Judges Chapter 14
The Philistines had been oppressing the Israelites for 40 years now. This issue had not escaped God’s eyes. We do not read of the people crying out to God to rescue them this time. Perhaps individuals did, but not the nation as a whole. God in His compassion acted to end the oppression. His Spirit was on Samson, a man God had purposed to bring about the end of the oppression of the heathen Philistines. Samson had been born to be the hero leader to rescue Israel from the grip of the Philistines. Judges 13:5 No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.
Samson was still a man, still human, and still had a free will. Humans are free to make their own choices even when called to do great things for God. What we will find as we read about the life of Samson is that he made some poor choices. Despite his poor choices God was going to complete His plan. Sadly, Samson would experience pain because of the poor choices he made such as choosing to marry a Philistine woman. He knew that it was not what God wanted, but he had allowed romantic feelings to dominate, and he demanded his own will over God’s.
Let's Reflect
1. In arranging this marriage request for his son, Manoah was going to have to have dealings with the Philistines, a people who were wicked, uncircumcised, and had been cruel to Israel. What was Samson’s response to his father’s request to reconsider this decision?
2. According to verse 4 we learn that God was going to work to accomplish His purpose despite the poor choice that Samson was making. God had given the land to Israel as their inheritance from Him, but what was happening?
3. We learned in the previous chapter that God blessed Samson and that His Spirit came upon Him. Part of the blessing Samson received of the LORD was incredible strength. What did Samson kill with his bare hands on his way down to Timnah?
4. His parents must have been ahead of him as they walked through this grapevine field on their way to Timnah because he didn’t tell them about what he had just killed. It may be that his parents were in the presence of the woman he wanted to marry, and her parents and he didn’t want his story to distract from his desire to have this Philistine woman. An agreement was apparently made because Samson would be coming back to consummate the marriage and then a feast or party would take place. How long did the feast last? This was a drinking party to be sure, and we don’t know whether Samson broke his Nazarite vow or not, but he would certainly have been tempted.
5. On the day Samson was walking to Timnah to take his bride he saw something inside the dead carcass of the animal he had killed. What was it? Touching anything dead would mean he was breaking his Nazarite vow.
6. To make sure there were wedding guests on the groom’s side, Samson was provided with how many companions?
7. Samson proposed a riddle at his wedding feast and his new wife used manipulation to get the answer to the riddle out of him. She had been threatened by her own people to get the answer for them. What was the threat?
8. Samson of course knew that his wife had given them the answer to the riddle. He said as much when he quoted a proverb. To fulfill the deal, Samson killed 30 Philistine men to retrieve garments to give to the Philistine men at his feast. The Bible says that he was angry. I think it means that he and his new wife had a big argument, because Samson went back to his parent’s home to cool off. What happened then to Samson’s wife after he left?
9. Do you think she may have told her father things that made him think that Samson was never returning?
