WEEKLY REFLECTION by Pastor Lap Dinh on Judges‬ ‭14‬:‭1‬-‭9‬

“Then Samson went down to Timnah, and he saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. So he came back and told his father and mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; so now, get her for me as a wife.” But 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?” Yet Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, because she is right for me.” However, his father and mother did not know that this was of the Lord, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. And at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel. Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion came roaring toward him. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, so that he tore it apart as one tears apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. So he went down and talked to the woman; and she looked pleasing to Samson. When he returned later to take her, he turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion. So he took out the honey on his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the body of the lion.” The overarching theme in the Book of Judges is that “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25). So it was the same for Samson. He saw a woman, and she was right in his eyes—regardless of his believing parents’ counsel. Now, as readers, we know that God allowed it to happen that way to punish the Philistines—Israel’s enemy. But this should not be used as a proof-text to say, “See, Samson did it, so I can do it." and marry a non-believer. "Who knows, maybe God can use this arrangement.” One, there are no Philistines in our time. Two, the real enemy is the Devil/Satan. So if anyone does that, that person is taking sides with the Devil and not with the Lord—who clearly wants what is best for a believer: to marry a fellow believer. Now, Samson was given supernatural physical power, which he was supposed to use for God’s plan and purpose. He discovered or tested it by tearing the lion apart. That was fine. But when he saw the honey in the carcass of the lion, his appetite drew him to taste it. He didn’t think twice. As a Nazirite, he should have known that he could not go near any carcass—let alone eat honey from one. Probably, he thought that his super-strength can override some instructions. People with talents tend to think they are always the exception. The holiness that God granted to Samson was now defiled. The defilement caused him to spiral downward, and total collapse was just a matter of time. When (not if, because we are prone to this) people do what is right in their own eyes, they will begin to make small decisions (e.g. "What’s wrong with eating honey from a carcass?") and then big ones (e.g. "What’s wrong with marrying not-yet-believers?" —self-persuaded that everyone does that, and their lives seem fine) that please the inner sinful nature—the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Unless there is true repentance (a 180-degree turn back to the Lord and His instructions), once this thought process kicks in, the downfall is certain, and the damage will be great—and might be irreversible. Every one of us, believers who are in the sanctification process, probably still has at least one area that is “Samson-like”—meaning, we are prone to put confidence in our talents (raw or trained) instead of trusting and obeying God’s Word.

Holy Spirit, please help us to be aware of this subtle but deadly tendency!