Samson’s Marriage (Judges 14:1–4)

My immediate devotional response to reading: sometimes defining your parents and convention and tradition is God’s will, like Samson marrying a foreign woman (14:4). This kind of thing requires a lot of discernment. It reinforces the idea of God’s sovereignty and He uses even the wrong actions from selfish motives.

Samson notices a Philistine girl in Timnah and tells his parents to decide for him to marry her. Samson’s parents try to convince Samson to marry an Israelite girl. Samson says no. This marriage is part of God’s plan to free Israel from Philistine oppression.