Needing God’s Leadership

Up until the Levite sent pieces of his wife to all the different tripes demanding action, Israel had not taken the declining moral and ethical standards seriously.  They were shocked to realize one city, Gibeah, had become a center of sexual perversion, even to point of open homosexuality, rape and murder.  They Had a public meeting to find out what had happened and decide what their response should be, in Judges 19:30-20:7.  “And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.  Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.  And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.  (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us, how was this wickedness?

And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.  And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead.  And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.  Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel.”

Sickened by what had happened, the Israelites decided they could not afford to ignore such evil in their country, in Judges 20:8-11.  “And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house.  But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it; And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.  So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.”

The entire city of Gibeah was involved or complicit in the activities described, and the Old Testament law required specific penalties for each of these sins. Deuteronomy 22:25-27 commanded that a rapist be killed.  “But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die: But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.”  Leviticus specified the death penalty for homosexuality, in Leviticus 20:13.  “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”  The command in Leviticus 24:17 predated even the law.  “And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.”  Clearly, if they were going to obey God, they had no choice but to execute the guilty parties. 

With that in mind, the nation requested that the tribe of Benjamin arrest the men involved, in Judges 20:12-13a.  “And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?  Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel…”

The tribe of Benjamin refused to enforce the law, deciding instead to provide sanctuary and protect the criminals, in Judges 20:13b-16, even though they were vastly outnumbered.  “…But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel: But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.  And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.  Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.  And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.”

Knowing  from the scriptures that God had commanded them to execute the criminals, Israel prayed about who should lead and went into battle, losing twenty two thousand men the first day.  Shocked, they asked God if he wanted them to attack Benjamin again, and were reassured that was his orders.  When they lost another eighteen thousand men they were really upset.   Though they were doing he right thing, up until this time they had been doing it in the flesh, depending on their superior numbers to win the battle.  Finally, in Judges 20:26-35, they got themselves right with God and sought his advice. 

“Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.  And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,  And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.

And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.  And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.  And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.  And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first.

But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.  And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah.  And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them.  And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword.”

When they put their faith in the Lord, instead of their own moral and numerical superiority, Israel easily defeated the Benjamites, killing all but seven hundred.  Even being right and having a lot of support does not ensure victory without God’s leadership.  God’s power is far more important than any amount of support, because as Jonathan said in I Samuel 14:6, “…there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.”

The Progression Of Sin

While Samson had broken the Philistines’ power over Israel, he had not led them to obey God’s law.  As a result, the Jewish religion was corrupted, changing the rules God had established and adopting various idolatrous practices instead, as we saw with Micah in Judges 17.  The breaking down of the spiritual relationship with God led to changes in the ethical standards, with the Danites robbing and threatening to kill Micah and officially adopting idolatry in Judges 18.  Eventually, this led to a moral break down as we see in Judges 19.  The story is extremely applicable to what is happening today. 

A Levite was living with a woman from Bethlehem, in Judah, a common law marriage.  The woman acted like a prostitute, going home to her parents instead of staying with her husband.  Her husband loved her and went to try to win her back.  They had a good time with her parents, and stayed several days.  Finally, the Levite could not delay his leaving any longer, even though her parents wanted them to stay.  They were late leaving her parents’ house but he didn’t want to go through the whole goodbye thing again the next day, as Judges 19:10-12 tells us.  “But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.  And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.

And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.”  They were close to what would later be known as Jerusalem, but at the time it was still occupied by the Jebusites, and the man was afraid to stop there, choosing to go on to the Jewish city of Gibeah in Benjamin. 

They arrived at Gibeah just as the sun was setting so decided to camp in the street as ther were no hotels available, as Judges 19:15-21 describes.  “And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging.  And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.  And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?

And he said unto him, We are passing from Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that receiveth me to house.  Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing.

And the old man said, Peace be with thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.  So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the asses: and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.”  The old man knew that it was not safe to be on Gibeah’s streets after dark, and insisted they stay at his home, much like Lot had done with the two angels in Genesis 19. 

Just as had happened in Sodom, The men of the city came demanding to be allowed to have homosexual relations with the man and his servant, in Judges 19:22.  “Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.” 

Like Lot, while he still had a horror of homosexuality and woud be called homophobic in our day, his own morals were corrupted.  Just as Lot had offered to let the Sodomites rape his two daughters,  The old man offered to let them rape his own daughter and the man’s wife, in Judges 19:23-25.  “And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.  Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.  But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.”

The woman was raped and abused repeatedly, and died before she could get into the man’s home, according to Judges 19:26-29.  “Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.  And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.  And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.  And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.”  Her husband chopped up her body and sent pieces to every tribe demanding to know what they were going to do about the rapes and murders. 

In Romans 1, Paul describes how man’s rejection of God ultimately leads to sexual immorality, homosexuality and murder, with those involved trying to get others involved as well.  Today we see the cycle being repeated in America.  The church was intended to be salt and light to the world, revealing evil and purifying it.  As the church has strayed from the scriptures, the moral and ethical standards have declined steadily, until today, adultery, homosexuality, transgenderism and murder are rampant, even among so called “Christians.”  These sins are the ultimate rejection of God’s authority, killing a being created in His image and denying his right to make them to be a man or woman and reproduce as he intended.    

