Judges 14-15 – The Believer’s Need for Self-Control

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

Judges 14-15 introduces us to Samson, and a lesson for obedience and self-control. In a trying world, God’s children must remember that faith requires both obedience and self-control.

Introduction

After seeing the wonderful story behind the conception and birth of Samon in Judges 13, this week’s study introduces us to him.  In Judges 14-15, we will see how Samson chose to live his life under the Nazirite vow God placed on him before he was born.  In this week’s study, we will be reminded about selective obedience, the importance of keeping our vow to God, and also the importance of learning self-control in our walk of faith.

Judges 14:1-4 – Samson’s Early Ambition

Judges 14 opens with Samson having a desire to marry a Philistine woman.  We are told that Samson went to 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 (Judg. 14:2).”

Now, right away, this demand seems off, considering that Samson was meant to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines (Judg. 13:5).  Understandably, his parents questioned why he’d want to marry a Philistine woman and not a woman of Israel (Judg. 14:3).  

Let’s keep in mind that Manoah and his wife were anointed to raise Samson to honor the Nazirite vow and the law of God.  The children of Israel were forbidden, by the law, from marrying Gentiles.  We find the law against marrying Gentiles in Deuteronomy 7:3, where it reads, “Nor shall you make marriages with them.  You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son.” 

So, Manoah and his wife were trying to help Samson live in obedience while also being obedient themselves.  However, Judges 14:4 indicates that this was all a ploy for Samson to move against the Philistines, which would have been him honoring his anointing.  

Yet, we ought to be concerned about Samson at this moment.  When our actions border on such a thin line of being righteous or sinful, we often end up falling into error.  The better thing for us to do is not to try to straddle such thin lines in our walk of faith, as it often leads to one justifying actions that are often sinful.  Such sin weighs on the soul and is incredibly hard to shake off because we’ve justified it in our hearts.

These opening verses give us a bit of insight into Samson’s character.  If I’m being honest with you, Samson comes off quite demanding – pampered may be a better description.  In Judges 14:3, he demanded of his parents, “Get her for me.”  Are you like me, wondering why he couldn’t get her himself?  With that said, at least he has his anointing in mind.

Judges 14:5-6 – Source of Samson’s Strength and Power

In Judges 14:5, Samson and his parents traveled down to Timnah, which, when we look at a map of ancient Israel, helps to remind us that Samson and his parents were Danites.  The allotted land of Dan, by the time of Judges, was part of Philistia, and Timnah was relatively close, just to the south of Zorah, where Samson and his parents dwelt (Judg. 13:2).

As they came to Timnah, Judges 14:5-6 shares two specific things that we must not overlook.  Firstly, we’re told that the family came to the vineyards of Timnah.  Let’s keep in mind that, because of the Nazirite vow, Samson was supposed to keep away from grapes and anything as such that comes from the vine (Numb. 6:1-4).

The second thing shared with us in Judges 14:5-6 is one of Samson’s great feats.  The scripture tells us that a young lion came at him, and Samson tore the lion apart with his bae hands!  How did he do that?  Samson was able to tear the lion apart because the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him.

Many misunderstand the source of Samson’s strength, but we must bring clarity to the source of Samson’s strength and power.  Some believe the source of Samson’s strength and power was his hair because that’s what Samson thought was the source of his strength.  However, Judges 14:6 makes it clear that the Spirit of the Lord was the source of Samson’s strength and power.  Judges 13:25 also makes it clear that the Spirit of the Lord was the source of Samson’s extraordinary strength and power.

I wanted to point this out early in our study of Samson’s story because the source of Samson’s strength and power is also the source of anointing.  The works you do, the gift you have, are not something of your own doing.  Our anointing is from the Lord, and the source of our anointing is through the Holy Spirit.

Judges 14:7-9 – Samson’s Sin of Omission

Judges 14:7 tells us that Samson went to talk to the woman, and she pleased him well.  Then, in Judges 14:8-9, we are going to see Samson move thoughtlessly about the Nazirite vow.

Judges 14:8-9 states:  “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.  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.”

Do you see the error that he made?  The one who is under the Nazirite vow is forbidden from being near a dead body (Num. 6:6). This scripture implies that Samson had gone to get honey from the dead carcass of the lion that he had killed.  In doing that, he violated the vow of the Nazirite.  

