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Did God honor Samson’s marriage to this Philistine girl?

Claim:

The Bible teaches that believers should not marry non-believers (Ex. 34:11-16; Deut. 7:1-4). However, this passage states that Samson’s marriage “was of the Lord” (Judg. 14:4). How can this be the case?

Response:

Samson was too wrapped up in himself to care about God’s purposes. Therefore, God used Samson’s lust to accomplish his purpose. In the same way, Pontius Pilate was a cruel dictator, who ordered Jesus to be tortured and killed. But, God used this for his purpose (Acts 2:23; 4:27-28). Kaiser notes, “Scriptural language frequently attributes directly to God what he merely permits.” God wasn’t approving of the marriage. Instead, he was redeeming a bad situation to liberate the Jews from the Philistines.

  1. ^

    Kaiser, Walter C. More Hard Sayings of the Old Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1992. 132.

About The Author
James Rochford

James earned a Master’s degree in Theological Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, graduating magna cum laude. He is the founder of Evidence Unseen and the author of several books. James enjoys serving as a pastor at Dwell Community Church in Columbus, Ohio, where he lives with his wife and their two sons.