Session 8: The Appeal

Session Overview

Creedal Statement

And God spoke all these words, saying,
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

Key Elements

• Key Passage - Judges 13:1–16:36
• Scripture Memory - But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed. Ephesians 5:3
• Catechism Question - Q: What should define our relationships? A: Purity.

Introduction

May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth: A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.

I know there is wild love and joy enough in the world, as there is wild Thyme and other herbs, but we would have garden-love and garden-joy, of God’s own planting.

God made sex. God created sex as a means for humans to enjoy intimacy with a spouse, grow families, and give a glimpse into the inseparable unity and close communion of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Although it is a delicate topic for humans to discuss candidly, God is not embarrassed or ashamed of human sexuality or sexual intimacy. While it is not the sum total of what defines us, our sexuality—being male or female—is part of what it means to be human. Within its proper boundaries, sex is a God-ordained blessing for the human race. As God designed it, sex is most enjoyable within the security of a covenant promise of marriage between one man and one woman. Outside of its marital boundaries, sex has proven to be one of the most destructive tools throughout human history.

The corruption and distortion of God’s good gift of sex result in pain, harm, disappointment, and lasting damage. When humans do not follow God’s design for sex, it can ruin relationships, destroy families, upend communities, and ravage society. Because it is a gift from God for our joy within the covenant bounds of marriage, sex outside of God’s plan in any form becomes an instrument of our demise. The disastrous effects of sexual sin are noticeably seen in the world, especially in a contemporary society that is overly and overtly sexualized. Marketing and advertising use sex as a powerful draw. In this way, sex is taught prematurely to children, causing great confusion and unprincipled permissiveness. Gender dysphoria cripples the well-being of its victims, and unbiblical gender ideology is propagandized to the masses. Pornography, sexual exploitation, and promiscuity are rampant and even celebrated in some contexts. Media and entertainment are permeated with distorted views of sex and intimacy. Confused, chaotic, and wounded, the world continues to play with sex irresponsibly, burning the very bosom that grasps it. Thankfully, God is not silent on matters of marriage, relationships, intimacy, romance, or sexuality. The Scriptures not only show us the beauty of sex but also vividly warn us against ungodly sexuality.

In Judges 13:1–16:36, we read an account of Samson, an Israelite judge called by God to deliver Israel from Philistine oppression. Sadly, his sexual immorality left pain, ruin, and death in its wake. Prophesied by an angelic messenger, Samson’s miraculous birth established him under a lifelong Nazirite vow as a sign that he was set apart for God’s special work. Throughout Samson’s twenty-year leadership of Israel, his example is one of misguided sexual ethics. Ignoring the cautions of his parents, he sought after and married a beautiful Philistine woman. This relationship dissolved when he lost a bet at his wedding celebration. Samson’s abandonment of his new bride eventually led to her being killed by her own people. Samson displayed incredible physical strength throughout his life, but he remained weak and vulnerable to the enticements of women. He slept with a prostitute and fell in love with a woman who betrayed him for silver. At the end of his life, Samson was blinded and paraded before a taunting crowd in the Philistine temple. Although he gained one last victory over his Philistine foes (and a victory over the Philistine’s pagan god), his sexual compromise multiplied misfortune upon himself, upon his family, upon his people, and upon larger society.

To be sure, Samson is an important figure in the Bible whose story illustrates God’s saving work among his people. Nonetheless, Samson also helps us to understand what it means to consecrate our sexuality to God. At first read, the saga of Samson is akin to the relationship drama of a modern-day soap opera. At many points in the narrative, things appear hopeful: love, romance, beauty, and adventure seem to bud throughout the narrative plot. Nevertheless, as the narrative unfolds, Samson’s foolish choices of sexual disobedience caused deep relational heartache and reaped regrettable consequences. Such a story unearths the causes and consequences of sex gone awry. Vanity, infatuation, possessiveness, jealousy, and exploitation are the villainous associates of sexual sin. In the end, sexual ethics is a barometer of much more than the health of mere human relationships. By going about sex in his own way, Samson ended up compromising the fullness of God’s purposes for his life. Sexual purity is indivisible from Christian maturity and mission. Let us read his story with sober-minded attention, seeking to mature in our own understanding and obedience to God’s design for the great gift of sexual intimacy.

Biblical Interpretation: Hearing the Word

Study the Text: The Bible is God’s inspired word to his people. Christian disciples mature in the faith when they are grounded in God’s word. In this movement, you will study the basic details of the biblical text.

Observation Questions

Read (or listen to) the whole passage of Scripture. Discuss the questions below for each section of the story. Pay attention to the details of the text to recall what the passage is saying. Use the focus verses to guide your conversation.

Storycraft

Retell the story in your own words, recounting the overall flow of the narrative, the main segments of the story, and the major developments that take place.

Narrative Elements

Story Retell

Theological Dialogue: Discussing the Plot

Explore the Text: God’s word is his trustworthy and sufficient revelation to his people. We grow as Christ’s disciples by rooting our lives in God’s unchanging truth. In this movement, you will explore vital teachings of this biblical passage.

Discussion Questions

Summarize the biblical story. As a community, discuss the following questions. Be attentive to the truths taught in this text. Use the commentary on the next pages to uncover core principles this passage teaches about the Christian faith.

Biblical Commentary

Use this commentary to help you understand the meaning of the text. Refer to the infographic on the next page to think through how narratives work.

Passage Introduction

Key Idea

Consecrate sex according to God’s design.

Passage Overview

God is not ashamed of human sexuality, yet the world constantly distorts God’s design for sex. This confusion inhibits our ability to enjoy sex as God intended. God has designed sexual joy to be experienced within the boundaries of the covenant of marriage, an exclusive and committed relationship between one husband and one wife for life. Whenever we go outside the bounds of this relationship, it results in pain, disappointment, and heartache. Like Samson, compromise in relationships can lead to a lack of experiencing all that God has in store for our lives. Samson’s life showcases repeated failure in his relationships with women. Sexual compromise was both a sign of faith immaturity and a hindrance to his life mission. Samson’s life is a warning and instruction to us. When we consecrate our lives to God’s service and make our commitment to him our utmost priority, we can experience relationships with meaning, order, and joy. Though tragic, Samson’s life not only serves as a grave warning of sexual sin but also the hope of redemption, forgiveness, and healing that God is ready to give to all who are ready to turn to him. As you explore the biblical narrative of Samson, use the following commentary to guide your thinking about sexual sin and sexual purity…

Passage Outline

Discovering God’s Design for Sexual Purity

For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.

The moment sex ceases to be a servant it becomes a tyrant.

