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[0:00] Okay, we'll open your Bibles then tonight, if you would, to Judges 14, and I'm going to read verses 9-20.

[0:24] So we'll get to the end of this chapter. Judges 14. Starting with verse 10. So his father went down to the woman.

[0:39] You kind of have to remember last time, Samson saw this Philistine woman, had to have her, pleasing to his eyes. Said to his mom and dad, get her for me.

[0:52] And so this is what they're doing. So the father went down to the woman, arranging everything, you see. And Samson gave a feast there. For young men used to do so.

[1:05] And it happened when they saw him that they brought 30 companions to be with him. I mean, you know, I guess you take one look at Samson and you say, we need some help here.

[1:19] Then Samson said to them, let me pose a riddle to you. If you can correctly solve and explain it to me within the seven days of the feast.

[1:31] Then I will give you 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothing. But if you cannot explain it to me. Then you shall give me 30 garments, linen garments and 30 changes of clothing.

[1:43] And they said to him, pose your riddle that we may hear it. So he said to them, out of the eater came something to eat. And out of the strong came something sweet.

[1:56] Now for three days they could not explain the riddle. But it came to pass on the seventh day that they said to Samson's wife, entice your husband that he may explain the riddle to us.

[2:07] Or else we will burn you in your father's house with fire. Have you invited us in order to take what is ours? Is that not so? Then Samson's wife wept on him and said, you only hate me.

[2:20] You do not love me. You have posed a riddle to the sons of my people. But you have not explained it to me. And he said to her, look, I have not explained it to my father or my mother.

[2:31] So shall I explain it to you? Now she wept. She had wept on him the seven days while their feast lasted. And it happened on the seventh day that he told her.

[2:42] Because she pressed him so much. Then she explained the riddle to the sons of the people, of her people. So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, what is sweeter than honey?

[2:55] And what is stronger than a lion? And he said to them, if you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle. Then the spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily.

[3:06] And he went down to Ashkelon and killed 30 of their men. These will be Philistines, by the way. Took their apparel and gave the changes of clothing to those who had explained the riddle.

[3:18] So his anger was aroused and he went back up to his father's house. And Samson's wife was given to his companion who had been his best man. So given to one of the Philistines.

[3:29] Okay, so interesting part of the story. Another kind of short story in the life of Samson, the judge of Israel.

[3:42] And you think about it, and I always kind of tend to want to make this point at the beginning every time. When I think about Samson, when you think about Samson, you think how much he had going for him.

[3:58] I mean, really think about it. He had everything going for him. His birth was announced by the angel of the Lord. His mission in life was arranged and declared by God even before he was born.

[4:17] He was raised by godly parents. He came out of that kind of home. He was blessed by God as a young man. He was empowered with incredible strength by the Holy Spirit.

[4:35] I mean, he had all of this going for him. And yet, what kind of man he was. Incredible. And he should have been a godly man. Had every reason to be.

[4:47] Had the right foundation and all of that. He should have been a godly man, but he wasn't. And, you know, at least from our perspective, he should not have been listed in Hebrews 11, but he was. Okay.

[4:59] Now, we're going to get to the faith of Samson eventually. But up to this time, to this point in our study of the man, and even based upon what we already know about him, even what we've not looked at yet, we'd say, now how could he be listed here among all those men and women of faith in Hebrews 11?

[5:20] But he was. He was. Samson was larger than life. Now, he was a strong man. But I don't think that he looked like the Incredible Hulk. Because his strength was always a mystery to people.

[5:35] You notice that? It was a mystery. They didn't understand the source of his strength. They're always asking. A little bit later, we get Delilah in the picture. And, you know, they're wanting to know, what is the source of his strength, the secret of his strength? Well, if he looked like the Incredible Hulk, you wouldn't have to ask the question.

[5:49] You know. And so, but he was in his personality and flamboyant kind of life. Even to this point as we're studying, we're going to see a whole lot more.

[6:01] You know, he was larger than life. And, you know, he had all the makings of a kind of a 21st century celebrity, didn't he? I mean, he was very much like the people that we, quote, call, quote, celebrities in our day.

[6:18] In fact, I was reading about an interview with Rob Lowe. You know who he is? I'm just kidding. I know you know who he is. Well, most of you do, anyway.

[6:29] The actor, you know, Rob Lowe. And in the course of this interview, he said this, and I quote, Anyone who's lived their life to the fullest extent has a scandal buried somewhere.

