Judges 13-15    Listen

Judge #12, Samson - Look at the hair on that baby! (Judges 13)

1 Again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
2 ¶ Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children.
3 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.
4 Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean.
5 For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”
6 ¶ So the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name.
7 And He said to me, “Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”
8 ¶ Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, “O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.”
9 ¶ And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her.
10 Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!”
11 ¶ So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?” ¶ And He said, “I am.”
12 ¶ Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?”
13 ¶ So the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful.
14 She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.”
15 ¶ Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.”
16 ¶ And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD.” (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD.)
17 ¶ Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, “What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?”
18 ¶ And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”
19 ¶ So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on—
20 it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground.
21 When the Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the LORD.
22 ¶ And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!”
23 ¶ But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.”
24 ¶ So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Israel deviated again! They were dominated by the Philistines 40 years. I'm not certain how significant this is, but notice that this passage doesn't even say they cried out to the Lord as it does on previous occasions in 3:9, 15; 4:3; 6:6; 10:10. Perhaps their spiritual state at this point was lower than ever before. Then came Samson. His mission statement is clearly stated to his mother in verse 5, "the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." According to Numbers 6:1-12 (see notes), the Nazirite vow was voluntarily taken for a limited time, but Samson’s was lifelong. It was placed upon him by his parents from before his birth in obedience to "the Angel of the Lord." As a matter of fact, the Nazirite restrictions applied to his mother while she was carrying him because the angel had told her that Samson "shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death" (verse 7). During the vow, one's hair is not to be cut. Samson, likewise, was to never cut his hair...ever.

You will recall that Sarah, Hagar and Rachel had similar messengers. Regarding the identity of the "Angel of the Lord," many believe that this is always a reference to God incarnate, Jesus himself. This position, while not held by all scholars, has significant merit. On this occasion, verses 16-22 are particularly enlightening on this issue as we see the verbal exchange between Manoah (Samson's father) and "the angel of the Lord." Manoah and his wife are convinced they have seen God himself in verse 22. I'm inclined to take their word for it; they are eyewitnesses whose exact responses were chosen to be included in God's Word. So, here's the bottom line on Samson: He was chosen by God himself to be a Nazirite from before his birth until his death. Samson's stomping ground was between Zorah and Eshtaol, two cities only two miles apart located in Dan's region approximately 20 miles due west of Jerusalem.

Samson gambles with the mafia, and loses (Judges 14)

1 Now Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.
2 So he went up and told his father and mother, saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.”
3 ¶ Then his father and mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” ¶ And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she pleases me well.”
4 ¶ But his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD—that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
5 ¶ So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah. ¶ Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him.
6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.
7 ¶ Then he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.
8 After some time, when he returned to get her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion.
9 He took some of it in his hands and went along, eating. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they also ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.
10 ¶ So his father went down to the woman. And Samson gave a feast there, for young men used to do so.
11 And it happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
12 ¶ Then Samson said to them, “Let me pose a riddle to you. If you can correctly solve and explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.
13 But if you cannot explain it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.” ¶ And they said to him, “Pose your riddle, that we may hear it.”
14 ¶ So he said to them:
“Out of the eater came something to eat,
And out of the strong came something sweet.” Now for three days they could not explain the riddle.
15 ¶ But it came to pass on the seventh day that they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband, that he may explain the riddle to us, or else we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us in order to take what is ours? Is that not so?”
16 ¶ Then Samson’s wife wept on him, and said, “You only hate me! You do not love me! You have posed a riddle to the sons of my people, but you have not explained it to me.” ¶ And he said to her, “Look, I have not explained it to my father or my mother; so should I explain it to you?”
17 Now she had wept on him the seven days while their feast lasted. And it happened on the seventh day that he told her, because she pressed him so much. Then she explained the riddle to the sons of her people.
18 So the men of the city said to 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 to them:
“If you had not plowed with my heifer,
You would not have solved my riddle!”
19 ¶ Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave the changes of clothing to those who had explained the riddle. So his anger was aroused, and he went back up to his father’s house.
20 And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.

In adulthood, we get a picture of Samson that seems less than noble for someone who has been dedicated to the Lord. Remember his mission in life is to deliver Israel from the oppressive hand of the Philistines. However, when Samson is ready to marry, he does not want a Hebrew woman; he wants a Philistine woman. Despite their disappointment, his parents make the arrangements and put on a feast for Samson and his new bride.

Verse 4 is quite interesting here. Though Samson does not seem to be cooperating with God in embracing his life's mission of delivering Israel from the oppression of the Philistines, we are told in verse 4 that God intends to use this marriage to a Philistine woman to provoke the proper outcome. That's an interesting scenario that highlights God's sovereignty. Even though Samson seems to be running away from God's mission for him, this very act of rebellion will serve to initiate a war between Samson and the Philistines which will end in the accomplishment of God's purpose. As a matter of fact, a Nazirite was not to touch a dead body according to the specifications of the vow in Numbers 6:1-12 (see notes). However, the dead-lion-episode of these opening verses of chapter 14 demonstrate that Samson did not comply with the restrictions of the vow.

