Judges Chapter 14 Part Two (Verses 5-14)

3. (Judges 14:5-9) Samson slays a lion and eats some wild honey
Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, so that he tore him as one tears a young goat though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. So he went down and talked to the woman; and she looked good to Samson. When he returned to take her, he turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion. So he scraped the honey into his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey out of the body of the lion.  

Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah: Samson's parents caved in to Samson's demands. The three of them journey to Timnah so marriage arrangements could be made. On the outskirts of the Philistine village was a vineyard. Samson and his parents separate. Going through the vineyard would have been the direct route to Timnah. However, since Samson was a Nazirite, he had to avoid contact with grapes. Thus, he took the long way around.

Behold, a young lion came roaring toward him: Suddenly, Samson stumbles upon a lion. The startled lion roars at Samson. Samson leaps into action.

The Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily: We see God using this situation for His purposes. When the Spirit comes upon Samson, it overwhelmed him with supernatural strength and courage. With bare hands (i.e., using no weapon), Samson tore the lion apart and killed it.

Who can imagine fighting a lion under any circumstances let alone without any kind of weapon? But let us also not make it out to be more than what it is. The Hebrew word used here for lion is kephir. There are five Hebrew words for lion, and they are NOT synonyms. Rather, each Hebrew word for lion sets up a hierarchy of the lion's maturity.

The word gur means a baby lion or a small cub. At the other end of the scale is the oldest and most mature lion called a layish. In between gur and layish are three other Hebrew words denoting the different stages of the lion's development. Kephir is the second youngest stage. What Samson fought was a mature lion cub, but it was still small. It was not yet considered a young adult lion. (The typical illustrations of a large male lion with a flowing mane is a little over the top for what Samson actually killed.)

He did not tell them that he had scraped the honey out of the body of the lion: Since Samson went a different route than his parents, his mom and dad did not know about the adventure Samson had with the lion. Samson did not bring this topic up. This of itself is going to play a role in what comes a little later in the story.

So he went down and talked to the woman: When they arrived in Timnah, all three went to the family home of this unnamed Philistine girl. Samson took some time to speak with her. Up until now, he had only been struck by her lovely appearance. After getting to know the woman, he became pleased with her countenance. 

When he returned to take her: The next verse skips ahead quite a bit. Some amount of time has passed. Samson's parents had apparently met their Philistine counterparts. Marriage terms were agreed upon and the betrothal period began. How long this is we do not know. Undoubtedly, it was some compromise between the Hebrew and the Philistine's customs of the day.

Verse eight has Samson returning to Timnah to claim his bride. (Again, it appears Samson's parents took a different route as they approached Timnah's vineyards.) Along the way, Samson remembers the lion and went over to the same spot to see if the remains of it were still around. Samson saw the lion carcass.

The image we need to get in our mind is that this was not a sun-bleached lion skeleton lying there. Rather, it was more of a mummy. It was summer in Canaan--it is hot and dry. During summer, when an animal died, it was quite usual for scavengers to do their jobs to empty the dead animal of its internal organs. But, at the same time, the sun and lack of humidity had the effect of rapidly dehydrating the remaining skin and flesh. Meat and fish are often preserved this way. They are flayed and laid open to the sun to become dried and preserved for use later.

It was inside the cavity of the lion where the skin was still stretched over the skeleton that a colony of bees had established a hive. Honey was a prized food. There was not a great deal of it. (Bees were not cultivated in hive farms like they are now.) Honey offered a wonderful and rare flavor. So Samson took full advantage of this novel treat. He scraped out of the carcass as much honey as he could with his hands. He ate some and then later offered some to his parents when he met up with them again. We are told that Samson withheld the matter of where he got the honey from.

The body of a lion: A lion was an unclean animal. Worse, this was a dead unclean animal. So while Samson did not seem to be bothered by the prospect of either contact with this ritually impure object northat  eating food taken from it, his parents would not have eaten the honey had they known the source. Technically, a Nazirite was not supposed to touch a dead body under any circumstance. He could not ever bury his own parents if they passed away. However, tradition had developed a Nazirite was not to contact any dead thing including an animal. (One distinction was made: a Nazirite could eat and touch a clean dead animal, otherwise eating meat would have been out of the question. There is no record of requiring a Nazirite to become a vegetarian or to abstain from sacrificial offerings.)

It is unimaginable that Samson's parents would have eaten honey taken from the corpse of a dead unclean animal such as a lion. This shows once again how Samson paid little attention to the Laws of Moses or even Hebrew traditions if it did not suit him. He really did not care too much about the feelings and concerns of others. This included even his own parents.


B. The feast and the riddle

1. (Judges 14:10-11) Samson hosts a "bachelor party" for Philistine friends
Then his father went down to the woman; and Samson made a feast there, for the young men customarily did this. When they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.

Then his father went down to the woman: In verse ten, we are told that the marriage ceremony began as Samson's father went down to greet Samson's bride-to-be. There is no hint which indicates the situation was tense or even uncomfortable for the two families. In many ways, this is just another subtle example of how familiar and at ease God's people had become with God's enemies. This helps us understand why the LORD was going to do something about this ridiculous state of coziness between the two sides which ought not to exist.

Samson made a feast there: We are told a banquet was served. This was the way young men used to go about a marriage ceremony. The young men are referring to Philistine young men. This banquet was a Philistine tradition, not Hebrew. Since Samson was in Philistia, marrying a Philistine girl, there were not any of Samson's Isrealite friends with him. So, out of hospitality, the bride's family provided 30 Philistine men as "companions" for the groom. I suspect Samson had at least some familiarity with many of these men, especially the best man. It seems as though a Philistine wedding ceremony was much like our modern bachelor parties in the USA. Only this party was a seven-day long affair!