Introduction

God’s commands against adultery and sexual sin are not only prohibitions against sexual immorality but also a summons to enjoy the pleasures of sex according to God’s great and beautiful design. When God created sex, he wanted humans to experience deep intimacy. What can be enjoyed in sexual pleasure can only be fully realized when experienced in the relational boundaries and behavioral standards established by God. Essentially, God gave humans sexual intimacy as a gracious and incredible gift—a gift of delight, rapture, and intimacy—only to be enjoyed if God’s rules are followed. In God’s design, sexual intimacy was meant to be experienced within the monogamous covenant of marriage between one husband and one wife committed to each other for life. However, like a car with the wrong fuel, whenever humans try to enjoy God’s gifts outside of his perfect design, things get ruined and destroyed.

Samson’s life epitomizes the damage that comes when we are disobedient to God’s instructions about sexuality. We read his story in Judges 13:1–16:36. Samson was a man with a sacred calling from God. While God used Samson to fulfill his purposes, Samson did not fully enjoy all that God had in store for the husband-wife relationship. He entered the world by a miraculous pregnancy, being conceived by a barren woman and announced by an angelic messenger. He was consecrated to God from infancy under a Nazirite vow, called to live a life of full devotion to God. This Israelite judge was given a special calling to deliver God’s people from the Philistine enemies. Throughout his life and leadership, Samson performed unbelievable feats with extraordinary strength. In contrast to these supernatural demonstrations of divine power, Samson compromised in his sexual relationships on numerous occasions.

God promised Samson a full life. Despite his divinely enabled strength, he had a glaring weakness: sexual pleasure. Although Samson accomplished impressive feats during his life and ministry, his experimentation with sex not only broke God’s rules but compromised his calling. To be sure, God’s purpose still moved forward despite Samson’s disobedience. It always does. Nevertheless, Samson’s impulsive and rash treatment of women was injurious to others and himself, eventually leading to his own downfall. By not following God’s design, this heralded Israelite strongman was prevented from enjoying all that God had planned for marriage and mission. He was handicapped from experiencing the full depths of God’s overall plan for his life. May Samson’s life speak a sobering word to our own generation and surrounding society!

Right from the Start: Consecrating Ourselves to God

Biblical Narrative (Judges 13:1–25)

Samson was born in Israel during a time of great moral decline, when “the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord” (13:1). Israel’s rebellion and disobedience caused the nation to come under Philistine control for forty years (13:1). Despite his people’s rebellion, God planned to raise up a deliverer to rescue them. This deliverer would be born through a man named Manoah and his barren wife (13:2). Even though Manoah’s wife could not have any children, God would use this unexpected couple to bring a deliverer into the world. At one point, an angel appeared to Manoah’s wife and told her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son” (13:3; cf. 13:5). The angel gave special instructions to Manoah’s wife about her son. The child was to be “a Nazirite to God from the womb” (13:5). A Nazirite was an Israelite who made a special vow to the Lord and demonstrated this devotion with certain ritual commitments (cf. Numbers 6:1–21). Normally, a person would take a Nazirite vow for a certain period of time. This Nazarite vow was extended: the child was to be a Nazirite for his whole life (13:7). Consequently, the woman was not allowed to drink alcohol or eat any ritually unclean food (13:4). Additionally, she was not allowed to cut her child’s hair (23:5). All this special behavior was to be a sign of her child’s full devotion to God and God’s special purpose for his life. This child would “begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (13:5).

Manoah’s wife told her husband about the angelic visit and the prophecy concerning their son (13:6–7). Manoah prayed and asked God to send the angelic messenger again in order to know “how to raise the boy who is to be born” (13:8). God answered their prayer. The angel appeared a second time to the woman with a message of the child’s unique purpose and special vow of dedication (13:9–11). Manoah asked the angel about their “boy’s rule of life and mission” (13:12). The angel repeated the instructions he originally told Manoah’s wife (13:13–14). Manoah did not know the messenger was an angel (13:16). Out of honor and reverence, Manoah offered to “prepare a young goat” (13:15) for the heavenly messenger. The angel instructed Manoah to make a burnt offering to the Lord rather than prepare a meal for him (13:16). When Manoah asked the messenger his name (13:17), the angel of the Lord told him that his name was “beyond comprehension” (13:18).

Next, God did “a marvelous thing” (13:19) when Manoah offered a goat and a grain offering on a rock. The altar’s flame went up to the sky and “the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame” (13:20). Manoah and his wife “fell facedown to the ground” (13:21). At this time, Manoah realized that they had been in the presence of the angel of the Lord, and he was afraid that they would die because they had “seen God” (13:22). The believing wife comforted her husband, telling him that God would not have accepted their offering or given them the prophetic message if he intended to kill them (13:23). Eventually, Manoah’s wife gave birth to this son and they named him Samson (13:24). As he grew, Samson experienced the blessing of God and power of the Holy Spirit in his life (13:24–25).

Biblical Principles

Spiritual Understanding. Although Manoah seemed earnest toward God, his lack of spiritual understanding pervades this opening scene. Initially, Manoah did not realize the name or identity of the angel of the Lord (13:16, 17, 21). Further, Manoah asked the angel how the promised child should be raised (13:8, 12), a question the heavenly messenger had already answered to Manoah’s wife (13:4–5) and a question she had already communicated to her husband (13:7). Throughout Samson’s narrative, this theme of the lack of understanding and knowledge is repeated (cf. 14:4, 9, 14, 16; 15:6, 11; 16:9–10, 13, 15, 18, 20). Throughout the story, people (including Samson) are plagued by ignorance, not understanding the nature of God’s work or the unfolding of a promised reality. When it comes to sexual purity, spiritual perception is of utmost importance. Knowledge of God and his work in the world is crucial to understanding an appropriate sexual ethic. Relationships that experience the greatest harmony and joy are those that fully surrender themselves to God, recognizing that God is at work in the cosmos to accomplish his eternal purposes.

Divine Power and Presence. The beginning of this narrative also highlights the power and presence of God. The miraculous nature of Samson’s birth is emphasized by the opening up of the womb of his barren mother (13:2–3), the prophetic announcement by an angelic messenger (13:3, 6, 9–10), and the spectacular departure—“a marvelous thing” (13:19)—of the angel in the flame of the offering. In the course of the narrative, the appearance of “the angel of the Lord” (13:3; cf. 13:6, 9, 13, 15–18, 20–21) turned out to be something “exceedingly awesome” (13:6), possessing a name that is “beyond comprehension” (13:18). Manoah eventually understood this appearing as God’s very presence (13:22). God’s power became evident in Samson’s life as he performed herculean feats only achievable by divine power (cf. 14:5–6, 19; 15:4–5, 8, 14–17; 16:3, 9, 12, 30). God’s presence with Samson—through “the Spirit of the Lord” (13:25)—was a distinguishable feature of his divinely enabled life and ministry (cf. 14:6, 19; 15:14; 16:20). The power and presence of God at the beginning of Samson’s narrative remind us of the essence of the Christian life. To live as a Christian is to live daily under God’s power and presence, guided by his empowering Spirit. What we will discover in Samson’s life is an unfortunate tragedy all too familiar to humanity. Rather than living in the enjoyment of God’s presence and power because of faithful obedience, Samson’s sexual compromise left him weakened and vulnerable to his hostile foes (cf. 16:22–31). Sadly, sexual sin relinquishes God’s empowering presence to the fleeting pleasure of carnal allure.

