In the previous writings, we talked about Jesus’ foundation for marriage. And we look at one such marriage with SAMSON. Mene Mene Teke uparsin is the phrase from Daniel which points to the weight of ones/our sins being weighed, counted as the economist would say reaching a time to maturity, and then being judged (found wanting or not). In Judges 14:4-5, we see samson has a wife (a betrothed) whom it was written:
3 His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?”
But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” 4 (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)
God allowed samson to fall in love his wife (not Delilah), who was a philistine, so he could seek an occasion to confront the philistines. But his parents did not accept this as they did not know it was the will of God. Therefore, Samson started to see his wife (an unnamed woman not delilah), whom his parents did not have a liking to. On a trip with his parent he killed a lion, and wanted to use the skin of the lion as a reward for his wife by giving them(the Phillistine) a riddle to solve in 7 days; when his wife(his betrothed) understood they-the Phillistine could not solve the riddle, she cried for 7 days and continued to press Samson to tell her, which of course he did.
Notice God will as we mentioned in the kingdom of God series of Matthew 19: was that samson would confront the philistines using his wife. Not fight or anything, just confront, which he was already doing.
Back to the scripture: When Samson, would go to Ashkelon to fight, at this point, his father and mother gave his wife(not delilah) to Samsons companion.
1st mistake: A betrothed woman was given to another man (possibly adultery).
Chapter 15: Samson returns and begins to look for his wife and his father and mother knowing what they did began to ask samson if he was angry, they gave out his wife to his companion, suggesting samson take the MORE attractive looking younger sister.
Findings:
Much of Samsons problem started with his parents.
1) He was to leave mother and father to be joined to his wife.
2) Judges 14 vs 4 God had made samson take liking to the phillistine, so his will would be done but his parent had no understanding of this.
3) The parents made it worse by giving samsons wife (not delilah) to samsons companion. Yet the samson still feeling she was the right one for him could not stop,
Hence, in anger samson used foxes to burn up the farms and houses of the phillistine. This was no longer a confrontation it was an attack. God asked samson to confront the phillistine and his allibi was to be his wife attacking them was not in Gods plan for samson.
Deduction:
Samson refused to see his parent part in what happened to him. The phillistine only accepted the person who came for his wife.
In Judges 15 vs 6, when samson burned up the phillistine farmland and houses, the phillistine would avenge by burning up his wife and her father to death. What was to be a simple confrontation resulted in this.
And Samson entered RAGE mode ( anger + revenge), and wanted to kill all the phillistine claiming he had killed 1,000 men. The men of Judah had to step to capture samson from making worse mistakes. why?
1) The men of Judah understood, God will better, they knew the phillistine were rulers over them – see Judges 15 vs 11.
2) No one opposed the authority given from God.
The men of Judah suppressed samson with 2 ropes, but when the spirit of Elohim entered samson again, he broke the ropes and used donkeys jaw bone to kill 1,000 phillistine.
For 20 years, Samson troubled the phillistine (whether it was because his soul was troubled and could not find rest, one things for sure, bitterness and anger grew from the death of his wife). In Chapter 16, we see samson spending a night with a prostitute, (as the bible called it under the law, fornication or eating unclean things). It showed samson already had ungodly desires which further made him accessible to the phillistine, this why oppression for 20 years made the phillistine use delilah (deception against him).
Excerpts
Samson did not get blind when he was captured, he was already blind when he decided to REVENGE, God help us, else, he would not have been succeptible to deception, if he had forgiven them.
God will for Samson was to confront them, he had not yet told samson to attack them.
It is important that parents know the will of God, for their childrens life not merely theirs.
Vengeance is mine saith the Lord, I will repay. To avenge oneself is to make one blind to their own faults as with samson and this gives a breeding ground to unclean spirit, hence samsons desires became ungodly, then he started going after prostitutes and thus delilah finally led him to his final blindness.
Much of samsons problems started with his parents, but he tried to put all the blame on the philistines, leading to the death of his wife.
Harmless as a dove, sometimes God wants us to be harmless as a dove. So, he can be our strength, the giver of strength is the lord. SAMSON used his strength to pull down the Phillistine than confront first, them as God intended.
May God help us take away every root of sin in our lives, so when we are weighed, counted and judged we won’t be found wanting.