2. (Judges 14:12-14) Samson poses a riddle concerning the lion and the honey 
Then Samson said to them, "Let me now propound a riddle to you; if you will indeed tell it to me within seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes. But if you are unable to tell me, then you shall give me thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes." And they said to him, "Propound your riddle, that we may hear it. So he said to them,
"Out of the eater came something to eat,
And out of the strong came something sweet." 
But they could not tell the riddle in three days.  

Then Samson said to them: As you can imagine, without television or a DJ, a long seven-day event could get a little bit boring. So, some kind of entertainment was called for. The nearest larger-sized city to Timnah was Askelon, which was about 30 miles away. It is not feasible the guests traveled this distance every day for entertainment. Rather, the wedding guests would have stayed in Timnah during the entire wedding events.

In those day (and for hundreds of years into the future), a favorite party activity was telling riddles. Along with the riddles came drinking copious amounts of alcohol. There is not statement which indicates Samson drank. But if he had not, it would have been a serious breech of hospitality and protocol. Additionally, strictly speaking, a Nazirite was only supposed to stay away from grape-based alcohol (even though tradition stated Nazirites should not drink any alcohol). There were many kinds of alcohol made from grain. In any case, there are some scholars and many Rabbis who try to make the case Samson avoided drinking alcohol. This ideology would have gone against everything we are told about Samson's character if Samson did not partake in at least a little bit of alcohol.

Thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes: The bridegroom does his duty to entertain the guests. Samson offers a riddle. And to go along with it, he offers a wager: if the thirty male guests can decipher the answer, Samson promises to buy them thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes.

Various Bible versions offer different translations about what Samson wagered. The linen wraps are written in Hebrew as sedinim; these are rectangular pieces of fine linen which was often used as soft undergarments. This would have been immensely helpful since most outer garments were made from coarse materials which tended to be very scratchy to the touch. The changes of clothes is written in the Hebrew as chalipha; it means a festive garment. It is a garment reserved for a special occasion. 

The main point about these pieces of clothing is that they were expensive garments. By Samson offering this wager, he was really sticking his neck out. If Samson lost, one could wonder where he would have acquired the funds to buy so many costly items. Naturally, part of the bargain was that if the thirty men could not guess the answer to the riddle by the end of the seven-day marriage feast, they would then each owe Samson a sedinim and chalipha. Samson was not planning on losing because in reality, the riddle was not a fair one. But the guests accepted it and the wagers were set.

The riddle: Out of the eater came something to eat. And out of the strong can something sweet: This riddle is referring to the lion Samson killed, and the honey the bees formed inside it. But who could have ever guessed such a thing? This is nothing in which logic, deductive reasoning or cleverness could ever solve. One had to be there at the lion incident to have any idea what Samson was talking about. Solving such a so-called riddle is impossible. Here again, Samson's character flaws show themselves. He has organized a scheme which will take advantage of his own guests, but of course, this is more or less what the LORD had planned all along as a mean to stoke the fires of unrest between the Philistines and the Israelites.

But they could not tell the riddle in three days: Verse 14 tells us that after three days, all 30 men working together to solve this great mystery had no solution.

Judges Chapter 14 Part One (Verses 1-4)

SAMSON'S FIRST FAILED MARRIAGE

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.

Feast of First Fruits

These last few days have been a whirlwind of events. Wednesday began the first of the spring holidays, Passover (Pesach). Thursday commenced the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread which will continue through Wednesday, April 15. Today (Sunday) is the Feast of First Fruits.

Feast of First Fruits
The church continues to celebrate First Fruits in its New Testament essence, as Resurrection Sunday, but most fail to realize its full impact or its glorious promise for the future, unless it is understood from its original command given by God.

The church appreciates Passover in that the Lord Jesus cited this feast Himself as a holy convocation. The church uses the Passover wine and bread as symbols used in its communion remembrance of Jesus' last Passover meal on earth. Jesus says, "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19).  Similar to Israel's deliverance from Egypt in the Book of Exodus, Christians are encouraged to remember their deliverance from bondage by the blood of the Lamb.

However, with the Feast of First Fruits, Christians have confused an ancient pagan fertility rite with the original directions given by God. Today, we have a mixture of a Babylonian festival with a Biblical holy day.


Resurrection Sunday
We should look carefully at the original instructions for the Feast of First Fruits to fully understand their implications:

"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, 'When you come into the land which I give you, and shall reap the harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it'" (Leviticus 23:10-11).

To paraphrase, God is saying to Moses, "I am taking My people into a fruitful land. I would like them to acknowledge the land's rich abundance. Each spring, when the first harvest of the year is available, the people should bring some of their first pickings of their crops to the Temple so that the high priest can acknowledge My generosity. This must be done on the Sunday ("the morrow after the sabbath") during the week of Unleavened Bread.

God honors Resurrection Sunday, the Sunday after Passover, as representing the things which come out of the ground spontaneously and miraculously after a long, dead winter. We see this miracle every spring, and we usually take it for granted. What do we have to do to our crops, and trees to make them come forth with their first fruits? The answer is nothing. God miraculously causes the growth and rejuvenation of these plants. We simply watch and wait. They are free gifts from God, as is our coming resurrection.


Easter and its pagan roots
Where Easter is concerned, we have confused a pagan ritual with the Feast of First Fruits. Each spring, the Babylonians saw the first fruits and assumed it would the perfect time to ask their goddess, Ishtar (Easter), for new babies. They worshiped the things in nature which represented fertility such as the egg and rabbits. The people, in celebration of the new buds on the trees and shrubbery, wore new costumes. Today, most Christians continue the Babylonian rite by celebrating first fruits with the Easter Bunny, painting eggs bright colors (commemorating the new flowers and spring growth of the plants), and wearing new outfits to church and other gatherings during Easter. Of course, no Easter celebration would be complete without an egg hunt, which represents the ancient pagan ritual of attempting to conceive a baby.


