*Judges 15:1-20
In retaliation for his wife being burned, Samson wreaks havoc on the Philistines by killing many with a donkey’s jawbone.
- Samson’s Desire for Revenge:
- Samson returns to his wife, intending to be intimate with her, but learns that she has been given in marriage to another man, a companion of Samson’s former friend.
- Feeling betrayed and outraged, Samson seeks vengeance against the Philistines for their deceit and betrayal.
- Retaliation Against the Philistines:
- Samson captures three hundred foxes and ties them together in pairs with torches between their tails.
- He sets the torches on fire and releases the foxes into the Philistines’ grain fields, vineyards, and olive groves, destroying their crops and livelihoods.
- Philistine Retribution:
- The Philistines retaliate by burning Samson’s wife and her father with fire, fulfilling the prophecy Samson had uttered regarding the consequences of his wife’s betrayal.
- Samson’s Counterattack:
- In response to the Philistines’ violence, Samson launches a fierce counterattack against them, striking them down with great slaughter.
- He inflicts a devastating blow upon the Philistines, causing them to flee in fear and desperation.
- Seeking Refuge in the Rock of Etam:
- Samson seeks refuge in the cleft of the rock of Etam, hiding from the Philistines who are bent on revenge against him.
- The Israelites, fearful of the Philistines’ wrath, question Samson’s motives and intentions, leading them to deliver him into the hands of the enemy.
- Samson’s Surrender to the Philistines:
- Three thousand men of Judah, fearing the Philistines’ retaliation, bind Samson and deliver him to the Philistines at Lehi.
- As the Philistines approach, the Spirit of the Lord comes mightily upon Samson, empowering him to break free from his bonds and wield the jawbone of a donkey as a weapon against his enemies.
- Victory and Recognition of God’s Hand:
- Samson strikes down a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey, delivering a decisive victory over his enemies.
- In recognition of God’s hand upon him, Samson names the place Ramath-lehi (Jawbone Hill), commemorating his victory and the miraculous deliverance God granted him.
- God caused water to gush out of the ground to quench Samson’s thirst.
Judges 15:1-20 shows us how anger and revenge can create more problems instead of solving them. Samson let his emotions control his actions, leading to more conflict. This reminds us that when we face hurt or injustice, we should not act out of anger but seek wisdom and self-control. God can bring good even from difficult situations, but we must trust Him rather than taking matters into our own hands.
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.