[6:44] And anybody who doesn't have a scandal, I have no interest in meeting. He said, You show me somebody who's led a perfect life, and I'll show you a dullard.

[6:55] That's a new word for me. Dull. That's what Rob Lowe said. Well, you know, Rob Lowe would have loved Samson. You know, if he's ever read the Bible, I don't know.

[7:07] I mean, he's off into some really weird stuff. He'd love Samson because Samson was certainly no dullard. Not by Rob Lowe's standard. You know, his definition of it.

[7:18] And, you know, Samson didn't have a scandal buried somewhere. He did. He wasn't hidden anywhere. I mean, everything scandalous that Samson did, he did right out in the open for everyone to see.

[7:32] This was Samson, flamboyant. And Samson, someone had said that Samson was a he-man with a she-weakness. He really was. In fact, at every step of his downfall, there was always some woman involved.

[7:46] So, I guess we just blame the women on this, right? Looking around, I think the men are outnumbered in here. I better rethink that. And it wouldn't matter if it outnumbered.

[7:57] Okay, all right, I got it. I know that. Learned that. You know, I, you know, my family is, you know, mostly boys, men, one woman.

[8:11] And yet, we're outnumbered in the house. Sit down. Ephesians 5, woman. Ephesians 5. Okay, I'm getting in deep trouble.

[8:27] In fact, the very things I'm going to criticize Samson for, I'm just about to do. I shouldn't. All right. But in the portion of this particular portion of the story of Samson that we're going to study tonight, we really do see an example of a man who cared nothing about God's call upon his life.

[8:49] He certainly, clearly cared nothing until the very end, cared nothing about his devotion to God, nothing about his vow, the vow of his life to God.

[9:03] He cared nothing about that, this Nazarite vow. I guess you could argue that he didn't make it. You know, it was done for him beforehand. But still, the vow was there.

[9:15] And he cared nothing about that. And in that way, Samson stands as an example to us. A bad example. A one not to follow. You know, an example of what we should not be and not do.

[9:30] In the first place, our commitments, we could call them vows. Our commitments to the Lord are important. They're sacred. And God expects us to keep them. He does.

[9:41] He expected Samson to keep his. God expects us to keep them. And 1 Peter 1.6 says, Be ye holy, for I am holy. It is, be holy, be separated from evil, because I am completely separated from all that is evil.

[9:58] In the second place, we should never flirt with evil, which is something Samson did. And we're going to see that here tonight. We're not to do that. 2 Corinthians 17 says, Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.

[10:14] Do not touch what is unclean. So we're not to, you know, to flirt with it or come in contact with it and put ourselves in the way of it. Which is something Samson did over and over.

[10:26] So he's an example to us of what we should not be and not do. And really, in third place, we should always actively, this is the opposite, we should always actively pursue what is righteous.

[10:37] Which is something Samson did not do. You could argue until the very end. The Bible says in 1 Peter 3.12, For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers.

[10:53] But the face of the Lord is against and opposes those who do evil. Alright, so where was Samson in all of that?

[11:04] Well, he was always on the wrong side of it. Even though God used him. God did some mighty things through him.

[11:16] See, God used him. Which, you know, I guess actually we should say it this way. God used his foolish sinfulness as an occasion to bring judgment upon the Philistines.

[11:31] It was an occasion for God. Remember, that's what it said back there in verse 4. When Samson eyed that Philistine woman, he wanted her for a wife. And he said to his parents, get her for me.

[11:42] And they counseled against it. But he was insistent, very dogmatic. I'm going to have that woman. And so verse 4 says that they, his father and mother, did not know that it was the Lord.

[11:54] Did not know it was the Lord. That he was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. Now, don't make too much of the wording there as if God is just looking for some way, you know.

[12:06] He had a plan, purpose. And so he is going to use Samson's sinfulness, his pride, his, you know, fleshliness, his, you know, self-centeredness.

[12:20] All these things. He's going to use all these things. Even his tendency toward anger and wrath and rashness. He's going to use all of that for an occasion to bring judgment upon the Philistines.

[12:32] He's going to do it through Samson. And we see that over and over again as we look at the life of Samson. When it comes to God accomplishing his purpose, this is what we should understand about this.

[12:48] When it comes to God accomplishing his divine purpose, the worthiness of the vessel he uses is not always important to him.

