Judges Chapter 14 "God's Promise Fulfilled in Samson [1-9]." "The Feast and the Riddle, and the Wives deceit [10-20]." This Bible Study is written by Roger
Christopherson, and it's transcription is provided by theseason.org Of course this was a no-no to the children of Israel for they were not suppose to marry out of our own race. However, we have to watch what happens very closely because God is using this relationship to bring down the Philistines. This practice of messing around with foreign women was very much against God's laws, but there was a purpose for this marriage. It was here at Timnath where Judah's daughter in law went to sit in wait to induce him into a relationship. Genesis 38:12 "And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite." Genesis 38:13 "And it was told Tamar, saying, "Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to sheer his sheep." Genesis 38:14 "And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife." When Judah's first son Er, the husband of Tamar died, Tamar was expected to marry another son of Judah, and when this didn't happen she set a trap for Judah. Both Judah and Tamar were widowed, and from this trap came the marriage of Judah to Tamar. That marriage produced twins, Pharez and Zarah which became the two royal blood lines which the throne of England and all the royal bloodlines of Europe can trace their inheritance and lineage. Judges 14:2 "And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, "I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife." This was not the practice of that day, and we can see that Monoah and his wife had spoiled Samson and they gave him what he wanted. What we are looking for here is what the emotions God are, and how this works into His plan for bringing down the Philistines. Remember what the Angel of God said in Judges 13:5? "For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no rasor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." Samson's mother and father knew that Samson had a purpose for his miracle birth because the Angel of the Lord had told them personally to their face. The purpose was "to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." What better way to enter their camp and know them then to marry into that camp. God place the desire within Samson, and his parents would not stand in the way of that marriage. Judges 14:3 "Then his father and his mother said unto him, "Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my People, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?" And Samson said unto his father, "Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well." What is happening in this verse is very unlawful in God's Word and in His ways, and Samson's parents are reminding Samson of this. It is simply not lawful nor is it right to have a mixed marriage between races. The warning by God from Moses was given to the children of Israel before they entered into the promised land. Back then the land was filled with all sorts mixtures of peoples with their heathen religious practices. The one sure way for the Israelites to be snared into those heathen ways was through marriage, for it would bind God's people to these heathen ways by the covenant bond of marriage. Exodus 34:15 "Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and thy go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;" Exodus 34:16 "And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods." After Samson's father and mother warned Samson of the danger according to God's Word, Samson's response was, "Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well." God placed those burning desires in the heart of Samson for a purpose. This is not saying that the Philistines were any the worse of a people, but it was just that God did not want them mixing and allowing those religious practices to come between God and His people. Judges 14:4 "But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel." There is one thing that is very clear here, and that is that Samson's father and mother knew God's law but they could not see the hand of the Lord working in this relationship. There is nothing racial about what is happening here, for God loves all of his children alike, but God has His plan and His orders, and there was a purpose to what took place. Anytime a man and woman violate God's law on this matter there will be a great deal of trouble that is brought on their children. This is true even today, for in most cases, neither side of the family lineage comes to accept the children as one of them. The children remain outsiders within the family unit and the child suffers. God is using this love relationship between Samson and this young woman to give an opportunity for Samson to get into the Philistines' camp, and when he is accepted by them, Samson will give them a working over. Remember that the Philistines had been ruling over Israel for over sixty years. They had ruled over Israel for forty years when the Angel of the Lord appeared to Samson's mother and father to tell them of the birth of Samson, and now Samson is a grown man. When Samson is within the family of the Philistines, and he starts his war against the Philistines, then the war is within the camp of the Philistines and there is not a conflict with Israel. Remember that God knows the mind of all men even as they are thinking their thoughts. God is the one leading Samson in this marriage, so what Samson is going to do with these Philistines is a righteous thing to do. Remember that God is in control, and at that time the Israelites were so beaten down by these Philistines that they had lost their will to resist. Samson is God's one man army going to battle against an enemy of God. Samson was not afraid of the Philistines and he walked amongst them as a champion of God's people. This is why God allowed His own law of mixture of races to be broken, to allow Samson to fall in love with this Philistine woman. Judges 14:5 "Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him." Judges 14:6 "And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done." Samson killed this young lion with his bare hands like a man would kill and skin a baby goat. Samson kept it a secret. However he had a hard time holding those secrets back from his bride. Judges 14:7 "And he went down, and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well." God placed the same desire for Samson in that Philistine girl that Samson has for her. God is using this love affair and marriage to fulfill His plan. God is allowing this to happen, however we will see that this marriage will not be consummated. Judges 14:8 "And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion." So there had been some time pass since Samson has committed himself to her, and she had accepted. The first trip with Samson's mother and father was to arrange the marriage terms, and now it is time for the wedding plans itself. On his way to Timnath from Zorah of the land of the Danites, he came across the carcass of a lion, and within that carcass there was a swarm of bees and an honeycome. Judges 14:9 "And he took thereof in the hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion." Judges 14:10 "So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do." This party was given by the groom to all the young men that would be at his wedding, and all the agreements were finished for the wedding to take place. Judges 14:11 "And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him." These thirty men that came to the party to be with Samson was invited by the brides family, and this event was given in respect for Samson. In that the Philistines did not trust Samson, they were probably spies anyhow. Judges 14:12 "And Samson said unto them, "I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:" The time of the marriage feast was to last seven days, and on the first day of the wedding feast Samson gave them this riddle. Remember that on