Devotion to God. Important in Samson’s birth narrative is the focus on his “rule of life” and “mission” (13:12). As Israel was delivered to the Philistines as a means of judgment (13:1), God would raise up Samson to deliver Israel from Philistine oppression (13:5). Sadly, the end of Samson’s own life mirrors the tragic demise of the nation of Israel. Samson became a captive to the Philistines due to his disobedience, only to strike a great deathblow against these enemies at the time of his death (16:20–31). He was to live a life of full devotion to God. Under a Nazirite vow (13:4–5, 7, 14) for his whole life—“from the womb” (13:5) and “until the day of his death” (13:7)—Samson’s ritual consecration to God was a means to noticeably display his call to be unwavering in his commitment to the Lord. Although his family demonstrated elements of spiritual immaturity, their offering to God (13:15–16, 19–20) and prostrated worship (13:20) emphasize the family’s earnest and sincere faith in the Lord.

Devotion to God is of utmost importance in our lives. To the extent our lives are steadfast to God in worship and obedience, we grow in sexual purity. As we will sadly see with Samson, lackluster devotion to God leaves him quite vulnerable to sexual sin. Without a complete commitment to the Lord, we too are exposed to and unarmed against sexual temptation. Besides, God wants more for his people than mere abstinence from sexual sin. God has much in store for his people, much more than mere avoidance of tragedy. When we put our pleasures first, we always limit the joy God intends us to experience. When we prioritize God’s purposes in our marriages and families, our joy knows no bounds. A life that is fully consecrated to God is set up to enjoy human relationships to their fullest. God has placed boundaries around sexuality not only to guard us from painful heartache but also to maximize God-given joy. In sum, maximum joy in all human relationships is a predictable derivative of unadulterated devotion to God.

Pleasing to His Eyes: Reflecting on the Spirituality of Attraction

Biblical Narrative (Judges 14:1–9)

Although Samson’s parents appeared to have a sincere faith in the Lord (even though their faith was seemingly immature, as in 14:4), Samson himself did not prioritize his relationship with the Lord. Neither did he concentrate on his Nazirite vows. Samson’s lukewarm commitment to the Lord eventually led to Samson’s questionable relationships with women. When Samson “saw a young Philistine woman” (14:1) from Timnah, he demanded his parents give her to him as his wife (14:2). Although Samson’s parents urged him to find a wife among his own people (14:3)—a woman who would share his culture, values, and faith—Samson insisted that his parents obtain for him an attractive Philistine bride. With stubborn importunity and demanding insistence, he told his parents, “Get her for me” (14:2; cf. 14:3). Driven by his senses and drawn by her beauty, Samson went after what seemed “pleasing to [his] eyes” (14:3; cf. 14:7).

Although Samson’s motives and desires for this Philistine beauty were morally suspect, God would use this situation to begin achieving Israel’s deliverance from Philistine oppression. Samson’s parents did not realize that Samson’s marriage to this woman “was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines” (14:4). God’s use of Samson’s dysfunctional marriage was not a divine approval or recommended pattern for marriage and romance. Marrying a Philistine wife was clearly based upon superficial attraction and sexual urges. Samson was not concerned about finding a faithful Israelite woman whose beauty in body was matched by her attractiveness in virtue. While Samson acted based on what was pleasing to his sight, God acted to bring about redemption. God can use (and has used throughout the generations) misguided desires, questionable relationships, and unfit marriage unions to accomplish his purposes. That God uses such relationships is no endorsement of them.

The narrative demonstrates that Samson was not upright in his life or true to his Nazirite vows. While he was on his way to Timnah, a young lion attacked Samson (14:5) and “the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him” such that “he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat” (14:6). Samson did not tell this to his parents (14:6), but continued to Timnah to claim his Philistine bride, the one who was “pleasing to his eyes” (14:7). When Samson returned at a later time, he walked off the road to see the carcass of the lion that he had killed (14:8). In the body of the lion “was a swarm of bees, along with their honey” (14:8). A man who followed his appetites, Samson “scooped some honey into his hands and ate it as he went along” (14:9). He gave some of the honey to his parents, but did not tell them that he took the honey from the carcass of a dead lion (14:9). Samson’s contact with the carcass of the dead lion was a clear violation of his Nazirite vow. His appetite for sweet honey paralleled his burning desire for beautiful women. His willingness to forsake his vow to touch a dead carcass resembled his enthusiasm to engage in an unfit relationship with a non-believing Philistine.

Biblical Principles

Beauty, Attraction, and Appeal. Like many men, Samson was driven by visual stimuli. His sense of sight led him to be powerfully drawn to beautiful sensations. What he saw (14:1, 2) and what was “pleasing to his eyes” (14:7; cf. 14:3) drove his behavior, stimulated his desires, and charmed his heart. So drawn to beauty—attractive women in particular—was Samson that he felt a spellbinding pull by the Philistine woman from Timnah. Her allure was so magnetic that Samson urgently and emphatically demanded to have this woman (14:2–3), even if her faith was contrary to Samson’s. This evinces that unbridled passion can quickly turn into controlling possessiveness. His careless and casual consumption of sweet honey (14:8–9)—an act that broke his Nazirite vow by touching the carcass of a dead animal—mirrored his easygoing and uninhibited approach to romance, sexuality, and female relationships: Samson’s physical and sexual appetites ruled his life. A slave of his cravings, Samson went in the direction that his appetites led. Although Samson was a mighty man of supernatural strength, his desires and impulses held a peculiar and formidable control over him. This control was so dominating that Samson’s attraction to beautiful women led to a compromise of faith, character, and life mission.

