Judges 15:1-20

Life Without Law

Judges

Philip Smith

Chapter 15

v1 Later, at the time when people were harvesting corn, Samson went to visit his wife. He took a young goat as a present. He said, ‘I am going to visit my wife in her bedroom.’ Her father would not let him go in. v2 He spoke to Samson. ‘I really thought that you hated her. So I gave her to your best man (the friend that helped Samson at the wedding). Her younger sister is more attractive. Marry her instead.’ v3 Samson said, ‘Now I have a complete right to punish the *Philistines. I will really hurt them.’ v4 He caught 300 foxes and he tied their tails together two by two. He fixed a *torch to every pair v5 and he lit the *torches. Then he freed them in the *Philistines’ fields where their corn was. He burned up the corn that they had harvested. And he burned up the corn in the fields. He also burned the *olive trees. And he burned the places where the *grapes grew. v6 The *Philistines asked, ‘Who did this?’ The reply was, ‘It was Samson, the husband of the woman whose father lives in Timnah. He did it because they gave his wife to his friend.’ So the *Philistines went and they burned her and her father to death. v7 Samson said, ‘You have done this. You will suffer pain because of what you have done.’ v8 He attacked the *Philistines and he killed many *Philistines. Then he went to live in a cave in the rock called Etam.

The harvest happened at the end of May. Samson went to have sex with his wife. He brought a goat as a gift. This was probably the present that the husband usually brought in such a marriage. He discovered that they had given his wife to his friend. This was because Samson had left them after the wedding. Instead, they offered her younger sister to him. He was so angry that he got 300 ‘foxes’. (These were probably the animals that people today call jackals. A jackal is a kind of wild dog.) He started a fire on their tails so that they would burn the corn and the *olive trees. This action was very serious, as it was harvest time. Samson’s action with the jackals was one part in God’s firm plan. God wanted the *Israelites and the *Philistines to continue their quarrel. The fight then got bigger, when the *Philistines burned Samson’s wife and her family. They did what they had already promised to do in Judges 14:15. On the day when the wedding happened, the girl’s father had given her to Samson’s friend. If he had not done this, she would have remained alone on that day. And this would have meant great shame for her. So he had tried to keep his daughter from that shame. Instead, he caused a terrible *disaster. The *Philistines could maybe have tried to catch Samson. But they noticed that it was easier to burn the father and daughter. Samson killed many people in Timnah. In this way, he punished the *Philistines because of what they did. Then he hid.

v9 The *Philistines went and they camped. They camped in the area where Judah’s *tribe lived. Then they attacked Lehi. v10 The men in Judah’s *tribe asked, ‘Why have you come to fight against us?’ They answered that they had come to *capture Samson. They would do to him as he had done to them. v11 3000 men from Judah’s *tribe went to the cave. This was in the rock called Etam. And they spoke to Samson. ‘You know that the *Philistines are our rulers. You should not have done this to us.’ He gave this answer: ‘I only did to them what they did to me.’ v12 They said, ‘We have come to tie you up. And then we will give you to the *Philistines.’ Samson said, ‘Promise that you will not kill me yourselves.’ v13 They agreed. ‘We will only tie you up and we will give you to them. We will not kill you.’ So they tied him with two new *ropes and they led him up from the rock.

v14 As he came near to Lehi, the *Philistines came towards him. They were shouting. The *Lord’s Spirit came upon him with power. The *ropes on his arms became like cotton. They were like cotton that people had burned. They fell from his hands. v15 He found a *jawbone from a *mule that had just died. He killed 1000 men with it. v16 He said, ‘With a *mule’s *jawbone, I have made them seem stupid like *mules. With a *mule’s *jawbone, I have killed 1000 men.’ v17 When he had said this, he threw the *jawbone away. He called the place Ramath Lehi, which means *Jawbone Hill.

