A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns
A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns
decaying carcass of the lion as a hive and it was filled with honey. He took some of the unclean honey and ate it. Though he shared it with his parents, he was careful not to tell them where he had found it, just as he had avoided telling them he had killed the lion in the vineyard originally. Samson must have known his parents would object to his compromise of his Nazarite vow had they known the truth. It was customary to conduct a seven-day drinking feast as part of a marriage, and for the next week, Samson was the host of such a feast. The couple was married early in the week-long celebration, but the marriage was not consummated until the groom took his bride home on the last night of the feast. Samson used the occasion of the feast to make a wager with the thirty Philistine men who gathered at the feast as his companions. If they could solve a riddle, he would give each of them a new garment. But if they failed, it was they who were to give him the new garments. The riddle was expressed by Samson in the words, “Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet” (v. 14). Despite their efforts, the Philistines were unable to resolve the riddle during the next three days. When the Philistines realized they could not solve the riddle, they threatened Samson’s wife calling on her to tell them the riddle or be burned alive with her father in her father’s house. Rather than telling her husband of the threat and letting him defend her, she chose to manipulate him into revealing the secret of the riddle. In taking this course of action, she was exposing herself to grave danger and cutting herself off from any defense she would have against those threatening her. As it turned out, even though she did as they requested, they still burned her and her father (15:6). Samson’s wife “wept on him the seven days while the feast lasted” (14:17). She accused Samson of not loving her and keeping secrets from her. Finally, as the result of her constant nagging, he told her the secret of the riddle, “then she explained the riddle to the sons of her people” (v. 17). The men were able to win the wager, but Samson was not deceived as to how they had learned the answer. He paid off his debt by making a quick trip to Ashkelon and killing thirty Philistines. The garments of his victims were then given to the men of the city. In his anger, Samson returned to his father’s house forgetting his bride. To save the forsaken bride any undue embarrassment, she was given in marriage to the “best man” as was the custom of those days. Sometime later, Samson cooled off enough to realize he had forgotten to bring his bride home. He returned to Timnah to collect her only to learn her father had married her off to the best man. The father offered the girl’s younger sister as a substitute wife for Samson, arguing she was prettier than the daughter Samson had intended to marry, but Samson refused. As he left the city, he caught 300 foxes and tied them together in pairs. He then attached torches to their tails and sent them running wild through the fields, vineyards, and orchards of the city. The crops, vineyards, and olive groves were all destroyed by the ensuing fire. When the men of the city learned Samson was the cause of this catastrophe, they burned his wife and father-in-law. Samson engaged in physical conflict with a number of Philistines on that occasion “he attacked them hip and thigh with a great slaughter” (15:8). Understandably, the Philistines were upset with Samson’s actions. When they learned Samson was living at the top of the rock of Etam, they came against Judah in battle. Eager to avoid a military conflict with the Philistines, the men of Judah sought to negotiate a peace with the Philistines. The terms to which they agreed involved turning Samson over to the Philistines bound. Samson agreed to let the men of Judah bind him and turn him over to the Philistines
provided they agreed not to fall on him themselves. They bound him in two new cords and took him to a hill. The Philistines were overjoyed when they saw their enemy bound and offered to them, but they did not realize how strong Samson could be when endued with the power of the Holy Spirit. As they shouted “against him,” Samson broke the cords and began fighting against the Philistines. Not having a weapon, “he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it” (v. 15). The victory Samson won on that occasion resulted in the renaming of the place Ramath Lehi meaning “the hill of the jawbone.” “And he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines” (v. 20). THE HARLOT OF GAZA (Jud. 16:1-3) For twenty years, Samson judged Israel and apparently controlled his own desires to some extent, but toward the end of that period, he was again attracted physically by a Philistine woman. He made a trip to Gaza and spent a night with a prostitute in that city. When the men of the city learned he was there, they set an ambush intending to kill him as he left the city the next morning. About midnight, Samson got up and left the harlot. Some writers have suggested Samson may have begun to realize the error of his way and decided to leave before he compromised himself any further. It was customary for cities to lock their gates at night as part of the defense of the city. When Samson came to the locked gate, he lifted them and carried them thirty-eight miles toward the city of Hebron. The men who sat in ambush waiting for Samson were undoubtedly stunned as they saw this man lift approximately 4,000 pounds (two tons) and carry them off. It is no wonder that none of them apparently made any effort to attack Samson as he left the city. Those who believe Samson’s hike to Hebron that night represented something of a spiritual renewal in his life point to the significance of the two places involved in the thirty-eightmile pilgrimage. Gaza was one of the five principal cities of the Philistines which are consistently portrayed in Scripture as outside the covenant blessings of God. The city of Hebron in contrast is the place of fellowship with God and is often portrayed in Scripture with that emphasis. If Samson’s escape from Gaza was a step back toward fellowship with God, it was a step that would very soon be retraced by the strong man as he again fell victim to another woman. DELILAH OF SOREK (Jud. 16:4-31) (1084 B.C.) The fourth woman to exert an influence over Samson was Delilah of Sorek. Sorek was a valley near Gaza and though Delilah herself is never identified as a Philistine, she was certainly in league with the leaders of that nation. When the five lords of the Philistines learned of Samson’s interest in Delilah, they approached her and offered to each pay her 11,000 pieces of silver if she could uncover the secret of his strength. Even by contemporary standards, that amounts to a small fortune. The immensity of this reward is perhaps best illustrated when it is realized Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for only 30 pieces of silver. Delilah agreed to try to learn the secret of his strength in exchange for the reward.