First Fruits: Its true meaning and future implications
The original Feast of First Fruits, however, contains a great truth. If there are first fruits, then there must be a second, a third and so on. That is the true meaning of this Sunday. We do not merely celebrate the resurrection of the Lord on First Fruits, but the resurrection of the entire church. The Lord rising from the dead is cause for great wonder and blessing, but are we really surprised? He could feed thousands, walk on water and could raise the dead. The greater miracle is that we ordinary, mortal sinners will all rise!

As Paul states in his first letter to the Corinthians: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming" (1 Corinthians 15:22-23).

Those "in Adam" die, since all descendants of our sinning original father have inherited his terrible trait. But in Christ, we are made alive again.

Jesus celebrated First Fruits in the appropriate manner by rising from the dead on that day. He also gave the Father His First Fruit offering. Graves were opened and the dead rose and were seen after Jesus' resurrection (Matthew 27:53). Our Lord, not unlike any farmer of the soil, gratefully brought before the Father a few early "crops" of what would be a magnificent harvest later on. We sometimes fail to note that Jesus was not the only deceased person to rise on that miraculous day of First Fruits. Those He brought forth from their graves represent a type of church. Christians shall be brought forth from their graves for the big fall harvest--the Rapture--at the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah). It was not only the Lord's resurrection that demonstrates the promise to Christians, but also the resurrection of those chosen saints of the time, which assures Christians of their own resurrection.


The Future
First Fruits, in essence, means that Jesus as Lord and Savior will return for His people. Buddha and Mohammed have not promised their followers that they will return for them. With these worldly religious, what you see is what you get. But the King is coming! First Fruits represents the whole point of Christianity--what you see is not all that you get. This life is only the beginning. Even if a Christian dies, he shall rise...just as those dead branches of winter bear fruit every spring.

Jesus and Passover

This time on the calendar should be one of great rejoicing. There is usually so much to do! But this year, the festivities which surround this time of Passover--this time when our Messiah made the ultimate sacrifice to free us from the consequences of our sins--we are in lock down. We are like the children of Israel forced to conform to strict rules and regulations which dictate many aspects of our lives. Wednesday, April 8 is Passover, the very day our Lord and Savior was hung on the cross.

Starting at sundown on Wednesday, April 8, the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins, and it ends at sundown on Wednesday, April 15. The seven-day festival of Unleavened Bread is celebrated in early spring, from the 15th day of the Hebrew month Nisan through the 21st day of Nisan. The Feast of Unleavened Bread commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. The feast is observed by avoiding the consumption of leaven; leavened bread is replaced with matzah, a flatbread which is similar in texture to a cracker.


The Story in a nutshell
After many decades of slavery to the Egyptian pharaohs, during which time the Israelites were subjected to backbreaking labor and unbearable horrors, God saw His people's distress and sent His servant, Moses, to Pharaoh with a message: "Send forth My people, so that they may serve Me." Despite numerous warnings, Pharaoh refused to heed God's command. God then sent upon Egypt ten devastating plagues. These plagues afflicted on the Egyptians many hardships, pain and destroyed everything from their livestock to their crops.

At the stroke of midnight on Nisan 15, God visited the last of the ten plagues on the Egyptians, killing all their firstborn. While doing so, God spared the children of Israel if they slaughtered a lamb and smeared its blood over their door frame. The lamb's blood was an outward sign that the people inside the dwelling followed God and His commandments; it was a signal that God should pass over the house. Pharaoh's resistance was broken, and he chased his former slaves out of the land. The Israelites left in such a hurry that the bread they baked as provisions for the way did not have time to rise. Six hundred thousand adult male Israelites plus many more women, children and other folks from other nationalities left Egypt and began the trek to Mount Sinai.


The feast of the LORD
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim, holy convocations even these are My appointed times.'" (Leviticus 23:1-2)

When Christians read the word "feast" we think of "food". But this could not be farther from the truth. The word "feast" in Hebrew is the word moed and means "a Divine appointment". The word "convocation" in Hebrew is the word miqra and literally means a "time of assembly", but it is better translated into English as "a dress rehearsal". This is why every year for 1500 years Israel would kill the Passover lamb on the 14th day of Nisan because it was a dress rehearsal for what was to come on that very day 1500 years later. Not only did it happen on that very day, but notice the times:

And they compelled one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear His cross. And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. (Mark 15:21, 25)

The third hour is the time of the morning sacrifice. The very moment they were putting the morning sacrifice on the altar they put Jesus on the cross! Scripture also says:

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani!" that is to say, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)

The ninth hour is the time of the evening sacrifice. On the day of Nisan 14 (Passover), it was also the time of the slaying of the Passover lamb. At the very moment the High Priest slew the Passover lamb was when Jesus died! It is also known the hour of prayer:

Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. (Acts 3:1)

Here Jesus is offering up His prayer to the Father at that ninth hour.


Blood and water
Josephus, a Roman-Jewish historian born around the time Jesus died, records for Passover, in one day they would slay 150,000 lambs. There were huge water cisterns that would flush all the blood, which required thousands of gallons of water, out the right side of the Temple in aqueducts down into the valley of blood to keep the Temple area clean. Imagine at the very moment the blood and water is flowing from the right side of Messiah, thousands of gallons of blood and water is flowing from the right side of the temple down into the Hinnom Valley.


