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. — Judges 15:14

We are in an ongoing battle with the enemy of our souls. While Samson fought some dramatic battles with his enemies, the skirmishes we face as Christians require as much reliance on God as did those of Samson. 

The attacks most of us face likely are not physical hand-to-hand combat, but a trial of our faith. Satan may bring a question to our minds about whether God is able or willing to take care of our needs, or put a doubt to challenge our integrity or that of a brother or sister in the Gospel. The enemy may send illness, accusations, or a myriad of other trials. In every attack, we can call upon the Lord and He will raise up a defense against the enemy.

I think back to the time when my husband was called to be a pastor. While relocating to our new home, one day we were driving the curvy Redwood highway through the beautiful Smith River Canyon of California. We had left behind several young adult children, one of whom was facing a possible serious illness. My heart was pulling two ways—I felt joy to be answering God’s call, and yet my mother-heart ached at leaving my vulnerable young daughters. As we rounded a turn in the road, we came upon a little fawn that had been struck by a car and was struggling. At that moment my emotions reached the breaking point, and I burst into sobs. My heart was fixed, and there was no thought of turning back, but in that moment I needed extra strength—and it came from the Lord.

At this point in my life, I remember back to that day with gratitude. The Lord took good care of our girls, and my husband and I have been very fulfilled in our call. There have been other battles along the way, but as we have determined to do the Lord’s will, the Holy Spirit has been there every time to comfort us and give us the strength we need. Because God has been our help and strength in these small battles, I know we can trust Him if we ever face huge trials like Samson’s!

BACKGROUND

God had given the land of the Philistines to Israel, but the Philistines still occupied the land, and they were troubling Israel. God had raised up Samson to bring judgment to these oppressors. Samson was a strong, impulsive man with a quick temper. Nevertheless, he was used as an instrument by God. 

Samson was vulnerable to the wiles of desirable women, and the events surrounding the first of these women is covered in today’s text. Chapter 14 describes his involvement with a woman of Timnath, a Philistine town about five miles from Samson’s hometown of Zorah. When Samson expressed his desire to marry a “daughter of the Philistines,” Samson’s parents objected, preferring that he take a wife from among their own people. However, this was part of God’s plan for Israel’s deliverance. Samson traveled to Timnath to make the marriage contract, and during that journey, he encountered a lion. The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and enabled him to kill the lion with nothing more than his bare hands.

Verses 10-20 record that later, at the marriage feast, Samson proposed a riddle about the lion to thirty of the wedding guests. His new wife prevailed on him to tell her the solution to the riddle, which she passed on to those guests. Samson was enraged when the thirty men gave the answer, and in retaliation he slew thirty other Philistines and gave their clothes to the wedding guests as payment for correctly answering the riddle. When he left and returned to his father’s house, Samson’s wife was given to his “companion” (or friend).

Chapter 15 opens with a description of Samson’s act of revenge for the loss of his wife. He caught three hundred foxes, set their tails on fire, and sent them through the Philistines’ fields. The burning of the enemies’ crops was a common method of warfare in that day. Samson’s act constituted national aggression and made him a chief enemy of the Philistines. 

In retaliation for the burning of their crops, the Philistines murdered the woman Samson had recently married, along with her father. Samson took vengeance on the Philistine men who committed this heinous act by slaughtering them (verse 8). To forestall further conflict, the men of Judah offered to give up Samson to the Philistines. This would indicate that Judah did not have faith that God was able to give victory through Samson. However, through the Spirit of the Lord, Samson was able to break the bands by which he was restrained. After slaying a thousand Philistines with a jawbone of an ass and being delivered from extreme thirst by the creation of a fountain of water by God, Samson was appointed judge over Israel. During the twenty years Samson judged Israel, he never was able to rout the Philistines completely but only overcame some of them at times with great feats.

AMPLIFIED OUTLINE

(Hannah’s Bible Outlines - Used by permission per WORDsearch)
II.   Conditions during the period of the judges
     C.   Parenthesis: the tyranny of Abimelech
           9.   Samson
                 b.   Israel’s deliverance
                       (2)   The conflict with the Philistines
                              (a)   Because of the woman of Timnah
                                     [1]   Samson’s desire for her (14:1-4)
                                     [2]   Samson’s attempt to secure her (14:5-9)
                                            [a]   The first journey to Timnah: the killing of the lion (14:5-7)
                                            [b]   The second journey to Timnah: the honey in the lion (14:8-9)
                                     [3]   Samson’s marriage feast (14:10-19)
                                            [a]   The riddle and the reward (14:10-14)
                                            [a]   The riddle solved by trickery (14:15-18)
                                            [a]   The reward secured (14:19)
                                     [4]   Samson’s loss of his wife
                                            [a]   Her marriage to another (14:20—15:2)
                                            [b]   Her several revengeful acts (15:3-8)
                                                   i.   Samson’s revengeful acts (15:3-5)
                                                   ii.   Philistine reprisals (15:6)
                                                   iii.   Samson’s reaction (15:7-8)
                                     [5]   Samson’s fights with the Philistine army (15:9-20)
                                            [a]   The Philistine attack on Judah (15:9-13)
                                            [b]   Samson’s single-handed victory (15:14-20)

A CLOSER LOOK

1. How did Samson obtain the thirty garments needed to pay his wager? 
   
   
2. Why do you think God continued to empower Samson when he so often seemed to use that power selfishly?
   
   
3. How can the focus verse encourage us when we face a trial that is too big for us to handle?

CONCLUSION

No matter how big the enemy may seem in our Christian warfare, God is much more powerful. With Him we will always win!