Judges 14: Samson's Relationship Status: It’s Complicated

The Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne, MN and host of the program goes solo for this study of Judges 14.

Samson eyes a beautiful Philistine girl and asks his parents to arrange his marriage to her. They disapprove but proceed with caution. Meanwhile, Samson demonstrates his holy strength against a lion and later eats honey from the lion’s carcass. Evidently, he found this amusing enough to pose it as a riddle to his Philistinian wedding guests. When they cannot answer, they compel Samson’s new bride to extract from him the answer to the riddle. This results in the death of 30 men and Samson’s new wife is given to another.

The Book of Judges tells the story of Israel's descent into chaos and idolatry, and the subsequent rise of a series of judges, or redeemers, who deliver them from their enemies. The judges are flawed heroes, but they are also instruments of God's deliverance. The book ends with the Israelites in a state of moral and spiritual decay, but it also offers hope for a better future.