Judges 13:24-14:5 Samson Part 5

Ezekiel 20:44 could be a great cross reference for us as we study Samson. It says, “And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for my names sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the LORD God.”

Judges 13:24-14-5a says, “And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel. Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah….”

As we come to Judges 14 we would expect to read about all the good things that Samson is doing as Israel’s newest judge. We would think this because of what we read in 13:24-25: his birth was a miracle, he was raised in a godly home, God blessed Samson while he was growing up, and his heart was being stirred for the mission that God had given to him?

Despite these things, in Judges 14 we find that Samson is like so many teenagers in our day who leave home and quickly begin to be enamored with the sinful world around them. Having been enticed by these things they begin to engage in sinful things. Despite all of these gracious blessings that Samson has experienced he seems to quickly succumb to temptation and be drawn away from the LORD and His Word. (Exhortation: Young people, don’t be like Samson, but be like Joseph or Timothy.)

Judges 14 tells us that Samson leaves home and goes to Timnah where he sees a beautiful Philistine woman. When he comes back home Samson stands before his parents and demands that they get this Philistine woman for his wife. (2) Usually a child will go to one of the parents to get permission to do something questionable, but Samson boldly comes to both parents at the same time with this request. Samson asks them, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.”

 They respond by saying, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” (2)

• Question: Is this an appropriate response? No, these words will not persuade Samson, nor will it help his parents to stand strong.

• Notice: This argument is not grounded upon the Word of God! Manoah should have said, “Samson, the Word of God forbids you to do this.” (Dt.7:1-4; Exodus 34:11-16; Joshua 23:11-13) “This sin has caused problems in Israel?”(Judges 3:5-6)

• Because this response is not biblical, Samson can easily respond, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

Consider: Our LORD used the Scriptures to resist Satan’s temptation. (Luke 4:1-12) Similarly, Samson’s and his parents should be using the scriptures. Therefore, we should not be surprised when Samson says, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” Samson is committed to doing what is right in his eyes and not to obeying God’s Word.

Judges 14:5 says, “Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah…”. Manoah and his wife disobey the clear teaching in scripture and go to Timnah to help their son get married!

• Don’t we often see this happen in our day as well. Can’t you hear them trying to justify what they are doing! When this happens, the clear teaching of scripture is muddied and made confusing. {Proverbs 25:26}

When we see this happen we must ask, “How will the LORD fulfill what He promised in Judges 13:6 that Samson would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines?” Verse 4 is the divinely inspired answer to that question, “His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for He was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines.”

Let’s consider two things about the words, “His father and mother did not know…”. First, Samson’s parents are confused by what is happening. One minute their child is growing, being blessed, and his heart is being stirred for a particular calling but suddenly everything changes and they are baffled by it!

Second, these words may imply that Samson’s parents didn’t have any theological category for what they were experiencing. Life was simple yesterday, but today everything is complicated. Yesterday made sense, but today doesn’t. They’re asking, ‘How has this happened?’, ‘Where is God in all this?’, and ‘How will we ever recover from this?’

These are the first steps in a long journey to be able to say with Job, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted...I have uttered what I did not understand, things to wonderful for me, which I did not know.” (42:2-3)

Judges 14:4 provides the divinely inspired answer to these questions, “His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines.” (What does the word ‘it’ mean in this verse: this unlawful marriage, the dead lion, the honey and deception, the riddle, the killing of 30 Philistines, the giving of Samson’s wife to another man, setting fields ablaze, the killing of 1,000 Philistines, Samson’s exploits over the next 20 years, Delilah, and all the circumstances surrounding Samson’s death.)

Question: Do you have a theological category for the fact that God is sovereign over such things? Some of the most faithful men in Scripture had a theological category for these things.

• Example #1- Consider Job when he suffered. His wife and friends had no theological category to explain what Job was experiencing. His friends were convinced he had sinned. His wife said that Job should curse the LORD and die. However, Job responded, “Do we accept the good from God and not also the bad?” (Job 2:10) Job had a theological category for these things and it kept him from sinning under intense pressure.

• Example #2- Joseph had a theological category for these things. His brothers were going to kill him, they sold him into slavery, and they lied to their father about it for 20 years. Later Joseph would say to them, “What you intended for evil, God intended for good.” (Genesis 50:20)

Question: “Do you have a theological category for what Judges 14:4 says?” This verse is hard to comprehend because Samson was determined to act against God’s revealed will and his parents are helping him do it! And yet, the Holy Spirit put verse 4 here to help us understand that this ‘was from the Lord...’.

I am determined to bow my heart and mind to the sovereignty of God, but some aspects of His sovereignty are easier to understand and accept than others. For example, did you know that Judges 13 revealed God’s sovereignty but it did not catch our attention? Israel was not repenting or asking for the LORD’s help, but God acted sovereignly, without Israel’s permission, consent, agreement, sanction, or approval when He raised up a judge to begin to deliver them.

At this time, most of Israel is faithless and unbelieving. Even faithful people like Manoah and his wife are not demonstrating the biblical intentionality that is required at a time like this. Even Samson, God’s judge, is doing what is right in his own eyes! If God does not act sovereignly against the will of His people nothing is going to change in Israel. Israel is supposed to be a light to the world, but their light is growing very dim and can barely be seen.

