“Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, “‘You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
– Judges 15:18
Hi James and Ellen,
Are you Samson strong? Samson was born about 3100 years ago. Samson’s dad and ma were members of the Dan tribal clan. The Dan tribal clan was one of the twelve tribal clans that made up the Israelite people group guys and gals. God chose the Israelite people group guys and gals to launch a new worship paradigm. After the death of Joshua – who was the guy who God had Moses mentor so that when it was time for Him to retire Moses from being the leader of the Israelite people group guys and gals – His specially chosen guys and gals, Joshua would be up to speed to take on the daunting task of leading the Israelite people group guys and gals across the River Jordon into the land of Canaan, the God mandated task of completely eradicating the entrenched people groups of guys and gals who were living in the land of Canaan and the allocation – through drawing lots, land areas in the land of Canaan to the remining nine Israelite people group tribal clans of guys and gals that they could call their own areas of land – as three Israelite people group tribal clans had already claimed land areas east of the River Jordan, there was no one to replace Joshua as leader of the Israelite people group guys and gals because Joshua had not mentored another guy to replace him when he died – as Moses had mentored him to take his place when he died, that resulted in a leadership vacuum. God’s specially chosen people guys and gals somehow managed to survive for over 300 years without a positioned A leader who had the ascribed job of governing from a central city all the land area that was being lived in by the Israelite people group guys and gals. During this 300 year plus timeframe, dynamic dudes like Samson surfaced to become regional leaders. These guys were called judges. These guys were known for their willingness to take on marauding enemy people group guys. The Philistine people group of guys and gals was a people group that escaped the purging that took place about 3400 years ago in the land of Canaan by Joshua and the Israelite people group guys. The land area that was allotted to the Dan tribal clan was just north of the land area that was lived in by the Philistine people group guys and gals. As Samson grew up, the Philistine people group of guys and gals were a regional bully and a nemesis to God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in their region.
Before Samson was conceived, Samson’s ma was told by an angel that she was going to have a kid and that she was to raise the kid as a devote Nazirite. A Nazirite guy was never to drink wine, have his hair cut and touch a corpse. Even though Samson had superhuman strength, Samson was a mortal guy with normal emotions. When Samson saw a gal who he thought that he loved, Samson paid the gal’s dad the required dowry and . . . the gal who Samson married was from the Philistine people group guys and gals. After being married to the gal for a short time and after the gal got Samson into a huff, the gal’s dad gave the gal away to a friend of Samson to be that guy’s wife. Judges 15 sums up these dark days in Samson’s life. Samson first wanted to have his wife back but . . . because he had been paid by Samson the bride-price and a gift of a young goat, Samson’s father-in-law was willing to give a younger sister of the gal who Samson had married to Samson to be his wife. A very ticked off Samson did not want anything to do with marrying a younger sister of the gal who was now his friend’s wife. Samson caught 300 foxes or jackals. Samson tied the tails together of pairs of foxes or jackals. Samson attached a torch to the tail of each fox or jackal. Samson lit each torch as he released each pair of foxes or jackals in different wheat fields that were owned by Philistine people group guys and gals. These fields were very dry and quite combustible as the wheat in these fields was ready to be harvested. When the Philistines people group guys and gals found out that it was Samson who had set their ripened wheat fields on fire, they burned to death Samson’s former wife and her dad. This got Samson even angrier. Samson vengefully and viciously slaughtered a bunch of Philistines people group guys. Samson then fled to a cave in the rock of Etam. Philistine people group guys coerced Israelites people group guys who were living in the region and who they had been harrying to form a task force of 3,000 or so guys to get Samson. Samson did not resist the Israelite people group guys who came for him. Samson let the guys tie him up with two new ropes before taking him to the Philistine people group guys who were waiting to . . . when Samson saw the waiting Philistines people group guys, the new ropes that had been used to tie his arms became like charred flax to Samson; they looked like they fell off his arms. Samson picked up a fresh donkey jawbone and killed 1,000 or so Philistine people group guys with the jawbone. After Samson finished his rampage against Philistine people group thugs, Samson – in verse 18, checked in with God, “Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, “‘You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”’ Samson knew that his survival was dependent on God.
What did you take away from how the spirits of bitterness and revenge got Samson to do what he did? Your grandpaa wonders how Samson caught 300 foxes or jackals with his bare hands and where he kept those foxes or jackals. Your grandpaa sees Samson demonstrating how spurned love can push a guy to become totally irrational.
Judges 15 (997)