Judges 13-14
This chapter starts out the same as many of the other
chapters we have gone through in Judges.
However, there are differences.
It never says that Israel cried out to God when they were in bondage to
the Philistines for 40 years. We know that
the Philistines were an aggressive people but also were an innovative people in
the use of iron and the Israelites would go to the Philistines and ask for help
with their tools for sharpening and repairing. However, the Philistines were known to thwart
the advancement of the Israelites as a nation.
The Philistines weren’t defeated until the time of Samuel.
So as I said the Israelites never cried out to God but God
had a plan and He was going to use a man that wasn’t even born yet. An Angel of the Lord (known to be the
preincarnate Jesus) appeared to a couple who couldn’t have children. He told them that they would conceive a son
but there were some requirements they had to abide by. Mrs. Manoah wasn’t allowed to drink wine or
eat anything unclean. She also told that
her son would be a Nazirite from the time of birth and this was a lifelong
commitment. He would be set apart from
birth and begin the rescue of the Israelites from the hands of the
Philistines. However, because we have
the benefit of history we know that Samson only started the deliverance and
didn’t complete it.
Mrs. Manoah went to her husband and said that she had been
visited by a man of God and told him the story of what the Angel had said. Manoah was also visited by the Angel after
asking God. It says in verse 9 that God
heard Manoah and granted him some face to face time but notice he appeared to
the his wife first. The Angel of the
Lord told the same story to Manoah.
Hospitality was important in this culture and we see Manoah
offering hospitality but the Angel of the Lord refused. He told them to prepare a burnt offering and
to offer it to the Lord. It seems like
the Angel of the Lord was progressively revealing to Manoah and his wife as to
who He was. He does a dramatic ascension
into Heaven and Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground in awe
of what had taken place. After some time
they realized whose presence they had been in and Manoah thought they were
going to die. It was known that if you
saw God then you would surely die.
However, his wife was a bit more rational and logical and told her
husband why they would be spared.
So Mrs. Manoah gave birth to a boy at the appointed time and
he was to be named Samson. His name
meant little sun or brightness. Names
had significance in this time also and I am sure that he was like a little
sunshine to his parents especially when they thought they couldn’t have
children. It says that Samson grew and
the Lord blessed him and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him (v25).
We see some of Samson’s character right from the beginning
in chapter 14. Unfortunately, it is not
positive. We believe he was brought up
in a Godly home despite the oppression his people were under by the
Philistines. However, he dishonoured his
parents and sought a wife from the Philistines.
This was contrary to God’s law and was, I am sure, very disappointing
for his parents. Samson went with how he
felt at the time. If he liked what he
saw he went after it. He was living by
sight and not by faith. As one Pastor
(Weirsbe) put it he was controlled by his eyes.
He was like a young person who just wanted to have fun and didn’t think
about the consequences of his actions to himself or those around him.
In this chapter Samson broke his Nazirite vow as well as
marrying an unbelieving woman. We don’t
know what Samson’s parents spiritual lives were like before they encountered
the Angel of the Lord but we do know that that after they met with Him they
were willing to be obedient and do what He said. This, however, did not rub off on Samson. Samson was a law unto himself. He was a leader who was destined to be part
of Israel’s deliverance but he didn’t have people around him to help. He didn’t respect his parents and so he did
whatever pleased him which was usually the wrong thing. We learn a lesson of caution here. When we isolate ourselves or don’t have
people speaking into our lives it is very easy then to do the wrong thing. In our heads we can make something sound
really good but in reality it is not and can bring us harm.
Samson, it seemed was used to getting his own way. In 14:3 Samson not only sees a Philistine
woman that he wants but gets his father to do the work for him. His parents tried to advise him against it
but he pays no attention.
Remember, Samson was a Nazirite which meant he wasn’t allowed to drink
alcohol, grape juice, eat grapes or raisins.
He also must never shave his hair or go near a dead body. (Numbers
6). As I said earlier Samson breaks
two of the vows in this chapter.