[12:58] Or the unworthiness of the vessel is not an issue with God if he wants to accomplish his purpose.

[13:09] That doesn't give us a right to just be any way we want to be. And, you know, well, God will still bless. Well, not necessarily so. It doesn't figure that way. But God's purpose through Samson was going to be accomplished.

[13:20] And it didn't make any difference how Samson did it. Now, Samson could have done some incredible things for the Lord for his glory. Could have done all those things, all the things that he did for the glory of God.

[13:33] Rather than doing these things out of his own sinfulness. It could have been the opposite and God's purpose would have been accomplished. All right, so let's look at the story. That's all introduction.

[13:45] Five till. We'll make it. First of all, we see Samson's wedding. Just kind of divide this or outline this story. First, the wedding.

[13:58] Samson's wedding. And we can learn a great deal about Samson from this. And really a good deal about Samson's continued downward track into sinfulness.

[14:13] Verse 10 says, So his father went down to the woman. Samson. That just means he went down to arrange this wedding. And that's the way they did it in those days. And Samson gave a feast there.

[14:24] All right, this is kind of summing it up here. He gave a feast. For young men used to do so. All right, this is kind of customary. And it happened when they saw him that they brought, or yeah, brought 30 companions to be with him.

[14:43] And I mentioned a while ago that, you know, all the afraid of Samson. So they brought these guys. I don't really know that's the reason. It just may have been some friends of the family here. And brought 30 to be a part of this feast.

[14:55] They were all men. All right, but what's wrong here? Well, there's several things. And you have to know a little bit about tradition.

[15:08] The tradition of a Jewish wedding. That, by the way, is very important. And he forsook that tradition. And that's the first thing you see that's wrong here.

[15:19] The tradition he forsook. This wedding feast was a major break from Israelite tradition. A Jewish wedding would include the following.

[15:32] And really more details than this. But these are kind of the main points. The wedding would be arranged by the groom's family long before it took place.

[15:44] Now, in part, that's what happens here. The father goes and arranges the wedding. But then from there, Samson deviates completely from the tradition.

[15:56] Because then a period of time would begin that would be called the betrothal. Betrothal period. And it would usually last at the very least a year of betrothal.

[16:08] Now, that didn't happen here, did it? No, certainly not. Samson was all about immediate gratification. I may have that woman. I want her now. Get her for me. And then during that time of betrothal, the bridegroom would then go home and prepare a place for the couple to live.

[16:26] He'd build a house or build a place or whatever. And the bride, on the other hand, would be staying at her house. And she would be making her trousseau or her bridal wedding wardrobe.

[16:40] And also, she would be getting ready for the arrival of the groom to come to get her. And so, at an unannounced hour, with the Jewish tradition, the Oriental wedding was usually at night.

[16:57] The bridegroom would then come for his bride and then he would take her back to his home. It's a beautiful picture. And, you know, he would have already have arranged for a feast to be ready.

[17:13] The people would have assembled. And he goes and gets the bride and brings her back. And all is ready and all have been assembled for this great marriage feast.

[17:26] And so, when he's going to get the bride, he would take his friends with him. And go after his bride. He would come at an unexpected time.

[17:37] The bride would not know when. I mean, that's really problematic, isn't it, for most of us in our culture. And so, he would arrive.

[17:48] His arrival would be preceded by a shout. Usually, someone in the bridal party would go out ahead and give a shout. Maybe blow a trumpet. Sound. Alert.

[17:59] The people in the house said, the bridegroom is coming. And then, the bridegroom would take his bride, take her home, where they would have the marriage feast.

[18:11] And then, the consummation of the marriage. It's a beautiful, beautiful tradition. But none of that happened. Not any of that happened. Samson skipped all of that.

[18:24] Now, he's marrying a Gentile. So, that may be, we could say, well, that's one reason. But still, he broke with the tradition. And we might say, well, you know, that's no big deal. I mean, you don't always have to follow tradition, do you?

[18:37] I mean, a lot of weddings today are not following any kind of tradition. There's some pretty strange things going on out there in weddings. In fact, just recently, I heard about a wedding that took place underwater.

[18:53] Scuba gear, you know, and all that. Okay. So, you say, you don't have to follow tradition. Well, maybe not. But, the Jewish wedding formed an important typology of redemption.

