Judges 13-15

[Josh]

Post your comments, questions, and discussion starters on Judges chapters 13-15 as replies to this post.

[michelle]

One of my favorite verses of this passage is 14:6 "The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat." Mostly I love the "as he might have torn a young goat." So Samson normally had the strength to tear apart a goat? That dude was not to be messed with.

[michelle]

The more we study the OT, the more I am buying into Josh's theory that the Angel of the Lord is Jesus. There seem to be some good similarities between the two.

Judges 13:11 - Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?" "I am," he said.

Mark 14:61-62 - Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" "I am," said Jesus.

Judges 13:17-18 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?" He replied, "Why do you ask my name?...

Jesus answered a question with a question so many times.

AND Samson's parents acknowledge having seen God when "the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame".

[Josh]

Michelle,

There are definitely some parts in the Samson story that produce a chuckle. How about him calling his a bride a heifer? (!)

I thought the NIB commentary's opening paragraph on Samson was good:

“All our expectations about what a judge should be fall apart in Samson. He leads no Israelites into battle. He marries a Philistine woman. He attends drinking parties with the enemy. He spends the night with a foreign prostitute. He engages only in personal vendettas with little sense of working in service to God or for the well-being of Israel. He succumbs to Delilah’s pleas to know the secret of his strength, which leads to imprisonment, torture, and blindness. In the end, Samson prays to God to let him die and destroy the Philistines and the temple of the god Dagon in the process” (NIB)

I'm really glad we have such a variety of characters in the Bible- God interacts with the best and the worst.

I get the sense from God's interactions with Samson that God is like the parent of a reckless teenager who loves his child despite his awful decisions.

[michelle]

Jul 2, 2010 8:31:16 GMT -8 Josh said:

Michelle,

There are definitely some parts in the Samson story that produce a chuckle. How about him calling his a bride a heifer? (!)

Yeah, I loved that one too. It made me think of when Vio called Carrie a horse.

[Josh]

LOL!

[carebear]

LOL! LOL! Ya'll know he was referring to my first time giving birth with no epidural......working like a horse or something.... LOL!

[robin]

In hindsight, I'm sure Vio realizes that it is best not to describe what your wife looks like while giving birth. Nothing good can come from such a conversation. ;D

[carebear]

Lol, well definately not WHILE I'm giving birth, but afterwards I'm ok with it. It makes me sound like a hard worker....lol. Hopefully he wasn't saying my face looked like a horse....just my demeanor......okay, yeah there's no good way to put it....LOL

[Josh]

A couple more observations:

Judges 13:1-5

In this case, as opposed to the previous low points that Israel has seen so far in the book of Judges, the Israelites are so lost this time that they do not even cry out. God Himself takes the initiative.

The reference in verse 5 “begin to deliver the Israelites” shows that Judge paradigm of sin, oppression, repentence, deliverance is increasingly losing its effectiveness (NIB)

Samson is called to be a Nazirite- a person specially separated unto God (see Numbers 6:1-21 for details) Samson goes on in his adult life to pretty much violate all of his Nazirite vows/ committments (coming into contact with a dead carcass, drinking wine, marrying out of the covenant, allowing his hair to be cut)

Judges 14:1-4

Intermarriage with the surrounding cultures was against God’s covenant with the Israelites (3:6 and elsewhere in the Torah), so Samson shows his disobedience to God in this decision. When he says of his fiancee, “She pleases me” it is literally "she is right in my eyes" (echoing the problem the Israelites have had throughout Judges: doing what is right in their own eyes)

We had a debate about verse 4:

(His parents did not know that this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)

The NIB somehow thinks that God was behind Samson’s desire for this wife, but my view is simply that God can use our disobedient behavior for his ultimate good (course correction) This still does not shield Samson from the consequences of that behavior.

Judges 14:12-20

The early church fathers saw a reference to Jesus in
the lion and the honey: Jesus (the Lion of Judah) and the Word of God made available by his death; not understood the first 3 days.


Judges 15:1-20

Note the cycle of violence that Samson perpetuates. Contrast this with 1 Sam 25:31, which describes David's character.

In handing Samson over to the Philistines out of fear, the tribe of Judah shows they have lost their fighting spirit and have become subservient to their enemies.


Mistakes made by Samson so far
Rushing into a bad marriage
Not understanding he is to be separate from the world
Blames others for the results of his own choices (blames his dad for marrying off his wife)
Anger that often injures third parties (contrast with David 1 Sam. 25:31) Samson himself seems to show that he is somewhat aware that his revenge has not been faultless (15: 4)

Samson’s Strengths so Far
Bravery
Keeps the lines of communication open with God
Seems to be passionate (for good or ill)