Since I am not covering all the life of Samson today, the cyclical pattern of his life will be seen as incomplete today and completed tomorrow.
- Relapse: The people did evil in the eyes of God
- Retribution: the Philistines ruled over the Israelites for 40 years
- Repentance: Manoah and his wife called out to God for a child. God gave them Samson
Samson takes more space in the book of Judges than any other judge. He is mentioned only in 1 Samuel 12 and Hebrews 11 after chapter 16 of Judges. For a man of such importance and great life lessons it seems odd that he is not even used as an example of what happens when syncretism pervades a person’s life.
Here is a map to help see where the Judges ruled.
Under Jephthah the Israelites had six years of peace. Then came forty years of oppression at the hands of the Philistines. God appointed these people to rule over His people as disciplinarians. If we remember, God allowed the Israelites not to destroy all the people just for this purpose.
When the Old Testament mentions “the angel of the Lord,” as it does here, it is referring to a pre-incarnation of Christ. This is called a Christophany. Read verses 15-23 to see this played out, remembering that only God is to be worshiped and only God’s name is too wonderful. The angel of the Lord informs a barren woman that she will have a son and he should be separated or made holy (a nazarite) to God who will be raised for a specific purpose and that is to deliver Israel from th hand of the Philistines. Wouldn’t it be great if God did this for every mother? He does, but not so specifically. He tells us that we are made to bring Him glory, to choose to let His light shine through us so others will know Him better. Very great calling. How are you doing in your area of influence?
When Manoah, the husband, asks the angel of the Lord what to do, He gives a simple command: don’t drink alcohol and to watch what she eats. I know I would want to know what to do and would question the simplicity of this command. I would question why the command God gave was so basic. We do this today, don’t we? God commands us to read the Word and pray to grow closer to Him. We feel there must be more that we need to do to accomplish fellowship with Him. He tells us that belief in His Son is all that is needed for salvation and the works will follow because we are in His Word and in prayer [in fellowship with Him]. We seem to think we must do something else to be saved (the basis for many cults in this world) or that we must do something beyond what He has done to “keep” ourselves saved when it is He who does all this. Oh, that we were like Manoah and his wife and believe the simplicity of the commands of God.
The story continues in Judges 14 with Samson getting married to a non-Israelite. At first it appears as though Samson is spoiled and demanding. However, we read that God placed this act in the heart of Samson as a pretext to begin the destruction of the Philistines through Samson. In doing this Samson breaks many laws found in the Torah. He marries outside his nation, he touches a carcass, and he eats food from the dead carcass. There are probably more, but I just haven’t seen them yet.
All seems fine until he starts partying too much at the wedding. Is he drunk or what possesses him to make such a wager? Remember, he is not to drink alcohol either for he is a Nazarite. His riddle is good and he is right that no one should have known the answer. The result is the deliverance from the Philistines begins. Samson goes to a nearby Philistine town and kills the inhabitants, takes their clothes, and gives it to the inhabitants of Timnah.
Because his wife proved unfaithful in his eyes, he left her and his best man married her. This will play out in the next chapters.
Sometimes we are called to do strange things that God has called us to do. None of the things Samson was called to do were immoral. They broke ceremonial laws but not moral laws. When God asks us to do things, it will be within His moral laws. We will be mocked and ridiculed by our own group of friends or family because they may see that we are breaking their moral code. We need to realize that we need to obey Him and His Word not that of those around us.