‘Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife” (Judges 14:1-2).

I remember reading a review for the first ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film ‘The Curse of the Black Pearl.’ One line stood out. ‘From the moment Johnny Depp opens his mouth, you know you’re in for a rollicking good time.’ When I saw the movie I understood exactly what the reviewer meant as when we meet Captain Jack Sparrow and hear him speak for the first time, we realised the film’s going to be a lot of fun! Such is the case with Samson, as his first words give us a fair indication of what to expect from him.

Indeed, even before that, we get an indication this is a man who lives for the moment. The phrase: ‘Samson went down’ (v1) is supposed to make us question whether he’s where he should be. But when he opens his mouth he confirms he’s been among the Philistines and not God’s people. Even his parents showed concern, evidently thinking about the Law (Deuteronomy 7:3) where the Lord forbids marriage with such people. So they ask him why he can’t find a wife among his own people? But Samson’s appetite is such he ignores his godly parents. He ‘sees’ and then he ‘wants’ and nothing’s going to get in the way of that as he’s at the mercy of his hormones! This is made clear in verse 7 where he: ‘went down’ again and talks to the woman for the first time! He may have been prepared from birth to be God’s Judge, but he certainly doesn’t act like it! Indeed, he seems to be tied up in Israel’s spiritual malaise, as he’s fraternising with the enemy! Yet, despite this, verse 4 tell us: ‘that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines.’

But Samson isn’t without brains, and in verses 5-14 we have a series of events which he thinks gives him the opportunity to defer the cost of the wedding. However, this is not without problems when it comes to his Nazarite vow. Firstly, we have his tussle a lion. The Hebrew is very clear that this was a young lion in its prime, but it was no match for Samson when: ‘the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him’ (v6).  This leads to contact with the dead body when he takes honey from the carcass, the fact he doesn’t tell his father and mother where the honey came from, suggests they wouldn’t have approved! And finally it’s quite clear from the Hebrew that the party Samson is involved in is a drinking party, and alcohol was a definite no no in relation to the Nazarite vow! But it’s at this point that Samson challenges the Philistines with a riddle that he’s convinced will have the Philistines stumped and save him the cost of his wedding.

But whatever the ingenious nature of the riddle, Samson has forgotten who he’s fraternising with by wanting to take a Philistine wife, and that means he’s compromised. His Philistine hosts don’t like the idea of losing this bet and put pressure on his wife by threatening to burn the family house down. She turns on the waterworks and this being the fourth day with the marriage due to be consummated on the seventh, Samson sees the honeymoon going down the drain and, from what we know of Samson so far, there’s no way he’s going to let that happen! Now armed with the knowledge they need, his Philistine hosts present him with the answer to the riddle, much to his annoyance!

It shouldn’t surprise us, but Samson turns out to be a bad loser. Once again we get an insight into his character with his rather crude comment: “If you had not ploughed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle” (v18) as he seems to infer some indecency between his wife to be and his Philistine hosts. However, for the second time: ‘the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him’ (v19) and he’s able to pay for his bet by killing and taking the garments of thirty Philistines  from the town of Ashkelon. In the end he doesn’t get the girl, as he goes off in a sulk to his parent’s home.

So how do we sum up this disappointing episode in terms of Samson’s behaviour? Firstly, Samson seems to work alone, and I can’t help but think that’s a weakness. The other Judges gathered people round them when they were raised up to deliver Israel. But Samson’s a loner, with accountability to  no one. He may be used by the Lord, but most of the time, we get the impression that he does what he wants, where he wants and when he wants to do it, and no one’s going to get in the way of that!

So, is there any encouragement we can take from this passage? The encouragement is that the Lord, in his providence, brings about his purposes for his people. This is not an excuse to behave however we want. That’s  not what we should take from this chapter. But it’s a huge encouragement when we consider our weaknesses, and wonder if the Lord could ever use us at all! The answer is, he can and he does! But, at the same time, Samson’s example in this passage is definitely not the one we should be following. Rather, it should act as a warning!