From this story we learn the origin of the name ‘*Jawbone Hill’. The *Philistines only wanted to make Samson suffer pain. They did not want to attack the *Israelites. They were very afraid of Samson. So they sent very many *Philistines to attack him. And these sent an even larger number of *Israelites to arrest him. The *Israelites said to Samson, ‘You know that the *Philistines are our rulers.’ From this we learn something about God’s people. And we learn about the evil things in the world. God’s people and the world’s evil things cannot live together in a friendly way. If God’s people do not fight against those evil things, then the evil things will be stronger than God’s people. The *Israelites from Judah’s *tribe did not quarrel with the *Philistines. They bound Samson. But then he got free and he killed 1000 men. He did this with a *weapon that he had not planned to use. It was a fresh *jawbone from an animal that had just died. The wet *jawbone would be more useful than a dry one would be. In this action, he did what he had promised not to do. Because he was a *Nazirite, he had promised not to touch a dead body. What Samson said about the *jawbone was probably a song. In this song, Samson used *Hebrew words cleverly in a special way. But we cannot translate these easily. People thought that he had God’s power to free them. But God knew that he was like *Israel’s people. They did what was wrong. The result would be *destruction.

v18 He needed water to drink. And he cried out to the *Lord. ‘You have given a very great *victory to your servant. Surely you do not intend to let me die because there is not enough water! Then these dirty *Philistines will catch me.’ v19 God opened up a hole in the ground in Lehi. And water came out of it. When Samson drank, he became strong again. So he called the *spring of water En Hakkore (which means ‘Caller’s *Spring’). It is still there today. v20 Samson led *Israel’s people for 20 years. This was during the time when the *Philistines were ruling.

Here is another story that shows us the origin of a name. This was the first time when Samson had to ask for God’s help. Usually he just thought that he had it. God answered his prayer. This is an example of when Samson was feeling weak. The *prophet Elijah behaved in a similar weak way after he had defeated a false god’s *prophets at Carmel. (Look at 1 Kings 19:4.) Samson thought that he would die because he did not have any water. Then he thought that the *Philistines would cut up his body. A *spring came from a hollow place in the ground. So he called the place ‘Caller’s *Spring’, or ‘the well of the man who called’.

Philistines ~ a group of people that came from Egypt. They came to live on the coast between Egypt and Gaza. They lived in the plain that was there.
torch ~ a stick that people burnt to give them light.
olive ~ a bitter green or black fruit from which people get oil.
grape ~ juicy green or purple fruit that grows on the branches of a vine. People use this fruit to make wine.

vine ~ a plant that climbs. Its fruit is the grape.
Israelites ~ the people that belonged to the nation called Israel. God had chosen them as his own special people.

Israel ~ the nation that consisted of Jacob’s descendants; the country where they lived; another name for Jacob.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
disaster ~ a very bad event that causes great problems.
tribe ~ a large group of people that are all relatives of each other.
capture ~ take someone as a prisoner; take control of a place in war; or take an object in war.
rope ~ very thick string.
Lord ~ a name for God. It means that he is the master, the ruler over all. Also, people often use this word to translate Yahweh, a very special Hebrew name for God.

Yahweh ~ the name of God. It means ‘I am what I am’. Or it can mean ‘the same always’.
Hebrew ~ the Hebrew people were Abraham’s descendants; and they spoke a language called Hebrew.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
jawbone ~ a bone that contains the teeth in the mouth.
mule ~ a horse with short legs that carries loads.
jawbone ~ a bone that contains the teeth in the mouth.
weapon ~ a thing that some people use to hurt other people.
Nazirite ~ someone who made a special promise to God not to do certain things.
Hebrew ~ the Hebrew people were Abraham’s descendants; and they spoke a language called Hebrew.

descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
Israel ~ the nation that consisted of Jacob’s descendants; the country where they lived; another name for Jacob.

descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
destruction ~ when someone has damaged something so badly that it does not exist any more.
victory ~ success in war.
spring ~ a place where water from under the ground comes up to the surface.
spring ~ a place where water from under the ground comes up to the surface.
prophet ~ a person who teaches God’s message. A prophet sometimes tells about the results that present actions will have in the future.