Certainly, there is nothing sinful about a man and a woman being attracted to each other in a way that brings them to marry each other under the coverage of covenantal fidelity. Our attraction to beauty is God-designed and a testimony of God’s aesthetic genius in the work of creation. Samson’s error (and ours) is when physical attraction becomes the only (or the main) guide for romantic relationships. Unbounded attraction, unscrupulous desire, heedless infatuation, indulgent sensuality, and unrestrained visual exploration are betrayals of a God-honoring attraction to what is truly beautiful. When we are mainly attracted to a person’s external appearance, we become blind to other aspects that make a person truly beautiful: character, virtue, personality, service, values, and faith. Samson’s single-minded desire for the Philistine woman caused him to compromise his faith priorities. (Note: The caution in marrying this Philistine woman was not a prohibition of multicultural marriages. The main issue at stake was not diversity of ethnicity or culture, but a divergence of religion and faith.) Obsession over physical beauty is futile. Fixated on what is pleasing to our eyes, we can easily sacrifice what is of eternal and enduring value—an active relationship with God and participation in his work—for an external appearance that is fleeting and temporary. Our perspective of and response to beauty certainly tell us much about our spiritual condition.

Ignorance, Disobedience, and Spiritual Maturity. Samson’s defeat of a lion with his bare hands was not normal; it was a clear demonstration of God’s empowering call on the life of this promised child (14:5–6). The extraordinary nature of this feat revealed Samson’s special and sacred vocation. Bees in a carcass were also not a typical sighting (14:8). This abnormal phenomenon was a test of Samson’s maturity in faith and spiritual character. Sacred calling and spiritual maturity are inseparable dynamics of a life of faith. Although God was accomplishing his purposes for Israel through Samson’s life, Samson’s spiritual immaturity is evident in this passage. Samson’s juvenile faith is reflected in his parents’ ignorance of the happenings with their son (14:4, 6, 9; cf. 13:16, 21). In addition to being ignorant and uninformed, Samson’s parents appear as passive agents in the narrative. Although they urged their son to reconsider his choice of a bride (14:3), they ended up capitulating to the appeals of his demanding voice (14:5). While the immaturity of Samson’s parents reflects the immaturity of their son, Samson himself demonstrated negligence of his faith priorities. Samson’s immaturity takes center stage in this narrative scene. His obsessive interest in an uncircumcised Philistine (14:1–3) paralleled his imprudent contact with an unclean lion carcass (14:8–9). Interestingly, Samson’s parents remained ignorant because Samson did not inform them of the source of the honey. Samson’s spiritual immaturity unwittingly compromised the integrity of his parents. His reckless sexual expression would also endanger the wider community of Israel.

Sexual purity is inextricably connected to faith maturity. Spiritual ignorance leaves one vulnerable to sexual temptation and destructive attractions. Negligence in faith leaves one susceptible to the values and principles of the world. When we disobey God’s commands in other areas of life, we open doors widely for waywardness in matters of romance, love, intimacy, and romantic relationship. Forsaking our duty-bound allegiance to God, we become casual and passive participants in the world, scooping up and ingesting the most proximate thing that promises to satisfy, please, or gratify with its forbidden sweetness. Problematic for sexual purity is a casual faith that does not take our fidelity to God with utmost sobriety, attentiveness, and intentionality. While these dangerous realities materialized in Samson’s life, the same perils are no less hazardous to those who live out their faith in the contemporary world. In this way, this biblical narrative calls us to general Christian maturity as a specific means for sexual purity.

Getting in the Middle: Guarding the Space in Between

Biblical Narrative (Judges 14:10–15:6)

Samson did marry the woman from Timnah. According to the custom of the day, they celebrated the marriage with a seven-day feast (14:10). Although we are not explicitly told about Samson’s drinking behavior during the feast, the text leaves enough ambiguity for us to wonder if Samson broke a second of his Nazirite vows by partaking of alcohol. As he celebrated his marriage, surrounded by thirty companions (14:11), Samson engaged in gambling by placing bets on a riddle (14:10–14). Samson bet his companions that they could not solve one of his riddles in exchange for thirty sets of clothing (14:12–13). The riddle was based upon his previous experience with the honey in the lion carcass: “Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet” (14:14). Unable to answer the riddle for days, Samson’s companions forced Samson’s wife to “entice your husband to explain the riddle to us” (14:15). They threatened to burn her and her family if she refused (14:15).

Samson’s new wife “pressed him so much” (14:17), using tears (14:16, 17) and guilt (14:16) to get the answer to the riddle. Eventually, Samson buckled under the pressure and gave her the answer (14:17). In turn, the companions were able to win Samson’s bet (14:18). They told Samson that the riddle referred to a lion and honey (14:18), likely a reference to his earlier exploit of killing the lion with his bare hands and eating the honey from its dead body (cf. 14:5–9). In a supernatural display of strength, Samson went out and killed thirty men, took their clothes, and gave them to his companions to pay his debt (14:19). Samson was enraged, “burning with anger,” and he “returned to his father’s house” (14:19).

Believing Samson had abandoned his wife, the companions gave Samson’s wife to one of the companions (14:20). After a while, Samson returned, with gift in hand, to be with his wife (15:1). However, her father refused for him to reclaim his bride and said, “I was sure that you thoroughly hated her … so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you” (15:2). He then tried to compensate Samson by offering the younger sister, telling him that she was “more beautiful” than her older sister, Samson’s first wife (15:2). This led Samson to take revenge on the Philistines. His retaliation on the Philistines showed his God-given strength and expressed his outrage over his lost marriage. He caught three hundred foxes, tied their tails together in pairs, lit a torch between each tail, and released them in the Philistine fields (15:1–5). The panicking foxes ran about and burned the fields and crops (15:5). In a brutal act of retaliation, the Philistines burned up Samson’s wife and her father (15:6).

Biblical Principles

Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking. When sexual behavior is not aligned with God’s standards, it results in the exploitation, abuse, and mistreatment of women (and children). In this scene of Samson’s narrative, we cannot miss the sad and unfortunate fate of the woman from Timnah. In this narrative, the Philistine woman was threatened by her community (14:15), pressured to employ seductive tactics against Samson (14:15), promptly traded into another marriage (14:20; 15:2), and burned by her own people (15:6). To the characters in this narrative, the woman was a mere commodity and tool. The father exchanged her like merchandise, and the companions used her as an instrument for their profit. Sexual immorality objectifies women, dehumanizing them and instrumentalizing them for inordinate pleasure. When a woman’s personhood is attacked, it becomes easier to traffic, extort, and misuse them for one’s own satisfaction and economic gain. Sadly, thousands of women (and children) are victims of sexual abuse and human trafficking. Powerful people misuse their influence and authority to intimidate, blackmail, and enslave women to lives of sexual exploitation. God’s plan for sexual intimacy that is enjoyed within the covenant bonds of marriage starkly contrasts this. Sex in God’s design is a personal, honorable, and life-giving experience, where husband and wife enjoy each other in an exclusive, intimate, honoring, and selfless bond of marriage. In such a relationship, the dignity and joy of both spouses are protected and esteemed.