[19:11] And, even before I kind of go back over that, you've already identified a lot of that right here in the, what I said about the traditional Jewish wedding. The father arranged for us to be the son's bride.

[19:27] The groom came to the bride's home to start the betrothal period. And then, he returned to the bride. And then, he returned to his home to prepare a place for his bride.

[19:38] Right? And, the bride remains here doing what? Preparing the trousseau. Preparing the wedding garments.

[19:49] Preparing for the wedding garments. And, by the way, those wedding garments are righteousness. Preparing for the coming of the groom. And, when the appointed time comes, unknown to the bride, because we don't know when our groom is coming.

[20:04] But, at the appointed time, the bridegroom comes with a shout, with a trump. Trumpet blasts. And, he will take his bride, us, home with him to the marriage supper.

[20:24] See, the typology of the Jewish wedding. But, none of that was done here. So, the tradition, you see, that Samson forsook. Samson cares nothing about the tradition that points the world to God's Redeemer.

[20:40] And, his plan of redemption. Second, the temptation he flirted with. The temptation he flirted with.

[20:50] And, this is very clear from the text. Samson, verse 10, gave a feast there. Where's there? At the home of the Philistines. A woman. At her home, we're disposed.

[21:02] Suppose. It's there. And, now, the word translated feast. It is a specific word. Well, like all words are.

[21:14] But, it's specific to make a point. Okay? And, the point, the word is mishtah in the Hebrew. And, it refers to an occasion for drinking.

[21:26] And, that's strange. Now, it certainly was a banquet. It certainly was a feast. I mean, it just wasn't just, you know, a drinking party. Although, that was involved here. In fact, the word is sometimes translated drink.

[21:40] Mishtah. Drink. But, here in the context, it's a feast or a banquet associated with a marriage. So, it's a marriage feast. But, the word always includes the idea of drinking and wine.

[21:55] All right. So, what do we have here? What's the problem with that? Well, it's a drinking party. But, at the very least, Samson, a Nazarite, had no business being there. All right.

[22:07] We keep coming back to that, don't we? And, you know, the fact that he is a Nazarite, separated unto the Lord, devoted to the Lord, committed to the Lord, all the rest, all of his life.

[22:18] And, not only for him, but also his parents. Because, that truth about Samson is important to remember because every step of the way, he's violating that vow.

[22:32] And, he's doing that here. He was to be separated unto the Lord all the days of his life and not to come in contact with wine or even anything associated with it. Not to touch it.

[22:44] Not to drink it. And so, what is Samson thinking? We just kind of stack all this up. He's already walked through a vineyard. Remember, we studied that last time. And, you're not supposed to do that.

[22:54] He's already touched the dead body of a lion. Remember? The lion that he killed. And, you know, scooped the honey out of it. Touched the dead body. Gave some of it to his parents.

[23:06] And, he's about to go through with a God-forbidden marriage, according to Scripture. And, now he's getting drunk with the enemy.

[23:16] That's just step by step. Down he goes. And, you know, this having a party and rubbing shoulders with the enemy and getting drunk with them, by the way, is going to lead to even worse things because Samson is setting the course for his life here.

[23:37] Even though he's a judge. Even though, clearly, at several junctures along the way, he is used by God. Or, God, rather, is using Samson for an occasion to judge the enemy.

[23:51] But, we always, you know, we always flirt with temptation when there's intoxicating drink involved. May I just make a little case for that?

[24:03] In fact, if you would, turn to Proverbs 23, verse 29. And, we just have to read several of these verses. Now, we're not Nazarites, but we are committed to the Lord.

[24:18] Our lives are committed to him. And, we don't want to flirt with temptation. We don't want to go down a path. And, so we should have nothing to do with this. Look at what he says.

[24:28] Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?

[24:40] Those who linger long at the wine. Those who go in search of mixed wine. That's actually mixed drink. It's a very, very specific word for strong drink.

[24:53] Do not look on the wine when it is red. When it sparkles in the cup. When it swirls around smoothly. I like the King James. When it moves.

[25:05] What's that talking about? Fermentation. At the last, it bites like a serpent. And, stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things.

[25:17] I mean, this is a description of drunkenness. Your heart will utter perverse things. You can't control your tongue. I mean, the Samson's case in point. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea.

[25:32] It means you feel like you're floating on water. You're dizzy. Or like one who lies at the top of the mast. Can you imagine being at the top of a mast on a ship?

