The Story of Samson Part 2

Judges 14:1-23; 15:1-20

Part 2:

Samson takes a wife

Samson grew and the Lord blessed him. One day he went to the city of Timnah, there he saw a Philistine woman. He fell in love with this woman and told his father and mother, “I have seen a woman, a daughter of the Philistines. I want you to get her for me to wife.”

His father and mother replied, “Is there not a woman of our own people that you can take for a wife? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get one?”

But Samson was not to be moved, he said, “She pleases me, get her for me.”

So Samson, along with his father and mother went to Timnah. Samson turned into the way of the vineyards and there he was attacked by a lion! The young lion roared against him, and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon Samson, and he tore the lion to pieces with just his bare hands. Afterwards he told no one what he had done, not even his father and mother.

Samson went on to visit with the Philistine woman and he was well pleased with her. After a time he returned to take her and again he turned into the way of the vineyards and saw the dead decaying body of the lion. And looking he saw a swarm of bees and honey in the dead body of the lion. He took some of the honey in his hands and went on his way eating. Later he came upon his father and mother and gave them some to eat also. But Samson didn’t tell them the honey came from the dead body of a lion.

When preparing for the wedding feast a group of Philistine men, who apparently wanted to cause trouble, came to Samson. Samson proposed a challenge to them. He gave them a riddle that they had to answer within the week of the feast. If they answered correctly he would give sheets and clothing for each of the thirty men. But if they could not declare the riddle then they would give him thirty sheets and thirty garments.

They said unto Samson, “Give us your riddle so that we may hear it.” And Samson put forth the riddle, “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.”

For three days the Philistine men were not able to answer the riddle on their own. And it came to pass on the fourth day that they went to Samson’s wife and threaten, “Entice your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s house to death.”

Then Samson’s wife threw herself on him, weeping, “You hate me! You don’t really love me. You’ve given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.”

“I haven’t even explained it to my father and mother,” he replied, “so why should I explain it to you?”

She cried the whole seven days of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her because she wore him down. She then went and told the riddle to the Philistine men.

And on the seventh day before the sun went down the Philistine men answered Samson’s riddle with, “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?”

Samson said to them, “If you had not threatened my wife, you would not have solved my riddle.”

Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson and he went into Ashkelon, and killed thirty of their men. He stripped them of their clothing and gave them to the Philistine men that solved the riddle.

Burning with anger Samson returned to his father’s house. But his wife was given to his companion, whom he had use as a friend at the wedding feast.

After a time, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said to her father, “I’m going to my wife’s room.” But her father would not let him go in.

“I was sure you hated her,” he said, “that I gave her to your companion. Look, is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.”

Samson was angry and said, “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines. I will truly harm them.”

Samson went out and caught 300 foxes and tied them together by their tails. He then torched their tails with fire and set them loose in the fields of the Philistines to burn their grain, vineyards, and olive groves.

When the Philistines asked, “Who did this?” they were told, “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his companion.”

So the Philistines went and burned up the father and his young daughter to death. Samson said to them, “Since you’ve acted like this, I swear that I won’t stop until I get my revenge on you.” Then he went down and stayed in a cave.

The Philistines went and camped in Judah. The people in Judah asked, “Why have you come to fight us?”

“We have come to take Samson prisoner,” they answered, “to do to him as he did to us.”

Then three thousand men from Judah went to the cave and said to Samson, “Do you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?”

He told them, “I only did to them what they did to me.”

They said to him, “We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said, “Swear to me that you won’t kill me yourselves.”

They answered, “We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.”

So they bound him up with two new ropes and led him from the cave. As he approached the Philistines they came toward him shouting.

The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson and the ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands.

Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men. Samson then made a riddle and threw aside the jawbone.

Afterwards he was so thirsty that he thought he was to the point of dying and he called out to the Lord, “You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”

God then opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. Samson drank and his strength returned.

Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

This story begins with a violation of God’s law. Samson wants to marry a Philistine woman despite his parent’s protests and in violation of God’s law about intermarriage with pagans.

Although Scripture does not indicate whether Samson drank wine or strong drink, you have to wonder why he went into the vineyard where he was attacked by a lion and you have to wonder if this is the reason he didn’t tell his parents about the incident.

When Samson came back by the carcass of the lion, it was filled with honey, which he ate. This was a clear violation of the second part of the Nazarite’s law in Numbers 6:6 which states, “throughout the period of his separation to the Lord he must not go near a dead body.” Samson seem to know he was doing wrong because when he gave the honey to his parents to eat, he purposely did not tell them where it came from.

Samson willingly went into situations that led to sin, but each time, God used him for His glory. God created Samson to “begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines.” Even sinful men cannot prevent God’s will.