Judges 13

Judges 13:1

Jdg. 13, 14, 15. The History of Samson. Samson was charmed with the daughters of the uncircumcised Philistines, and, as it were, bewitched with them. These daughters represent those lusts, or objects of their lusts, with which men are charmed and infatuated. Samson’s uniting himself with these daughters of the Philistines, proved his ruin. He had warning enough to beware of them before he was utterly destroyed by them.

First, he was deceived by one of them, and suffered great damage by her falseness, by the woman of Timnath; though he loved her, she proved an enemy to him, and treacherously deprived him of thirty sheets, and thirty changes of garments, and then she was taken from him; she proved false to him, and left him. So she served him as the objects of men’s lusts often serve them; they promise them a great deal, but never afford them anything; they are like a pleasing shadow at a distance, that does us a great deal of damage in the pursuit, and when we come nigh them and hope to embrace them, and to be paid for our damages, they afford us nothing but disappointment. Samson’s being thus served by a daughter of the Philistines, might be a warning to him not to be concerned with them any more. But after this Samson was ensnared again, and went in to a harlot at Gaza, which suddenly brought him into imminent danger of his life, so that he very narrowly escaped, as in the beginning of chap. 16. But yet after this he unites himself with Delilah, and had sufficient from her to make him sensible that she was his enemy time after time, had he not been utterly infatuated and bewitched; but yet he would not take warning, and at last she deprived him of the seven locks of his head, in which signified the consideration and sense of the mind; and bringing a person to a stupid and senseless state. (See Notes on Numbers 6:5 concerning the Nazarite’s not shaving his head.) When persons’ sense, consideration, and watchfulness is gone, their strength will soon be gone. And then God departed from Samson, and he became the miserable condemned captive and slave of the Philistines, who tormented him, and insulted over him, and made themselves sport in his misery, and at last it proved his death.

Judges 13:18

Jdg. 13:18. “Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?” (= wonderful). This argues that this is the same person spoken of in Isaiah 9:6 - “To us a child,” etc., “Wonderful,” which is the same word in the original that is here rendered ‘secret;’ and what is said in verse 20 further argues it. [See note on Isaiah 9:6. What is here said about the name of this person, compared with Proverbs 30:4, argues that it was the Son of God. (See also Revelation 19:12; Genesis 32:29).

Judges 13:20

Jdg. 13:20. “For it came to pass when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. Christ, by thus going into the flame in which the kid was sacrificed, and ascending in it, signified that he was the great sacrifice that was to be offered up to God, and was to ascend as a sweet savor to God from off the altar in the flame of his holy wrath. That was the substance represented by these shadows, the sacrifices of kids and lambs, etc.