• Is our culture is anything like Israel in Judges 13-16? If so, we need to be all the more intentional with how we live and think.

According to John 1 Jesus came to Israel when it was experiencing this same sinful unbelief, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (1:1-5, 9-13)

In Judges 13 the LORD came to a barren woman and told her that she would have a boy. This sovereign action by the LORD did not make us uncomfortable. None of us complained when we saw God’s sovereign hand implementing His will against the will of His own people. I bet we cheered Him on! We did not question whether God could do this or not. But in Judges 14:4 we may find ourselves struggling to understand and be tempted to skip, ignore, or try to explain this mystery away.

I don’t want to do this because I think this is a very important verse. Please allow me to read a statement from the Baptist Confession. As I do, ask yourself this question, “Do I have a theological category for what is being said in this statement?”

These words come from 6.3 entitled, ‘The Fall Of Mankind, And Sin And It’s Punishment’, “God created humanity upright and perfect. He gave them a righteous law that would have led to life if they had kept it but threatened death if they broke it. Yet they did not remain for long in this position of honor. Satan used the craftiness of the serpent to seduce Eve, who then seduced Adam. Adam acted without any outside compulsion and deliberately transgressed the law of their creation and command given to them by eating the forbidden fruit.”

Is there anything controversial in that statement? Is there anything there that makes you uncomfortable? I don’t think we have a problem with these words. We have a theological category for the fact that Satan deceived and Adam sinned and this resulted in great calamity, great suffering, great darkness, great misery. However, this paragraph does not end with those words. It goes on to say, “God was pleased, in keeping with His wise and holy counsel, to permit this act, because He had purposed to direct it for His own glory.” This statement has just opened up a can of worms!

Let us also consider 3.1 which states, “From all eternity God decreed everything that occurs, without reference to anything outside Himself. He did this by the perfectly wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably. Yet God did this in such a way that He is neither the author of sin nor has fellowship with any in their sin. This decree does not violate the will of the creature or take away the free working or contingency of second causes. On the contrary, these are established by God’s decree. In this decree God’s wisdom is displayed in directing all things, and His power and faithfulness are demonstrated in accomplishing His decree.”

Now consider God’s Providence in 5.1 which says, “God the good creator of all things, in His infinite power and wisdom, upholds, directs, arranges and governs all creatures and things, from the greatest to the least, by His perfectly wise and holy providence, to the purpose for which they were created. He governs according to His infallible foreknowledge and the free and unchangeable counsel of His own will. His providence leads to the to the praise of His glory wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness and mercy.”

I am glad that the Baptist Confession addresses these things. It would have been easy for them to have left these controversial things out. However, if they had done this these statements would not have been complete and all that useful to us in this sinful world. They would have been like Samson’s parents in Judges 14:1-5.

We need to appreciate Judges 14:4 because we are in a sinful world and surrounded by hurting people who need to understand that God is working out his purposes through all these things. God does not sin, He does not tempt anyone to sin, but He is sovereignly upholding, directing, arranging, and governing everything according to His own good pleasure.

Recently, I talked to someone who was bitter with God. He angrily said to me, “If God is all-powerful, then why did He allow these horrible things to happen to me? If God is love, why didn’t He stop these things from happening? I did not ask to be brought into this terrible world so I owe Him nothing!”

After this particularly hard conversation I was encouraged by Jesus in my devotions the next day when Jesus said to the rich young ruler, “There is no one good but God.” (Mark 10:18) Here is a gospel fact, “In this dark, sinful, miserable, and groaning world there is only One Who is good. The Sovereign LORD and He is very good!” There is great suffering and injustice in the world; and yet, God has not left us alone in these things. He is good and His goodness is always working out His gracious will.

Consideration: The ministers who wrote the Baptist Confession considered these things and they did not shrink back from these truths in scripture. They considered these things and did not complain and murmur against God. They considered these things and bowed their hearts and knees to these truths. As a result, they were compelled to praise the LORD and declare that He is good even as some were martyred!

• I wonder, what is it in us that resists these truths which keeps us from responding as these men did?

• I wonder, why were these ‘high mysteries’ important to these men, but like Manoah and his wife, many of us may not have a theological category for these things and think that we are better off without contemplating these divine truths?

Today we have been challenged to see that God manages the sin that goes on all around us for His glory. We might ask, “Is this a license to go and out and sin like Samson?” Should anyone leave here today and sin and then blame God for the way He is managing things!? No, Samson shows us that sin is our greatest danger and it leads to disastrous consequences. We ought to flee from sin. Those whose life is characterized by sin will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-23)

We have not only been challenged, but we have been invited to worship God for His sovereign reign over all things. We read in 5.1 of the Baptist Confession these words, “His providence leads to the praise of His glory wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness and mercy.” Notice how they stressed God’s goodness by saying, ‘infinite goodness’.

Let the fool and faithless person be angry with God for these things, but let us praise the LORD. Let the faithless man question God’s eternal decree, His providence, and His sovereinty over all things, but let the faithful people praise Him for His power, wisdom, justice, goodness, and mercy.

The LORD is not a deistic God who created all things and left it to itself. He is not a God who shrinks back from the impossible challenge that this sinful world puts forward. Oh, how terrible that would be! No, the LORD is worthy of our PRAISE for saving us! No, our LORD says in Ezekiel 20:44, “And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for my names sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the LORD God.”