Samson was the seventh judge of Israel. His life was full of strange adventures. Many of his stories were symbolic shadows and types of the future.
He ruled his people for 20 years, from 2811-2831 (951-931 BCE.)
The first story we know of Samson (which we studied previously,) happened before Samson was made a judge over Israel. It was during the days of his youth, in the beginnings of his early manhood.
That story speaks of Samson killing a lion with his bare hands just before his marriage. Some pagan cultures consider this feat to be a right-of-passage for a young man. The young men are considered warriors if they are able to kill a lion before they marry.
A PAGAN RITE
This act could have symbolized Samson’s ability to be a warrior and his readiness for the things of manhood to the pagan Philistines who were the people of his bride. For many other ancient cultures (other than Israel) it is important to complete this right-of-passage before one marries. Samson could have desired to impress his bride’s family and friends by this feat.
Yet; since this wasn’t an Israelite tradition, Samson might have preferred not to share the facts of this adventure with his parents. It would have been only important in the tradition of the Philistines, from where his bride hailed. From his family’s point of view; it was an act of violence and not a Nazarite thing to do.
SAMSON WANTED TO IMPRESS
However; Samson probably wanted to brag of this feat to his new-found pagan-appointed wedding attendants, who were 30 men from the bride’s family’s friends. Instead of inviting his own friends; Samson had taken up with pagan strangers. They would be his wedding attendants.
Since both parties (Israelite and Philistine) were in and out of the wedding party, Samson chose to tell the story of slaying the lion to his Philistine attendants only, and at that point he only wanted to bring it up in the form of a riddle.
MARRYING INTO A NATION OF MARAUDERS
The way many of the Hebrews tell this story is much clearer than the way so many of us heard it told as we were children growing up in Sunday school.
Many of the Jewish stories about Samson take the time to explain that the Philistines of that day were a nation of marauders. At first it seems very odd that Samson would have anything to do with them.
The Philistines lived in the western part of the Promised Land. Israelite tribes had inherited these lands (mostly the tribe of Dan.) Yet; the Israelites were constantly harassed and pillaged by these Philistines. By the time Samson became Judge over Israel, their terrorism had lasted for forty years.
THE PROMISE TO SAMSON’S MOTHER
God had promised Samson’s mother that he would save Israel from these Philistines. Inspite of his desire to wed one of their daughters; Samson actually wanted to make that happen too.
The Jewish version of Samson’s story states that he was too modest to undertake the command and leadership of an army. He had no desire to provoke the Philistines into more of the terror attacks than they had already brought upon the people in the past.
EACH MAN FOLLOWED HIS OWN WAY
As a matter of fact, Samson thought he knew a better way.
He wanted to avenge the Philistines all by himself.
This might have been the beginning of all the many errors Samson repeated over and over in his thinking and his way of life. He was constantly thinking of his own strength instead of where that strength came from.
It was Samson’s plan to engage in personal conflicts with the Philistines where he would intimidate them. Once they became intimidated with him; he would demand his own vengeance against them. Nothing is said about him seeking God’s advice here. However; God had a plan no matter what Samson did.
Therefore; Samson was always seeking out ways to put himself into close personal contact with the Philistines so he could carry out this plan he had devised in his own mind.
A PAGAN MARRIAGE
It was for this reason that Samson spent time in Timnah. It was while he was hanging out in that city that he decided to marry the young Philistine woman.
Samson’s parents, of course, disapproved such a marriage. They detested the pagan ways of the Philistines. God had repeatedly warned the Israelites if they married into other cultures that they would lose their godly identity and fall into idolatry and pagan ways. However; Samson was determined that this marriage would happen. He threw caution to the wind and demanded that his parents approve of the marriage. They finally agreed to go and solicit this bride for him.
THE NAZARITE VOW
Remember that Samson’s parents took a Nazarite vow for him from his birth? He wasn’t to cut his hair or to drink strong wine. They had emphasized the importance of these vows to him from the time he could walk and talk. Samson knew they had strong feelings about the vows.
However, from the details of the scriptures, it appears that Samson violated his vows often and thought nothing of it.
