As was the custom for weddings at the time, the Philistine people gathered some thirty young men as companions to be with him (11). These men were to serves as bridegrooms’ and part of a seven-day feast and celebration. At the beginning of this feast, our hero decides to test his thirty guests with a riddle (12) and a wager which amounted to thirty linen garments and changes of clothing (13). What he didn’t expect was for his “wedding companions” to intimidate and frighten his new wife. They were so bent on winning they terrified her, if she didn’t cooperate, they would burn her and her family (15). Fearing them more than fearing God or her husband, she uses tears and pressure to manipulate Samson into explaining the riddle. At the end of the week, she nags him so much he gives in and tells her the answer (16-17). 

It’s not hard to imagine that Samson feels like he has them over a barrel and is most likely proud of himself for being so clever. Scooping honey from the carcass of the lion was an isolated incident, an event his companions would have had no complete knowledge unless they were there. Without the help of his wife, it would be almost impossible for these guys to solve or save face. At the end of the week, his “Philistine companions” give the answer and foul his plans for winning the game. If they had not manipulated his wife, they would not have solved the riddle. Samson could kill a lion with his bare hands, but he could not overcome the flow of tears nor the continuing pressure of an attractive woman. 

- What motives are behind the riddle?
- Have you ever let someone talk you into doing something you did not want to do or reveal?
- What lessons can you learn about this chink in his armor?

• ​This is an interesting situation. Samson and his parents decide to travel down to Timnah a town originally captured by Joshua (19:43) and a part of Judah’s inheritance (15:57). Unfortunately, it’s under Philistine control. As he was entering into enemy territory our hero decided to separate himself from his parents and take the scenic path through a vineyard. Were not told the reason why but its not hard to assume there may be other attractive women working in the fields. Like most young men he has an appetite for female eye candy.  

While taking this scenic tour a lion leaps out and attacks our isolated hero and the next Judge for the nation. Like most attacks we can imagine the lion roaring to scare its prey into submission. Fortunately for him, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him and using his bare hands Samson tears the lion into pieces. This is the first instance of Samson’s incredible power which is fueled by the Holy Spirit (6). After reuniting with his parents, he purposely did not share his first incredible demonstration of superhuman strength.

Verse seven gives us another glimpse into Samson’s thinking, “Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson’s eyes.” This is the fourth time in seven verses that refer to his mind and eyes.

Later when he returns for another visit, Samson comes upon the lion’s carcass which is filled with bees and honey. Seeing the honey, he decides to feed his flesh by gleaning a handful to enjoy on the way. Unfortunately, this is an early indication of Samson’s incredible appetite even at the potential defiling as a Nazarite. He was never to go near a dead body which would make him unclean (Nu 6:6-7).

- Are there times when the lions roar scares you into a certain action?
- What are ways the enemy of God attempts to frighten his men?
- Are your eyes wandering where they shouldn’t look?
- Are you tasting or touching things that are unhealthy for you?

Some people feel Samson was in love, but others view this situation as a man burning in lust.  In his mind he was in love with an attractive foreign woman, and he was ready for marriage. When he sought parental approval for her hand in matrimony his parents questioned his judgement. They asked him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people that you must take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” His response, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” This is the third time in this chapter that refers to his vision. Consequently, he refused to listen to them and consider their advice. Samson is a man living by sight and not by faith.

His parents disagreed with his choice of women and tried to talk him out of this relationship, yet according to verse 4 God is behind this whole scenario. In this situation the Lord is showing His sovereignty and yet using a man’s personal weaknesses to do His divine will. Amazing! God was managing Samson the judge to seek an occasion to avenge the enemies of His people. And like so many of us today, we do not always understand or recognize His actions.

As we will see in future observations, Samson is a man who demonstrates strength and power to men but is easily seduced and ultimately manipulated by women of poor character.
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-  Are you easily swayed by glamor and glitz?
- Do you listen and weigh the advice given by family and spiritual leaders?

We’re not given the backdrop to his early life of growing up so it may be difficult to consider the circumstances or wounds which may have impacted him and his young adult decisions. We do know the Israelites were instructed by the Lord to never intermarry because of the great influence sex and relationships can have on worship and devotion (Deut 7:3-4). 

Samson is a classic example of a young man who enjoys seeing a beautiful woman who disregards the consequences of entering into an improper relationship or for that matter an interfaith marriage.  Twice in the first two verses of this chapter he “saw” her. No doubt he grew up seeing other women but, in this case, she sparked something in his mind, and this set her apart from others. As good as lust and sex can feel, they can also bring about moral failures and addictions. 

Today far too many men fulfill their desires of lust by fantasizing, viewing, and engaging in sexual gratification by means of pornographic material or worse prostitution. No parent in their right mind would encourage this kind of behavior, yet so many parents ignore putting bars and gates on the the family internet, computers, and cell phones. Unfortunately, in and out of the church too many men of all ages are viewing pornography on a routine basis. 

In dealing with pornography, no one should consider these the words, “A little won’t hurt.” 

