This one is FULL of deceit!
The first thing that struck me was that Samson wanted a Phillistine woman. This was the downfall of the Israelites. Not ridding themselves of the evil people that were in the promised land before they got there....but, this time.....it was all part of God's plan.
The part that confuses me on this one is this:
Then the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle.
Why would the Spirit of the Lord come over him to kill these 30 men?
Here's what I've got. God created Samson to free the Israelites from the Phillistines. I can only assume that these 30 dudes were Phillistines. So, even though this seems like a very shallow, selfish act by Samson...perhaps in God's eyes it was a small amount in the larger plan to kill MANY Phillistines.
Then, the entire deal with his wife being given to his companion......strange.
Then kill a lion, rip it limb from limb....then come back and find honey....strange.
then catch 300 foxes and tie their tails together, and tie torches to them......strange
fun to read though
I'm pretty sure this chapter is full of many more teachings than I am capable of finding. One take away I had was how poor communication kills a marriage--and that its a two way street. Neither Sampson nor his wife were completely open with each other--end result she ends up with another man.
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