest and offered sacrifices. He should have shaved his head. (Note that v4 says that these events were ‘of the Lord’. This does not exonerate Samson, but it does show that God is able to bring good out of evil). He may have thought that he could sin with impunity, but we must all face up to sin’s consequences, either in this life, Gal 6:7, or in the life to come, Rom 14:12; 2 Cor 5:10.
4. Samson’s deception
(a) The ruthlessness of his deception. He never considers the consequences of his actions, either on himself or his parents. When we sin, we pull others down with us.
(b) The reason for his deception. He hid his sin because he did not want his parents to know. He didn’t want others to intefere, or to think less of him. What secrets are we harbouring? Eventually, we become self-deceived, perhaps even taking quiet pride in our ability to hide our true selves from others. Perhaps we seek out as friends those who will tolerate or even encourage us in our sin. But see 2 Thess 3:6.
Conclusion
How different things might have been if Samson had heeded the warning signs that were placed along the way!
What warning signs do you see in your life today? What evil desires? What disrespect for authority? What bad company?
The time to change is now.
Comment
I’m not convinced that this degree of alliteration is a great idea, as it can become more important to find yet another word beginning with the letter ‘D’ than basing each point fairly and squarely on the text itself. It can also appear a bit too ‘clever’, and distract attention away from the text and towards the preacher.
I note, too, that each point and sub-point is descriptive. It simply describes the story, as it unfolds. I wonder if the preacher had considered making his sermon structure application-led?
Nevertheless, there are plenty of indications of close attention to what the text actually says. The practical applications obviously require expansion and illustration, but they do arise fairly naturally from the text.
14:10 Then Samson’s father accompanied him to Timnah for the marriage. Samson hosted a party there, for this was customary for bridegrooms to do. 14:11 When the Philistines saw he had no attendants, they gave him thirty groomsmen who kept him company.
Samson’s father accompanied him – The Heb. text says that ‘his father went down to see the woman’. The Gk. text says that it was Samson who did so. Brown thinks that this latter makes better sense and is probably the correct reading.
Samson hosted a party – Brown thinks that it is almost certain that he would have drunk alcohol and eaten unclean food at this feast, thus further violating his Nazirite vow.
14:12 Samson said to them, “I will give you a riddle. If you really can solve it during the seven days the party lasts, I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes. 14:13 But if you cannot solve it, you will give me thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes.” They said to him, “Let us hear your riddle.” 14:14 He said to them,
“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;
out of the strong one came something sweet.”
They could not solve the riddle for three days.
14:15 On the fourth day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle. If you refuse, we will burn up you and your father’s family. Did you invite us here to make us poor?” 14:16 So Samson’s bride cried on his shoulder and said, “You must hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men a riddle, but you have not told me the solution.” He said to her, “Look, I have not even told my father or mother. Do you really expect me to tell you?”
“If you refuse, we will burn up you and your father’s family” – Ironically, the she suffered the very fate she sought to avoid, Judges 15:6.
14:17 She cried on his shoulder until the party was almost over. Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much. Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle. 14:18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
He said to them,
“If you had not plowed with my heifer,
you would not have solved my riddle!”
On the seventh day, before the sun set – at the last minute, therefore.
As Brown remarks:
‘The theme of knowing/ignorance creates irony: Samson knew, and they did not; but he did not know that his wife would let them know what she knew. His name may have meant “sun,” but he was not very bright.’
14:19 The LORD’s spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and murdered thirty men. He took their clothes and gave them to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home. 14:20 Samson’s bride was then given to his best man.
Samson’s bride was then given to his best man – As Brown remarks, Samson’s abrupt departure from the wedding party would have brought disgrace to the young woman and her family. Her father quickly gives her to another man, in order to save face.