2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
The story of Samson is a difficult one for me to tackle. It is because I want to write about positive things and can’t always do that about him. The overall fact is that God’s hand was in the course of events of Samson’s life, but some of the ways Samson carried out his assignment to begin Israel’s liberation from Philistine rule really grossed me out. This is particularly true of JG 15: 1-7, the section about his dispute with his bride’s father and how it escalated into war with the Philistines. You will remember that JG 14 ended with his bride’s father giving her to sleep with the best man at the wedding feast. Once Samson returned to find this had happened and was turned away from her bedroom, he was furious. His method of revenge was to catch three hundred foxes, tie them into twos by their tales, and install lighted torches into the knots. These foxes were set loose to run into the Philistine wheat fields and olive orchards, burning them. The inherent evil in this action is symbolized in my mind by the destruction of physical food and the source of olive oil, often representing the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures (5). Evil led to evil. When the Philistines heard why Samson had taken this action, they burned down the house of Samson’s bride, resulting in the deaths of her and her father. That fueled Samson’s anger even more. When we step back from this story to gain some objectivity, we can see a pattern that exists in a lot of conflicts between people. The pattern of escalating acts of retribution that so far outweigh the original wrongdoing that whole nations can be involved. The question we must ask is: How can we learn from past mistakes in a way to prevent repeating them?
The stage was now set for the events that were to follow. How very far from the God-centered, peaceful life of the average Nazirite Samson had gone! What had begun as a personal act of wrongdoing had now fanned into a full-scale conflagration involving two groups of people. JG 15: 9, “The Philistines came and camped in Judah, and attacked the town of Lehi.” This action initially confused the Israelites living there, until the Philistines told them they were looking to capture Samson and punish him. Three thousand men of Judah went to the cleft of the rock of Etam in Judah where Samson had gone to hear his story for themselves. Once this was accomplished, they tied Samson up agreeing not to kill him themselves and delivered him into the hands of the Philistines. From the human point of view, the Israelites must have done this to prevent a war with the Philistines. Otherwise, one would think they would take a fellow Judean’s side. We soon learn that these actions must have been directed by God.
JG 15: 14-16, “When he got to Lehi, the Philistines came running toward him, shouting at him. Suddenly the power of the Lord made Samson strong, and he broke the ropes around his arms and hands as if they were burnt thread. The he found a jawbone of an ass that had recently died. He reached down and picked it up, and killed a thousand men with it. So Samson sang, ‘With the jawbone of an ass I killed a thousand men; with the jawbone of an ass I piled them up in piles.’ “ There is a play on words as if to say, “With the jawbone of an ass I have ass-ass-inated them,” or “With the jawbone of an ass I have piled them in a mass! I have assailed assailants.” In view of the fact that Samson was forbidden as a Nazirite to touch anything dead, one can’t help but wonder why the Lord gave him such a weapon as the jawbone of a dead ass. It is obvious that this victory was supernatural. Herein, the Lord has allowed irregularities in extreme circumstances not normally allowed. The place where Samson threw down the jawbone after committing this act is called Ramath Lehi, which in Hebrew means “Jawbone Heights.” After his victory, Samson was very thirsty. He challenged God with a question in (18), “You gave me this great victory; am I now going to die of thirst and be captured by these heathen Philistines?” A question asked in such a seemingly disrespectful way might have otherwise incurred God’s wrath. But it didn’t. Instead, God must have seen it as trust that He would provide. JG 15: 19-20, “Then God opened a hollow place in the ground there at Lehi, and water came out of it. Samson drank it and began to feel much better. So the spring was named Hakkore [which in Hebrew means “caller”]; it is still there at Lehi. Samson led Israel for twenty years while the Philistines ruled the land.”
Something the “Painter of Light,” Thomas Kinkade, said helps me to step back from this story with greater objectivity. He explained that people have questioned why he sometimes establishes dark, dreary backgrounds on his paintings. Anyone who knows Kinkade’s work knows that the last step in his paintings is the dabbing on pale yellow or white to create the effect of light. Without this dark background or leaden sky, this light wouldn’t be discernible. The stories of the Scriptures and the events of our own lives are something like that. There must be the darkness before we can appreciate God’s light. To me, the story of JG 15 is that darkness. The light which God will shed on Israel is yet to come with the arrival of Christ on the Mount of Olives [see ZECH 14: 4] and the establishment of His eternal Kingdom. I hope you will join me in saying the prayer which is PS 122: 2, “ Sha’alu shalom Jerusaliem;” which means, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May she always prosper,” every day!
PRAYER: O Lord, when we look at the taking of retribution by Samson, we are allowed to see how small personal acts of wrongdoing can escalate into the taking of many lives and other tragedy. By giving us this story, You, in your infinite wisdom, are allowing us to examine the way that violence breeds more violence. When we see the degree to which mankind is capable of sin and the number of times these sins are repeated over their history, it becomes clear that we need Your guidance to break this vicious cycle. Only You, Dear Lord, are wise and powerful enough to lead us to salvation and sanctification. Without You, we have proven ourselves incapable of stopping the waste, stupidity, and tragedy of our sinfulness. You have allowed these dark periods in mankind’s history and in our own lives, so that we can appreciate the great contrast to them that Your light is. For Your patience with us and compassion toward us, we offer Your our eternal thanks, trust, obedience, praise, and worship. In giving us Your Son on the cross, You show us that You deserve nothing less than our total loyalty and adoration. We offer our lives to Your glory. In Christ’s name, amen.
When we take a second look at the dark periods of man’s history and of our personal lives, God allows us to see the precious value of His light. Our loving Abba bathes us in His light every day. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn