Introduction
In chapter 13, we examined Samson's God-announced miraculous birth by a mysterious manifestation of the Angel of the LORD. Samson's mother was barren and most likely was beyond her child-bearing years. Samson's mother was told Samson would be a Nazirite all his life, and this included the time Samson spent growing in her womb.
Samson was of the tribe of Dan whose allotted territory was located adjacent to the coastal region which was dominated by the Philistines. (The Philistines were also known as the Sea Peoples.) Samson was part of only a small remnant of Danites who had elected to remain in central Canaan as the bulk of their tribe migrated north to the Lebanon border area. In this remote northern location, the Danites re-established themselves. The Philistines had proved to be too formidable for them to carry out God's instructions to drive the Philistines out of the Promised Land. So now, the descendants of Dan lived either in the far north or in small enclaves in some of the other Israelite tribal territories. Judah was one of the primary locations as it was the nearest to them and was among the larger territories.
It was Samson's God-ordained purpose to begin to address the strong influence of the Philistines and their pagan culture upon Israel. Samson would not deliver Israel from the enemy. (This was not his assignment.) He was only to begin the process by stirring up trouble between the Philistines and Israelites who had constructed a peaceful co-existence which was precisely against anything the LORD wanted for His people.
Samson's job was merely a continuation of the Holy War begun by Joshua. Samson's actions were in a sense God-sanctioned. While Samson's motives and methods were often questionable (and perhaps even criminal), the LORD influenced him. At certain critical moments, God anointed Samson with superhuman strength. Those critical moments often came after Samson went astray from Hebrew cultural norms and from the Law of Moses in such a way as to precipitate another crisis. Samson and his relationship with God and the manner in which God worked through Samson is quite unique among the Judges. It is also something we ought not to seek for ourselves.
A. Samson seeks a Philistine wife
1. (Judges 14:1-3) Samson demands a Philistine wife
Then Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. So he came back and told his father and mother, "I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife." Then his father and his mother said to him, "Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?" But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me, for she looks good to me."
Then Samson went down to Timnah: Samson was around 18 or 19 when the Spirit of God came upon him back in chapter 13. As we enter chapter 14, Samson is about 20 years old when he spies out a girl.
Samson's home was in Zorah which was located in the foothills of Judah. Zorah was at an elevation of approximately 800 feet. Timnah was mostly a Philistine city at this time and was located on the coastal plain called the Shephalah.
For the last three centuries, the 12 tribes of Israel have been living in a land called Canaan. Israel was a named nation only in the sense in which it consisted of a people group which stemmed from a common ancestor, Jacob. They were not a country. The 12 tribes were fairly well united during Joshua's day, but when Joshua and the leadership passed away, they reverted back to a typical tribal society in which each tribe was its own entity. The only other allegiance each tribe held was to whatever treaty-based relationships they formed. There was no sovereign nation of Israel with a central government. It is the eventual formation of a central government which is the historical marker which ends the era of the Judges and begins the time of the Kings. The formation of the central government led by a king is also when Israel was finally called Israel. In short, during the time of the Judges, there were 12 Hebrew tribes plus the Levites who inhabited the land of Canaan. But it was not called the nation of Israel (yet).
Saw a woman in Timnah: Samson was in Timnah (for some undisclosed reason) and a Philistine girl catches his eye. He instantly fell in love with her. When the text says, "saw a woman", this means more than to notice her existence. It means he saw her unveiled face, meaning from the typical Middle Eastern cultural norms, this was an immodest girl. Samson goes to his parents and asks them to get her for him. This may sound a bit strange, but this is the usual custom of parents negotiating the marriage among each other.
Get her for me, for she looks good to me: Samson's parents were horrified. Samson was a Nazirite. he was set apart for God when he was still an embryo. A Nazirite was expected to be especially observant of Torah. For him to want a Philistine girl (and an immodest one at that) had to take his parents' breath away. For one thing, it was against Hebrew law for Samson to marry a Philistine. Naturally, his parents want to know why he can't pick a woman from among their own people. Samson's rash and disrespectful reply is: "get her, I want her."
Most versions say something along the lines of "get her, she pleases me well". What the Hebrew literally says is, "get her, she is right in my sight". This is an incredible insight into Samson's underlying character. The contrast is that each time a new Judge cycle begins, we have the LORD saying, "Israel was evil in My sight." Now here is Samson saying that in his sight this pagan girl is the right choice for him. Samson is declaring his judgment is beyond reproach and if something is right in his eyes (if it is good in his mind), then there is no point in discussing the matter any farther.
2. (Judges 14:4) God's will behind the scenes of Samson's desire to marry a Philistine woman
However, his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.
His father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD: In verse four, we are given an important piece of information. Samson's parents' shock came from not knowing this came about from the LORD, "for he was seeking an occasion against the Philistines." There is a lot of disagreement over whether it was Samson or the LORD who is the one who was seeking the means to start the fight. (If the word "he" is capitalized in your Bible, it is strictly commentary. There are no capital letters in the Hebrew language.) I do not think it matters all that much. We are told that the impulse in Samson to want this attractive heathen female as a wife came from God. So either way, Samson was just following through with what was divinely destined to be. God had arranged this connection and is going to use this situation to move against His enemy, the Philistines.
This is a side of God most theologians and modern Christians would like to believe is gone. The side where justice has been replaced by love and mercy. The side where the sin of a Believer, no matter how egregious, brings no consequences with it. The side of God where obedience is a thing of the past. Now all we have to do is "feel" love towards Him and one another. Here in Judges, we have the LORD picking a fight with someone who is not looking for one. He is using Samson as a surrogate. The LORD does not like the peace and calm between His people and the Philistines.
The Philistines do not belong in the land of Canaan. God gave direct instructions to Moses and Joshua to drive out and destroy all who oppose Him in the land of Canaan. But instead, God's people have decided they would rather switch to paganism than fight. One point which needs to be clear: the decree to utterly eradicate the land from the inhabitants only applied to the land of Canaan. All other foreigners, Israel was supposed to defend itself against, but they were to try to make peace with them if at all possible. Israel was not commanded to have a worldwide crusade. They were only to completely wipe out the people living in the land of Canaan.
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