Manipulative Sexuality. When people do not follow God’s design for relationships, sex can be used as a powerful weapon of manipulation and control. Samson’s companions urged his wife to “entice” (14:15) him to divulge the secret to his riddle. They threatened the woman and her family with death and blamed her for their misfortune (14:15). Complying with their demand, she wept profusely, questioned Samson’s love, and pressured him to reveal the secret of the riddle (14:16–17). It appears that Samson never consummated his marriage with his Philistine wife (15:1). Samson is not innocent either. His reckless gambling and prideful, hasty wager parallel the other manipulations that took place in this story.

When a marriage is built on mere attraction, it leaves the door wide open for seduction, manipulation, betrayal, and revenge. Within a very short time, Samson’s marriage to the beautiful young woman from Timnah was ruined. A marriage not built on faith in Christ is susceptible to any number of “companions” getting in between husband and wife. Samson’s greed and pride, his wife’s manipulation, and their lack of solid faith made them extremely vulnerable. No amount of sexual bliss, good looks, or joyous feasting can keep a marriage together without a sure foundation of faith. Only a common devotion to Christ forms a strong enough bond in a marriage union to guard the relationship of husband and wife from threatening intrusions. In Samson’s story, the marriage relationship—with its emotional, sexual, and psychological dynamics—was instrumentalized. Rather than a gift of joy and intimacy, their marriage union became a battleground of personal gain.

The emotional, sexual, and mental manipulation, sadly evident in this narrative, provides a particular instance that is unfortunately common to the general human experience. When God’s design for sex and marriage is overlooked, people can manipulate with emotions, coerce with guilt and blame, and withhold sexual intimacy as a pressure tactic for personal advantage. Countless marriages have fallen prey to such sad deterioration. In contrast to the manipulation of broken sexuality, the blessings of God-honoring sexuality are manifold. For faithful followers of Christ, sexual intimacy in marriage is an act of self-giving and selfless service. In God’s design, marital vows provide security for this most personal and intimate act of giving oneself to another. The attachment that takes place in sexual intimacy requires trust, sacrifice, and self-denial. This is why sexual pleasure is at its best when it is enjoyed in the exclusive relationship of one man and one woman in the covenant bond of marriage. In this way, the selfless giving of oneself to a spouse—without manipulation or control, but in genuine love and affection—is unquestionably the most satisfying.

Sex in the Secret: Exposing What We Do in the Dark

Biblical Narrative (Judges 15:7–16:3)

In response to the Philistine brutality against Samson’s Philistine wife, Samson vowed, “l will not rest until I have taken vengeance upon you” (15:7). Consequently, Samson “struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter” (15:8) and then left to hide in a cave. The Philistines pursued Samson into Judah and confronted the Israelites there (15:9). In fear of the Philistines, the Israelites sent three thousand men to arrest Samson and hand him over to the Philistines (15:10–13). After proising they would not kill Samson, the large army of Israelites tied up the troublesome Samson and handed him over to the Philistines (15:13). Once again, “the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him” (15:14). Samson was strengthened by divine power, and “the ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and the bonds broke loose from his hands” (15:14). This was not the only display of supernatural strength. Samson then picked up “the fresh jawbone of a donkey” and used it as a weapon to kill one thousand Philistines (15:15). Samson boasted of his feat, threw down the jawbone, and gave that place a name to memorialize his extraordinary triumph over the Philistines (15:16–17).

Ironically, Samson’s display of incredible strength was followed by a moment of crumbling weakness. After defeating the Philistines, Samson was overcome by thirst (15:18). He complained to the Lord, protesting that God would let him die after enabling him to accomplish a great victory over the Philistine army (15:18). God answered Samson’s prayer. God opened up “the hollow place” and caused water to flow (15:19). Samson drank the water, and he was “revived” when “his strength returned” (15:19). This narrative highlights the ways in which God supported and sustained Samson to accomplish his purposes despite his immature faith and his questionable sexual ethics. Through God’s enablement (not due to Samson’s moral virtue), Samson judged Israel for twenty years (15:20). Although he experienced divine strength, his spiritual immaturity made him a man who was also weak and vulnerable.

The account of Samson’s frailty as a thirsty man is followed by a short record of his continued weakness for women. One day, Samson traveled to the Philistine town of Gaza “where he saw a prostitute” (16:1). Again following his sense and sexual urge, Samson “went in to spend the night with her” (16:1). When the people of the town heard that Samson was there, “they surrounded that place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate” (16:2). While Samson was with the prostitute, the people waited until morning to kill him (16:2). Samson only stayed with the prostitute until midnight (16:3). At this time, he went to the city gate where he “took hold of the doors of the city gate and both gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all” (16:3). He carried them on his shoulders and left the city unharmed (16:3). God continued to enable Samson to escape death, using him as an instrument of his judgment on the Philistines. None of this divine enablement, however, served as God’s validation of Samson’s sexual activity. God continued to use Samson to accomplish his purposes, but Samson’s sexual failures left ruin in their wake.

Biblical Principles

Shallow Excuses and Societal Impact. Both the Philistines and the Israelites talked about Samson with a similar phrase: “what he has done to us” (15:10; cf. 15:11). Each community complained about the negative impact of Samson on their people. While God was certainly using Samson as an agent of divine judgment against the Philistines (15:8, 15–17) and as an agent of gracious deliverance for the Israelites (15:18), Samson offered an immature excuse to his fellow Israelites for his attack against the Philistines: “I have done to them what they did to me” (15:11). Clearly, Samson’s attack on the Philistines was more of a personal vendetta than an embrace of his sacred calling. While God enabled him to exact judgment on the Philistines, this was not without collateral damage (15:6). Samson’s self-centered and impulse-driven way of life—including his misguided sexual activity—caused problems to those around him. It is ignorant to think that sexual sin is harmless. Some may claim that one’s sexual decisions are private and personal, only affecting those in the relationship. This is a grave error of immense falsehood. Our sexual ethics affect the whole of society. This is clear in Samson’s narrative and is true in our own lives. People cannot expect to behave in sexually immoral ways without acute harm to their family, friends, community, and society.

