Judges 14:2-3 (NKJV) 2 So he went up and told his father and mother, saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.” 3 Then his father and mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she pleases me well.”
This week we are looking at one of the most interesting characters in the Bible. He is listed in Hebrews 11 as one of the heroes of faith. He is one of the judges of Israel in the book of judges. He is a favorite of little boys in Sunday school because he is like a super hero. He possesses supernatural strength when the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him.
He is probably the person with the most obvious personal gift in the bible. His mind-boggling strength is something that everyone can see. Nevertheless, although the bible portrays him as a hero in many ways, there are significant flaws in his character. I believe these flaws keep him from being more in the Lord and doing more for his people than he actually did. God spoke to his parents and said he would begin to deliver Israel. I cannot help but wonder if his character had matched his gifts if he would have done more.
As we study this powerful man, what we will see is that his personal gift enabled him to do astounding things. We will also find that his personal character corrupted the gift and finally destroyed him. Many people in the book of judges had less to work with than Samson had and did much more for their people and for the Kingdom of God. We need to realize that what is good in Samson’s life is something he has little control over. God gave him astounding strength and as long as he did not cut his hair, that gift was available. However, his lack of relationship to God and Godly character eventually robbed him of his gift. We must not let the same thing happen to us.
We looked at today’s scripture in yesterdays post and found the first of many troubling tendencies. Samson continually went places he should not go. He was a friend of the world. Because he went to the Philistine city of Timnah, he sees a woman that pleases him. She is not an Israelite. God has warned Israel repeatedly about marrying outside of their covenant with him. Samson does not care. He likes her. He wants her and he asks his parents to get her. He is a friend of the world and he does not regard the Word or the will of God.
We see another character flaw in Samson’s life in his exchange with his parents. We see no respect for the authority of his parents over him. Samson seems to think he is above such respect. They plead with him to find a wife amongst his own people. He tells them to mind their own business and get him what he wants. This disregard for authority will also follow Samson through his life.
I have seen many good people who allowed the strength of their gift to cause them to think they were above counsel. No matter how gifted we may be, we still need to be accountable. We still need to realize that there are people wiser than we are. When any one of us comes to the place that we think we do not need to listen we are in danger. There is no evidence in Samson’s life of a willingness to be taught or of humility. We must not allow that in our lives.
The next event in Samson’s life is one of the more interesting stories in the bible. Samson is on his way to see this woman with his parents. A lion comes upon him on the way and Samson kills the lion with his bare hands. No one sees him. Later, as he is returning to Timnah he sees that bees have nested in the carcass. He takes some honey from the bees, eats himself and shares with his parents. No one knows where the honey came from or what Samson had done to the lion.
During his wedding feast, Samson proposes a riddle to his Philistine guests.
Judges 14:14 (NKJV) 14 So he said to them: “Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet.” Now for three days they could not explain the riddle.
He bets them they cannot figure out what the riddle means. If they do, he will give them 30 changes of cloths. If they cannot explain it within the 7-day feast, they must provide him with 30 changes of cloths. What is behind Samson’s proposal?
As with many things in the life of Samson, God uses this to bring judgment on the Philistines. Nevertheless, when we look at Samson’s motivation we see some problems. There is no concern for God or for God’s people in Samson. He knows that there is no way that any of them could know the answer. In essence, he is cheating them. Once again, we see Samson’s tendency toward selfishness. I am not sure I have 30 changes of clothing. I imagine that this was a huge bet in Samson’s day. He sees “easy money” and he has no problem taking advantage of his wife’s people to get it.
The young men go to Samson’s bride and tell her that if she does not get the answer out of Samson they will burn her family home. She uses her tears and manipulation to pressure Samson. “You don’t really love me. You are keeping secrets from me.” Samson refuses for 6 of the 7 days, but in the end he gives in to his wife and tells her about the lion and the honey.
When they come together with the rest of the people, the young men have the answer to Samson’s riddle. He knows that the only way they could have gotten it was from his wife because she is the only other soul who knew. He accuses them of cheating and kills 30 innocent men to get the clothes to settle his bet. He leaves his new wife and goes back to his own land.
Obviously, Samson is selfish. He does not care about his new wife or her family. He wants what he wants and will do anything to get it. At this point in his life, God is using this weakness. I suppose we could take encouragement from the fact that God can use us in weakness, but I would rather learn why he was weak. We cannot serve the purposes of God in selfishness. Christianity cannot be lived correctly from selfish motivation. We cannot be all The Lord wants us to be if we let selfishness us.
We see one other weakness here. Samson likes women. They easily manipulate him. There is nothing graphic in the description of his weakness for women, but there was certainly a sexual component. This weakness also stays with him. In the end, it leads to his downfall.
We must realize that all of us have things that we are subject to. Our flesh likes what it likes. Your weakness may not be sexual. It may be in some other area but if it is not dealt with it will become an open door for the devil that will hinder you from accomplishing the will of God. You may get away with yielding to the flesh for many years as Samson did. Eventually the devil will use this weakness against you.
The bible tells us to cleanse ourselves from the filthiness of the flesh and the spirit. (2 Corinthians 7:1) We cannot allow the things that our flesh wants to become a problem in our spirit. If we do not recognize, acknowledge and confess our weaknesses they will eventually produce bad things in our lives. Samson’s selfishness and pride would not let him do that. He was strong. God anointed him. He did not need to listen to anyone else and since he was so gifted, he must be all right. In the end, these things destroyed him. Do not let them destroy you.
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