EXPOSITION
So his father went down. It is not clear what is meant by this mention of his father alone; but it was probably some part of the wedding etiquette that the father should go to the bride first alone; perhaps, as Kimehi says, to give her notice of the bridegroom's approach, that she might get ready. Among the preparations may have been the selection of the thirty young men to be "the children of the bride-chamber'' (Matthew 9:15). As these were all Philistines, the inference is that they were selected by the bride, just as with us the bride has the privilege of choosing the minister who is to officiate at the marriage.
When they saw him, i.e. when the father and mother and friends of the bride saw him approaching, they went to meet him with the thirty companions who had been selected. We still see a strong resemblance to the wedding arrangements referred to in Matthew 9:15, and Matthew 25:1-40; only in this case they were young men instead of young women who went out to meet the bridegroom. We may observe, by the way, that the scale of the wedding feast, as regards numbers and duration, indicates that Samson s family was one of wealth and position.
Riddle. The Hebrew word is the same as that which is rendered hard questions in 1 Kings 10:1, and dark questions, Numbers 12:8, and occurs also in Ezekiel 17:2, where the phrase is the same as here and in Ezekiel 17:16, as if we should say in English, I will riddle you a riddle. In English, however, to riddle, as a verb active, means to solve a riddle, not, as in Hebrew, to propound one. The derivation of the Hebrew word and of the English is the same as regards the sense—something intricate and twisted. Thirty sheets, or rather, as in the margin, shirts, a linen garment worn next the skin. In Isaiah 3:23 spoken of the women's garment, "the fine linen," A.V; as also Proverbs 31:24. The word (sadin, Sanscrit sindu) means Indian linen. Change of garments—the outward garment of the Orientalist, which was part of the wealth of the rich and great, and was, and is to the present day, one of the most frequent presents on all state occasions (see Genesis 45:22; 2 Kings 5:5, 2 Kings 5:22; Isaiah 3:6, Isaiah 3:7; Matthew 6:19, etc.).
On the seventh day. There is some apparent difficulty in understanding how to reconcile this statement with what was said in Judges 14:14, that they could not in three days expound the riddle; and also with what is said in Judges 14:16 and Judges 14:17, that Samson's wife wept before him the seven days of the feast. And several different readings have arisen from this difficulty: viz; in this verse, the reading of the fourth day for the seventh, and the omission of the words, And it came to pass on the seventh day; and, in the latter part of Judges 14:14, seven days for three days. But all difficulty will disappear if we bear in mind the peculiarity of Hebrew narrative noticed in note to section Judges 14:1-7 of Judges 2:1-7; when we come to consider Judges 2:16. Entice thy husband. Cf. Judges 16:5. That he may declare unto us. If the text is sound, they must mean to say, declare it unto you, that you may declare it unto us, i.e. declare it unto us through you. But it is simpler either to read with the Septuagint, that he may declare unto you, etc; or to read, and declare unto us, in the imperative mood. Burn with fire. See Judges 12:1, and Judges 15:6. Have ye called us, etc; i.e. Did you invite us to this feast in order to impoverish us, to plunder us of our property? We shall conclude that you did so if you do not disclose to us the riddle.
And Samson's wife, etc. This statement does not follow Judges 14:15, but is a parallel narrative to that beginning in Judges 14:14, "And they could not in three days," etc; down to the end of Judges 14:15, bringing the story down to the same point of time, viz; the seventh day. One stream of the narrative tells us what the young men did when Samson had propounded his riddle; the other tells us what Samson's wife did. From the very first, no doubt, she had wished to be in the secret, not perhaps from treacherous motives, but from curiosity, and the natural desire to be in her husband's confidence, and she pressed her request with cajolery and petulance. The young men at the same time had tried to find out the riddle by fair means. But on the seventh day they threatened to burn her and her father unless she found out the riddle for them, and under the terror of this threat she extracted the secret from Samson and divulged it to the Philistine young men. The only difficulty is to explain why a gap of four days occurs in the account between Judges 14:14 and Judges 14:15. The most likely thing is, that after three days' vain attempt to find out the riddle, they began to tamper with Samson's wife, offering her money, as the Philistine lords did to Delilah (Judges 16:5), though the narrative does not mention it; but that on the seventh day, becoming desperate, and thinking that the woman was not doing her best, they resorted to the dreadful threat of burning her.