I suppose that aspect of Samson’s nature could be compared to those of us who call ourselves Christians, but don’t keep the Sabbath or any of the other commandments. Or even those of us who DO keep the Sabbath and obey the commandments, but not from our hearts.
Or; it could be compared to those who say they are Christians but think nothing of taking an innocent life in abortion. Why should anyone’s life plans be inconvenienced by a pregnancy?
Samson is’nt the only one who hasn’t taken his vows to God seriously. All of Christianity is completely guilty. We; like Samson, are often guilty of people-pleasing and keeping up appearances but doing just the opposite when no one is paying attention, or when the commandments of God interfere with our desires.
WE COMPARE TO SAMSON
Like Samson ignoring his vows whenever he had a whim against them; the people of the earth today are just as guilty.
Is God watching us as he was watching Samson, waiting on the right moment to use the wrong move for His glory and to honor His chosen people?
It is possible.
We all go on eating and drinking and giving in marriage. We are told that is how it will be when end times come.
Samson was busy doing the same. He was planning an extravagant wedding feast that would last for seven days.
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE WEDDING
Sampson was gifted by God with great strength. As a young boy he had the strength to kill lions. Scriptures and history record that he did. His strength came from God. He had vowed never to let a razor touch his hair.
On the way to his own wedding feast we hear of the fact that Samson mets a young lion in a vineyard. As we have already stated, certain other cultures believed that killing a lion with one’s bare hands was a right-of-passage from boyhood into manhood. Most men tried to accomplish this passage BEFORE their marriages.
We hear of how Samson easily kills the lion using his own hands as if the lion were only a young goat.
The scriptures record the fact that he did not mention this to his parents. Besides the fact that killing the lion was a pagan custom, some also say that the lion-killing happened in a vineyard; which Samson would have been forbidden from walking around in. He was not supposed to touch or be near anything involving wine, grapes or vineyards. It seems he walked through a vineyard before and after his wedding.
LIONS AND RELIGIONS
Jesus has often been called The Lion of Judah.
Would Samson following the pagan rite and killing the lion before his wedding signify that he was beginning to turn from the ways of God?
The Lion of Judah of the future brought salvation to God’s people. Samson was slated to be the one to save Israel from the Philistines. However; he was now mixing and mingling with them.
God’s Kingdom has often been compared to a vineyard. We hear of Samson walking through the vineyard and killing the lion. It is as if this is symbolic of him destroying his testimony with the ways that do not honor God, right before his wedding.
LIFE INSIDE A LION’S CARCASS
Nevertheless, after killing the lion; Sampson went on to Timnah and contacted the young woman he wished to be his bride. He was pleased with her and the wedding plans began.
Samson went back to his parent’s home after the bride had been guaranteed to him by her father. On his way back, he saw the carcass of the lion he had killed by the side of the road. It now contained a swarm of bees who had made some honey inside the carcass.
Again; we think of Jesus. It was impossible for the grave to hold him. The Lion of Judah rose from the grave and brought new life unto God’s people.
Normally bees would avoid a dead carcass; yet they lived and produced from this one with great abundance. The honey was sweet to the taste; like the gospel falling on the ears of a child of God.
Samson tasted the honey and enjoyed its sweetness. He took some home for his parents; but he didn’t tell them where the honey came from.
Here again, we see Samson breaking the vows of a Nazarite. He has to touch a dead carcass in order to obtain the honey. Here is yet another reason that he would not have wanted to mention this to his parents. They would never have tasted the honey if they knew where it came from.
WINE FLOWS AT WEDDINGS
Another concern that isn’t fully explained is how Samson participated in this wedding party without breaking his vows openly.
The typical type of wedding party in that day which Samson gave was traditionally 7 days full of offering toasts and drinking wine. Nazarites never drank wine if they were remaining true to their vows. Samson was the host. This meant that he would most likely be expected to offer toasts to all who attended. It was the custom. The crowd seemed to be mostly Philistines. They would not have understood, recognized or cared about his Nazarite vow.
This might be comparable to a Christian who enjoys the events of the world around them. They are often thrown into situations where they should not be and invited to participate in things they should not indulge. Yet; the cancel culture that lives around us today doesn’t acknowledge Christianity. It is totally ignored. By participating and joining in with the rest of the world we lose our testimony. This is very similar to the situations Samson was facing in this wedding feast.
