Samson Strikes Again (Judges 15:1-20)
The story of Samson continues with more drama, revenge, and an amazing display of strength. In Judges 15, we see how things spiral after Samson’s bride is given to another man, and how God continues to work through him in surprising ways.
Samson Tries to Reconnect
Some time after his wedding, Samson goes to visit his wife, bringing a young goat as a gift. But things don’t go as planned. Her father tells Samson that he gave her to Samson’s best man because he thought Samson didn’t want her anymore. To make up for it, the father offers Samson her younger sister.
This deeply offends Samson, and he decides it’s time to get even with the Philistines.
A Strange Way to Get Revenge
Samson comes up with a very unusual plan. He catches 300 foxes (some translations say jackals), ties them together in pairs by their tails, and attaches a burning torch to each pair. Then he lets them loose in the Philistine grain fields. The fire spreads quickly, destroying not only grain, but also vineyards and olive groves. It’s a huge loss for the Philistines.
The Philistines Fight Back
When the Philistines find out why their crops were burned, they blame Samson’s wife and her father. In a terrible act of revenge, they burn both of them to death.
Samson, heartbroken and angry, attacks the Philistines again. Afterward, he hides in a cave.
The Israelites Feel the Pressure
The Philistines come looking for Samson in the land of Judah, ready to fight. The people of Judah, afraid of the Philistines, send 3,000 men to find Samson. They don’t want trouble, so they ask Samson to surrender.
Samson agrees to go with them peacefully, but makes them promise not to kill him themselves.
Samson’s Great Victory
As Samson is handed over to the Philistines, God’s Spirit gives him power. The ropes that tied him fall off like burned thread. Samson sees a fresh donkey’s jawbone on the ground, grabs it, and uses it as a weapon. With it, he kills 1,000 Philistine men.
Afterward, he names the place Ramath Lehi, which means “Jawbone Hill.”
A Thirsty Warrior
After the battle, Samson is exhausted and very thirsty. He cries out to God, asking for help. God answers his prayer by providing water from a hollow place in the ground. Samson drinks, his strength returns, and he is refreshed.
This moment shows that even though Samson is a strong warrior, he still depends on God for help and life.
What Can We Learn?
This chapter reminds us that God can use anyone—no matter their flaws—for His purpose. Samson made mistakes, acted out of anger, and often didn’t follow God’s ways perfectly. Yet, God still gave him strength and answered his cry for help.
Even when things seem messy or out of control, God is at work behind the scenes. And just like Samson, we can always turn to God in our weakest moments—and He will provide what we need.
Judges 15:1-20 (WEB)
15:1 But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat. He said, “I will go in to my wife’s room.”But her father wouldn’t allow him to go in. 2 Her father said, “I most certainly thought that you utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Isn’t her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please, take her instead.”3 Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in the case of the Philistines when I harm them.” 4 Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the middle between every two tails. 5 When he had set the torches on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, and also the olive groves.6 Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?”They said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” The Philistines came up, and burned her and her father with fire.7 Samson said to them, “If you behave like this, surely I will take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.” 8 He struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cave in Etam’s rock. 9 Then the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.10 The men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?”They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us.”11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in Etam’s rock, and said to Samson, “Don’t you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?”He said to them, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.”12 They said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.”Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.”13 They spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will bind you securely and deliver you into their hands; but surely we will not kill you.” They bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. Then the LORD’s Spirit came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burned with fire; and his bands dropped from off his hands. 15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, put out his hand, took it, and struck a thousand men with it. 16 Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps; with the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men.” 17 When he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramath Lehi.18 He was very thirsty, and called on the LORD and said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant; and now shall I die of thirst, and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”19 But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out of it. When he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived. Therefore its name was called En Hakkore, which is in Lehi, to this day. 20 He judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.