She lay sore upon him. In Judges 16:16 the same word is rendered pressed him. It came to pass on the seventh day. This is the confluence of the two streams of narrative.
The men of the city—the same as were spoken of in Judges 14:11 as Samson's companions. Before the sun went down—just in time, therefore, to save the wager, as defined in Judges 14:12. This is the uncommon word for the sun used also in Judges 8:13, where see note. What is sweeter, etc. They put their answer in a form to make it seem as if they had guessed the riddle; but Samson instantly perceived his wife's treachery, and showed that he did so by quoting the proverb of plowing with another person s heifer. They had not used their own wit to find out the riddle, but had learnt the secret at Samson's cost, through his wife. He insinuates that had they acted fairly he would have won the wager.
The Spirit of the Lord, etc.—as in Judges 14:6 and Judges 13:25, where see notes. The verb here, came upon him, is the same as in Judges 13:6. Thirty men—the number of the companions to whom he felt bound to pay the thirty changes of garment. Ashkelon (Judges 1:18)—one of the five Philistine cities, but the least often mentioned, owing, it is thought, to its remote situation "on the extreme edge of the shore of the Mediterranean, far down in the south." It still preserves its ancient name, and was famous in the time of the Crusaders. "Within the walls and towers now standing Richard (Coeur de Lion) held his court." The onion called eschalot, or shallot, is named from Eshkalon, or Ashkalon. Their spoil—that which was stripped from them. His anger was kindled—against the Philistines in general, and his wife in particular, so that he went back to his father s house without her.
His companion—no doubt his "best man," the "friend of the bridegroom." The parents of the Thimnathite, having no doubt obtained Samson's dower, and supposing him to have finally broken with his treacherous wife, proceeded to give her in marriage to the Philistine young man who had been Samson's friend—perhaps the man to whom she had told the riddle. The sad end of this unhappy alliance fully justified the opposition of Samson's parents to it in Judges 14:3.
HOMILETICS
Another view of married life.
The lessons which we drew from the married life of Manoah and his wife seem to receive a striking confirmation, by contrast, from the unhappy union of their son with the daughter of the Philistines. Here everything was against a reasonable prospect of happiness. Their religion was different, one might say opposite. Samson had been brought up in the faith of the LORD God of Israel. He was in covenant with him by circumcision. His creed was that there was one true and living God, the Lord of heaven and earth, and that all the gods of the heathen were but vain idols. His religious duty was to love the Lord his God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, and to serve him alone. His wife did not believe in the Lord, nor love him, nor fear him, but was a worshipper of Dagon, whose temples were at Gaza (Judges 16:21-7) and at Ashdod (1 Samuel 5:1-9). There could therefore be no union for them in that great bond of union which is the living God. Righteousness can have no fellowship with unrighteousness, nor light with darkness, nor the believer with an infidel, nor the temple of God with idols. Then again the interests of their respective peoples were opposite. To break off the Philistine yoke from the neck of Israel; to set his people free from a shameful bondage; to rescue his native towns, and fields, and vineyards, from the usurped possession of the uncircumcised invader; to drive out the foreigner from the land which God gave to his forefathers; was Samson's natural aim, and the use which he must needs make of his supernatural strength. But his wife's sympathies were all with the children of her people. Her heart would swell with pride as she thought of their conquests over Israel, of Dagon's conquests over the people of Jehovah. She would look with scorn upon the subject race, and be proud of her kindred with the conquerors. Every movement of either people must at once put them on opposite sides. What was joy to him would be grief to her; and what made her glad would make him sorry. Their language was different, their tastes were different, their habits of thought and life were different. They had nothing in common to cement their hearts and interests together, and to bind their life into one. He was pleased with her beauty, and she was gratified by