Hey Everyone,
This thread is an expansion of a post in a zombie thread that was resurrected a few weeks ago. I've asked this question before on CC, but it's always interesting to see what the current crowd thinks. I personally don't believe there are any set-in-stone answers here (I think individual cases vary,) but I could be wrong -- so all insights, experiences, Scriptural references, and observations are welcome.
We all know that Samson had a few issues, to say the least.
One of the most fascinating things to me about Samson's story is that God apparently backed him up when choosing a Philistine (the enemies of the Israelites) for a wife.
Judges 14 starts out with the story of Samson spotting a young Philistine woman (not Delilah, but Samson's first wife, whom the Philistines later murdered) and telling his parents to get her for him as his wife. His parents, who were understandably distraught because Israelites were not supposed to marry foreigners, asked Samson, "Can't you find a suitable wife from among our own people?"
But Samson clearly tells his father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me."
And, in one of what I think is the most intriguing of all Scriptures, the Bible says: "(Samson's parents) did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines, for at that time they were ruling over Israel." (Judges 14: 4.)
Personally, I feel sorry for Samson's parents, because they were just trying to do what any good Israelite parent would have done.
And the questions I've always had were: "Was God LEADING Samson to find a wife among His enemies? Did GOD decide that this young Philistine woman was 'the right one', or was God simply using Samson's personal choice for His own purpose? Did God somehow influence Samson in that he couldn't find an Israelite woman he liked, and only seemed drawn to Philistine women?" After all, even after Samson's marriage went up in smoke (literally,) he was right back at it with yet another Philistine woman (the infamous Delilah.)
And, if I'm REALLY honest, my old 5-year-old Sunday School self has to ask, "DID GOD MAKE IT SO THAT ALL THE ISRAELITE WOMEN AT THE TIME WERE UGLY, AND THE ONLY PRETTY WOMEN SAMSON COULD FIND WERE AMONG THE PHILISTINES?"
* Did God actually have it in His heart for Samson to marry a Philistine, or was He just prepared to use Samson's preferences and choices according to His own will? We are always told that God gives us free will, so I certainly don't believe that God caused Samson to fall in love with any particular woman. But if He actually wanted Samson to marry a Philistine, how far does His influence on whom we fall in love with stretch?
* Did God desire that Samson would have married Delilah? We would think not, but yet it was God who directed Hosea to marry Gomer (a prostitute who was serially unfaithful) for His own purpose.
* Was the girl Samson chose first actually "the right one" God wanted him to be with, but since she was killed, did God influence Samson to pick another Philistine woman (Delilah) to marry to continue to "have a reason to confront them"?
I don't know. But these are the kinds of things I think about when I read a story like this... (And pretty much gives away the entire jumbled thought process through which all of my thread ideas are born.)
I was talking to a good friend about this thread, and she also pointed out that King Xerses (ruler of the Persian Empire, another Israelite enemy) was drawn to a young Hebrew woman (Esther,) out of all the other young, beautiful, eligible women he had to choose from. I'm sure most of these women were the best of the best, some with powerful family trees and untold wealth. Did the most powerful man in Persia just happen to be more attracted to Esther, a young Hebrew orphan with nothing, more than all the other most beautiful women of the land, who surely had much more to offer?
Or did God somehow influence his attraction to pick Esther as his queen?
* And what does all this mean for us as singles? How much, if at all, does God influence whom we are attracted to -- or who is attracted to us?
After all, I've heard multiple stories in which one person said, "God says you and I are to be married!" and yet the other person has no interest or attraction to them at all. On the other hand, I've also heard stories of people talking about how God drew or directed them to "exactly the right person," and they've had as close to Godly, "ideal" marriage as one could ever get in this lifetime.
Does God influence or direct whom you like, or who likes you?
As I said earlier, I honestly don't think there are any one-size-fits-all answers, but I would love to hear your thoughts.
