Doctrine: Disobedience eventually results in misery and frustration. Samson got his way (in marrying the Philistine woman), and he also got a lot more than he ''bargained for.''
Exegesis: Why Samson's story is so relevant for us today: because natural barriers are no longer in place (vv. 15-16); because natural affections can no longer be assumed (vv. 17-18); because natural order is no longer prevalent (vv. 19-20).
Further application: What the church should glean from texts like these: that we must cling to Christ by faith, and that we cannot count on any ''help'' from the world.
Key verse: v. 16 ''Then Samson's wife wept on him, and said, 'You only hate me! You do not love me! You have posed a riddle to the sons of my people, but you have not explained it to me.' And he said to her, 'Look, I have not explained it to my father or my mother; so should I explain it to you?'''
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Rev. Mark Henninger received his Masters of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and he has been Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois for more than 30 years.