The Ensnaring Danger of Secret Sexual Sin. Samson’s night with the prostitute was yet another ungodly sexual act. Once again, he proved that he was controlled by his senses in that “he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her” (16:1). Sleeping with a prostitute highlights Samson’s transactional view of sex. He wanted the pleasure of intercourse but none of the responsibility and care involved with a committed marriage relationship. Samson carried out this act in Gaza (16:1), a city deep in Philistine territory and away from his Israelite people. Samson sought to gratify his sexual urges in a secret, illicit, and impersonal way. His tryst with the prostitute highlights his spiritual immaturity. Although Samson eventually left the city unharmed, his desire for anonymous sex was quickly known. We must not mistake God’s gracious provision of Samson’s strength as a validation of his sexual sin. The contrast is part of the point of this narrative. Samson may have remained physically strong, but his physical strength could not protect him from the inevitable demise brought about by his weakness in sexual purity. Samson promptly found himself surrounded by the Gazites, who waited to ambush him (16:2). While God mercifully granted Samson undeserved deliverance, his sexual sin led him into a trap. The privacy of one’s sexual activity is not without consequences. Illicit sex never satisfies. Secret sex never remains indefinitely secret. Attempts to conceal sexual sin—whether it be pornography, fantasy, an affair, or any other promiscuous relationship—will eventually prove to be futile. Sexual sin regularly becomes publicly known. Disobeying God’s design for sexual purity, we ensnare ourselves when we succumb to impersonal and immoral sexual acts.

When Strength Leaves: Guarding Access to Our Hearts

Biblical Narrative (Judges 16:4–21)

Unfortunately, Samson’s moral failures with women and pleasure-seeking sexual compromise did not stop after his one-night stand with the Gazan prostitute. Sometime later, Samson “fell in love” with a woman named Delilah (16:4). We have no indication that they married. Because Delilah was a romantic liaison with the strong Samson, the Philistines approached her and bribed her to find out the secret of Samson’s strength. Specifically, they told Delilah, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength” (16:5). To incentivize her seductive and seditious work, they offered to pay her a substantive price—“eleven hundred shekels of silver” (16:4; cf. 16:18). She accepted the terms and schemed to seduce her lover. At this stage, Samson had already broken Nazirite vows: touching the unclean carcass of a dead lion and (possibly) drinking alcohol at his wedding feast. The only vow that remained unbroken was to refrain from cutting his hair.

Multiple times, Delilah pressed Samson for the secret to his strength (16:6–14). Each time, Samson would give her a false answer. He misled her three times about what would weaken him: tying him with seven fresh bowstrings (16:7), tying him with new ropes (16:11), and braiding his hair into seven braids (16:13). Each time, Delilah would use the information to try to detain Samson and hand him over to the Philistines. Because Samson had slaughtered hundreds of their people, the Philistines wanted to destroy this Israelite deliverer. The Philistine foes aimed to “overpower him to tie him up and subdue him” (16:5). Each time, Delilah’s scheme failed (16:8–9, 12, 14). Much like Samson’s wife from Timnah, Delilah manipulated Samson and preyed upon his heart. She bemoaned that Samson mocked her and lied to her (16:10, 13, 15). She laid guilt on him as to how genuine his love for her was (16:15). Eventually, as “she had pressed him daily with her words and pleaded until he was sick to death” (16:16), Samson capitulated and then “told her all that was in his heart” (16:17; cf. 16:18). Sadly, the secret was out and now the last of his Nazirite vows was at risk.

Learning that the secret of his strength was his hair, Delilah had Samson fall asleep on her knees a fourth time and called one of the Philistine men to come and cut his hair (16:19). When this last part of his Nazirite vow had been broken, Samson’s “strength left him” (16:19). Israel’s strongman did not know “that the Lord had departed from him” (16:20). Consequently, the Philistines ambushed him, seized him, bound him, and gouged out his eyes (16:21). Delilah had seduced, betrayed, and enfeebled Samson for money (16:18). Whatever the nature of their love (16:4, 15), it was only a superficial veneer, a feigned care, or a self-interested attraction that could be bought for the price of silver.

Biblical Principles

Heart Vulnerability and Genuine Relationships. What seemed like a loving relationship between Samson and Delilah had no substance or foundation. Whatever love, intimacy, and camaraderie this couple enjoyed, it was only superficial and eventually crumbled. Samson was vulnerable to the very woman who would double-cross him. Delilah used her powerful appeal to get Samson to reveal to her “all that was in his heart” (16:17; cf. 16:18). This made the pain of her betrayal all the more piercing and tragic. To heedlessly divulge our hearts to others outside the marriage covenant is to risk a disaster. Many have started down the path of adultery through inordinate emotional connections with those who are not their spouses. Samson’s folly warns us: when we open up our hearts in unrestrained vulnerability to another, we entrust our strength to that person (16:5, 6, 9, 15, 17, 19). When we approach relationships in the way of Samson, we can easily be left blind, betrayed, bound, and weak. Even worse than knowingly committing a sinful sexual act is to deceive ourselves into thinking that God approves of such a relationship. One of the greatest tragedies of this episode is that Samson “did not know that the Lord had departed from him” (16:20). Samson’s spiritual immaturity had led to his sexual compromise; his sexual compromise had exacerbated his spiritual ignorance.

Although Samson’s inappropriate vulnerability led him to disaster, vulnerability in the context of a loving marriage relationship is a sweet gift from God. To entrust one’s secrets to one’s spouse as a trusted confidante is to experience one of the great blessings of marriage. To be intimate in body without being vulnerable in heart is a great betrayal and deceit of sexual promiscuity. Intimacy within marriage encourages people to entrust their strength to another, trusting that the spouse will not be an agent of betrayal but a companion of encouragement, support, and care. To withhold one’s heart from a spouse is to erode trust and deteriorate intimacy. No other relationship is like the bond of marriage. In it, our weaknesses, hopes, and fears should find a loving companion who is willing to share our burdens, celebrate in joys, and partner in our callings. In stark contrast to Samson’s romantic fling with Delilah, a relationship built on genuine love is substantive and enduring.

Genuine Love. Samson and Delilah are a depiction—too often replicated in the world—of failed intimacy, trust, and vulnerability. As such, although the text records their love for one another (16:4, 15), one cannot finish the narrative without qualifying the nature of their love as ungenuine and insincere. This couple (probably both of them) viewed their relationship as a means of personal gain. Together, Samson and Delilah feigned love and exemplified infatuation. Their love was easily undercut by a bribe of silver (16:5, 18). With no evidence that they were married, this further evidences the superficial and shallow nature of their relationship. Outside of God’s design, feelings of love are fleeting emotions that do not amount to sturdy and steadfast care of one another. While many unbelievers enjoy blessings in marital life, it is the distinct teachings of Scripture that enable a marriage to become a garden of delights. To embrace sex, romance, relationships, and marriage in God’s way is to cultivate substantive love, mutual affection, and tender devotion. In contrast to Samson and Delilah, this genuine love is characterized by selflessness, sacrifice, and commitment. This kind of love is the only foundation for a lasting and meaningful marriage relationship.