Would he drink wine when he offered toasts to his wedding guests?
Of course, it was possible that Samson did not drink with everyone else, but he would have been around drinking for seven days at this feast. This was highly unusual for a devout Nazarite.
FALSE RELIGION
Could all of these things Samson is doing (which openly break his vows) be symbolic of how Christians have turned to false religions?
By joining himself to the pagan Philistines; Samson is openly mixing religions and customs and defying all that his heritage stands for.
Could Christians of today be just as guilty?
How closely do we watch our actions?
Are the things we choose to do within our culture true to God?
How rooted are we to our true identity as opposed to the identity of the world?
BREAKING ALL TRADITIONS
Hebrews, especially Nazarite Hebrews, were also forbidden to go near a dead body.
Death symbolized the curse of sin. They felt being near death would defile them and leave them unclean. So; they avoided dead bodies at all cost.
In touching the dead lion; Samson would have been considered “unclean” under the Old Testament laws.
By touching false religions and allowing them into our cultures today; Christians are becoming “unclean” also. Only confession and cleansing from the atoning blood of Jesus will heal this sin. Healing will not last until turning occurs. True repentance requires turning away from the sins and replacing them with good and godly actions instead.
Samson should have known this Jewish tradition. He was raised up knowing it, being taught from his birth. Samson should not have walked in the area where the dead carcass of the lion lay; much less reached out and touched it.
He even ingested food from it. To take this sin further; he offered it to his loved ones. The question even comes to mind as to whether or not he should have killed the lion at all.
Do we, like Samson, take on the false and pagan ways of the cultures around us instead of remaining true to God’s ways? Do we let ourselves digest these ways like food and even teach them to our children and grandchildren?
30 PHILISTINE ATTENDANTS
In spite of all of this; the wedding plans continued. Samson was determined to mingle with his culture’s enemies.
On his next trip to Timnah, Samson met and partied with the 30 young men who were friends of his bride’s family. It appears that they had been chosen to be his wedding attendants. Now Samson needed to provide a wardrobe for all 30 of these men to wear to his wedding. These needed to be undergarments of fine linen and clothing suited for royalty to wear.
One fact we noticed, as we studied the other sections of the book of Judges and the previous judges of Israel, was the fact that when a judge had many sons (whom were also provided with many fine clothes); they were considered to be wealthy judges.
Clothes were expensive in those days. They were not easy to come by or easy to make. Everything had to be sewn together slowly by hand. Materials were scarce, especially fine, white linen.
A MATTER OF PRIDE
It was doubtful that Samson or his parents were very wealthy. I’m sure Samson wasn’t expecting to have to clothe 30 men in such fine attire. He had not considered the cost of his own wedding.
When someone comes to Jesus Christ and accepts the gift of salvation; they are pledged to attend The Marriage Supper of The Lamb. Before acceptance all men are warned to count the cost. Salvation is free; but sanctification will cost you. This is how things work in the spiritual realm. Samson was caught up in a similar problem of the physical realm.
The men’s wedding garments needed to be made of fine linen. This was traditional for a Jewish bridegroom to use at a wedding. The undergarments of the attendants would all be of fine, white, linen.
LEAVING THE WAYS OF THE WORLD BEHIND
These wedding garments were to be distinctive from a person’s street clothes. The groomsmen would gather before the ceremony in their street clothes. When they entered the banquet hall of the feast; they would change into their official wedding garments. You didn’t have to ask for identification from your wedding guests. You could always tell who they were by the clothes they wore at the wedding feast.
The new garments symbolized righteousness, humility, repentance of sins and obedience to God’s ways. The street clothes the groomsmen left behind were symbolic of the ways of the world.
We read much later, in the New Testament, of Paul exhorting all Christians to “put on The Lord Jesus Christ, like a garment. The proper wedding garment was representative of a Christ covered life and faithfulness to God’s ways.
The white linen for wedding attendant’s undergarments goes back to the customs of the Old Testament priests. In the new covenant Kingdom of Heaven marriage feast all will be clothed as priest and kings. Revelation 19:14 speaks of the armies of heaven dressed in fine linen, white and pure, following Christ on white horses. These things represent God’s true gospel.
