Judges 14
1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 And he came up, 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.
3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. 5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
6 And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.
Samson had been set aside by the Lord to be a deliverer of God’s people. By the time Samson was born God’s people were under the yoke of the Philistines. His mother was barren but the Angel of the Lord appeared (probably the pre-incarnate Christ) and declared that she would have a son who would be the liberator of His people.
When Samson was born he was dedicated to the Lord and was not to touch alcohol or cut his hair (symbolic of his being set aside as a chosen vessel). He was chosen to liberate God’s people.
One day he saw an attractive girl in Timnah. He involved his parents in the engagement and marriage. Samson did not just do his own thing. His parents did not understand that it was God’s will (as part of the plan to set God’s people free) and asked Samson why he couldn’t choose a girl from Israel. Nevertheless, they came round to accepting Samson’s determination to marry the girl. When they went with Samson to fetch the girl at Timnah, Samson went into a vineyard and a ferocious lion met him there. Without weapons, he tore the lion apart like a “kid” (of a goat). His strength came from the “Spirit of the Lord”.
Later on, God was to use this same Samson to defeat the Philistines and annihilate the leadership.
This is all symbolic of Jesus, our Samson. When Christ was in heaven he “loved a foreign girl”. We are the foreigners, the Philistines, full of sin and enemies to God. Jesus loved us while we were yet enemies. Samson was a foretype of our heavenly Samson, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus desired us and asked His father for us (we depraved sinners) to marry us. And so, Christ came into the world and was set apart for one reason – to save His people to become His bride. He wrestled with the lion, the devil, on Calvary and defeated him. Jesus is our Saviour, our liberator, our Redeemer.
He saves us to bring us to His home in heaven. He paid the full price for His bride.
If you have been saved by Jesus you need to know that He gives full victory. Let the “Spirit of God” live in you to defeat the “roaring lion who seeks whom he can devour”. Through Jesus you can live as “more than conquerer”. You need not live a defeated life. Jesus has desired you and wants you as His eternal bride. He is the true Samson.