[25:46] You know, that thing's going back and forth. It makes me sick even thinking. They have struck me. I mean, you say they have struck me, but I was not hurt.

[25:56] They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. You know, all sensitivity to anything is gone. When shall I awake? Not so that I'd be past this, but when shall I awake that I may seek another?

[26:13] Another what? Another drink. The New King James adds the word there. Though it's not in the text, but that's clearly implied. So I can seek it again. Do not be envious of evil men.

[26:23] You go on into chapter 24. Nor desire to be with them. What was Samson doing? For their heart devises violence and their lips talk of troublemaking. And Samson just put himself right in there.

[26:36] In this kind of party, you know. Getting drunk with the enemy. All right. Now, what happens next? We had Samson's wedding. And now, number two, Samson's wager.

[26:53] Samson's wager. All right. So here's Samson. One moment, Samson is getting drunk at his wedding feast. And the next moment, he is gambling. I'm not saying that every time a person, if you go the way of alcohol, you're going to soon become a gambler.

[27:07] It doesn't necessarily follow that way. But this is just, you know, kind of displaying for us the progress, the downward progress of sin. From one thing to the next.

[27:18] I mean, he's walking in a vineyard. You know, he's loosey-goosey with his Nazarite vow. Touching dead things. Marrying, you know, pagans.

[27:31] And now drinking wine. And now gambling. And it's just getting worse and worse. And he's also, by the way, of course, gambling with things he doesn't even have.

[27:42] Doesn't even possess. Which is usually the case with gamblers. So verse 11 says, And it happened when they saw him that they, the Philistines, brought 30 companions to be with him.

[27:54] And by the way, I might interject here. I meant to a moment ago. But it could be perhaps that these 30 men were soldiers. Philistine soldiers. Or at least associated in some way.

[28:06] That they may have been instructed or invited there to be bodyguards for their people. You know, who knows? But here these 30 guys are. And verse 12 says, Now, I don't really know for sure why Samson did this.

[28:26] Arrogance, pride. But I mean, maybe why a riddle? Except that it could have been just a kind of customary thing of the day. And we do know that it was pretty common in ancient times and even more recent times to have fun with riddles.

[28:42] And it was a form of entertainment. And so kind of in the spirit of the party here. Let me just pose a riddle to you. Of course, Samson has something in mind here. Because he's sure he's got a riddle they could never guess.

[28:54] And just think how he could benefit from this. And so he's obviously thinking about that. And we also do know, of course, that riddles were popular in those days. In fact, there's a passage, a reference in 1 Kings chapter 10 verse 1 where the Bible is telling us about the Queen of Sheba.

[29:12] That the Queen of Sheba came to prove Solomon with hard questions. And it's the same word for riddle. Now, you know, she may have come to Solomon and said, Riddle me this.

[29:26] Say how smart you are. And he was able to answer. Answer, I guess, all the riddles. The riddles could be confirmed. He confirmed that he went wise as an answer. Of course, God gave him that. But, of course, Samson went way beyond just entertainment here.

[29:40] Just having some fun. Because, see, and this reveals Samson's pride and his foolishness. And perhaps magnified by his drunkenness. And the riddle came with gambling.

[29:53] And kind of high stakes gambling, too. Thirty new suits of clothing. That's quite a lot in that day. Well, it'd be a lot in this day. Thirty new suits.

[30:06] Wow. I'd have to get another closet. Or two. I'd have to trade with my wife. No, I'm just kidding. Well, I'm just really, I'm in big trouble when I get home.

[30:17] All right. Samson said, if you can correctly solve and explain it to me within seven days, this riddle, seven days of the feast, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.

[30:32] But if you cannot explain it to me, then you have to give me the same thing. All right. So here's the gamble. And the Philistines said, bring it on. Okay. Pose your riddle that we may hear it.

[30:46] Now, what do we understand about this? This Samson's wager. First of all, we are to understand that this is yet another indication of Samson's sin leading to sin and more sin.

[31:04] I mean, again, we can just go through the whole litany here. Disrespect for God's call and for his parents and unequal yoking with a pagan and fraternizing with the enemy and drunkenness and gambling, wagering and, you know, with things you don't even have.

[31:22] And it just gets worse and worse and worse. And that's what we're to understand here at the very least. And Samson has no consciousness about his sin. I mean, none whatsoever.

