Samson Tied & Delivered by His Own, But He Destroys Enemy

The Faith of Samson - Part 4:

Our last study left off with Samson burning the Philistine's crops in retaliation for his wife being given to another man. The Philistines then killed his wife and father for causing their crop loss, which resulted in Samson killing a great many of them in retaliation, after which he went to stay in the top of the rock Etam, a place in or near an area inhabited by the Israeli tribe of Judah - Judges 15:1 - 81 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.

6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

. The Philistines then gathered a great army and camped out informing the men from Judah they were there to capture Samson and take revenge for what he had done - Judges 15:9 & 109 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.

10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

.

These men of Judah are an example of how sin can control even God's children. They, along with all Israel, had received the promise of God Almighty that the land in which they lived was theirs and they could enjoy total freedom and independence with the condition they keep God's Law and not become involved in idolatry - Joshua 23:5 - 95 And the LORD your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the LORD your God hath promised unto you.

6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;

7 That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:

8 But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day.

9 For the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day.

. The memory of Joshua defeating Jericho, Gideon and only 300 men beating an army of 135,000 and many other God given victories should have been fresh in their minds. They knew Samson had single-handedly whipped the Philistines at every turn so far. But Israel had fallen into the immoral, degrading and sinful worship of the idols of the land and had become so comfortable kowtowing to and serving the Philistines that they forgot God to the point there is no record any Israeli ever offered to assist Samson in fighting the enemy. Instead, 3000 men of Judah went to him and pointed out that the Philistines were their rulers, blamed him for causing problems for them and said they were going to bind and deliver him to the Philistines. Of course Samson could have withstood even this large contingent but he was a member of their body, the corporate body of God's people Israel and he did not even threaten to do so. He only asked that they promise not to kill him if he submitted to being tied and delivered to the enemy. The men promised and Samson submitted - Judges 15:11 - 1311 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.

.

It is here we observe Samson truly demonstrating faith in God's Word for the first time. Up to this point the Word of God has recorded five (5) instances of miraculous manifestations of God's power through Samson, three (3) of which the Word specifically indicates the Spirit of the Lord moved him and two (2) where the Spirit of the Lord is not mentioned: (1) - The Spirit of the Lord first moved Samson in Israel, Judges 13:2525 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

, but the Word does not describe specifically what occurred; (2) - the Spirit came upon him when he killed a lion with his bare hands, Judges 14:66 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.

; (3) - the Spirit came upon him in Ashkelon where he killed 30 Philistines and took their clothing which he used to payoff those at the wedding feast, Judges 14:1919 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.

; (4) although the Spirit of the Lord is not mentioned in the instance of Samson catching 300 jackals and burning the Philistines harvest, this was certainly a super human feat, Judges 15:4 & 54 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.

; (5) as was the killing of a great many Philistines with his bare hands in retaliation for them burning his wife to death - Judges 15:88 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

. In these five (5) instances Samson appears to have acted spontaneously, while armed with the Lord's power. But on this sixth occasion Samson demonstrated faith that the Lord would be with him by willingly submitting to being tied and handed over to the enemy by his own people.

Once bound and delivered the Philistines shouted derision at Samson. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he broke the bindings with which he was tied as if they were burnt threads and laying hold of the jawbone from an ass that had recently died he killed 1000 Philistines therewith - Judges 15:14 - 1714 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.

16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.

17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.

. He could have grabbed a sword or spear from the enemy, which would have been the logical choice by way of human thinking, but he didn't, for the Lord's methods are not those of man: "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;" I Corinthians 1:27.

And so God's promise to Samson's parents that he would "begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines," Judges 13:55 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

, was fulfilled by Samson using an ass's jawbone, from which unintelligible braying had recently come. This incident also fulfilled God's promise made to Israel through Joshua that: "One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you." - Joshua 23:1010 One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.

.

After killing 1000 men with the jawbone Samson was very thirsty and for the first recorded instance in his life he called on the Lord, first acknowledging that God had delivered him and then asking if he would now die of thirst and so fall into the hands of the uncircumcised Philistines - Judges 15:1818 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?

. In response God caused one of the tooth sockets in the ass's jawbone to spring forth with fresh water from which Samson slaked his thirst. The Word indicates he judged Israel for 20 years - Judges 15:1919 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

.

Samson's witness of faith typifies and points to the Author and Finisher of faith, Jesus Christ. During three (3) years of ministry Jesus demonstrated total control of human life, the elements of nature and even His enemies and in so doing fulfilled many prophesies in the Old Testament. In spite of all this no one in Israel offered to stand with Him at the end. He certainly had the power to successfully resist being taken by anyone but instead willingly allowed His own people to deliver Him to the Romans. His suffering in crucifixion was actually a battle with the greatest enemy of mankind; Satan and death, and He was armed with nothing except the fact His Word, for He was/is The Word of God.

Like Samson after his battle: "&, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst," John 19:2828 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

, but He received vinegar instead of water. However, just as He had caused water to flow from the jawbone of a dead ass for Samson He will someday provide life-giving water for all Israel and the nations, as revealed by the Apostle John: "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." - Revelation 22:1 & 21 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

. Samson's imperfect rule over Israel only lasted 20 years but as to Jesus Christ's reign: "And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:" - Revelation 22:33 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

.

To be continued.