Judges

Judges 14: The LORD works against Israel's enemies

Begin in prayer

Before we see how the LORD rules over every event to rescue His people, let us come to Him together. Ask Him to teach us to trust Him when we cannot understand and to help us see Christ, in whom His saving purpose reached its goal.

For if you remain silent now, then relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Who knows if you haven’t come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Esther 4:14

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Please help us trust Your wise rule when we cannot see all You are doing. Show us Christ's saving work and keep our choices under Your Word. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Samson insists on a Philistine wife, while his parents do not know that the LORD seeks an occasion against Israel's rulers. God's Spirit gives him strength to tear apart a lion, and he later takes honey from its carcass. At his wedding feast he offers a riddle about the lion and honey, with thirty changes of clothing at stake. The companions threaten to burn his wife and her father's house, so she presses Samson for the answer and tells them. The LORD's Spirit comes on him, and he kills thirty men at Ashkelon to pay the wager. He returns home in anger, and his wife is given to his companion.

As you read Judges 14, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD rules over every event and works to rescue His people from their enemies.

Samson goes down to Timnah, a town the Philistines held, and wants a Philistine woman as his wife. His parents object because the Philistines were “uncircumcised,” outside the covenant God made with Israel (verse 3). Samson answers, “Get her for me, for she pleases me well,” yet his parents do not know “that it was of Yahweh.” The Philistines ruled Israel, and the LORD was looking for an occasion against them, so He works even through a marriage his parents opposed. God rules over every choice in this story without making every choice right, and Samson's own anger is plain to see. On the road the Spirit comes mightily on him, and he tears apart a young lion with nothing in his hand. Later he takes honey from the lion's body and does not tell his parents where it came from (verse 9). At the wedding feast his riddle about the lion and the honey leads to threats, tears and thirty men killed at Ashkelon. Every step brings Samson into conflict with the Philistines, as the LORD intended, and the rescue of Israel begins.

How does Judges 14 show us that the LORD rules over every event and works to rescue His people from their enemies?

The LORD's purpose reaches beyond the parents' understanding.

Samson's parents object when he asks for a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines. Yet they do not know that this is of the LORD (verses 3 and 4). The Philistines rule Israel, and the LORD is seeking an occasion against them.

The LORD's Spirit gives Samson unusual strength.

A lion roars against Samson, and the Spirit comes mightily on him. He tears it apart with empty hands, without telling his parents (verses 5 and 6). Honey later found in its body becomes the hidden answer to his wedding riddle.

The wedding dispute opens conflict with the Philistines.

The companions threaten Samson's wife with fire if she does not obtain the riddle's answer. After she tells them, the Spirit comes on Samson, and he kills thirty men to pay their clothing wager (verse 19). He leaves in anger, and his wife is given to his companion.

Memorise

But his father and his mother didn’t know that it was of Yahweh; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines.

Judges 14:4

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, will I trust God when I cannot understand His work?

Samson's parents do not know “that it was of Yahweh,” as the LORD seeks an occasion against the Philistines. Their limited understanding cannot stop His purpose. The story brings Israel's need for rescue into a marriage marked by pressure, threats and anger.

God's saving purpose reached its goal in Jesus Christ. Wicked people acted against Him, and He willingly went to the cross to save His people. There He was pierced for their sins and died in their place. He has done everything needed to bring sinners to God, and He rose from the dead in victory.

Turn from your sins and trust Jesus. Everyone who trusts Him can rest in His finished work, even without understanding every event in life. He will forgive you when you come to Him in faith. The God who worked through Samson's wedding is still at work, and His purpose in Christ cannot fail.

Parent's note

Tell your children that a Christian home cannot save them. Explain the threat to burn Samson's wife and her father's house, and the thirty men's deaths, with care. Point to God's Spirit as the source of Samson's strength. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for His wise rule and the salvation accomplished by Jesus, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

To this end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire of goodness and work of faith, with power;

2 Thessalonians 1:11

Lord God, please bring us to trust the risen Jesus and rest in His saving work. Teach us to obey what You have said, even when we cannot understand our circumstances. Give us humble hearts before Your wisdom. Amen.