The wedding feast was thrown for the betrothed husband and wife. Samson has 30 groomsmen, compliments of the Philistines. Perhaps they were selected by the bride's family to offer some protection. During the feast, Samson makes a wager with his groomsmen based upon an episode he had on the way of killing a lion and days later scraping honey from the lion's dead carcass and eating it - yuck! By the way, he didn't tell his parents about the honey episode because a Nazirite was to have nothing to do with dead...anything. After the Philistine mafia (so to speak) threatens to burn Samson's wife's family's house down if they lose the wager, they get the answer told to them by Samson's new bride and subsequently win the bet against Samson.

She did have a tough time getting the answer from Samson; it required her to cry for the entire seven days of the wedding celebration to get him to break down and give her the answer. The time frame does not exactly flow clearly with the story here. Apparently she began asking Samson for the answer at the beginning of the seven days and cried everyday about his refusal to provide it until day seven when she is threatened by the Philistines, is subsequently given the answer by Samson and forthrightly provides it to the Philistines. Samson knows he's been double crossed. I like his acknowledgement of that in verse 18 when he says, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have solved my riddle!" What an interesting figure of speech.

Losing this expensive bet doesn't seem to be a problem for Samson. He simply goes down to the Mediterranean coastal city of Ashkelon (approximately 3 miles above modern-day Gaza Strip), one of the five key Philistine centers; he slays 30 men and takes their clothing with which he pays off the bet. Aggravated with the whole thing, Samson heads back home with his folks, and Samson's wife's parents give his new wife to his best man. Incidentally, she was not theirs to give without a release from Samson. While her seven days of crying may have prevented the consummation of the marriage, still, she belonged to Samson. The fact that he had walked away did not change this reality.

One might be troubled by verse 19 when it says, "Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men, took their apparel..." That may be seen as a simple ruthless act of robbery. However, remember that the domination of the Philistines over Israel was the reason God raised Samson up as a judge over Israel. While Samson was not embracing his calling from God, this double cross by the Philistines prompted Samson to do what he was called to do in the first place. Therefore, it was the "Spirit of the LORD" that prompted Samson to wage war on the Philistines beginning with these 30 well-dressed, unfortunate Philistine men.

Samson ties the tails of 300 foxes together (Judges 15)

1 After a while, in the time of wheat harvest, it happened that Samson visited his wife with a young goat. And he said, “Let me go in to my wife, into her room.” But her father would not permit him to go in.
2 ¶ Her father said, “I really thought that you thoroughly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please, take her instead.”
3 ¶ And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be blameless regarding the Philistines if I harm them!”
4 Then Samson went and caught three hundred foxes; and he took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails.
5 When he had set the torches on fire, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
6 ¶ Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” ¶ And they answered, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.
7 ¶ Samson said to them, “Since you would do a thing like this, I will surely take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.”
8 So he attacked them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; then he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
9 ¶ Now the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and deployed themselves against Lehi.
10 And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” ¶ So they answered, “We have come up to arrest Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.”
11 ¶ Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? What is this you have done to us?” ¶ And he said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”
12 ¶ But they said to him, “We have come down to arrest you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.” ¶ Then Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.”
13 ¶ So they spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will tie you securely and deliver you into their hand; but we will surely not kill you.” And they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
14 ¶ When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands.
15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it.
16 Then Samson said:
“With the jawbone of a donkey,
Heaps upon heaps,
With the jawbone of a donkey
I have slain a thousand men!”
17 And so it was, when he had finished speaking, that he threw the jawbone from his hand, and called that place Ramath Lehi.
18 ¶ Then he became very thirsty; so he cried out to the LORD and said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?”
19 So God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out, and he drank; and his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore he called its name En Hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.
20 And he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

Well, Samson decides to go back to his abandoned Philistine (betrothed) wife and reclaim her. One big problem, though - he didn't know her dad had given her to another man (an act which he did not have the right to do). Her dad tries to substitute the younger sister, but Samson is fumed. He pretty much holds all the Philistines responsible and comes up with his own weapon of mass destruction - fiery foxes with their tails tied together. They destroy the local Philistine economy. The Philistines, bad people themselves, get vengeance - killing Samson's wife and father by burning them to death.

Quickly the feud with the Philistines assumes national proportions as Samson seeks to avenge the death of his wife. Though he intended to “cease” when he got even (verse 7), neither side ceased seeking revenge until Samson and thousands of Philistines were dead, but not yet. Incidentally, how about that Tribe of Judah - great friends, huh! They were pacifists who wanted peace at any cost to their own personal freedom. They literally turn over one of their own (Samson) simply to maintain peace with the dominating Philistines. God has other plans as Samson breaks free and picks up an unlikely weapon (the jawbone of a donkey) to slay 1,000 Philistines. Why such a peculiar weapon? According to I Samuel 13:19-22 (see notes), the Philistines made a habit of banishing the weapons of their conquered people and controlled the blacksmith trade. Hey, use what you can get your hands on!

Now the stage is set; Samson began by turning his back on his mission of delivering his people from dominance by the Philistines, but the "Spirit of the Lord" had prompted him to action. Now his relationship with the Philistines is as it should have been from the beginning - HOSTILE!

Let's face it - God had to provoke Samson to do the right thing regarding his mission in life - deliverance of Israel from the cruel regime of the Philistines. Hey! Whatever it takes. Notice Judges 15:20, "And he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines." We'll see the conclusion of Samson's God-given appointment in Judges 16 (see notes). It's important to note, however, that Samson embraced his position as judge over Israel (for 20 years) as a result of the provocative actions that led up to Judges 14:19. The sovereign hand of God is seen throughout the life of Samson.