The Mighty Bridegroom...Samson pt 4

https://billrandles.wordpress.com/2021/11/08/the-mighty-bridegroom-samson-pt-4/ ^ | 11-08-21 | Bill Randles

[pastorbillrandles]

And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. ( Judges 14:1-4)

There are many who mistakenly interpret the story of Samson, and many of the other narratives in the Bible, as morality tales. Thus Samson is the bad example to follow, the man of passions and lusts whose life ought to be a cautionary story. The way they interpret the passage above is an example of this error.

Samson is a type of Christ. He is operating at this point as a prophet of God, and his life is a message from God to his own people and for all time.

When Samson saw a Philistine woman, and wanted to marry her, in spite of the fact that she was a Philistine, He was demonstrating the truth that the Messiah would propose to the Gentile world that they too could have salvation, and that Salvation would be offered to all peoples. Salvation is analogous to marriage in the Bible.

Rather than seeing this as an example of Samson’s weakness and lust, as well as his disobedience to His parents and to the Law of Moses, we should be looking at Samson here as a type of the ultimate Bridegroom, the Messiah, making his offer of life to the Gentile world.

Those who condemn Samson overlook this passage;

But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord…

Samson’s offer to the Philistine woman, to be the Bridegroom, was “Of the Lord”.

It was of the LORD on two levels. On the one hand we will see a powerful teaching on Salvation, Faith and unbelief in the story to follow. The Messiah will come for all people, not just the Jews. God is reaching out to everybody, offering His eternal Life.

On the other hand, the rest of the above passage says this,

But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.( Judges 14:4)

The LORD sought an occasion against the Philistines. Israel had found a way to be comfortable and even subservient to this Pagan culture. They weren’t crying out for deliverance, they could ‘co-exist’ . That was the problem, Israel was willing to die by absorption into what they thought was a somewhat superior civilization.

Through Samson, the LORD was going to show Israel what dealing with Pagan Philistia was really all about. He was going to strip away the veneer of congeniality, and expose the utter contempt the Philistine masters held for Israel.

We must consider that the Philistines come from Egypt. According to the Genealogy of Nations in Genesis 10, we read,

And Mizraim (Egypt) begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.( Genesis 10:13-14)

One way to look at the Philistine invasion and conquest, would be to consider that Israel was brought out of captivity in Egypt, but eventually, through their own sin and idolatry in particular, She was put back into captivity to Egyptians, (Philistines), almost as a total reversion to their former miserable state.

Returning to the narrative of the mighty Bridegroom, we read,

Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.( Judges 14:5-9)

Samson and his parents make a trip into Philistine held territory, to meet his Bride. He is attacked, as He enters, by a young lion. One commentator (James Jordan) made the point that just as Egypt was “guarded” by Lion Like sphinxes at her border, who supposedly told riddles, So the Messiah, Samson encounters a real Lion, as he enters into the Egyptian outpost and through the Holy Spirit he does battle with and prevails over the Lion. The battle with the Lion had to occur before the wedding could occur, for the strong man had to be bound by the stronger than he.

The woman pleases Samson, so He decides to marry her.

On his way back to Timnath, Samson noticed that Bee’s had made a nest and produced honey in the carcass of the lion. He ate some and shared with his parents, not telling them of the origin of the honey.

Honey is associated with the promised land, a “land flowing with milk and honey”. The promised land had been forfeited because of sin and compromise with Paganism, but the deliverer has come to restore the fortunes of God’s people and to make war on the lion. Centuries later the Lord’s apostle Peter would warn us,

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. ( I Peter 5:8-9)

[Uncle Lonny]

An old song:

“Samson wuz a strongman of the John L Sullivan School

He killed ten thousand philistines with the jawbone of a mule

But Delilah captured him. Filled him full of gin.

Cut off his hair and the coppers run him in.”