CHAPTER 14

(1141 B.C.)

SAMSON

¹And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.

²And 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. (Samsons history illustrates the tendency of the Christian to fall at any moment from the position of whole-hearted separation unto God into all that in which the world finds its joy and strength. We find here that while God made use of Samsons marriage to a Philistine in order to punish that people, still, that did not excuse Samsons folly and disobedience. The Law of God said that there was to be no marriage with the heathen; therefore, had he yielded himself unto God, and his members as instruments of righteousness [Rom. 6:13], how much greater and more glorious would have been the victories granted to him!)

³Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you go to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleases me well.

⁴But 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. (Concerning this, Williams says, The depths of Satan may be recognized in his action toward Israel in connection with the Philistines. The other nations mightily oppressed Israel, but it is not stated that the Philistines did so. They simply ruled Israel; and so insensible had Israel become to slavery that they accepted this yoke. This is the sad history of many a Christian life. Bondage to some inward form of evil is submitted to, its rule accepted, and spiritual insensibility results.

Satan, therefore, introduced this new form of rule and bondage as distinct from the former violence and cruelty; and Samsons countrymen were satisfied with it. He, therefore, could not get them to join him in a general revolt, as was the case with former Judges; and, therefore, it was necessary that a private cause of quarrel should arise. Samsons proposed marriage furnished such an occasion, and God used it to that end.)

SAMSON AND THE LION

⁵Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath (in a sense, the vineyards typify the Fruit of the Spirit): and, behold, a young lion roared against him (Satan, as a roaring lion, seeks to stop the spiritual progress of the Child of God [I Pet. 5:8]).

⁶And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he (Samson) rent him as he would have rent a kid (small lamb), and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done (the Spirit of the Lord enabled him to kill this lion with his bare hands).

⁷And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.

⁸And after a time he returned to take her (possibly several weeks), and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion (the honey represents here the Blessings of the Lord, which come to us in respect to the defeat of Satan, which we accomplish by our Faith; however, it must be Faith in Christ and the Cross; so, if the Believer walks after the Spirit [Rom. 8:1-2], Satan will be defeated, and his attack turned into blessing).

⁹And he took thereof (the honey) in his 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 carcass of the lion (in other words, the Spirit of the Lord had begun His glorious work in the life of Samson, and did so by strengthening him to such an extent that he could kill a lion with his bare hands, which typified Christ overcoming the powers of darkness, and bringing about the sweet results of victory; victory, incidentally, which is ours, because we are in Him [Jn. 14:20]).

THE FEAST AND THE RIDDLE

¹⁰So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do (to celebrate the wedding).

¹¹And it came to pass, when they (the Philistines) saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him (indicating that Samsons family was one of wealth and position).

¹²And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if you can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets (shirts) and thirty change of garments:

¹³But if you cannot declare it me, then shall you give me thirty sheets (shirts) and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth your riddle, that we may hear it (riddles and their interpretation were a favorite form of entertainment at that particular time).

¹⁴And 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 effect, he was telling the Philistines that the Spirit of the Lord had already begun to come upon him, which began with the killing of the lion, which was a type of Satan and the Philistines; the resultant honey was the sweetness that would come forth from this great deliverance; however, the Philistines, of course, had no idea as to what he meant).

SAMSONS WIFE

¹⁵And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samsons wife, Entice your husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn you and your fathers house with fire: have you called us to take that we have? is it not so? (In other words, were not giving this Israelite anything.)

¹⁶And Samsons wife wept before him, and said, You do but hate me, and love me not: you have put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and have not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it you?

¹⁷And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted (trying to get him to relate to her the answer to the riddle): 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.

¹⁸And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If you had not plowed with my heifer, you had not found out my riddle (Samson knew that his wife had told them the answer).

SAMSONS VENGEANCE

¹⁹And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and killed 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 fathers house. (The Philistines would find the answer to the riddle, but they as of yet had no idea as to who exactly Samson was, nor the damage he would do to them.)

²⁰But Samsons wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend. (So he was betrayed on all counts: by the Philistines, typifying the world; by his wife, typifying companionship with the world; and by his friend, typifying an unholy alliance.)