Moreover, while his parents were not under the vow, he gave them some of the honey to eat without telling them where the honey had come from.  I believe Samson purposely chose not to tell his parents because he knew he had violated the Nazirite vow.  Like many of us, he chose to keep this sin to himself. 

Once again, we learn something else about Samson’s character, which often proves to be destructive.  Samson, knowingly breaking his vow, showing great disregard for it, showed that he believed he could do whatever he wanted.  His deliberate act was a sin of omission.  A sin of omission is when one blatantly disobeys God’s instructions after receiving and knowing what to and what not to do.

You may think this was no big deal with Samson being around the dead carcass, but God does not take pleasure in those who delay in honoring their vows (Eccl. 5:4-5).  Moreover, Samson brazenly disregarding God’s instructions over the dead carcass sets up that Samson could easily disregard the other portions of the Nazirite vow.

Judges 14:10-19 – Samson Kills Thirty Philistines

Judges 14:10-19 shares with us the story of Samson’s wedding to the Philistine woman, which again was unlawful, but as we know, Samson was using the marriage as a ploy to strike at the Philistines.

Now, you won’t see the exact words of ‘wedding’ or ‘marriage’ in this scripture, but you will notice in Judges 14:15,16 that the woman is called Samson’s wife and Samson is referred to as her husband.

The feast that is spoken of in Judges 14:10 is the wedding feast.  In ancient times, weddings and their celebrations lasted an entire week–seven days.  Those who typically attended the wedding celebration was family, friends, acquaintances, and the rest of the community who knew the family, as shown in the story of Jesus turning water into wine (John 2:1-12).

At this celebration, Judges 14:11 tells us that thirty companions were chosen to be with Samson, to essentially be his groomsmen.  The thirty companions were Philistine men, as it seems the only ones of Samson’s family to have any part in this wedding were his parents. 

On the first day of the wedding, Samson made a bet with all the men that they could not solve a riddle he would share with them (Judg. 14:12).   If they could solve the riddle within the seven days of the wedding, Samson would give them thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing, and it would be opposite if they couldn’t solve the riddle (Judg. 14:13-14).

For three days, Judges 14:14 tells us that they couldn’t solve Samson’s riddle.  So, the men went to his wife to see if she could entice Samson to give her the answer, and then she would give them the answer.  Let’s note that they did this by threatening to burn her and her father’s home down.  

Judges 14:16-17 tells us that for the remaining seven days, she cried to Samson to give her the answer to the riddle, even though he had not given the answer to anyone.  Now, if you’re familiar with Samson’s story, you could see this as foreshadowing of a future event in his story, as Samson did eventually give her the answer.  Samson, I believe, knew what was going to happen, as his desire was to destroy the Philistines.

So, on the last day of the wedding feast, in Judges 14:18 the men gave the answer to Samson in a manner that sounds like they were on Jeopardy!  They ‘won the bet’, so it would seem, which meant that Samson owed them thirty garments of clothing.   

Judges 14:19 tells us, “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty [Philistine men], took their apparel, and gave the changes of clothing to those who had explained the riddle.”  

Let’s again note that such a feat would not have been possible without the Spirit of the Lord coming upon Samson.  As we know, nothing is impossible with the Lord!

It would seem that everything worked out for Samson, even though he married a Philistine woman.  It would even seem no harm came to him, though he broke the Nazirite vow by being near the dead carcass of a lion.  Keep that in mind, because we will eventually come back to it.

Judges 14:20-15:8 – Samson’s Vengeance

As we move over into Judges 15, we are going to pick up with Samson after he had killed thirty Philistines.

Judges 15:1 tells us that in the time of the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat.  The time of the wheat harvest would place this happening around May and June.

Now, one may look at this verse and wonder, why wasn’t Samson with his wife already?  Well, in Judges 14:19, we’re told that after he had killed thirty Philistines, he went back up to his father’s house.  We’re told in Judges 14:20 that his wife didn’t return with him, but was instead given to one of his companions who had been his best man.  Keep in mind, those companions that had come to the ‘wedding’ were not friends of Samson’s but were Philistines.

Now, scripture does not indicate how much time had passed after the wedding, and there is no indication as to why Samson waited to go to his wife.  The only thing scripture indicates to us about Samson’s feelings towards his wife was his telling his parents that she pleased him (Judg. 14:3).  However, let us remember that he had also planned on using the wedding as an opportunity to strike the Philistines.