his admiration. That was all. And how long would that last? What strong temptation, what powerful motive of action, what great provocation, would those influences be able to withstand? What promise did they give of unity of sentiment, and harmony of conduct, amidst the difficulties of troublous times, and the intricacies of conflicting duties? One week in their case was sufficient to supply the answer to these questions. A betrayed husband, a deserted wife, discord, strife, bloodshed, were the fruit of seven days of this ill-assorted union. The wife married to another husband is cut off by murderous hands in the prime of her youth and beauty. The husband married to another wife is again betrayed and given up to his enemies to be mocked, and blinded, and to die. The man of splendid gifts, but irregular passions, lives a stormy life, and dies a violent death. He has no gentle, clear-sighted woman to restrain and guide him; no sym-pathising wife to share his sorrows, and by sharing to lighten them. He only knows what is bad in woman, because he only seeks them on the bad side. And that one week of disappointed love in an unhappy and unholy wedlock casts its shade upon a whole life which might have been a most happy and glorious one. We seem, therefore, to be taught by the ill-starred marriage of Samson with the Thimnathite, as forcibly as by the blessed union of his father and mother, what to seek and what to avoid in choosing a partner for life. The union of two souls in the love of God and in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ; the union of two minds in all rational and sober pursuits, whether intellectual, political, or social; the identity of interests; the community of purpose to make the most of what God has given to each for the common stock of happiness; the care of each for the other as the first human duty, and the faithfulness of each to the other in the whole series of actions, from the least to the greatest—this is the ideal of Christian wedlock to which we are led by the failures of the erie as well as by the virtues of the other. It is sad to think how frequently happy married life is an idea only, and not a reality, from the entire failure on both sides to carry out the conditions upon which happiness depends. A foolish choice at first, based only upon beauty and vanity, upon wealth and position, upon whim and fancy, without consulting religion, or reason, or true affection, is followed up by independent and selfish action, by each crossing the other's wishes, by mutual neglect, by mutual reproach, by mutual violation of the spirit of the marriage contract. There follow in different cases various degrees of unhappiness and disorder according to the various measures of temper, and violence, and self-will, and disregard of solemn vows, and contempt of God's word, of the parties concerned. In one home it is the constant jarring of antagonistic wills, and unloving tempers; in another it is the coldness of distant and reproachful spirits; the constant sense of injury from unfulfilled duties: in others, the man having failed to find in his wife the kindness, the solace, the help, which he expected, seeks to indemnify himself in the flatteries and cajoleries of other women; and the wife, wounded in her pride, and hurt in her affections, looks for balm and for revenge in the attentions of the profligate, and the admiration of the licentious. In both cases true manhood and womanhood are marred and crushed, and the whole life is distorted, and like a building in ruins. Public duties in the cabinet and in the field may indeed be performed by men of gifted minds and transcendent powers, in spite of their aberrations from moral rectitude; but the delicate organisation of affections and faculties which were given to make up the charm and beauty of private and domestic life cannot live in an atmosphere of vice; and when there is a breakdown of the love and obedience due to God, there is a breakdown also of the dignity and happiness of man. The careful study by married people, in a spirit of true Christian philosophy, of what is necessary to make wedlock the blessing God intended it to be when he "made the woman and brought her unto the man," and the careful daily endeavour, in the spirit of saintly obedience, to perform each his or her part in the mutual contract, in spite of difficulties and hindrances, would be a large contribution to human happiness, and to the beauty of the Church of God.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR
Samson's riddle.