Keriah
Within Judaism is a term known as keriah or the rending of the garment upon the notice of a loved one's death. It symbolizes a broken heart. The Bible records many instances of rending the clothes from top to bottom after the news of death. When Jacob saw Joseph's coat of many colors drenched with what he thought to be his son's blood, he rent his garments. Likewise, David tore his clothes when he heard of the death of King Saul. Also Job, who knew grief so well, stood up and rent his mantle. So what do we find but at the moment of the death of Jesus, the Father rends his garment, the veil of the Temple from top to bottom, mourning the death of His son and His broken heart.


Nisan 10
In Exodus 12:3, 5 we find the Passover lamb had to be brought in on the 10th day of Nisan and held until the 14th day of Nisan. It was to have no blemish. In John chapter 12, we read: "Then Jesus six days before Passover came to Bethany" (John 12:1) Since Passover is on the 14th, this had to be the 8th going on the 9th day of Nisan.

On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet Him, and cried, "Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that comes in the name of the LORD." (John 12:12-13)

Here it is the 10th day of Nisan when the Passover lambs are coming into the Temple. At the same time, here comes Jesus fulfilling prophecy. The lambs had to be inspected for four days to make sure they were without blemish. At the same time the Passover lambs were being inspected, so was Jesus. No one could find any fault in Him. Not Herod, Pilate, the thief on the cross, the Pharisees or Sadducees. He was truly a lamb without blemish.


Funeral songs
God even decided at creation what songs would be sung at His Son's funeral. Every year at Passover, the Israelites sing from their hymn book, which is the Book of Psalms. They would sing the Hallel, which consists of Psalms 113-118. God inspired David to write them with the Passover event in mind. Imagine a 100,000 member choir all singing at the time of the morning sacrifice when Jesus was being bound to the cross. What were the words Jesus heard as they were binding Him?

God is the LORD, which has showed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even onto the horns of the altar. (Psalm 118:27)

They would sing these Psalms at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. So at noon when it became dark, this is what they were singing: "The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the LORD does mighty things. The right hand of the LORD is lifted up; the right hand of the LORD does mighty things." (Psalm 118:15-16)

At 3 p.m. when Jesus died, they were singing: "From the rising of the sun to its going down, the LORD'S name is to be praised. The LORD is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, who dwells on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things in the heavens and in the earth!" (Psalm 113:3-6)

Even the hymn at the last supper has been recorded for all history. "The Stone which the builders refused has become the Head of the corner. This is from the LORD; it is marvelous in our eyes." (Psalm 118:22-23)

Judges Chapter 13 Part Three (Verses 8-25)

B. The Angel of the LORD announces the birth of Samson to Manoah

1. (Judges 13:8-14) The Angel of the LORD reconfirms the words spoken before.

Then Manoah entreated the LORD and said, "O Lord, please let the man of God whom You have sent come to us again that he may teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born." God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, "Behold, the man who came the other day has appeared to me." Then Manoah arose and followed his wife, and when he came to the man he said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to the woman?" And he said, "I am." Manoah said, "Now when your words come to pass, what shall be the boy's mode of life and his vocation?" So the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Let the woman pay attention to all that I said. She should not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; let her observe all that I commanded."

Then Manoah entreated the LORD: In verse eight, we find Manoah praying to God to send this prophet back to them so they could be taught what was to be done with the child. Some commentators say Manoah lacked faith or was being impertinent to ask God such a thing. In Manoah's mind, he needed to know what the prophet's attributes (shem) were in addition to getting some direct teaching on what they needed to do with this coming child. Certainly what was in Manoah's thoughts was not completely pure as he was caught up in some of the aspects of Philistine spiritual beliefs. But Manoah's motive was to be obedient to the will of the God of Israel.

Why was Manoah's wife to abstain from grapes alcohol and any unclean food simply because the child was to be a Nazirite? The mother was not going to be a Nazirite, only Samson. The answer is simple: the unborn baby is fully united with its mother. A mother and child in the womb are of one flesh. Whatever the mother drinks, the baby drinks. Whatever the mother eats, the child also eats. Whatever the mother does affects the new life within her. Many of the mother's characteristics will pass along to her child. So, when Samson was an embryo, by his mother adhering to the Nazirite vow commandments, Samson would be a Nazirite from the moment of conception.

The angel of God came again to the woman: God, recognizing Manoah's good motives for wanting to speak with this being again, obliges. The mysterious man shows up again a second time. As like the previous time, the angel of God appears to the unnamed wife of Manoah. She races to fetch her husband. Manoah comes and greets the man and asks if he is the same person who came to his wife earlier.

What shall be the boy's mode of life and his vocation: Manoah asks the question that was at the forefront of his mind--what are we to do with this child? Is there a special way we are to raise him? The man answers by repeating almost word for word the same thing he told the woman on his first visit, emphasizing they should do everything that was ordered to be done.

Essentially, the man of God did not answer Manoah's question. The primary concern for the moment was that the mother obeys all the rules he had given to her. Also contained within the non-answer is a pattern that we probably recognize in our own experiences with God: we will often get the divine assignment, and at times will be told the ultimate purpose, but what happens in between is left a mystery. We have no idea what the next step is or if the assignment will be of short or long duration. We do not even know if we will live to see the culmination of it all. Rather, we are to walk in faith, relying on the LORD in each and every step. Rarely does God reveal the details of His plans for us.


2. (Judges 13:15-18) Manoah offers the Angel of the LORD a meal; the Angel of the LORD will only accepts an offering
Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a young goat for you." The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Though you detain me, I will not eat your food, but if you will prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD." For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD. Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that when your words come to pass, we may honor you?" But the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask me my name, seeing it is wonderful?"

Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a young goat for you: Manoah realizes he has received the full oracle from the prophet. He then offers the standard Middle Eastern hospitality and requests that the man stay with them for a while and be honored with a special meal.

The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Though you detain me, I will not eat your food.": The angel of the LORD says even if he does stay, he will not eat the food offered to him. Rather, if Manoah insists on giving this gift of food, it should be offered to the one deserving of praise, and it should be offered as a burnt offering. Right about now, Manoah was beginning to sense something unusual was about to happen. Things were not as they seemed. In fact, the angel of the LORD says the food offered must be offered to the LORD (YHWH). Now this was starting to concern Manaoh.

What is your name?: Manoah asks a question his wife had failed to ask earlier--what is your name (shem)? Why did Manoah want to know this being's name? He wanted to honor the prophet of God when everything came to pass as predicted.

Why do you ask me my name, seeing it is wonderful?" God answers Manoah, saying His name is wonderful. Now there is an issue with the English translation. The word often translated into English as wonderful is the Hebrew word pille. Remember the context of God's answer is "what is your shem?" Meaning, what is your characteristics, your attributes, your essence. Pille more correctly translates as incomprehensible, extraordinary, beyond one's ability to understand. Pille is understood by Hebrew scholars as a divine attribute.

In our modern common way of speaking, to say "wonderful" about something is rather usual and can be applied to just about anything. In our current culture, "wonderful" means to be really nice or above average. It is a statement of joy or a compliment. It is usual for a man to say to his date, "You look wonderful." We do not mean the woman looks incomprehensible. We will say the newest model of a vehicle is wonderful; we do not mean it is beyond our ability to understand.

The whole intention of this short conversation between Manoah and the Angel of the LORD is the Angel of the LORD is essentially saying, what good will it do for you to know my characteristics and attributes because they were incomprehensible to a mere mortal. God is saying, I could tell you, but you will have no ability to grasp it. Think of My attributes as being beyond your ability to understand them.

In the New Testament, when we see Jesus being called "wonderful", we need to take it in the same way. We should not think we are being told He is just a really nice guy. Rather, it is that His true attributes are divine. Thus, it is beyond our human ability to even grasp His character.


3. (Judges 13:19-21) The Angel of the LORD displays His authority to Manoah and his wife
So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock of the LORD, and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. Now the angel of the LORD did not appear to Manoah and his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD.

So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock of the LORD: Manoah offers his food on a rock as a sacrifice to God. Back up in verse 16, the Angel of the LORD told Manoah that he should offer the food as a burnt offer. In Hebrew, the word used is olah. Even though the word olah is invariably translated as "burnt offering", that is really just an attempt to translate a word which has no direct English translation.

Every kind of sacrifice offered to God on an altar is a burnt offering. (An altar is the place where your sacrifice is burned up.) Not all burnt offerings are olah offerings. There are several specific types of burnt offerings, designed for different purposes, to be used on different occasions and can employ animals and/or plants. An olah is really just one of several kings of burnt offerings. The best phrase we currently have to translate olah is "near offering". The idea is that the purpose of an olah offering is to assuage God such that we can come near to Him.

One thing we read in the book of Leviticus is when an olah was offered on the altar, it was to be accompanied by a minchah. An olah was always to be a clean animal of some kind. A minchah was to be produce of some kind. So the two things which Manoah brings as food for the man of God was a goat (a clean and acceptable animal for sacrifice) and grain. Thus, the food was completely suitable (as defined by Torah) for the use in the olah and minchah sacrificial offerings.

The olah and minchah were laid on a rock, upon which a fire had been started. Some brief ritual occurred as the offerings burned. Now a question which ought to enter our minds is how was this act proper and legal? God had long ago decreed there was to be but one place for sacrificing, it had to be officiated by a Levite Priest and it had to happen on the bronze altar which was ordained by the LORD. People were not to build their own private altars and officiate over the sacrifice as the pagans did. But the reality was the Priesthood was nearly defunct by this time in history. The Priests in Samson's time held only limited power and operated only in various tribes. The people paid little attention to them and they paid even less attention to the regulations set forth by the Torah. At the end of the book of Judges and then on into the book of Samuel, we are going to get a pretty good picture of how fallen and foreign the Priesthood of Israel had become since the golden days of Joshua.

For it came about when the flame from the altar went up toward heaven: Somehow Manoah's offering was acceptable to the LORD. With Manoah and his wife standing looking on, suddenly this being melded into the flames. He then shot upwards into the sky and vanished. That was the final clue. Manoah and his wife fell on their face to the ground in fear and awe. They both finally grasped just who this being was. It was neither a man or an angel. It was God. How do we know this is actually God? It directly says so in verse 22. How do we know that God was appearing as the Angel of the LORD because it directly says this as well.


4. (Judges 13:22-23) The reaction of Manoah and his wife
So Manoah said to his wife, "We will surely die, for we have seen God." But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time."

Surely we will die, for we have seen God: The Angel of the LORD is a manifestation of God. The thought of God appearing before Manoah in any form made him come to the realization his life was over. After all, it is a Torah principle that no man can see God and live. But fortunately, Manoah's wife was able to retain some sense of calm and reassure her husband the LORD would not have chosen to appear to them, told them what He was about to do, resurrect the woman's dead womb and prepare it for life. God also came back at Manoah's request, showed His acceptance of their altar and their olah and minchah sacrifices. After all of this, Manoah's wife asserts, God is not going to now kill them.


5. (Judges 13:24-25) Samson born, and the Holy Spirit comes upon him 
Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahanah-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Then the woman gave birth to a son: About nine months later, the woman had a son. They named him Samson, or Shimshon in Hebrew. There is a lot of disagreement over what Samson's name means. It varies so much; it is not worth studying because it all lies in the realm of speculation and opinion. The child grew up, and God kept His word. The child grew physically and spiritually God blessed him.