- When it comes to lust, are you fighting it or engaging it with open eyes?
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During the period of Judges, Samson is born to Zorah and Manoah and given the role as a Nazrite for life. The Nazarite vow involved these three things: (1) abstinence from wine and strong drink, (2) refraining from cutting the hair off the head during the whole period of the vow, (3) the avoidance of contact with the dead people and animals (Deut. 7:3-4; Jdg 13:4-7). Early on in his life we find him eroticized by a foreign woman, toying with the enemy, and not listening to his parents. Unfortunately, he grew up like a playboy and seemed ignorant of the dangers involved with lust and sex. Yet, God assigned him to be a great defender of Israel. As a Nazarite he had certain boundaries and markers to govern his behavior, consequently, he moved them almost his entire life. Samson is one of the most flamboyant and colorful characters of the Bible who gives us a picture of a man that is unable to bridle his anger and lust. Sadly he squandered his great potential and partially fulfilled his calling in life. 

Did you know that the vow of the Nazirite could be taken by a man or a woman (v. 2), or even a slave, but not a Gentile (Mishnah Nazir ix.1). It could be made for a specific period (a minimum of thirty days) or be a lifelong commitment (i.3–5). If taken for a specific period, certain sacrificial offerings were required at the end of the period, including offering the hair that had grown during the vow as a burnt offering (Num. 6:13–20). Similar sacrifices were required for a Nazirite who broke one of the conditions of the vow (vv. 9–12).[1]

  - Do you know your life calling?
  - Have you ever made a vow to God? 
  - What was it and why?
​  - Did you keep it?


[1] Myers, A. C. (1987). In The Eerdmans Bible dictionary (p. 751). Eerdmans.

The term “a chink in his armor” alludes to the medieval knight’s body armor or chain mail which was a set of interlinked rings of metal joined at various points. When a crack, or chink, developed between the links or joints, the knight was less protected against a spear or arrow. The noun “chink” has been used figuratively for such a gap since the 1400s.

In the 1600’s a chink in one’s armor became known as a slight weakness or a place where a man is vulnerable. This weakness or vulnerability may lead to that person’s downfall; it is a place where an opponent can do some damage that may prove to unravel or injure the person.  Today if you say that someone has a chink in their armor, you mean that they have a small weakness in their character or in their ideas which makes it easy to harm them and reduce their influence and power.

Unfortunately, far too many men live and act like the world is a playground when it’s a battleground. A battleground where the enemy of men’s souls has done a masterful job of finding a man’s chink in his personal character. Once a character weakness is known the enemy in this battle is relentless in setting up influences to injure, maim, kill, or destroy. As Dr Doug Wiess so eloquently states in the video series WARPATH, “If Satan can seduce you, he will reduce you.”[i] And seduction is his number one method of attack.

Today the condition of men continues to darken. Although the sin of men and the temptations they face are not new (Galatians 5:19-21), there are more people exchanging the truth of God for a lie than ever before. When God gives men over to the sinful desires of their hearts, they are going to seek fulfillment of life through sexual impurity. The more men look to sexuality to make them feel good, the more their behavior will deteriorate into excessive indulgence (Romans 1:24). This is a key reason why pornography is a booming business, even among men in our churches.
Unfortunately, a major ramification of increased sexuality throughout society is the growth of deviant sexual practices. When God gives a society over to its shameful lusts, both men and women exchange normal sexual behavior for abnormal practices (Romans 1:26-27). Every day on the news we view sympathetic broadcasts of sweet, tender loving “gay” couples being persecuted and mistreated by conservatives and zealous Christians.

Every year more denominations practice anti-biblical policies by supporting homosexual and lesbian marriages as well as putting gay people into positions of leadership within their churches. What this proves is that the church is not immune from exchanging the truth of God for a lie. Recently a mainline American denomination announced the ordination of homosexuals under the pretense that the church needs to show 21st century social justice to a group of people who are often mistreated and persecuted. If each pair is committed to one another, the marriage union and church leadership of homosexuals receives denominational blessing. Amazing!

Worse yet, there are increasing numbers of adults having sex with young minors. This includes a growing segment of women teachers having sex with male and female adolescents barely into their teens. Sadly, men commit most instances of sex with youth. Sex trafficking is at all-time high, and pornography is fueled by mostly men who seek increasingly more and darker types of visual and mental sexual satisfaction.  Unfortunately, these men experience addiction, more shame, and personal failure.

Author and speaker Bill Perkins often asks men, “Are you stronger than Samson, more spiritual than David, or wiser than Solomon?”[ii]  Do you know any men who would claim a ’Yes’ to these questions? Yet thousands of men are living as though they can master their flesh and in fact live like they are stronger than Samson, more spiritual than David, and wiser than Solomon. Unfortunately, they end up destroying themselves and impacting a lot of lives around them. None of us plans to get up one day and develop an addiction to pornography, commit adultery or to live promiscuously, yet this is happening to thousands of men. Sexual danger is with us all the time.
The purpose of this bible study is to help the reader learn from the lives of these three men who failed and failed greatly. Samson, David, and Solomon are three classic biblical examples of men with big chinks that men can study, learn from, and make application to their own persona daily living. The world desperately needs Christian men who will focus on God and live sexually pure lives.

Every man has a chink in his armor! Which chinks are yours? 
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Remember: “If Satan can seduce you, he will reduce you.”


[i] WARPATH episode ?

[ii] A Mighty Million Men ---