Judges 15
Judges 15 is an important turning point in the story of Samson. It begins with conflict with the Philistine woman he loved, and through that, a pattern of repeated conflict and retaliation follows. In this process, Samson experiences personal pain while, amid the conflict between Israel and the Philistines, gradually revealing his role as God’s judge.
1verseBut 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.
2verseHer 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.”
3verseSamson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in the case of the Philistines when I harm them.”
4verseSamson 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.
5verseWhen 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.
6verseThen 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.
7verseSamson said to them, “If you behave like this, surely I will take revenge on you, and after that I will cease.”
8verseHe struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cave in Etam’s rock.
9verseThen the Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
10verseThe 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.”
11verseThen 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.”
12verseThey 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.”
13verseThey 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.
14verseWhen 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.
15verseHe found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, put out his hand, took it, and struck a thousand men with it.
16verseSamson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps; with the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men.”
17verseWhen he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramath Lehi.
18verseHe 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?”
19verseBut 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.
20verseHe judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
The Flow and Structure of the Passage
- Verses 1-8: Samson goes to find his wife, but his father-in-law refuses him, and Samson’s anger leads to retaliation against the Philistines (using foxes to burn up the grain).
- Verses 9-13: The people of Judah try to bind Samson and hand him over in response to the Philistines’ retaliation, and Samson speaks with the people of Judah’s towns.
- Verses 14-20: Samson kills one thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey, showing that he wins by relying on God’s power. After that, when he cries out to God, the passage concludes with God providing a spring so that Samson’s thirst is relieved.
Overall Meaning and Message
Samson’s actions may sometimes seem very personal and driven by impulse, but we can see that what unfolds through his hands is a process in which God’s will is revealed in the history between Israel and the Philistines. Although Samson was not a perfect person, Judges 15 shows that God’s work is carried out even amid weakness and limitations. Also, through the way God responds when Samson cries out to God amid extreme exhaustion and thirst, we see that God not only accepts human weakness but is also the One who helps and provides assistance.
Points for Reflection
- Let’s reflect on how God’s work can be accomplished through our weakness and limitations as well, even through Samson’s life.
- Even in a situation where conflict and retaliation repeat, we can think again about how God works—using His own methods and at His own time.
- As Samson cried out to God in the midst of his hardship, let’s reflect on an attitude of seeking God during the difficult moments of my own life.
Try Applying It to Yourself
- Even amid my weakness and lack, I can expect God’s work.
- Even when I am swept up by personal emotions or circumstances, I can apply the attitude of trusting and seeking God’s guidance.
- In the face of the problems or difficulties I am dealing with right now, I can put into practice asking for help from God honestly, like Samson did.