This thread is an expansion of a post in a zombie thread that was resurrected a few weeks ago. I've asked this question before on CC, but it's always interesting to see what the current crowd thinks. I personally don't believe there are any set-in-stone answers here (I think individual cases vary,) but I could be wrong -- so all insights, experiences, Scriptural references, and observations are welcome.
We all know that Samson had a few issues, to say the least.
One of the most fascinating things to me about Samson's story is that God apparently backed him up when choosing a Philistine (the enemies of the Israelites) for a wife.
Judges 14 starts out with the story of Samson spotting a young Philistine woman (not Delilah, but Samson's first wife, whom the Philistines later murdered) and telling his parents to get her for him as his wife. His parents, who were understandably distraught because Israelites were not supposed to marry foreigners, asked Samson, "Can't you find a suitable wife from among our own people?"
But Samson clearly tells his father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me."
And, in one of what I think is the most intriguing of all Scriptures, the Bible says: "(Samson's parents) did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines, for at that time they were ruling over Israel." (Judges 14: 4.)
Personally, I feel sorry for Samson's parents, because they were just trying to do what any good Israelite parent would have done.
And the questions I've always had were: "Was God LEADING Samson to find a wife among His enemies? Did GOD decide that this young Philistine woman was 'the right one', or was God simply using Samson's personal choice for His own purpose? Did God somehow influence Samson in that he couldn't find an Israelite woman he liked, and only seemed drawn to Philistine women?" After all, even after Samson's marriage went up in smoke (literally,) he was right back at it with yet another Philistine woman (the infamous Delilah.)
And, if I'm REALLY honest, my old 5-year-old Sunday School self has to ask, "DID GOD MAKE IT SO THAT ALL THE ISRAELITE WOMEN AT THE TIME WERE UGLY, AND THE ONLY PRETTY WOMEN SAMSON COULD FIND WERE AMONG THE PHILISTINES?"
* Did God actually have it in His heart for Samson to marry a Philistine, or was He just prepared to use Samson's preferences and choices according to His own will? We are always told that God gives us free will, so I certainly don't believe that God caused Samson to fall in love with any particular woman. But if He actually wanted Samson to marry a Philistine, how far does His influence on whom we fall in love with stretch?
* Did God desire that Samson would have married Delilah? We would think not, but yet it was God who directed Hosea to marry Gomer (a prostitute who was serially unfaithful) for His own purpose.
* Was the girl Samson chose first actually "the right one" God wanted him to be with, but since she was killed, did God influence Samson to pick another Philistine woman (Delilah) to marry to continue to "have a reason to confront them"?
I don't know. But these are the kinds of things I think about when I read a story like this... (And pretty much gives away the entire jumbled thought process through which all of my thread ideas are born.)
I was talking to a good friend about this thread, and she also pointed out that King Xerses (ruler of the Persian Empire, another Israelite enemy) was drawn to a young Hebrew woman (Esther,) out of all the other young, beautiful, eligible women he had to choose from. I'm sure most of these women were the best of the best, some with powerful family trees and untold wealth. Did the most powerful man in Persia just happen to be more attracted to Esther, a young Hebrew orphan with nothing, more than all the other most beautiful women of the land, who surely had much more to offer?
Or did God somehow influence his attraction to pick Esther as his queen?
* And what does all this mean for us as singles? How much, if at all, does God influence whom we are attracted to -- or who is attracted to us?
After all, I've heard multiple stories in which one person said, "God says you and I are to be married!" and yet the other person has no interest or attraction to them at all. On the other hand, I've also heard stories of people talking about how God drew or directed them to "exactly the right person," and they've had as close to Godly, "ideal" marriage as one could ever get in this lifetime.
Does God influence or direct whom you like, or who likes you?
As I said earlier, I honestly don't think there are any one-size-fits-all answers, but I would love to hear your thoughts.
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, is God hardened Pharoh's heart (Ex 7...).
