An early look into the character and countenance of Samson as a young man as he interacts with his mother and father…

Judges 14:2-3

“When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.” His father and mother objected. “Isn’t there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?” they asked. “Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She looks good to me.”

Something is off with Samson and the way he views God’s plan for marriage. Something is also off with the way he speaks to his parents. A good starting place for Samson would be the fifth commandment – which is the first commandment that deals with relationships. 

Exodus 20:12  “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

‘Get her for me’ does not communicate honor to mom and dad. Samson knew that parents must be involved in the bringing together of two people and two families, but he only saw his parents as a necessary means to get what he wanted because ‘she looks good to me’. 

This lack of honor for his parents is actually found in Samson’s lack of honor for God. It is God’s command for me to honor my parents – and this is not just when I am young. As a child, I must ‘obey my parents’. Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.’

Honor is beyond childhood. I honor my parents when I am an adult and out of the home. I honor my parents when I have my own wife and children. I honor my parents after they pass away to heaven and are only a memory. Honor is not just for the honorable but is a choice of how I speak to and about my parents. At a young age, Samson was already failing at this which was a sign of what was to come. 

Question:  What adjustment can I make today to ‘honor my parents’?