No King in Israel (34)

Bible students online differ concerning the extent to which Samson was truly heroic or any kind of role model for believers. The four chapters that chronicle his life and death portray him as impulsive, turbulent and temperamental, driven by his whims and easily pushed off course by events around him. Rarely do we see evidence of serious devotion to the Lord, or the fruit of such a relationship in his life, though there’s absolutely no question the Lord used him, and used him in a major way. Like Jehu centuries later, Samson was a wrecking ball when Israel needed one.

The New Testament portrays Samson as a man who in at least one instance exercised remarkable faith. Even then, in typical Samson style, his faith basically amounted to the conviction that God would make an exception to his own rules by special request …

II. Twelve Judges in Chronological Order (continued)

12. Samson (continued)

Judges 14:15-18 — Under Threat

“On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, ‘Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?’ And Samson’s wife wept over him and said, ‘You only hate me; you do not love me. You have put a riddle to my people, and you have not told me what it is.’ And he said to her, ‘Behold, I have not told my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?’ She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted, and on the seventh day he told her, because she pressed him hard. Then she told the riddle to her people. And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,

‘What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?’

And he said to them,

‘If you had not plowed with my heifer,
you would not have found out my riddle.’ ”

Moral Equivalence

I debated maligning the Philistines in this post for the casual ease with which they threatened to destroy a family over a few changes of clothing (“lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire”). Unfortunately, anyone with half a memory knows the tribe of Ephraim threatened Jephthah with precisely the same thing for a relatively minor grievance only a few chapters back, and they were kindred, not pagans and enemies. Misbehavior like that makes their “uncircumcised Philistine” neighbors look normal.

Let’s just say these were pretty rough times all around, and that the people of God did not behave themselves a whole lot better than the nations next door. Well, and this: these young Philistine men were extremely ungrateful guests (“Have you invited us here to impoverish us?”). What, you couldn’t spot Samson a wedding present? One little linen garment per person, and maybe a change of clothes? Come on!

Today, the derogatory term “Philistine” signifies something along the lines of a person who appreciates nothing of quality. Perhaps this is where that started.

‘You Only Hate Me’

There’s so much in this little exchange between Samson and his new bride worthy of comment, hinting that their relationship was ill-fated from the beginning. Her clumsy attempt at manipulation is understandable, hilarious and totally relatable to anyone who has observed this sort of domestic charade. Wife knows she must have what she must have, and her staged drama in trying to get it is off the charts. Hubby knows it’s all nonsense. When a man is running a scam on the locals, why would he confide in a foreigner he married for her looks, knowing her family and friends are cheaters and thugs? Despite now being a married man, Samson’s relationship with his parents remains more significant than his relationship with his wife. He doesn’t even try to hide it. That’s not normal or preferable in marriage. (Also on the negative side, Samson hasn’t been confiding in his parents about anything either, which does not bode well.) Let’s just say this is not a man with a unified, coherent plan of action in mind. He’s simply responding to his emotions at any given time.

Amazingly and irrationally, Samson eventually caves to his wife’s shenanigans despite evidently being well aware what she is up to. Why not? He’s spoiling for a fight, and the grudge produced by losing his bet will certainly produce one.

Judges 14:19-20 — Spirit-Empowered Violence

“And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father’s house. And Samson's wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.”

The Spirit of the Lord

Judges mentions the Spirit of the Lord in connection with Samson four times:

Verse	Translation	Verb	Event
13:25	“began to move him”	pāʿam, meaning “to trouble”
14:6	“came mightily upon him”	ṣālēaḥ, usually “to prosper”	Dismembered a lion
14:19	“came upon him”	ṣālēaḥ	Walked thirty miles and killed thirty men
15:14	“came mightily upon him”	ṣālēaḥ	Broke his bonds and struck down a thousand

You will notice the result of the Spirit’s temporary visits to Samson was invariably sudden, violent and entirely physical, and that he was never the one requesting or initiating it. As the verbs used imply, these events happened to him, rather than being something he consciously did, or a power that he deliberately called upon. There’s no a hint of the Spirit’s characteristic fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, etc.) in these accounts. If anything, Samson was simply hotheaded. His final act at the end of chapter 16 was the biggest of all, the only supernatural event in his life that came about as a response to a prayer (for revenge). (There’s no mention of Spirit of the Lord in that case, but the same sort of physical empowerment was obviously occurring.)

Samson was a man used by the Spirit of the Lord, but not characteristically a spiritual man. Hebrews 11 lists him among the heroes of the faith, probably for his final act, in which his faith made him “strong out of weakness”. As a spiritual role model or example of godly living, however, he comes up a bit short.

Down to Ashkelon

On a map, Ashkelon is definitely “down”, approximately thirty miles southwest of Timnah on the Mediterranean coast, ten to fifteen hours away by foot. At first, when Samson chose to attack Philistines, he prudently chose a city far enough away to cover his tracks. Ashkelon was a major center, and the news that thirty men had been murdered and robbed within its walls would not spread anywhere near as quickly and completely as it would today. Such events were likely more common than we know. The violence did not cool his temper, however. He returned to his father’s house “in hot anger”, in a fair degree of confidence, or so it seems, that the act would not be discovered.

On the bright side, he didn’t welsh on his bet. Those young Philistine men all got their garments.

The writer notes that the father of Samson’s wife subsequently gave her to his best man. Samson was unaware of this at the time. Having already determined to marry her off and having just gone through a week of celebration, this probably seemed a reasonable next move to the father when his new son-in-law suddenly made himself scarce. But this too would have consequences.