Samson Defeats the Philistines

Judges 15

Have you noticed in your life experience how some are born for trouble?
They march through life mowing down others leaving a pile of rubble.
Samson was that kind of a man. He was not perfect by far.
How is it that God could use someone whose behavior was so bizarre?

You must remember that God is above all the wisdom of man.
He alone is aware of the truth, of the sins over many life spans.
He often used an imperfect man to bring justice to wicked nations.
He used Sampson to set Israel free from Philistine domination.

We already know how it all began when his wife betrayed her spouse.
She placed others above her marriage, so Samson left the house.
A few months later he came with a gift to spend some time with his wife.
That’s when he learned she belonged to another creating additional strife.

It is true that he was betrayed, but he had left in an angry fit.
Her father thought he rejected his bride convinced that he had split.
As a result to avoid the dishonor, he gave her to Samson’s best man.
That failure in their communication is where the trouble began.

Samson, enraged, wanted revenge; saw their fields of flowing wheat.
He tied 300 foxes two by two with a torch behind their rear feet.
Then he released them into the fields, the vineyards, and olive trees.
The wheat and all the Philistine crops were completely destroyed with ease.

Someone told the Philistines why Samson expressed such ire.
They went up to the Timnite home and killed them all with fire.
That only served to stir him more. From the hills he came bounding down.
He slaughtered many Philistines stacking them on the ground.

The men of Israel woke up one morn with Philistines camped in the valley.
They said, “Go get Samson, bring him back, or today will be your finale.”
They went to Samson and made a promise to take him down there alive.
Samson was willing to face the Philistines, sure that he would survive.

The Philistines shouted as he came down and the Spirit came upon him.
He broke the ropes, grabbed a club and began a task quite grim.
He flailed the jaw bone of an ass and killed a thousand men.
The Philistines who came against him were defeated once again.

Many prefer not to hear this story wishing God would leave it out.
It’s so much easier to give God glory when we read about men devout.
But Samson was a real man with all of his anger and sin.
God used him to deliver judgment on those who had sinned against Him.

Yet to come is a terrible day when men stand at the Great White Throne.
They will be judged for their Christ-rejection and claim their sin as their own.
Here is the way to avoid this judgment: accept God’s salvation plan.
Give all of your life to the Savior’s love and reject the wisdom of man.

© Copyright 2010 George M. Cuff, All Rights Reserved