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SAMSON (IX)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17
Judges 15:1-8

Genesis 49:1-7

 

“…in their anger they slew a man,
and in their selfwill

they digged down a wall.”

 

SAMSON (IX)
 
Emotions fluctuate and do not last forever, so Samson’s anger waned, and he once again made a trip to Timnah seeking his wife, not knowing this would be the beginning of his battles with the Philistines. By God’s providence, Samson would be freed from an unequal yoke with the Philistines and would be prompted into beginning to free the Israelites from the oppression of the Philistines. The grace and sovereignty of God are seen in this. God uses a man for His purpose even when the man being used is not seeking His will.
 
“…Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure” (Judg 15:3). The effort Samson put in to vent his anger is astounding. He moved to avenge the personal wrong that he had suffered. The Philistines had threatened his wife and her house to get the answer to the riddle, and now, the same wife had been given to his companion. His recourse was foxes with firebrands on their tails set free into the Philistines’ fields with the hope of the Philistines’ harvest going up in smoke. To this, the Philistines responded with an attack on the Timnite family. Vengeance begets vengeance.
 
“…Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease” (Judg 15:7). The scene which began with Samson carrying a kid, going to Timnath seeking reconciliation and to take his wife, had degenerated into a cycle of violence. The family wronged Samson, and in response, he burned the fields of the Philistines. In this, Samson wronged the Philistines, and in their response, they burned the Timnite’s family in their house. To this, Samson responded: “yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease” (Judg 15:7), but it would not be the end, and he would not cease. Getting even never makes things even, and Samson having killed them, moved on to dwell in the top of the rock, probably knowing that there would be retaliation.
 
THOUGHT: Vengeance ignores God, peace, and a brother’s plight.
PRAYER: Vengeance belongs to Thee, Father. May I never take things into my own hands.

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