Samson Disappoints His Mother

When the angel told Samson’s mother that her son would be a Nazarite who would lead the Israelites against the Philistines, I’m sure she had images of an obedient righteous man.

But while Samson was indeed, a man of God, He was also an impulsive, strong willed young man with a violent temper and a weakness for the ladies. 

Samson fell in love with a Philistine woman and begged his parents to give her to him in marriage. Despite their pleas for him to find instead a good Hebrew woman, Samson insisted, and ended up in a marriage doomed from the start. 

Samson’s mother did everything she could to raise a godly son. She had such high hopes for him. How disappointed she must have been to see him chasing after a pagan woman and behaving in such a crass and vile manner. 

But in Judges 14:4 we’re told, “But his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD—that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.”

I’m sure Samson’s mother got discouraged by his choices, wondering if she had failed her son, but she wasn’t to blame. God knew about Samson’s weakness for pagan women. He knew about Samson’s violent temper.

God needed a man with strength who wasn’t afraid of the Philistines. The very areas where Samson was weakest, God was able to use as strengths in order to help free the Israelites from the Philistine oppression. 

It’s hard to watch our children go down difficult paths, but all we can is give them to the Lord and let Him take it from there.

Read about Samson’s Mother in Scripture: Judges 14:1-4

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