The 30 men of Samson’s story represent false religion and false witnesses during the last days. They are the “wolves in sheeps clothing” who try to trick the bride into being disloyal to the groom.
SAMSON’S LACK OF DISCERNMENT
I doubt any of the above thoughts ever crossed Samson’s mind; though they should have. Of course, much of this story was a shadow of what we now know today. Still; Samson knew better. He had been raised in God’s ways.
The thoughts and preparations that were made for Samson’s wedding feast are all such opposites in contrast to the thoughts and preparations put into the coming Marriage Supper of The Lamb.
Samson is showing us everything a faithful groom SHOULD NOT do in this story. There is nothing about him in this wedding feast that shadows the ways of Jesus. With Samson these moments were more a matter of pride and keeping up appearances before the pagan Philistines.
Samson wasn’t even a judge yet. This price for these clothes for his groomsmen would probably hit his family’s pocketbook in a huge way.
He knew it was not financially possible.
TELLING THE RIDDLE
So; Samson has this great idea to tell them all a riddle.
If they could answer the riddle in time, he would provide the clothes; if not – the 30 men would provide Samson with 30 garments.
In other words, if the groomsmen lost they would need to be responsible for their own wedding garments.
WEDDING GARMENTS
When we use those descriptive words “wedding garments” many thoughts come to mind.
If you are like me, you have already considered the similarities of the story of the Angel visiting Mary and the parallels it has with how the Angel visited with Samson’s mother.
In some ways we can compare the story of Samson with things in the story of Jesus. There are similarities; yet there are also great contrasts.
With the obtaining of the wedding garments, again we are reminded of the future events of Jesus. He is coming for a Bride who has kept her gown pure and spotless. She will have her wedding gown ready and waiting for the groom to appear. The garment will made of be pure, white, fine linen.
SHADOWS OF THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB
One has to recall the words from the coming event which is called The Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Those who are properly robed will be allowed inside for the wedding feast. If anyone is not wearing the proper wedding garment (the covering of the blood of Christ) they will not be let inside for the wedding.
Hmmm. We are told to keep our garments ready and waiting, spotless and pure. They must be the proper wedding garments which God has provided for the occasion.
Samson gave this riddle to his wedding guests who needed to be clothed properly. They had until sunset on the seventh day of the feast to answer Samson correctly.
WORDS OF THE RIDDLE
This was the riddle:
“Out of the eater came something to eat; out of the strong came something sweet.”
No one knew the answer.
Possibly all of these 30 men were anticipating that they would have to go out and buy a new wardrobe just to attend this stranger’s wedding they had been “invited” to honor.
They were not very happy. Buying the clothes for the wedding was not a small thing to them.
These angry men went to Samson’s bride and threatened to burn her family home with all the people inside if she did not tell them the answer to the riddle.
THE CRIES OF THE BRIDE
The bride cried every day until she persuaded Samson to give her the answer.
I can’t help but think of those who were not let into the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in the vision of the future. It says; (Matthew 8:12) the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For lack of a wedding garment people will weeping.
Here is this bride of Samson weeping.
THE DISLOYAL BRIDE
Finally Samson takes pity on her and tells her the answer. Once she had it she quickly told it to the guests. They went to Samson with the right answers saying, “what is sweeter than honey and what is stronger than a lion?”
Samson instantly knew that they had obtained the answer from his bride. She had betrayed him and now he had to obtain 30 suits of fine clothes for these undeserving Philistines.
In his anger he went to nearby Askelon and slew 30 Philistines, stripped them of their clothing, and brought their suits back to the men who had answered the riddle.
LIVING IN HIS OWN RIDDLE
Then Samson returned to his father’s house, leaving his bride at home with her father.
I can just imagine Samson speaking to his parents of the things that happened. What are you willing to bet that he left out a lot of the story?
What do you think this riddle of Samson’s really meant in the end?
Could it be that “out of the eater came something to eat” described how Samson was carrying out God’s will for Israel in spite of his wrong doings?
But what about the next words; “Out of the strong came something sweet?”
Perhaps God was going to use Samson’s strength to bring about a sweet victory for Israel in the end. Next week we will explore more of the story and find out.