[31:35] Even the riddle itself reveals that. Verse 14. So he said to them, out of the eater came something to eat and out of the strong came something sweet.

[31:48] That's an interesting riddle, isn't it? And for three days, they couldn't solve it. And they never would have been able to solve it, of course, until they had some help. But we know the right answer, don't we?

[32:00] Even without reading it, we already know it because we've already read about this. It comes from the time when Samson killed that lion, remember, in the grape vineyard. And later he comes back and the bees had made a nest in the carcass of that dead lion.

[32:18] And there's honey there and he ate of the honey and so forth. This is where the riddle comes from. So the riddle is about honey and about a lion. The strong is the lion, the honey, the sweet is the honey. So we already know the answer to it, but they didn't have any idea about that.

[32:31] And the point I want to make is, you know, he comes up with this riddle that really is connected and reminds him of a past activity in his life that was sinful.

[32:42] And he's using that for an occasion to profit. You know, far from having any regret about it. There's certainly no repentance involved here.

[32:58] He kind of looks back on it as a pretty neat thing. You know, honey in the carcass of a lion. And, you know, I have heard testimonies.

[33:13] I always cringe when a man gets up or someone stands and is going to give a testimony of his or her life. And it's a testimony of drug addiction.

[33:26] And it's okay. There's nothing wrong with giving testimony of how God delivered you from a life of sin and so forth. But it's the way it's told. It's just almost merchandised.

[33:42] And people have even built an entire lucrative ministry based upon a sinful past. So the riddle kind of reveals that.

[33:55] So that's the first thing we see. And then, you know, obviously we see the greed of Samson here. Greedy. 30 suits of clothing. I mean, that would make him a great man of wealth.

[34:07] But then, finally, I would say under this Samson's wager, Samson's just so calloused. And it's made him so stupid.

[34:22] Seriously. Verse 15. But it came to pass on the seventh day that they said to Samson's wife. She was, you know, one of their own, remember. Entice your husband that he may explain the riddle to us.

[34:37] Or else, you know, we're going to do this and this to you. All right. So there was a big threat there. But entice your husband to tell the riddle. And so Samson's wife, what does she do?

[34:50] She turns on the waterworks. I'm about to get in trouble again. Verse 16. But that's what it says. Samson's wife wept on him.

[35:03] Wept all over him. I mean, the tears are just... You only hate me. That's what she said. You don't love me. Isn't that so typical?

[35:20] Oh. Speaking of people who are not wise. You passed. And now she's leaving. Okay. Yeah. We'll make up later.

[35:33] Honey. This is being recorded, too, isn't it? So she said, you've posed a riddle to the sons of my people.

[35:43] But you haven't explained it to me. All right. And listen to Samson. What a fool. He said, here, look.

[35:54] I haven't told my parents. You think I'm going to tell you? Now, guys. I would recommend ever, ever saying anything like that to your wives.

[36:08] Okay. Somehow, you're going to tell your parents something you never tell your wife. Big mistake. Now, if you do it, certainly don't tell your wife.

[36:22] Okay. I'm just kidding. Yeah. I would just go all the way. Dig my grave. Well, you know, Samson doesn't have a clue, does he?

[36:36] I mean, he's just so calloused and so insensitive to his own sin. And he's become an absolute idiot. And he's so out of it spiritually. And he can't even help himself.

[36:48] And verse 17 says, now, she wept on him. So, she continued. I mean, for days. Wept on him the seven days while their feast lasted.

[36:59] And it happened on the seventh day that he told her. Because she pressed him so. Then she explained the riddle to the sons of her people.

[37:11] And you know what happens. They gave Samson the answer to the riddle. What is sweeter than honey and what is stronger than a lion? There's the answer to the riddle. What does Samson have to say to that?

[37:24] And you know where I'm going. If you had not plowed or schemed with my heifer. Now, guys, you promise nothing but grief if you ever call your wife a heifer.

[37:47] But the idea here, the heifer means, you know, unruly. Unpredictable. You know, well, I'm not going to go any further.

[38:01] All right, so we have Samson's wager. Samson's wager. His wedding, his wager. And then one last thing, his wrath. All of it led to his wrath.

[38:12] He's going to be quite angry at everyone. And so, first there's kind of this outburst. This outburst of wrath. Verse 19. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily.

[38:23] And we'll get back to that. And he went down to Ashkelon. Killed 30. Murdered them. Murdered these men. Took their clothes.