The House Comes Down: Calling Again to the Lord

Biblical Narrative (Judges 16:22–31)

Samson’s sexual compromise amounted to a faith compromise and caused the Philistines to celebrate their false god, Dagon (16:23–24). The pagan Philistines praised Dagon for delivering Samson into their hands. They brought Samson out of prison to entertain the crowd of merry Philistines (16:25). Gathered in the temple was a large crowd “full of men and women … all the lords of the Philistines … and about three thousand men and women” (16:27). Samson, who was once incomparable in strength, now had to be led by the hand of a young man (16:26). He rested his hands against the pillars that held up the building (16:25–26). A blind captive before a taunting crowd, Samson called out to God, “please remember me” and “strengthen me” (16:28). He asked God for strength so that “just once more” he might strike the Philistines “with one vengeful blow” in order to repay the Philistines for gauging out his two eyes (16:28). Samson braced himself on the main pillars of the temple (16:29) and pressed outward on the pillars with “all his might” (16:30). The house collapsed, killing many Philistines and Samson (16:30–31). In this final act of his life, Samson struck a great blow to the Philistines: “in his death he killed more than he had killed in his life” (16:30). Samson had defeated the Philistine enemies and destroyed the temple of their false God. Certainly, God used Samson to accomplish his purposes (cf. 14:4), but this purpose was not fulfilled without unfortunate and unnecessary pain along the way due to Samson’s misguided and self-serving sexual ventures.

Biblical Principles

The Influence of Cultural Values. The final scene of Samson’s life shows a gathered Philistine community celebrating their false god (16:23–24) and mocking their Israelite captive (16:25–27). The Philistine culture had not only influenced Samson, but Israel’s enemies had also captured God’s appointed deliverer. While Samson’s story chronicles God’s deliverance of his people from the Philistines, it also demonstrates Samson’s unfortunate assimilation into the sexual values of the surrounding culture. At the end of his life, he was surrounded by the people to whom he was attracted. Through his negative example, Samson’s life gives great insight into sexual purity by warning us that the sexual mores of the surrounding culture are powerful and seek our demise. Even though Samson grew up in a sinful culture (13:1), he had been given a special calling from God (13:7). Samson lived in “the days of the Philistines” (15:20) when Israel was given over into “into the hand of the Philistines” (13:1; cf. 13:5, 12). Samson lived at a time when the Philistines ruled over Israel (14:4; 15:11). Sadly, they ended up capturing him. Although God graciously allowed Samson to bring one final blow to the Philistines, the pagan culture of idolatry and sexual immorality had exerted its influence on Samson (and the Israelites). Samson took his cue from his surrounding culture, and his relationships suffered in his wake.

As Samson’s story unfolds, we see this man’s track record of bad relationships: he married a Philistine unbeliever (14:1–3), he abandoned his wife soon after their wedding (14:19), his wife was given to a companion (14:20; 15:2, 6), he was offered a woman in a barter (15:2), he slept with a prostitute (16:1), and he fell in love with a female liaison (16:4–22). These relationships are in stark contrast to God’s plan for sex. Outside of the covenant vows of marriage, sexual exploration reaps painful and devastating consequences. Relationships that do not have the foundation of faith in Christ can are contaminated with demands (14:2, 3), seduction (14:15; 16:5), manipulation and nagging (14:16–17; 16:4–6), betrayal (16:9, 12, 14), and greed (16:5). When we defy God’s design for relationships, love (14:16; 6:4, 15) can quickly turn to hate (14:16; 15:2). Godly relationships should be a place of intimacy and (16:17, 18) and love (16:4, 15). However, when we are driven by our senses (14:1, 2–3, 7; 16:1), we lose out on the promised gift of intimacy found in a covenant of marriage. When we allow ourselves to be led by what we see and what we feel, we may become completely blind to reality (16:21) and fall prey to a reviling taunt from the surrounding world (16:24).

Cultural confusion puts extreme pressure on disciples of Christ in the realm of sexuality, romance, and marriage. Here is an important lesson learned from Samson’s life: if we submit to our culture’s approach to sexual satisfaction, we will inevitably become bankrupt. Like Samson, the power of sexual appetites, sensual indulgence, and evil cultural mores cloud our vision of the truth. Sexual sin can inhibit our spiritual understanding, and it can also impede our witness to the surrounding world. We must be on our guard. Although this is not the only sin one can commit, the attacks on sexual purity have certainly been some of Satan’s greatest and most targeted assaults on humanity. We do well not only to be warned by Samson’s example but also to press into the great joy of sexual purity by following God’s commands for sexual purity.

Sexual Purity, Personal Vocation, and Past Healing. God used Samson to deliver Israel from the Philistines. Even in Samson’s death, God used his servant to win an enormous victory for Israel (16:30–31). God’s gracious use of Samson is no validation of Samson’s sexual immorality. The end of the story credits God’s strength with the collapse of Dagon’s temple (16:28). God’s purposes will never be thwarted. Nevertheless, our faithfulness to God determines our ability to enjoy the blessings of serving God along the way. In retrospect, had Samson enjoyed sex in God’s way, perhaps he would have been known for building the house of Israel rather than tearing down the house of the Philistines. Samson did not prioritize his calling and vocation. His sensuality and unwieldy passions drove the trajectory of his life to a tragic end. Consequently, he missed out on much of the joy that comes in self-denying service of God.

All is not a tragedy. The end of Samson’s life is also hopeful. God forgives sexual sins in our past. God continues to use broken people to accomplish his purposes. In his mercy, God can revive us with strength when we have given away our strength due to wrong sexual decisions. God did this for Samson (16:28), and he can do it for us. While we need not be defined by our sexual past, we must call out to the Lord for his mercy and grace. Our lives will be on a different trajectory than Samson’s when we repent of our sinful pasts, discover God’s extravagant forgiveness, and rebuild our lives around sexual purity. May we not discover and receive God’s mercy so late in life that we miss out on the joy of godly relationships, the delight of selfless vocational service, and the divine healing found in God alone.

Conclusion

Before his birth, God chose Samson and devoted him to his service. Invariably, God would use Samson as an instrument to deliver Israel from Philistine oppressors. Throughout his life, Samson demonstrated incredible strength: killing a lion with his hands, destroying Philistine crops with blazing foxes, killing one thousand Philistines with a donkey’s jawbone, carrying city gates on his shoulders up a mountain, and felling Dagon’s temple on a large crowd of Philistines. In contrast to his supernatural strength, Samson was weak and vulnerable to sexual temptation. This biblical text recounts repeated instances of unhealthy and ungodly relationships: marrying a Philistine woman, abandoning his newly married bride, sleeping with a prostitute, and nursing a superficial love affair with Delilah. God’s purposes still prevailed, but not without Samson causing much damage to both others and himself, and experiencing great misfortune through his reckless and unheeding sexual behavior. Do not let Samson’s life define your Christian walk.

