Judges 14 (NKJV)

3” Then his father and mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from

the uncircumcised Philistines?”

And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for [a]she pleases me well.”

4 “But his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD—that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

In verse 25 of the previous chapter, we read, “And the Spirit of the LORD began to move upon him at Mahaneh….” In verse 4, we benefit from the written word explaining what Samson’s parents did not know. Again, in verse 6, we read, “And the Spirit of the LORD

came mightily upon him…” and again in verse 19. I will be the first to admit verse 19 is a challenging verse because the LORD directed this. Also, in chapter 14, we find one of Samson’s was famous riddles. When his “first wife’s” tearful nagging resulted in solving

the riddle, it was the beginning of Samson’s extreme dislike of the Philistines and proved

costly to them.

The Old Testament contains difficult passages to comprehend, like this chapter. The Israelites were God’s chosen people. He was orchestrating a way to relieve them of the influence of this pagan culture. In the New Testament, He made a way for us to be

relieved, unburdened, and purified of our sins. I am thankful to be under the Covenant!

Prayer: Lord, it is sometimes difficult for Your children to understand Your Word. You are omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. There is no one like you, Yahweh. I ask You to provide insight and application as we read this chapter because You have told us Your thoughts are not our thoughts. Speak to us, heighten our senses so we can glean the message You want us to learn and apply it to our lives. In the precious name of Jesus this prayer is presented to You. Amen.