Judges 14. 1-20 tells us about Samson’s marriage to a Philistine woman; his encounter with a lion and slaying it; later finding honey in the carcass; his riddle to his companions; their solving it with the help of his wife he betrays him; which led him to slay thirty Philistines to make good a promise; leaving his new wife who was given to his companion.
v 1…Then Samson went down to Timnah (an assigned number) and saw a woman in Timnah (Timnah lay below where Samson lived), one of the daughters of the Philistines (wallowers/apostates-2 Pet 2.22).
v 2…So he came up 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 (Yeshua desires a bride from apostate Israel).”
v 3…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 (there were some who objected to some of Yeshua’s “converts” too-Matt 9.11-13)?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she looks good to me.”
v 4…However, his father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord, for he (Samson) was seeking an occasion against the Philistines (sought an opportunity to avenge their oppression led by the Spirit of God). Now at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel (had invaded their country and Israel paid tribute, misused them, etc; Yeshua will be against the apostate religious leaders who were “ruling” over Israel-Matt 23 is against the house of Shammai).
v 5…Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother (who went ahead of him) and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah, and behold, a young lion came roaring against him (a type of Ha Satan-1 Pet 5.8).
v 6…And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, so that he tore him (took out his throat and strangled him; did not tear him limb from limb as the following will attest) as one tears a kid, though he had nothing in his hand (a type of Messiah who defeated Satan with nothing but the power of God and his obedience); but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done (when he came to them again; Israel does not know that Yeshua has “killed” the lion” this showed his humility to not boast about what he had done; he thought it was an advantage over the Philistines to not let them know about his great strength too soon; Yeshua did not want his miracles broadcast too soon either).
v 7…So he went down and talked to the woman and she looked good to Samson (he liked her).
v 8…When he returned later to take her (matters being agreed to and settled on both sides), he turned aside to look at the (bony) carcass of the lion; and behold a swarm (“Edah” meaning an assembly) of bees and honey were in the body of the lion (allude to the betrothal of Israel at Shavuot called Yom Kahal, the day of the assembly in Deut 18.18; and honey is a type of the Torah that was given at Sinai on that day in Psa 119.103, the fruit of the Eschatological Kahal).
v 9…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 and they ate, but he did not tell them that he scraped the honey out of the body of the lion (he was protecting the answer to the riddle of the honey he would use).
v 10…Then his father went down to the woman; and Samson made a feast there (at the marriage), for the young men customarily did this.
v 11…And it came about when they saw him that they brought thirty companions to be with him (friends of the bridegroom-John 3.29; to keep him company during the seven day feast; these same “friends” will soon reject Samson, just like those who saw Yeshua and his miracles would later reject him, too).
v 12…Then Samson said to them, “Let me now propound a riddle (type of the Basar/gospel) to you; if you will indeed tell it to me (the answer) within seven days of the feast (the offer of the Basar) and find it out, then I will give you thirty line wraps and thirty change of clothes (the linen wraps were undergarments, what God can see and represents righteousness; the change of clothes represents outer garments and righteousness seen by men; man will need a change or clothes to reign in the Messianic Kingdom, we must be born again-John 3.3; 1 Cor 15.50).
v 13…But if you are unable to tell me, then you will give me thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes (failure to respond to the Basar will result in spiritual loss-Matt 13.1-52, 22.1-14) .” And they said to him, “Propound your riddle, that we may hear it.”
v 14…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 (unbelievers cannot understand the Scriptures either).
v 15…Then it came about on the seventh day (alludes to the Arid Lavo, the Lord’s Day and the Messianic Kingdom) that they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband that he may tell us the riddle, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us to impoverish us? Is this not so (animosity towards Samson now extends to his bride; it is the same with Yeshua and the animosity towards his bride-John 15.18-27)?”
v 16…And Samson’s wife wept before him and said (thinking her tears would move him), “You only hate me, and you do not love me; you have propounded a riddle to the sons of my people, and have not told it to me.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told it to my father or mother (who I have known longer than you and trust), so should I tell you (not knowing if you can keep a secret)?”
v 17…However she wept before him seven days while their feast lasted (she must have started asking him on her own account on the first day). And it came about on the seventh day that he told her because she pressed him so hard. She then told the riddle to the sons of her people (Samson loved her but she was still a Philistine; how different things would have been had she told them about their plot; how different things would have been had Israel trusted in Yeshua and stopped the plot against him; like Israel, she didn’t know the riddle and Israel doesn’t know the riddle of the Messiah).
v 18…So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion?” And he said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer (enticed my weak wife), you would not have found out my riddle.”
v 19…Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon (fire of infamy and a type of God’s judgment) and killed thirty of them and took their spoil (stripped of their self-righteousness), and gave the changes of clothes to those who told the riddle (these were Philistine clothes so their self-righteousness was increased). And his anger burned and he went up to his father’s house (like Yeshua did after he left the self-righteous Jewish nation-Hos 5.15-6 3; Acts 1.9; Rev 12.5).
v 20…But Samson’s wife was given to his companion (by her father, who were provoked thinking Samson left her after, and judged her to be an “injured party”) who had been his friend (with Israel rejecting Yeshua they were given over to apostasy and Rabbinic Judaism).
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