And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him: In verse 25, Samson's calling came. The initiative began with God using the Holy Spirit as a vehicle. As we study more about Samson, we will see if it would have been left up to Samson, he probably would never have picked up on God's agenda and God's purposes. Ultimately, God wanted Samson to fight the Philistines. This all falls in line with what we discussed at the beginning of the chapter in which the Israelites would not rise up against the Philistines. Rather, they sought to co-exist and live as comfortably as possible under the circumstances. Due to this passivity, it was necessary for God to act and shake up the situation. 

After our extensive study of the book of Judges, there are so many parallels between the time of the Judges and our current era. The increasing spiritual blindness and darkness is rampant. The steady slide of God's people into tolerance of and the desire for the secular is breath-taking. We have set aside God's word in favor of popular religious doctrines. We have mixed the pure and holy ways as instructed by the LORD with the impure and common ways of the world to create an easier life for ourselves. And we often deny it is even happening.

One of the things which is often said is that while Samson was to begin the end of the influence of the Philistines, it was King David who finally accomplished it. In reality, King David only put the oppression of the Philistines on hold. Today, the revival of the Philistines has begun to once again harass and influence Israel. Palestinians is but a Greek word meaning Philistines. The Palestinians are back in the same areas (in Gaza) the Philistines once inhabited. They have made themselves into the new Philistine nation. And Israel is responding essentially the same way they did during the time of the Judges through appeasement and seeking a means to co-exist with them.

Just as it would take God's king (David) to eventually subdue the Philistines for a time, it will also take God's next king to subdue them completely. This will be accomplished once and for all with King Jesus.

Judges Chapter 13 Part Two (Verses 2-7)

Samson Overview
While each Judge was different from the others in their personal natures and duties, Samson was perhaps the most unique. For one thing, his birth was foretold and announced by the Angel of the LORD. Why was Samson singled out for such an honor? We never learn why. However, the Rabbis reckon that such an honor must have meant Samson was on a very high spiritual plane. This leads to the second unique aspect of Samson: he never raised an army or led his tribe in an uprising against the oppressors. Instead, we see Samson generally operate as a one-man gang in a manner which could never possibly topple the Philistines from power. Rather, he was just a constant pain in the neck for God's enemy. And even this, on the surface, stemmed from Samson's lack of self-control and warped moral compass.

Moreover, Samson is seen very differently in Rabbinical Judaism than in Christian academic circles. The Rabbis are really out there in their viewpoint of Samson. As we proceed, we are going to see Samson do outrageous things, far from anything we could even remotely label as godly. Although Gentiles know Samson mostly from exciting children's stories, Christians have always recognized Samson's faults. The Rabbis, on the other hand, manufacture amazing and fanciful excuses for each and every one of his dastardly behaviors. They even go so far as to glorify them.

The reason for their unwavering praise of Samson is the exceptional circumstance of his birth, which reminds them of Isaac. (Sarah, Isaac's mother, was beyond child bearing years, and a divine presence came to announce Isaac's birth.) So, the Rabbis simply could not accept at face value that Samson could be the product of miraculous birth and be a self-centered, incorrigible lout. It is a lot like the Christian leaders took the plain case of Jephthah, his rash vow and his daughter who was killed because of it, and decided since Jephthah was called a Bible hero in the book of Hebrews, he could not have done what the Bible plainly says he did. Thus, they came up with a creative way around the problem.


2. (Judges 13:2-3) The Angel of the LORD appears to Manoah's wife
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children. Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold now you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son.

There was a certain man of Zorah: Verse two explains there was a man named Manoah of the tribe of Dan who had a wife who was barren. When the Bible says a woman was barren it means she was biologically incapable of bearing children. Or, she had married so late in life, she had passed her child bearing years. Generally, the fault always fell on the woman, even though in some cases it was bound to be her husband was biologically unable to impregnate her.

Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman: Verse three states one day the Angel of the LORD appeared to Manoah's wife. She was told her womb would birth a son. In the Hebrew, the identity of the being who appeared to the woman is stated to be malach YHWH. Malach means angel or more correctly messenger and YHWH is the formal name of God. As the readers of this text, we are told immediately it was the Angel of God who came to the woman; however, we will see the woman did not know who this person or being was.

3. (Judges 13:4-5) Special instructions regarding the child to come
Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.

Be careful not to drink strong drink: Manoah's wife, knowing this being was awesome in appearance, paid special attention to the instructions which followed. There are three things she must not do: drink wine or any kind of alcohol, eat anything unclean and shave her son's hair. These are all requirements for the Nazirite vow. Furthermore, it says the son will be a Nazarite from birth. This means, for the child's entire life, he must remain a Nazarite.

Usually, a Nazarite vow was taken as a temporary vow. Once the terms of the vow were fulfilled, he or she was no longer a Nazirite and no longer had to operate under the law of the Nazirite which is found in Numbers chapter 6. In general, all Nazirites have three negative commands they had to follow. 1) They were not allowed to eat or drink any grape product. (This included wine, old wine which was a much stronger drink and even fresh grapes and grape juice.) 2) They were never to touch a dead body. 3) They were not to cut their hair.

Hebrew tradition tended to expand upon these three general requirements. For instance, while only grape based products were prohibited to Nazirites, tradition made it that all alcohol was prohibited. Thus, the standard grain-based alcoholic beverages were also banned for a Nazirite. While the words of Numbers 6 says a Nazirite is not supposed to touch a dead human corpse, tradition expanded it to include dead animals, usually limited to just the unclean animals (otherwise eating meat would not have been possible).

He shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines: The mysterious visitor says something else of great importance: this son will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines. Remember, the Israel being referred to was probably just the tribe of Dan, even though the Philistines were also troubling the southern tribes led by Judah. But, the key word is begin. In other words, Samson would be the catalyst to start the process of removing the Philistine influence from Israel, but he would not finish the job. Some of that had to do with the fact as we discussed earlier that the tribe of Dan was not particularly concerned with their condition. So, Samson would not have much support in his efforts.


4. (Judges 13:6-7) Manoah's wife reported the appearance of the Angel of the LORD to her husband
Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, "A man of God came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him where he came from nor did he tell me his name. But he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat anything unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.'"

Then the woman came and told her husband: The woman turns and runs home to her husband and tells her husband what transpired. The woman says to her husband that "a man of God" came to her and that his face was fearsome like and Angel of God. When she said "a man of God" that is exactly what she meant. To the woman, this being was a human male for the Hebrew says ish elohim. (Ish means man and elohim is a general name for a god.) The term ish elohim is how a prophet was called. Thus, she saw the being as a human prophet, not a spiritual being. This man was very unusual because his face was like an Angel of God. The Hebrew says that his mar'eh was like malach elohim. Mar'eh refers to his overall appearance, not just his facial features. Malach elohim means messenger of God. Therefore, in our modern thinking, it means a regular heavenly angel. The woman is saying that although he was a human, he had the aura of a heavenly angel. She was confused and unsure just who or what had spoken to her.

But he said to me: As a good Hebrew wife ought to do, the woman repeats to her husband what this man said to her. She explains she did not think to ask where he was from nor did she inquire of his name. Before we continue, we need to clear up what the would "name" indicated in Old Testament times. The Hebrew word is shem. The term has little to do with the means of an individual's identification like it does today. Rather, in those days shem told of that person's reputation and characteristics.

Many times, it spoke of their physical and/or spiritual heritage. A name helped explain the essence of the person, his/her attributes, what they stood for and even what their providential purpose in life was. If the bearer of a particular name was a god, that meant the name assigned to this particular god or goddess indicated what particular sphere of influence (such as fertility, weather or war) they ruled over. If you were a believer in the gods, that was a very important issue because it was essential to know which god to pray to depending on your current need or want. If the name belonged to a human, it spoke of his/her innate nature, abilities and divinely ordained destiny.

In the New Testament, we are instructed to act in Jesus' name or to pray in Jesus' name. It does not really mean to say His name. In other words, if Jesus had been given the name Steve, we are not actually being instructed to say out loud "in the name of Steve" I pray. Rather, we are to behave in Jesus' attributes and character. We are to pray to the Father in Jesus' manner, in His attitude and in the realization of the status Jesus bought for us. I am not saying it is wrong for us to end our prayers and supplications with the phrase, "In Jesus's name". I am saying this phrase is NOT what was at all intended. Rather, ancient gentiles who did not understand Hebrew culture took the word "name" as the way to pray in Messiah's name as Greek and now modern culture takes it--simply as a means of identifying one person from another.

In short, the woman says she did not find out this man's characteristics and essence. Manoah knew this was an important omission of information he needed to remedy.

Judges Chapter 13 Part One (Verse 1)

Introduction
Bible scholars and Bible students have often looked at the story of Samson and said that he was certainly not a typical judge. But, after we have now studied the majority of the judges, we could easily counter that theory with a question of our own: "So what IS a typical judge?" They each invariably had their own set of character flaws and strengths to go with their own personal agendas. At times, they brought to fruition God's plans. Thus, we find like the rest of the judges, Samson was also in a category all his own. I think after so many months of an in-depth study of these judges, we can say with some certainty that a tight or all-encompassing definition of what a judge was and what a judge did rests only within our imaginations.

Samson lived during a time of Philistine oppression. In fact, it had been going on for about 40 years. It is important for us to visualize we have an overlap in time frame between the lives and missions of Samuel and Samson. The Philistine oppression in the west (near the Mediterranean Sea) was beginning at the same time as the judge Jephthah was operating and was anointed to fight back against the oppression of the Ammonites over the portion of Israel who lived in the Trans-Jordan. Israel was fighting off severe aggression in some cases. In other cases, they were simply driving out over-powering pagan social pressures. In several cases, these two things were happening simultaneously. There was not a single tribe of Israel who was not fighting for their lives or way of life in one form or another during Samson's era.

By the time Samson enters the scene, the Philistines had already taken the Hebrews' precious Ark of the Covenant from them during a disastrous war and sad defeat of the Israelites during the closing years of Eli, the High Priest. Because the stories of Eli and Samuel appear in the Bible AFTER this story of Samson, it would seem as though the war with Philistia and the loss of the Ark of the Covenant happened to them at a later time in history. However, in fact, these are merely accounts of different things going on in different places in roughly the same narrow time in history.

 
Oppression
During this time of Samson's life, we need to be careful in our use of the term oppression when referring to the Philistines. Indeed, they held the upper hand, and they were masters of the region, but they were not trying to annihilate the local Israelites be any means. When we read Scripture closely and also examine some extra-biblical sources, we tend to see a political and social landscape along the west coast of Canaan whereby the Philistines were at once generally not liked, yet in some ways were admired and accepted by the adjacent Israelite tribes and clans.