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provided they agreed not to fall on him themselves. <strong>The</strong>y bound him in two new cords and took<br />
him to a hill.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Philistines were overjoyed when they saw their enemy bound and offered to them,<br />
but they did not realize how strong Samson could be when endued with the power of the Holy<br />
Spirit. As they shouted “against him,” Samson broke the cords and began fighting against the<br />
Philistines. Not having a weapon, “he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand<br />
and took it, and killed a thousand men with it” (v. 15). <strong>The</strong> victory Samson won on that occasion<br />
resulted in the renaming of the place Ramath Lehi meaning “the hill of the jawbone.” “And he<br />
judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines” (v. 20).<br />
THE HARLOT OF GAZA<br />
(Jud. 16:1-3)<br />
For twenty years, Samson judged Israel and apparently controlled his own desires to<br />
some extent, but toward the end of that period, he was again attracted physically by a Philistine<br />
woman. He made a trip to Gaza and spent a night with a prostitute in that city. When the men of<br />
the city learned he was there, they set an ambush intending to kill him as he left the city the next<br />
morning.<br />
About midnight, Samson got up and left the harlot. Some writers have suggested Samson<br />
may have begun to realize the error of his way and decided to leave before he compromised<br />
himself any further. It was customary for cities to lock their gates at night as part of the defense<br />
of the city. When Samson came to the locked gate, he lifted them and carried them thirty-eight<br />
miles toward the city of Hebron. <strong>The</strong> men who sat in ambush waiting for Samson were<br />
undoubtedly stunned as they saw this man lift approximately 4,000 pounds (two tons) and carry<br />
them off. It is no wonder that none of them apparently made any effort to attack Samson as he<br />
left the city.<br />
Those who believe Samson’s hike to Hebron that night represented something of a<br />
spiritual renewal in his life point to the significance of the two places involved in the thirty-eightmile<br />
pilgrimage. Gaza was one of the five principal cities of the Philistines which are<br />
consistently portrayed in Scripture as outside the covenant blessings of God. <strong>The</strong> city of Hebron<br />
in contrast is the place of fellowship with God and is often portrayed in Scripture with that<br />
emphasis. If Samson’s escape from Gaza was a step back toward fellowship with God, it was a<br />
step that would very soon be retraced by the strong man as he again fell victim to another<br />
woman.<br />
DELILAH OF SOREK<br />
(Jud. 16:4-31) (1084 B.C.)<br />
<strong>The</strong> fourth woman to exert an influence over Samson was Delilah of Sorek. Sorek was a<br />
valley near Gaza and though Delilah herself is never identified as a Philistine, she was certainly<br />
in league with the leaders of that nation. When the five lords of the Philistines learned of<br />
Samson’s interest in Delilah, they approached her and offered to each pay her 11,000 pieces of<br />
silver if she could uncover the secret of his strength. Even by contemporary standards, that<br />
amounts to a small fortune. <strong>The</strong> immensity of this reward is perhaps best illustrated when it is<br />
realized Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for only 30 pieces of silver. Delilah agreed to try to learn<br />
the secret of his strength in exchange for the reward.
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