the first trip with father and mother to Timnath he had killed the lion. Later on, the second trip the carcass had decayed with a honey comb in it. That is what this riddle is all about. These "sheets" as given here is shirts in the Hebrew text, with its garments. Judges 14:13 " "But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments." and And they said unto him, "Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it." " There were thirty men here trying to out smart and out think Samson, they took Samson up on his wager. Judges 14:14 "And he said unto them, "Out of the eater came forth meat, And out of the strong came forth sweetness." And they could not in three days expound the riddle." In the riddle, the "strong" was "Samson" that ripped the lion apart, and the "eater" was "himself", while the "sweetness" was the honey that came from the comb. Once you know the story of what happened and figure out the identity of the person, the rest is simple. Judges 14:15 "And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife, "Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so?" Remember that seven is spiritual completeness in Biblical numberics. These are a nice bunch of people that Samson's family have invited to this feast of Samson's. They made a wager with Samson over the riddle and now that they cannot figure out the riddle so they are about to lose the bet. These thirty men don't like be forced to pay the thirty sets clothing to Samson. So what they have done is to threaten the bride that if she does not find out the meaning of the riddle and tell them, they will burn her father's house down, and kill all of the family. They are blaming her for their inability to figure out the riddle. Now that they have eaten the food and drank their wine for seven days, they are in a state of drunkenness. Judges 14:16 "And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, "Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told me." And he said unto her, "Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee?" Samson has not told any other soul of this riddle, so if there is a betrayal of this riddle he knows exactly where it came from. Judges 14:17 "And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people." The threat came on the first day, and here it is one week later and this time of joy has turned into terror for her and her family. It is her own people that are doing the threatening. Because over the seven days she has become so sore at him, Samson broke down and told her the meaning of the riddle. Prophetically at the end of this seventh dispensation we will have the false one [messiah] to appear here on the earth, and then also the riddle will be given. Those of the elect will appear before Satan, the "instead of Christ" and be forced to give answer to that riddle. On that final day, God's people will speak and reveal that riddle that has confused the people of Satan's system, including many Christians who have allowed themselves to be taken by the false Christ. What the elect of God shall say will be as it was on Pentecost day, as it was spoken of in the Joel 2:28-30. It will be the Spirit of God speaking through them as they speak. Joel 2:28 "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, you young men shall see visions:'' Joel 2:29 "And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My spirit."." Joel 2:30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke." The elect shall speak as the Spirit of God moves them, and the people shall hear and many shall call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. Judges 14:18 "And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, "What is sweeter then honey? And what is stronger than a lion?" And He said unto them, "If ye had not plowed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle." Samson is telling them that if they had not messed around and threatened with my bride, [heifer], you would not have known the riddle. She was the only one that he had told the riddle to. Samson knew that these men had caused his bride to betray him. Within this you can see God working, for God is causing a conflict within this marriage before it is even consummated. Though God allowed Samson and this girl to fall in love for the sake of getting Samson involved in the affairs of the Philistine community, before the marriage could take place He put a stop to it. This is no different here with Samson, than the time when Peter was going to teach Cornelius God's Word, and Cornelius was going to become a Christian. God sent a vision to Peter and in the vision, a sheet with every unclean filthy beast in it, and told him to eat. God told Peter to break the law, and then each time the sheet was lowered from heaven, God withdrew the sheet back into heaven. Acts 10:11 "And I saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:" Acts 10:12 "Wherein were all manner of four footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air." Acts 10:13 "And there came a voice to him, "Rise, Peter; kill, and eat." Here God is telling Peter to go against His Own health laws, and Peter knew it. Acts 10:14 "But Peter said, "Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean." Acts 10:15 "And the voice spake unto him again the second time..." and this dropping of the sheet with the unclean animals went on the third time, and each time that the sheet was lowered, God raised it back again to prevent Peter from taking of the unclean animals and breaking his health laws. The point that God was making here was that: "...What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." God was preparing Peter for a visit from a messenger that Cornelius had sent, to get Peter and teach him and his household how to be saved. Did Peter violate the Health laws of God? Absolutely not! When the messenger arrived Peter was ready to go and do his work for the Lord. This is the first time when salvation of Jesus Christ that was only offered only to the Jews, now became open to all the Gentiles. God was using something that went against His laws to prove a point, however He never allow Peter to follow through with that act that went against His law. That is what God is doing here with Samson as He allowed Samson to come to the point of his marriage, and then stopped the marriage from taking place. The point that God was making to Peter was that no Gentile, or non-Jew, was unclean once they receive Christ by faith, and repented of their sins in Jesus Christ's name. The point that God is using with Samson is that God will use Samson's anger and quick temper, being of the tribe of Dan, to single handedly fight the Philistines. Israel in Samson's day was as spiritually dead in seeing the truth as they are today. They were biblically illiterate when it comes to seeing the plan of God. Judges 14:19 "And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house." Because of how these men extracted the riddle out of his bride to be, Samson went down to their capital and slew thirty of their people and took their garments to pay off the wager. Samson was mad after he gave the thirty men their garments, and he went home to his father and mothers house. The marriage was not consummated. Judges 14:20 "But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend." After Samson left for home, this girl's family went on with the wedding and gave the bride to Samson's best man. This was the one man out of the thirty that Samson had chosen to be his best man. This has taken one bad situation and brought it to the next level, for when Samson heard of what had happened when he left the feast, there were many Philistines that would pay for what happened. Can you see how God is using Samson's anger to stir him to the point of going to war against these Philistines? When this gets to the point of war, the focus ins not on the Israelites, but against one man, Samson.
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