Think for a moment about Iraq in 2008. Many of the Iraqi people for various reasons were more than willing to have the USA armed forces present, while others resented it deeply and would have give up their lives to see the American forces expelled. Few, if any Iraqis, are enthusiastic to have a foreign nation occupying their country, but a growing number would like to leave behind their ancient ways of fundamental Islamis economics and law for some of the more advanced ways of the West. They do not want to abandon Islam, but they would like to incorporate less violence, some additional personal freedoms and more prosperity into their system. Many Iraqis see the USA as not a bunch of Barbarians looking to loot their nation of its riches or who want to control every aspect of their lives. They do not see the USA as people driving around in armored vehicles hoping to kill anything which moves or want them to be there permanently.

Yet, the USA is so advanced in comparison to Iraq, so wealthy and so overwhelmingly powerful that it causes a major portion of the Iraqi society to feel jealous and bitter at our presence. Although there may be elements of western culture they would like to mold and adopt into their ancient traditional ways, the older residents are quite agitated as some of the less desired attributes of Western society creep in and become attached to their traditional eastern culture. Naturally, the USA is blamed for this development.

In this illustration, just replace Iraq with Israel and the United States with the Philistines, and you will have a pretty good idea of how things proceeded, how life was lived among the Israelites and how the two sides interacted in Samson's era. The Philistines were not forcing their ways on the Israelites, but the Philistines' advanced society with its leading edge technology, tremendous societal organization, unstoppable armed forces, prosperity, wealth and an attractive religion lured many Israelites towards it. For the young Hebrews, they gladly accepted these new ways. For the older Israelite generation, this was nothing but a threat. They knew succumbing to the ways of the pagans would eventually lead to God's anger upon them for idolatry.

The Israelites always had an affinity to the Mystery Babylon religions and the Philistines' methods of religious practice were very appealing. Intermarriage between the Hebrews and Philistines was common. Few Israelites spoke out against it because it would have been seen as bigotry. Business partnerships between Israelites and Philistines were usual. It brought advantages to both sides. Only the most expert archaeologists can distinguish between Hebrew and Philistine pottery from the 12th and 11th century B.C. (Samson's era). The two societies had become very intertwined.


Things to note about Samson
One thing to examine is Samson's character. He was like an overgrown and uncontrollable juvenile delinquent. He understood his tremendous strength advantage, the admiration of the young men and women which came with his strength and he had no problem using it for personal enjoyment. Second, Samson was almost schizophrenic in behavior. One moment he was willing to risk his life for the purer ways of Israelite religion. The next moment he was partying with the pagans. Third is that while Samson recognized his status as a Nazarite (something which was given to him in the womb), of the several Torah requirements placed upon a Nazarite, the only one he seems to care about was his long hair. We will find him drinking alcohol, touching dead things and eating food he ought not to.

I sometimes wonder if the Apostle Paul did not reflect upon Samson and his personal inability to do what was right even though he knew what he should and should not do. In the Book of Romans, we see the prolific and thoughtful Paul ponder his own frustrating condition that eerily resembled Samson, a man of nearly unlimited strength, who lived 1200 years before Paul.

"For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:14-24)

I think Samson may have thought these same thoughts after he had foolishly allowed his hair to be shaved, then his eyes were blinded and he was imprisoned by the Philistines and given humiliating tasks to perform in public. The difference between Samson and Paul is that while Samson did not know the answer to the question: "What a miserable creature I am, who will rescue me from this body bound for death?" Paul had the answer. In Romans 7:25, Paul boldly and with great relief proclaims, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

THE BIRTH OF SAMSON

A. The Angel of the LORD announces the birth of Samson to Manoah's wife

1. (Judges 13:1) Life in Israel at the time of Samson's birth
Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, so that the LORD gave them into the hands of the Philistines forty years. 

Samson judged Israel around 1070 B.C. to 1050 B.C. This is an overlap with the time Samuel lived, and Eli was the High Priest during some of that time (or perhaps even a few years earlier). Another judge by the name of Abdon also judged during this period. This is a good example of how the Judges operated in different parts of Canaan, affecting only a few tribes (or sometimes only a single tribe) at any given time. In other words, while Samson was operating within the tribe of Dan, Samuel tended to operate within the southern tribes and Abdon lead within the northern Israelite tribes and to a lesser degree the tribes on the east side of the Jordan River. Even though the book of Samuel follows the book of Judges in the Bible, in reality they operated concurrently.

Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD: Although we get the typical announcement which precedes each new judge cycle, i.e., the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and we are told the LORD punished his people by turning them over to an oppressor (in this case the Philistines), what we are not told is that there is any record of the people crying out to the LORD for deliverance. I briefly covered the issue in the introduction when I explained the so-called oppression of the Philistines was rather easily accepted by Israel. The Philistines were technologically and culturally advanced.

The Philistines were not barbarians. Their culture was attractive to those who they ruled over. The tribe of Dan seemed to be somewhat apathetic about their condition. It seems as though it did bother God because He raised up Samson to deal with the Philistines on their behalf.


The tribe of Dan during Samson's era
Dan never firmly controlled any territory it was allotted. Rather, shortly after their arrival in Canaan, families within Dan started moving into more secure territories of some of the other Israelite tribes. A large contingent of Dan also pulled up stakes and migrated north to the Lebanon border region and established a new center of residence in what they considered better conditions. In the far northern area, they established the cult city of Dan. They went far away in their worship, and in time, they were forced out of that area and scattered. (Large remnants of Dan have been discovered in Africa and many have recently returned back to the land of Israel.) You can visit the ruins of the northern city of Dan today; it is a beautiful and fascinating place.

Not everyone from Dan wanted to take such a drastic action as to migrate north. So, they stayed behind in a number of small enclaves in the central part of Canaan. The people who chose to stay were more willing than those who moved to the north to submit to the governing authority of the Philistines and to varying degrees were willing to assimilate into Philistine society. This is the case with Samson and the Danites who he lived among.