Lessons From Samson's Mistakes

 

  The Bible indicates that there were many unmarried women among God's people that Samson could have chosen to marry, but Samson preferred heathen women. (Judges 14:1-3) This was a pattern that is repeated all too often. Many unmarried Christians are unfriendly or indifferent towards dedicated Christians while gravitating to non-Christians and professed Christians of bad character, and then try to justify unequal yoking by saying they cannot find a Christian (or a Christian of good character), or insisting that they can change someone or that they are in love. (Incidentally, merely saying that you like, love, or hate someone says something about you but says nothing about the object of that emotion, and Bible passages about a hope of leading an unbelieving spouse to the Lord are addressed to Christians who were already married when they converted.)

 Samson could have spared himself from a lot of grief by listening to his parents. (Judges 14:3; Ephesians 6:2-3)

 Does Judges 14:4 mean it was the will of God for Samson to marry a heathen woman? No, the wording simply makes it clear that God used this as a means of making Samson fulfill God's purpose for him. (Judges 13:5)

 Of the three women Samson was romantically involved with, all three were heathens, two of them were prostitutes, and the other behaved like a prostitute. What led to this? Back then it was customary for a groom to have a feast ("throw a party") and invite his closest friends to celebrate his wedding with him, and the choice of guests said something about Samson: Samson's close friends were all heathens. (Judges 14:10-11; Psalm 119:63; Proverbs 13:20; I Corinthians 15:33)