A strong impression had been produced by the circumstance upon the mind of Samson. This was one of the means used by God to penetrate and awaken the moral nature of his servant. A certain Divine wisdom is given for its interpretation, and for its suitable statement to the world, the heathen of his day. The form which the circumstance assumes when declared to the Philistines is a favourite one to this day amongst Eastern and primitive peoples. It constituted a distinct portion of God's great revelation of himself to man, but for many and weighty reasons it was not a plain declaration, but the "wisdom of God in a mystery.
I. THE PHENOMENA OF THE NATURAL WORLD LINK THEMSELVES WITH, AND BECOME SYMBOLS OF, SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. Thus the deepest things of the spiritual universe may be uttered by those who are but dimly conscious of their meaning. And no man is wholly destitute of spiritual teaching. The teachings of revelation thus become indefinitely enriched and extended.
II. TO THE AWAKENED SPIRIT OF MAN THE DIVINE MEANINGS OF LIFE AND THE WORLD ARE ALONE IMPORTANT. How vast is the relationship of the truth thus generalised! For many days will such food sustain the soul. Trials may become the sources of spiritual consolation if overcome in God's strength. Death is the gate of Life.
III. TO THE UNBELIEVING IS THE TRUTH OF GOD SPOKEN IN PARABLES, THAT SEEING, THEY MAY NOT PERCEIVE, AND HEARING, THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND. This might be called the "gospel of the Philistines." It is a mighty revelation. How near were these heathen, if they had known it, to the wisdom and kingdom of God! So is it to-day with the preaching of the gospel to unbelievers. The moral character, and not the mere intellectual power, of men is tested in this way. What the Spirit of the Lord inspires the same Spirit can interpret. God will bestow illumination upon those who seek it. How often has God spoken through striking incidents to those who would not care to hear the preaching of his word, or to whom it has not been granted! Do not let any one hastily say, "I never heard." Do not let Christians despair of those who have not heard, and who will not hear the preaching of men. God has his own way to every heart.—M.
Unlawful methods of interpreting Divine mysteries.
Samson is betrayed into revealing his riddle. It was a mean subterfuge, and the fraud is promptly avenged.
I. THERE ARE ILLEGITIMATE WAYS OF GETTING AT DIVINE TRUTH. False prophets. Unwilling prophets, as Balaam. Mercenary attempts at obtaining a peculiar knowledge, as of Simon Magus (cf. Acts 8:9-44; Acts 19:13; Colossians 2:17, Colossians 2:18).
II. THE ESSENTIAL MEANING OF THE TRUTH CANNOT BE THUS DISCOVERED. The Philistines only learnt the historic circumstance; they were still in outer darkness as to the evangelic significance of the parable or riddle. So it is with those who "intrude into those things which they have not seen or heard, vainly puffed up in their fleshly minds." God will deliver them over to strong delusion, and the belief of a lie.
III. THIS IS FULL OF DANGER, AND WILL BE PROMPTLY AVENGED. Partly in the apparent illumination, but real ignorance, of such men; and partly in the consequences attending an incomplete or garbled gospel. Here the vengeance was both spiritual and physical. How sorry the gain that involved their fellow-countrymen in such a death!—M.
Ploughing with another's heifer.
The saying derives itself from the occasional discovery of hidden treasure by the plough, and the superstitious belief that the homebred heifer knew where the furrow ought to be drawn, because it has been shown the way before, when the treasure was hid.
I. So SATAN AND HIS SERVANTS BETRAY MEN THROUGH THEIR HABITUAL TEMPERAMENT OR BIAS—THE WEAKNESS PECULIAR TO THEM. The weak place in Samson was his sensuality. His enemies speedily discovered this, and were unscrupulous enough to take advantage of it.
