Judges 14: 19-20 – The trouble with being unequally yoked

Feeling cheated, Samson stormed out of the wedding feast. How could his wife, who should have stood by his side, betray him? But this was the way that God had begun to work out His plan through him. Had it not been the unfairness that was dished out to him by his wife and the wedding guests he would have remained passive concerning his calling as a deliverer of Israel. This betrayal stirred him to fulfil his destiny. It was clearly goaded by the Spirit of God for verse 19 tells us that the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him. Concerning ourselves, we can either choose to step into our calling minus the heartaches, or wait for a disappointing event to stir us into action. The choice is ours to make.    

Consumed with the Spirit of the Lord for the second time, Samson arose and went down to Ashkelon, still burning with anger and smothering with resentment. There his anger shot through him and he killed thirty Philistines and stripped them of their garments. Having done so he brought the garments to Timnah and give them to the wedding guests who had solved his riddle. The way Samson went about this deliverance was unusual. It was messy alright. Samson must have thought that when he had fulfilled his part of the bargain everything would return to normal. Apparently, it was not to be so. The plot thickened while he was away gathering the garments for losing his challenge with the Philistines. His parents-in-law unconscionably gave his wife to his best man while he was away. It was a huge slap on his face. This was another trigger point that would soon get him on his second round of thrashing the Philistines.

How could they do that to him? That was unconscionable. It was more than what Samson had bargained for. But then what could one expect when dealing with people whose conscience is sheared? In life, we must learn not to raise our expectation and hope too high when dealing with people who are not in the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 6:14-15, Paul cautioned us about dealing with such people. He said, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?” Remember that we are bought with a price, whether it be business or marriage we must heed the word of God and act cautiously. This will save us untold sorrow. Be wise. It is better to be safe rather than sorry. God’s word will always come to pass!