Judges 14 // Worst Wedding Ever

Judges 14

This is Samson's first attempt at love, so at this point one can feel a bit sorry for him, because this is the first of a miserable series of stories. Samson's big mistake is to be fooled by superficial glamour, and this leads on to everything that follows. Samson's parents frustration is understandable, there are a lot of Israelite women that Samson could have chosen, but he has picked a Philistine. Is is because of her wonderful personality? No, he sees her and wants her. This will become a pattern.

The Philistines were a much more technologically developed civilisation than the Israelites and much less morally developed. As such, Philistine women would have a had a lot more access to makeup and other means of attracting male attention than Israelite women.

I personally don't like the the look of the "painted" woman, and I don't think this is completely unusual. But it doesn't have to be about actually looking appealing, the way women typically present themselves proclaims availability rather than beauty. For a man who doesn't mind having multiple partners, availability is much more important than beauty. The Philistine culture would have made their women seem a lot more readily "available" than the Israelite, and this would have been appealing for the impulsive Samson.

Samson's Philistine groomsmen were so miserly that he was forced to buy 30 suits instead of each of them buying one. I'm glad mine aren't like that. Samson reacted understandably and killed 30 people… I mean Samson reacted inexcusably and killed 30 people to take their suits! What a terrible guy! This will become a pattern. Israel at this time was the wild west.

We also see here the first instance of Samson being manipulated by his desperate bride who is getting death threats form his demonic Philistine groomsmen. I'm glad mine aren't like that. In case you think they're joking, they're not, you'll see later because… this will become a pattern.

Someone once played me a One Direction song which had some words about "the story of my life" with something about taking a girl home. Perhaps those children would be able to relate to Samson. Incidentally, Samson may not be a lot older than them when this story takes place. This too is the story of his life.

This really was the worst wedding ever. The bride was crying the whole time and the groom didn't know why. The groomsmen were stingy blackmailers. The groom was a mass murderer. The groom's parents only approved the wedding so the groom would end up killing lots of Philistines.

How much of what we do is for selfish motives? Is there a difference between selfish motives and righteously finding our heart's desires? I would say yes, Samson should have gone for an Israelitess.