Our lives cannot be reduced to sexual experience, sexual identity, or sexual pleasure. Sexual satisfaction is only one aspect of a fuller life that God has planned for us. Unfortunately, our culture has established sex as a focal point of identity and a pinnacle of pleasure. Only a life consecrated to God will enable us to enjoy our relationships as God intended, placing sexuality in its rightful place. In addition, rightly ordered relationships can propel us into God’s mission with unparalleled strength. The story of Samson also depicts God’s incredible grace. God will bring his plan to pass despite our sexual pasts. Amazingly, God can (and wants to) heal us from deep and painful sexual wounds. Though the consequences of sexual sin are real and tragic, God is a redeeming and gracious God. If you find yourself caught, tormented, or ambushed by sexual sin, know that if you turn to God, you can find healing. You may think God is done with you, but God wants to restore you and reenlist you in his purposes if you will, like Samson, call out to the Lord (16:28).

Session Synopsis

SESSION 8 SYNOPSIS
Sexual Purity	The narrative of Samson’s life warns and instructs us about the importance of sexual purity. Samson was born into the world with a special calling in his life, yet he did not demonstrate faithful devotion to God. This led to a compromise in his relationships with women. Samson’s life was defined by infatuation, sensuality, marital failure, promiscuity, and casual romance. His sexual impurity threatened his meaning and mission in his life. Samson’s God-given, supernatural strength is to be read as a contrast to his compromising weakness in sexuality, romance, and relationships. A summary of this story’s principles is outlined below.
Sexual Sin and Unhealthy Relationships	This narrative recounts Samson’s actions in many unhealthy relationships: marrying a non-Israelite (14:1–3), abandoning a new bride (14:19), giving a wife to another companion (14:20; 15:2, 6), an offer for a replacement wife (15:2), a tryst with a prostitute (16:1), and a casual love affair with a female liaison (16:4–22). Relationships that do not follow God’s ways are vulnerable to any number of unhealthy dynamics: parental passivity (14:1–5, 10), a demanding spirit (14:2, 3), seduction (14:15; 16:5), blame and accusation (14:15), manipulation (14:16–17; 16:4–6), nagging (16:4–6), betrayal (16:9, 12, 14), greed (16:5), insecurity and distrust (14:16; 15:2), exploitation and trafficking (14:15; 20; 15:2, 6), and bribery (16:5, 18).
Devotion to God	Our relationship with God shapes our sexual conduct. Samson’s parents expressed devotion to God when the angel of the Lord appeared to them. This scene teaches us that our devotion to God is fueled by an encounter with God (13:3, 6, 8–10, 13, 15–23, 25), the revelation of God’s word (13:3–7, 12–14, 23), the experience of God’s glory (13:18, 20), and submission to God’s power (13:19, 23; 14:5–6, 19; 15:4–5, 8, 14–17; 16:3, 9, 12, 20, 30). God calls us to be fully devoted to him (13:15–16, 19–20) in life and mission (13:4–5, 7, 12, 14; 14:4; 16:20–31). Like Samson, compromise in our relationship with God (14:5–9, 10–18; 16:18–22) will lead to compromise in sexuality, romance, and relationships (14:1–3, 7–8, 10, 20; 15:1–3; 16:1–4, 5–17).
Influence of Cultural Values	We must be aware of the powerful effects of the surrounding culture on sexual ethics. Cultural values can negatively impact sexual conduct. The powerful influence of an evil culture (13:1, 5, 12; 14:4; 15:11, 20) can negatively cripple the effort to embrace one’s sacred calling and holy life (13:3–7, 12, 24–25). When God’s people succumb to the sexual values of the surrounding society, it can lead to ridicule of God and God’s people (16:24).
Dynamics of Relationships	Ungodly relationships are based upon superficial attraction driven by senses (14:1–3, 7; 16:1), emotional infirmity (16:5, 6, 9, 15, 17, 19), sexual misconduct (16:1–3), conniving secrecy (16:1–4), and spiritual ignorance (cf. 13:16,18, 21; 14:4, 6, 9, 14, 16; 15:6, 11; 16:9–10, 13, 15, 18, 20–21). Ungodly relationships result in negative consequences upon individuals, families, faith community, and surrounding society (15:6, 9–13, 18–20; 16:23–31). Godly relationships are based upon genuine love (14:16; 6:4, 15–16), healthy intimacy (16:17–18), and trusting vulnerability (14:16–17; 16:17–18).
God’s Grace and Sovereignty in our Sexual Sin	Even though Samson failed in sexual purity, God showed grace in his situation (16:23–31). God can use us even in our failures to accomplish his purposes (16:30–31). God can also restore, forgive, and redeem us from past sexual sin if we call out to the Lord (16:28). We still may experience consequences and negative effects from sexual sin even if we experience God’s grace and forgiveness (16:23–27, 30).

Personal Reflection: Entering the Story

Apply the Text: The word of God is binding and authoritative, the only reliable guide for faith and godliness. True disciples submit themselves to God’s word. In this movement, you will apply God’s word to your lives.

Reflection Questions

Encourage one person to share a testimony about how this story has impacted them so far. Use the reflection questions to examine your life in light of this biblical passage.

Spiritual Practice

Prayer of Confession

In light of Samson’s life story, think through how sexual sin has impacted your life. As you contemplate the sexual sin that you have committed, take time to write a prayer of confession in which you acknowledge those sinful actions, habits, and experiences to God. As you consider sexual sin that has been committed against you, take time to write a prayer of restoration in which you ask God to bring healing to your life. As you work through this process, share these personal experiences with a trusted mentor.

Ministry Practice: Rehearsing the Script

Minister the Text: God’s word is living and active. Through God’s word, the Christian community is edified. In this movement, you will utilize the biblical passage to minister to other believers and build them up in their faith.

Application Questions

Look at the infographic below. Use the questions to think about how to minister this text to other believers.

Missional Outreach: Publicizing the Truth

Witness the Text: The Bible is a message of God’s gracious salvation to the world. In word and deed, God’s people proclaim the good news of the gospel. In this movement, you will use this biblical passage to reach out to unbelievers.

Strategy Questions

Reflect on the infographic below. Consider how you can use this passage to witness to the surrounding world. Use the suggested ideas to prime your imagination. Then, put together a plan to share this passage with unbelievers, Afterward, reflect on this mission experience.