II. SAINTS SHOULD BE DISTRUSTFUL OF UNHOLY CONFIDENCES, AND SHOULD LEAVE "NO UNGUARDED PLACE" IN THEIR SPIRITUAL CHARACTER OR RELATIONS. All habitual relations or companionships with worldly persons are dangerous. Our sin will find us out, to our confusion. Safety can alone be found in perfect consecration—putting on the whole armour of God. Relations in life which, when both parties are holy, are full of comfort and help, when they involve us in close fellowship with the wicked may be our destruction.—M.
How Confidence in wicked men is rewarded.
The world is full of such instances of misplaced trust. The fable of the viper and the husbandman. It is hard to persuade men of the utter folly of worldly friendships and alliances. Only the most severe warnings and painful consequences will suffice to disabuse the mind. At the same time that the carnal nature of God's servant draws him towards the enemies of his country and his faith, God's providential dispensations are working out an effectual divorce, and preparing Samson for deadly hostility to his quondam friends.
I. THE CONFIDENCE WE PLACE IN THE WICKED WILL CERTAINLY BETRAY US.
II. GOD SEEKS BY STERN LESSONS TO SEPARATE HIS PEOPLE FROM THE WORLD.
III. NONE ARE SO OPPOSED TO THE CHARACTERS AND PRACTICES OF THE WICKED AS THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BETRAYED BY THEM.—M.
HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY
Samson's riddle.
The first intention of Samson's riddle is plainly, as he shows in the interpretation, to wrap up in mystery a simple event of his own experience. But, with the Eastern instinct for imagery, Samson may well be supposed to intend also to set forth general principles which he sees illustrated in that event. The words seem to suggest the beautiful truth that things harsh and destructive may be found to contain within them sources of happiness and life.
I. SOURCES OF LIFE MAY BE FOUND IN POWERS OF DESTRUCTION. Out of the destroyer came forth food.
1. The destroying agencies of nature prepare the way for fresh life. Geological catastrophes renew the face of the old earth with virgin fields of fertility. The products of decay are the food of new life; the rotting leaves of autumn nourishing the blooming flowers of spring.
2. National revolutions sometimes introduce a better order. Out of the corruption and disintegration of the Roman empire the separate nationalities of modern Europe sprang into being.
3. Religious destructive agencies prepare the way for new religious institutions. The work of the Hebrew prophets, of Christ and his apostles,—especially St. Paul,—of the leaders of the Reformation, was largely destructive, and only after a certain amount of ruthless breaking up of old revered habits and doctrines was it possible to introduce the good things they were ultimately destined to establish. We may be too fearful of needful but painful destroying agencies, and by joining the new cloth to the old garment may only increase the final rent.
4. Destructive influences in private life are overruled by God's providence to produce fruitful issues. Our cherished hope is dashed to the ground; for the moment we are in despair. But in time out of the grave of the past God makes a purer, nobler hope to spring.
5. The death of Christ is the source of the Christian's life. In his broken body we see our bread of life (1 Corinthians 11:24).
II. SOURCES OF QUIET BLESSEDNESS MAY BE FOUND IN MOVEMENTS OF VIOLENT STRENGTH. Out of the strong comes forth sweetness.
1. It is only in strength that we can find true gentleness. While gentleness makes us great, greatness is necessary to the perfection of gentleness. Soft weakness is not gentleness. Self-control, forbearance, quiet work in the midst of difficulty are signs of gentleness, and they all imply great, strength of soul. Christ's shadow shelters us because he is a great rock (Isaiah 32:2).
2. Violent exercises of strength are sometimes required to remove an unsettled, restless condition of things, to establish an equilibrium, and so secure more peace. Storms clear the air and bring about a more stable calm than that which preceded them. The troubles of life subdue our passions, rebuke our wilfulness, chasten our affections, and thus prepare us to receive the peace of God.
3. A healthy exercise of strength is the means of bringing happiness to others. Sentimental sympathy is of little use. If we wish to sweeten the lot of the most miserable classes of men, we must be prepared for active measures of improvement.
4. In proportion to the violence of earthly trials will be the sweetness of the heavenly rest.—A.