Day #94

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Judges 13-15 - Audio
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Judges 13-15

Samson was no hero. Although most of us are familiar with the story of Samson, I think most of us know the Sunday school version. His story falls near the end of Judges. Looking at the larger narrative in the book, we see that Israel is in steady demise. Things are getting worse. We'll find out just how bad things have gotten when we read last five chapters of the book: Levites building idols, brutality, murder, rape, and other acts that were characteristic of Sodom and Gomorrah. The book concludes, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes (ESV).” See the problem?

Samson is in the same “mode.” He's a selfish brute who does whatever he pleases. In chapter 14 he sees a philistine woman (not Delilah) and demands his parents fetch her to be his wife. When his parents object that she is a philistine, Samson gets angry, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes (ESV-truer to the Hebrew here).”. A prostitute later, he meets Delilah. Once more, he sees something he wants and will do whatever it takes to get it. After three failed attempts at seduction followed by philistine ambush, it must have been obvious to Samson what would happen if he told Delilah how to truly weaken him, but it didn't matter. His selfish desire was too great. In vs. 16, the Hebrew says literally “he grew impatient” and then he gave in. He couldn't think farther than what he wanted; it led to his capture, enslavement, and humiliation.

God calls us to think outside of ourselves. It is easy to do what is right in our own eyes, but it is for our own good to do what is right in God's eyes. We are to live for more than our own desires.

Judges 13

13.3: As God often does, he works through a barren woman. He brings life to where it seemed there could not be. The birth of a son is announced by an angel. This is an incredibly rare event in the Bible. He is in special company with John the Baptist and and Jesus. Curious because Samson's character will be so different. One wonders if Samson was meant to save Israel from the Philistines but because of his eventual deviance fails at this. Although he will kill many Philistines before the end of his life, he has not solved the threat of the Philistines. The fact that he will not fully succeed is already hinted at in verse 5 “he will begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” Then the question is: if Samson doesn't deliver them from the Philistines, who does? There is no resolution in the book of Judges. Real victory against the Philistines is not accomplished until King David.

13.5: This is the first named so-called Nazirite in the Bible. I say so-called because he will break his vow even before he shaves his head. To come into contact with dead bodies breaks the vow (which Samson did plenty of).

13.6-14: Note that Manoah does not recognize the angel as supernatural (as of yet). He calls him a “man of God” and so recognizes him as simply a prophet. The New International Old Testament Commentary remarks: “God graciously accommodated Himself to His people of old [by sending a messenger appearing as a man]. As the centuries passed such appearances became less frequent, for communion and communication became increasingly inward and spiritual. In our own day, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, it is possible to be as sure of the will of God as when it was revealed in such a striking manner to Manoah and his wife.”

13.15-23: Manoah’s request to serve this man a meal shows significant hospitality on his part. This kind of hospitality is not uncommon for people who are obedient to God in the Bible. Things get a little bizarre in verse 20. This “amazing” thing is semantically related to the angel’s name that is “too wonderful” for Manoah to know. There is something about this Angel that is beyond human understanding. In verse 22, Manoah cries out “We are doomed to die…we have seen God!” Now the lines are blurred between this “angel” and the LORD (whose name was not pronounced). The lines are further blurred because back in verse 19 where it says, “The LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched” there is actually no subject given in the Hebrew. The “LORD” is the implied subject. At the very least, the LORD and his angel/messenger are so closely related that little distinction is made.

13.24: Samson is finally named. Note that this name was not given to him by the Angel but by his mother. Samson means “like the sun.”

Judges 14

14.1-4: Here Samson is not only disobeying his parents wishes, but also marries a Philistine (forbidden by God’s law in Exodus 34.16). I see the parenthetical phrase stating that the Lord was looking for an occasion to confront the Philistines not as God commanding Sampson to break his law, but as using even disobedience to work out for his purposes. Did God need Samson to marry this Philistine to accomplish that? Absolutely not. Note: I referenced verse 3 before. Samson is doing what is right in his own eyes.

14.8-9: Here is Samson's first encounter with a dead carcass (in defiance of the Nazirite vow). This partly explains why he did not tell his parents. It also foreshadows his remark in verse 16.

14.10: Contrary to Israelite custom, this wedding is held in the wife's town (normally it would've been held in the husband's). This further shows the dissension of Samson's actions.

14.13: This linen garments are highly valuable. Think of them as designer brand.

Judges 15

15.1-2 A further sign that this marriage is all wrong. Samson's wife is still living with her father...whereas in a true marriage: “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh (Gen 2.24).”

15.2-6: Samson's act of revenge does not turn out well for him. The New International commentary points out Samson's excessive cruelty to animals in this act. In the end his wife is burned to death along with her father.

15.8-9: Two wrongs don't make a right.

15.9-20: Instead of uniting Judah against the Philistines, Judah turns against Samson. Samson doesn't “need” them however. He turns out to be a one-man-army, killing 1,000 (probably symbolic) Philistines with a donkey's jawbone. This does not put either Samson or Judah in the right. Judah, it seems, has submitted to the more powerful philistines and have lost their faith in God as their deliverer. They were certainly blinded and motivated by fear. Even as Samson routes the Philistines, there is no indication that Judah rallies behind him.