So, when Samson arrived, his wife’s father wouldn’t permit him to see her, as he had given her away to another, but to smooth things over with Samson, he offered his wife’s younger sister (Judg. 15:2).  Let’s keep in mind that arranged marriages were quite common in ancient times, and still occur in some places today.  

Rather than take the younger daughter, Judges 15:3 states, “Samson said to them, ‘This time I shall be blameless regarding the Philistines if I harm them!’”  Samson was using this situation to strike the Philistines again, and speaks of being just in what he will do!  Judges 15:4-5 explains how Samson moved to torch the fields and vineyards of the Philistines.

Now, do you believe Samson was justified in his actions?  You probably don’t feel that he was justified in killing thirty Philistines because they cheated to solve his riddle.  You probably don’t feel that Samson was justified in setting their fields and vineyards on fire because he had left his ‘wife’.

The Philistines concluded that it was Samson who had burned down their fields and vineyard, and they responded. In Judges 15:6, the response of the Philistines was to burn his father-in-law and his wife!  

As you can imagine, their response enraged Samson.  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 (Judg. 15:7).”  

Let’s be clear, Samson isn’t concerned about whether this is just or not, as things had become personal for him.  Moreover, I would even say that with Samson talking about vengeance, he isn’t necessarily concerned about fulfilling his anointing.  Samson’s one thought was about killing, and Judges 15:8 tells us that there was a great slaughter by Samson.

Was Samson justified in what he was doing, even if he was destroying many Philistines?  Whether God was pleased with Samson’s actions or not, I honestly cannot say.  However, I will say to you that God warned against taking vengeance into your own hands, saying, “Vengeance is Mine, and recompense (Deut. 32:35).  Some of you may be more familiar with Paul’s translation of God’s saying, stating, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (Heb. 10:30).

Is it right for believers to move with a mentality of “the ends justify the means”? I don’t believe so.  It is such a mentality that can cause some Christians to justify the killing of children, and others who don’t believe in the same thing they believe.  Yes, Samson was born to deliver Israel from the Philistines, but we are born again to bring the wicked before the throne of grace.

Samson was destroying his enemies, right?  Have we been called on to destroy our enemies?  There has been much talk lately about holy wars, but the idea of a holy war goes against God’s command for us.

The believer cannot try to justify actions taken today by actions that were taken under the law.  God has called us unto grace.  Jesus taught the disciples, saying, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also (Matt. 5:38-39).”

Jesus also taught, saying, “‘You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you (Matt. 5:43-44).”

Christians ought not to live with a “ends justify the means” kind of mentality!  That is a mentality that goes against what Christ has commanded of us.  If we cannot find a way to resolve issues peacefully, it is better for us to step away than to resolve to doing anything else.

Judges 15:9-20 – Samson’s Continued Destruction

Samson’s destruction of the Philistines continued throughout the rest of this chapter.  After he had slaughtered a great slaughter of the Philistines, Judges 15:9 shows us that the Philistines moved against Judah, who were essentially a punching bag for the Philistines during that time.

Judges 15:10 shows us that the Philistines went to Judah with the desire to arrest Samson.  Now, if you’re wondering why they went to Judah to arrest a Danite, it is because the location of the rock of Etam (Judg. 15:8) was located within the land of Judah.  

That led Judah to ‘arresting Samson’ and bringing him to the Philistines, where, once again, Samson killed many Philistines.  This time, Samson killed a thousand Philistines using the jawbone of a donkey (Judg. 15:15-16)!

How was it that Samson was capable of killing so many Philistines with just the jawbone of a donkey?  Judges 15:14 tells us, “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.”

The Spirit of the Lord was the only way that Samson was able to accomplish such a feat.  I, again, want to repeat to you, since so many people believe the power was in his hair, no, Samson’s power was through the Spirit of the Lord.  

So, Samson was delivering Israel from the Philistines in a manner that many may say doesn’t seem godly.  Samson was an anointed man, but as we have seen, there are certainly hints that Samson was in it for himself, rather than being in it for God or for his people.  Judges 15:20 tells us that Samson judged Israel for 20 years in the days of the Philistines.  However, the hints are there, and in Judges 16, tragedy will come.