What does 1
John 2:16 say about this:-
"For everything
in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life--comes not from the Father but from the world".
We read of Samson‘s amazing physical strength in verse 6 when
he tore a lion apart. That must have
been quite the sight and also must have amazed Samson. That is not something you can just do in human
strength. We know from v6 that the
Spirit of the Lord had come upon him and that the strength came from the
Lord. However, like we talked about last
week just because we have the Holy Spirit in us doesn’t mean we choose to be
obedient. Also sometimes what He
empowers us with we use for the wrong reasons. The HS guides, counsels, and teaches us but
we still need to choose to be obedient.
Samson went down
and talked to the Philistine woman and he liked her. After a while he went back to marry her. He also took honey from the carcass of the
dead lion which meant he compromised his vow.
Notice he didn’t tell his parents where the honey came from. He knew he was being disobedient.
Samson continued
in his disobedience by organising a feast.
Literally this was a drinking feast.
There would be a lot of wine at this party. It doesn’t say that Samson took the wine but
he sure put himself in a compromising situation. Notice that he was given 30 companions. It doesn’t seem that he had any friends. You would think that at his wedding he would
invite friends but here we see him given companions.
Samson goes on to
giving a challenge or a bet by sharing a riddle that they are supposed to decipher. If they do then they will receive 30 linen
garments and 30 sets of clothes.
However, they
have difficulty in deciphering it so they try to get the answer through
Samson’s wife. Notice the pressure she
is under. If she doesn’t tell them then
they will burn her father’s household to death.
Wow that is some pressure.
Samson’s wife is
caught between a rock and a hard place.
His wife throws herself on him and sobs and then uses emotional
blackmail….”you hate me, you don’t really love me, you have given my people a
riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer”.
Samson explains
that even his parents don’t know the answer but she continues to cry for 7
whole days. Can you imagine living with
someone like that? Eventually after the
7th day he gives in and tells her because he can’t stand all the
emotion. Sometimes women know how to
crack their husbands and manipulate what they want. As one pastor put it they get what they want
in the short term but in the long term their relationship suffers. It is not worth it. Samson’s wife was about to find that out.
Mrs. Samson told
her people the answer to the riddle so her people might be spared. Notice Samson’s response to the people when
they come with the answer.
“If you had not plowed with my
heifer, You would not have solved my riddle” (14:18b)
I wonder how Mrs. Samson felt being likened to a heifer, a
young cow. How would you respond if you
were newly married and your husband called you a cow? What a great way to start a new marriage.
This is how one Pastor put it: -
Samson's
use of this proverb shows the anger and bitterness he felt at being
manipulated. Samson's wife "won" what she wanted through
manipulation, but she lost her husband's heart.
i. When a
man gives in to his wife's manipulations so as to keep peace, it almost always
builds anger and resentment in the man - and guilt in the woman for what she
did. The way of manipulation is tempting (because it works), but always brings
real destruction.
In v19 we see
that the spirt of the Lord came upon him again, but this time in power also. Wow, it sounds enough when the spirit of the
Lord comes upon us but in power also.
Watch out!!!
Samson’s anger
was turned upon the Philistines. Whether
we agree with Samson’s anger or not we know God used it against the enemy. The debt he owed was paid. God is sovereign and His ways will be
accomplished whether we are obedient or not but there is consequences for our
disobedience.
Samson’s marriage
was over before it had begun. There
seemed to be no coming back for them and she ended up in a new marriage. I wonder how that marriage went. It is not like all the baggage she had with
Samson just went away when she married someone else. She would take that baggage into the next
marriage. Would she use manipulation and
blackmail with him too?
Some of you today
are not married and think that this part of the story is not for you however,
how do you deal with problems in friendships or in other relationships? Do you use manipulation or blackmail to get
what you want? Do you walk over people
to achieve your goal? Something for all
of us to think about.
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