Judges 15:1-8
1 But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat, and said, “I will go in to my wife in her room.” But her father did not let him enter.
2 Her father said, “I really thought that you hated her intensely; so I gave her to your companion. Is her younger sister not more beautiful than she? Please let her be yours instead.”
3 Samson then said to them, “This time I will have been blameless regarding the Philistines when I do them harm.”
4 And Samson went and caught three hundred jackals, and took torches, and turned the jackals tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between two tails.
5 When he had set fire to the torches, he released the jackals into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to both the bundled heaps and the standing grain, along with the vineyards and olive groves.
6 Then the Philistines said, “Who did this?” And some said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion.” So the Philistines came up and burned her and her father to death with fire.
7 Then Samson said to them, “If this is how you act, I will certainly take revenge on you, and only after that will I stop.”
8 So he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter; and afterward he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
Burning of Philistine Crops
Samson’s return
It is written in Proverbs 22:8, “One who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will perish.” Similarly, Galatians 6:7 states, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap.” Samson’s wife attempted to avoid calamity by betraying Samson, but by doing so, she herself fell into disaster. It’s ironic, to say the least. Let’s learn from today’s passage about the foolishness of temporary deception. (1) The timing of Samson’s return to Timnah is significant here. It was during the “time of the wheat harvest,” which is around May. (2) Samson brought a young goat with him. This indicates that Samson’s marriage was a type in which the husband periodically visits the bride that remained with her parents. Commonly, the husband would bring gifts when visiting the bride. Even today, this tradition exists among Arab communities. (3) Samson’s wife was already married to another man. Her father suggested Samson to take her sister as a wife instead. (4) Samson became angry and set torches on fire, tied them to the tails of 300 foxes [Hebrew word means jackals]. He released them into the standing grain of the Philistines. As a result, the entire harvest of the year had burned, causing significant economic damage to the Philistines.
Philistines’ revenge
(5) The Philistines were angered by this. However, they directed their rage, not at Samson, but at Samson’s wife and her father. They went up and burned them with fire. This woman, Samson’s wife, was betrayed by the Philistines, who she thought would save her, and ended up dying in the calamity she sought to avoid by betraying Samson. (6) Learning of this, Samson became even more furious. He then struck down those who had killed his wife and her father. Afterward, he took up residence in the cleft of the rock at Etam. Etam is believed to be in the hill country of Judah. Samson settled there not out of fear, but to seize an opportunity for further vengeance against the Philistines who were causing harm to the Israelites. Satan threatens us and tempts us to betray Jesus. However, instead of speaking falsehoods to protect yourself, let’s stand courageously in the truth.
Today's prayer
Almighty God, please give me the courage to stand firm in the truth. May I continue to stand boldly for what is right. I pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.