The Book of
Judges 14
20 verses≈ 5 min4 peopleBSB
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In this chapter
Where we are
- 1–2Not finishedThe land left half-taken
- 3–5The cycleSin, oppression, a deliverer
- 6–10Gideon and afterA weak man, a strong God
- 11–16Jephthah and SamsonFlawed deliverersChapter 14
- 17–21No king in IsraelEveryone did as he saw fit
Samson’s Marriage
One day Samson went down to Timnah, where he saw a young Philistine woman.
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Stylised map · locations approximate
On the map
Down to Timnah
Zorah, Samson’s home, sat on a ridge in the hills above the Valley of Sorek, with Eshtaol close by. Samson “went down to Timnah,” about four miles down the valley: a border town in Dan’s lot, now held by the Philistines. Ashkelon, one of the five Philistine cities, lay on the coast more than 20 miles to the southwest. The sites of Eshtaol and Timnah are probable, not certain.
Samson
So he returned and told his father and mother, “I have seen a daughter of the Philistines in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.”
His father and mother
But his father and mother replied, “Can’t you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?”
Samson
But Samson told his father, “Get her for me, for she is pleasing to my eyes.”
Get her for me, for she is pleasing to my eyes.
Judges 14:3
(Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines; for at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.)
Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Suddenly a young lion came roaring at him, and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. Then Samson continued on his way down and spoke to the woman, because she was pleasing to his eyes.
0:26
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
Reflect
Pleasing to my eyes
Samson chose a wife by one test: “she is pleasing to my eyes.” His parents objected, and God’s law stood against it, but what he saw won. Where are your eyes doing the choosing for you right now? Write it down, and then write what God’s word says about it.
Samson’s Riddle
Then his father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as was customary for the bridegroom. And when the Philistines saw him, they selected thirty men to accompany him.
Samson
“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. But if you cannot solve it, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.”
The thirty companions
“Tell us your riddle,” they replied. “Let us hear it.”
So he said to them: “Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet.”
Judges 14:14
For three days they were unable to explain the riddle.
Question
Quick question
Samson’s riddle could only be solved by someone who knew what he had found on the way back to Timnah.
What did Samson find in the lion’s carcass?
The thirty companions
So on the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?”
Samson’s wife
Then Samson’s wife came to him, weeping, and said, “You hate me! You do not really love me! You have posed to my people a riddle, but have not explained it to me.”
Samson
“Look,” he said, “I have not even explained it to my father or mother, so why should I explain it to you?”
She wept the whole seven days of the feast, and finally on the seventh day, because she had pressed him so much, he told her the answer. And in turn she explained the riddle to her people.
The thirty companions
Before sunset on the seventh day, the men of the city said to Samson: “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?”
Samson
So he said to them: “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle!”
The riddle
Whiteboard
Samson built his riddle from a secret only he knew: “Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet.” The eater was the young lion; the sweet thing was the honey he found in its carcass. No one could guess it, so the men turned to his wife, and “she had pressed him so much” that he told her. The answer came back to him as another riddle, “What is sweeter than honey?”, and the wager ended in Ashkelon. The secret itself was a broken vow, and every step after it went further down.
Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle.
And burning with anger, Samson returned to his father’s house, and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.
Pray
Eyes ruled by God
Samson followed what pleased his eyes and what stirred his anger, and still the LORD was at work, “seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines.” Thank God that His purposes stand even over our mistakes, without making them right. Then pray: Lord, rule my eyes and my desires. Keep me from choosing by what pleases me, and teach me to keep the promises I have made to You. Amen.
You’ve experienced
Judges 14
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A verse to carry with you
So he said to them: “Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet.”
Judges 14:14
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