[38:35] Gave the clothes to pay his gambling debt. I'm just paraphrasing here. Cutting it short. But it says, so his anger was aroused.

[38:47] And that's really putting it mildly. The word means it was burning within it. This is an outburst of wrath. It's not just anger. This is wrath.

[38:58] And what did he do? He went back to his father's house. And eventually, of course, his new wife. Marriage was never consummated.

[39:09] But still there was the commitment. And he just left her. Later we'll find out his parents, her parents rather, gave him to marry someone else.

[39:22] All right. Now, there's no justifying what Samson did here. God gave him the strength, yes. And God had a purpose and fulfilled that purpose.

[39:33] But that did not let Samson off the hook. We have to remember that. God's not sanctioning sin. He's taken occasion here due to Samson's sin.

[39:46] But he's not sanctioning it. He didn't cause Samson to sin. He's not okay with that. He didn't excuse him for his personal cruelty and murder.

[39:58] His motives were not pure. His motive had nothing to do with God. God's call upon his life. It didn't have anything to do with God's purpose. Anything to do with God calling him to be a judge in his ministry as a judge.

[40:13] Anything to do with that. From Samson's point of view. In Samson's heart. And what Samson did was just a further indication of the wickedness of his heart.

[40:26] Clearly. So there's the outburst and then the outcome of it. As a result of it. Samson is so angry that he does not, of course, does not stay and consummate his marriage.

[40:39] And his wife loses what forgets all about her. You know, the outcome of sinful anger and wrath is always tragic. Always negative.

[40:50] Ephesians 4.26. We studied this last Wednesday in our Bible study on Wednesday night. Where we're commanded to be angry. That's a righteous anger.

[41:01] But not to sin. We're not to sin. Samson sinned. This was not a righteous anger. Proverbs 14.29 says, He who is slow to wrath has great understanding.

[41:12] But he who is impulsive exalts folly. Actually promotes folly. Foolishness. Proverbs 19.11. The discretion or the good sense of a man makes him slow to anger.

[41:26] And his glory is to overlook a transgression. There was a story. I read a story about a man who loved to attend debates at a local Catholic university.

[41:40] And they held all these debates in Latin. It was all done in Latin. And his friend one time said to him, He said, Why do you know those things? Do you speak Latin?

[41:50] He said, No. Do you understand it? No, I don't understand it. And yet he said, But I know who's wrong every time. Who's on the wrong side? He said, How do you know that?

[42:01] I just look to see who gets angry first. The anger is a terrible thing. And it clues us in ought to of what's going on in the heart.

[42:17] So the outcome of his wrath. Tragic. Murder. The abandonment of his commitment to this wife. Even though she is a pagan.

[42:29] Yet they gave him no right to abandon her. And then finally, And this is the strangest part of the story really, The ordaining of the outcome of his wrath. The ordaining of it.

[42:42] And who ordained it? God did. Not the wrath, But the outcome of it. We know that what Samson did was wrong. Certainly. It was wrong to defy God's law And marry this Philistine woman in the first place.

[42:57] It was wrong to defy his parents' counsel about that. Wrong about that. It was wrong to get drunk and gamble with the enemy. And hobnob with the enemy. It was wrong to commit murder.

[43:09] To pay his gambling debt. All those things were wrong. Yet God ordained the outcome of his sin. The outcome of his wrath. He ordained the outcome of that.

[43:19] God used the sin of Samson as an occasion for his purpose. To fulfill his purpose. He used the anger of Samson for the good of the people of Israel.

[43:31] And he's going to do that so many times throughout the tenure of Samson's judgeship. Samson should have been attacking the Philistines for the glory of God.

[43:45] That's what he should have been. His story would have been quite different. The outcome would be the same. The story could have been different. So you see there's two things at play here. There's God's righteous purpose. And it's right.

[43:55] And it's good. And it's perfect. And it will be accomplished. And yet side by side with that is the sinfulness and wickedness of Samson. And he will pay dearly for that.

[44:07] God's not letting him off the hook. Even though he's taking that as an occasion to fulfill his purpose. Samson should have been doing all this for the glory of God. He should have been doing this for the good of the people.

[44:18] Not for purposes of revenge. Which was his purpose. But God is sovereign over all. Over all things. Even the sins of humanity.

[44:32]  God is sovereign. God is sovereign. God is sovereign. God is sovereign.