July 25, 2021
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Reading along with us in Judges? Here’s today’s reading:
Judges 15 (NIV)
Samson’s Vengeance on the Philistines
1Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, “I’m going to my wife’s room.” But her father would not let him go in.
2“I was so sure you hated her,” he said, “that I gave her to your companion. Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.”.......Continue Reading
16Then Samson said,
“With a donkey’s jawbone
I have made donkeys of them.
With a donkey’s jawbone
I have killed a thousand men.”
This seems like an immature moment to me and a song my 12 year old son might chant but God is definitely using Samson to remove the Philistines from a position of power over His people. God gives Samson the strength to be this one man wrecking crew to the Philistines despite his own people’s reluctance to fight against their oppressors and actually handing Samson over to them.
Judges 15
One guy takes out 1000 men. Someone please help me with this one
It’s a miracle!
Judges 15
I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ warning that if you live by the sword, then you will die by the sword…or in this case, by a donkey’s jawbone. God does use the strength that He has blessed Samson with to bring judgement on the Philistines, but Samson remains impulsive and fleshly in the way He uses it. It is those dynamics that will lead to his demise. As it mentions that he lead Israel 20 years, I wonder what kind of leader he was. Something tells me he would be a my way or the highway type of leader which is never the direction to go in. We need to watch how impulsive and reactionary we are as we go through life…unlike what Samson does…..
18Because 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?” 19Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi.
20Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
Judges 15
Samson is a wrecking ball. Since he leads Israel for 20 years, it makes me wonder if we are just getting the “highlight reel” of all that he did to complete God’s plan of delivering Israel from the Philistines, and perhaps there are many more measured actions that he performed.