No King in Israel (33)

The story of Samson is full of miraculous events. The narrative has a big, mythical quality to it: the robust young hero smiting his enemies in impossible numbers. A child reading it may find himself caught up in the action and missing the subtext. I certainly did. Nevertheless, like so many other Old Testament characters, this “hero” has feet of clay; he cannot seem to get out of his own way. His failures and temptations are all too human.

Never mind. God can use that too. We can take some encouragement from that fact at least.

II. Twelve Judges in Chronological Order (continued)

12. Samson (continued)

Judges 14:5-7 — Spirit and Spirituality

“Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson’s eyes.”

Timnah was about an hour’s walk southwest of Samson’s home in Zorah, in what was then Philistine territory. Samson’s mother and father made the trip with him, but apparently were not present when he encountered the lion.

Miraculous Power vs. Spiritual Discernment

Last week I came across a commentator convinced the Spirit of the Lord stirring in Samson precluded him acting in bad judgment or under the influence of fleshly desires. The plain statement that Samson’s desire to marry a Philistine woman was “from the Lord” encouraged this writer to believe Samson was actually much cannier and more spiritual than he initially appears. I do not believe this was the case at all. The sovereign God is able to use the wicked rulers of the world to accomplish his purposes; how much easier is it for him to make something good from sexual attraction in an imprudent young man? That’s what I think was happening here. The Lord used Samson in spite of his natural inclinations, not because of them.

We have to remember that when the Spirit of the Lord stirred, rushed upon or otherwise affected someone in Judges and elsewhere in the OT, that is a very different thing from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that Christians experience as a result of the death and resurrection of Christ. Miraculous physical empowerment and spiritual discernment are two distinct operations. A man can receive one without the other operating at all. The Spirit of God miraculously empowered the Christians in Corinth during their church meetings. That did not preclude them behaving in a fleshly and disorderly manner, requiring Paul’s correction and instruction.

A Young Lion

The encounter with the lion demonstrated the power of God working through a human body. It’s almost impossible to visualize even a very strong man ripping a lion in pieces. (Or a young goat, for that matter. The ESV rendering of that line seems a bit clumsy to me. The Hebrew can also be read something like “as easily as if he were cleaving a young goat” (implicitly, at the altar for sacrifice, where he would probably not be using his hands to do it). That seems likely to me to be closer to the intended meaning.) David killed lions and bears to protect the sheep he cared for, but presumably did so with divine courage and by striking them with the usual shepherd’s implements rather than through sheer savagery. This is a unique situation. Again, power is not wisdom. The writer notes that Samson did not mention killing the lion to his parents, but he does not say why. This is the beginning of a pattern.

The writer mentions once again that this attractive Philistine woman was “right in Samson’s eyes”. That’s not a phrase that means anything good or spiritual in this book, and I think the writer of Judges is making that connection for us intentionally. Nevertheless, the Lord was at work even as the flesh was steering Samson.

Judges 14:8-9 — Samson’s Defilement

“After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.”

Breaking the Law

Samson was a Nazirite from the womb. The Law of Moses barred a Nazirite from any contact with a dead body. Even accidental defilement voided his period of consecration and obligated the Nazirite to shave his head and begin all over again. This was no accident. Samson “turned aside” from the path out of curiosity, saw something he wanted, and touched a carcass voluntarily. Then he took the honey he had discovered and shared it with his parents, defiling them as well. Again, it’s notable that he did not tell his parents what he had done, probably because he knew they would have reacted in horror. It is hardly unreasonable to interpret this silence as evidence of a guilty mind.

It’s also hard to miss the fact that Samson’s defilement took place during his second trip through a vineyard. Really? Was there no other way to Timnah? Under the law, Nazirites were to have nothing whatsoever to with the vine: wine, grapes, seeds, skins, you name it. The first time may have been accidental. This time he went to the vineyard deliberately. It’s hardly surprising that a man is tempted to sin when he resolutely exposes himself to spiritually risky situations.

An Infectious Disease

Defilement operates like an infectious disease. Guilt wants to spread itself around. A man who “turns aside” wants others to turn aside too. This tendency goes all the way back to the Garden. Eve’s first action after eating forbidden fruit was to attempt to contaminate her husband. She succeeded, and we are all worse off for it. Paul writes concerning debased men, “Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

That’s the way it goes. Sinners cannot quietly sin in a corner. Samson certainly couldn’t.

Judges 14:10-14 — Riddle Me This

“His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do. As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. And Samson said to them, ‘Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes, but if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.’ And they said to him, ‘Put your riddle, that we may hear it.’ And he said to them,

‘Out of the eater came something to eat.
 Out of the strong came something sweet.’

And in three days they could not solve the riddle.”

Thirty strapping young men feasting for seven days! That’s not a small number, and these “companions” weren’t exactly sent engraved invitations. One might think the Philistines invented this custom (“so the young men used to do”) to take maximum advantage of a would-be groom. Whoever was on the hook for the wedding costs was about to be seriously impoverished by the expense of this wedding celebration. (In Israel I believe it would normally be the father of the bride, but this was a Philistine wedding. The narrative reads like Samson prepared the feast, which may explain both the Philistines taking advantage of his generosity and Samson inventing the riddle as a means of covering the cost.) .

Samson saw an opportunity to reverse the situation by making his foreign guests foot the bill. Selling thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes would probably finance the entire event. So he makes a bet with his guests, and they take the bait.

Again, sin has to broadcast itself. Samson was careful not tell his parents he had defiled himself, but he certainly had the incident with the lion on his mind. It became the riddle with which he perplexed his guests. Whether this game was exactly fair is beside the point; the Lord was looking to incite trouble with the Philistines, and this was going to be a very effective incitement, though Samson seems quite oblivious in the process.