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The Preliminary Arrangements
v. 1. And Samson went down to Timnath, in the region where the highlands of Judah merge into the plains of Philistia, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the philistines, who were therefore encroaching pretty far upon the territory of the Israelites.
v. 2. And he came up, to the hilly country where the home of his parents was, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines; now, therefore, get her for me to wife. The act of giving children in marriage is clearly the prerogative of the parents according to the plain doctrine of God's Word. A young man may state his preference and, in most cases, urge his suit successfully, but first with his own parents, for unless he sets forth with their blessing, or at least with their express consent, the serious business of taking a wife may prove disastrous to him.
v. 3. Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, of his own tribe, or among all my people, in all Israel, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines, for the rite of circumcision was a distinction which Israel had above all heathen nations as a sign of God's covenant. The objection of Manoah and his wife was founded upon Exo_34:16 and Deu_7:3-4, for, although the philistines are not expressly named in the list of heathen nations with whose members marriage was not to be consummated, yet the principle of the prohibition excluded the Philistines as well as all others. Mixed marriages are dangerous at all times, and parents will best perform their duty if they prevent the union between their children and unbelievers, and also false believers, from the start. And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. It may have been only a temporary attachment which Samson felt, but he was insistent, and his parents finally consented.
v. 4. But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that Jehovah had so arranged matters, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines, a valid ground for a quarrel and for an attack upon them; for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel, the Lord had delivered Israel into their hand to be oppressed by them, Jdg_13:1.
v. 5. Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, the young man evidently preceding his parents in his eagerness to press his suit with the woman of his choice, and came to the vineyards of Timnath, to the hills which bordered upon a more desolate section of country; and, behold, a young lion, fierce and bloodthirsty, roared against him, rushed upon him with all evidences of bloodthirstiness.
v. 6. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, urging him on with great force, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, taking hold of the beast with his bare hands and slaughtering him with the greatest ease, and he had nothing in his hand, no weapon of any kind; but he told not his father or his mother what he had done, he was conscious for the first time that the strength which he possessed was an unusual power, and he felt diffident about discussing it even with his parents, all the more so because they would have been startled by the account of the danger in which he had been.
v. 7. And he went down and talked with the woman, with the idea of finding out more of her character and suitability by a conversation with her; and she pleased Samson well, the impression which he had first gained was confirmed.
v. 8. And after a time he returned to take her, coming down once more with his parents to celebrate the nuptials, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, for the heat of the dry season is so great as to take up all the moisture from a dead body before decay sets in; and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion, the wild bees had lost no time in using the dry carcass as a hive.
v. 9. And he took thereof in his hands, drawing it out with his fingers as the only spoons available and using his hands as vessels, and went on eating, munched of the honey as he went along, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat, also relishing the delicacy; but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion, for that would have brought out the story of the encounter with the lion. This incident gave Samson the suggestion for the riddle which he proposed during the week of feasting. A greater than Samson, Christ, the almighty God, has overcome the roaring lion, Satan, and this victory is the source of peace, salvation, and life for all men.