Going A Step Farther

Israel had occupied the land of Canaan for over four hundred years, and their population had grown tremendously, and part of the land was still occupied by descendants of the original inhabitants resulting in a sense of overcrowding in the small allotment belonging to the tribe of Dan.  They began to look for other land they could get to expand, as Judges 18:1-2 describes.  “In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.  And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

They sent out five men to try to find a place they could get.  In their exploration, the five men came to Micah’s home and spent the night.  They recognized his Levite priest and asked how he came to be there, in Judges 18:3-6.  “When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?

And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.

And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.

And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way wherein ye go.”

Continuing their quest, the five men went north along the Jordan and its tributaries untol they came to the Zidonian city of Laish.  It was a rural village quite a ways from Tyre and Zidon and relatively unprotected.   The emissaries from Dan figured it would be relatively easy to take and recommended it as their target.  They assembled a force of six hundred men to make the attack.  On their way to Laish, the force camped out near Micah’s home and the emissaries suggested they take Micah’s idols, in Judges 18:14-21.  “Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.   And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.  And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate.

And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.  And these went into Micah's house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, What do ye?

And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?

And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.  So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage before them.

Naturally, Micah objected about having his things stolen, but there were six hundred of them, and when they threatened to murder him if he complained, he backed off, and went on their way to Laish, according to Judges 18:26-29, defeating it easily.  “And the children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house.  And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.  And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein.  And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born unto Israel: howbeit the name of the city was Laish at the first.” 

Israel had turned quite a way from following god that Micah had begun to make and worship idols and had established his own priesthood, believing that God would bless him even though he was disobeying his commands.  No longer following God’s commands about worship, the Danites lowered their moral standards as well, stealing the idols, and threatening to murder Micah.  The inhabitants of Dan would worship Micah’s idols until David moved the Tabernacle from Shiloh to Jerusalem, over a hundred fifty years later, and would keep the Levite and hs family as their special priests until they were conquered by the Assyriand five hundred years later, according to Judges 18:30-31.  “And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.  And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.”

After Israel split, Jeroboam would make Dan the center of his idolatrous religion, building on their past idolatry and placing a golden calf there as a god, in I Kings 12:28-30.  “Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.  And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.  And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.” 

Once a person stops worshipping as God instructs, it is easy to ignore his standards in other areas as well, and go further into sin. 

Misplaced Zeal

Israel repeatedly turned away from God and wound up being conquered by other nations.  God sent judges to lead them back to god and set them free of their oppressors.  While God had called Samson to be a judge, he was far more interested in his own reputation and pleasure than in serving God.  While he did break the Philistine’s power and set Israel free, it was all to satisfy his personal grievances rather than for Israel or for the Lord.  He did very little to turn the people back to God, and set a very poor example.  As a result, Israel continued to move further into sin. 

They started by changing how they worshipped God, in Judges 17:1-5.  “And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.  And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.

And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.  And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.  Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.  And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.”

In Exodus 20:4, God had commanded, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.”  Micah and his mother were violating God’s commands, while sincerely trying to do what was right. 

At Shiloh, Israel had set up a large monument with the entire law inscribed on it so that anyone who wanted could go and read it for themselves.  The tabernacle had been placed nearby, and if there were questions, they could go to the priests for clarification.  In addition, there were Levites every district of Israel who were responsible for teaching the Jews what the law commanded.  While they had no organized central government, when problems arose, God would send prophets and Judges to straighten things out.  Each person was responsible for their own actions and choices, as Judges 17:6 tells us.  “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

Deeply religious, Micah was constantly looking for something more he could do.  Knowing the Levites had a special calling, he seized the opportunity to hire one to be his priest, in Judges 17:7-13.  “And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.  And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.  And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou?

And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.

And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.  And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.  And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.  Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.”

Micah was sure God would bless him because he had hired a Levite as priest, totally ignoring what God had commanded about having idols, or that the only Levites who were to be priests were descendants of Aaron.  He also ignored the fact that they were only to offer sacrifices at the Tabernacle, as commanded in Deuteronomy 12:13-14.  “Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.” 

As we see in the next chapter, God did not bless Micah for all his religious efforts.  Unfortunately many people today are falling into the same trap, As Paul said about the Jews in Romans 10:2, “…they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.”  Like Micah, they want God’s blessings, but don’t take the time to find out what God said and obey him.  Instead, they adopt ideas from psychology, business, and other religions.  As a result, even their efforts to worship are offensive to him. 

Losing Spiritual Power

Samson had been specifically chosen by God as a judge to set Israel free of Philistine domination and get the people to serve God.  Unfortunately, he was more interested in associating with the Philistines than with driving them out or serving God.  Prostitution was illegal in Israel, so Samson went down the Philistine city of Gaza and hired a prostitute, as Judges 16:1-2 describes.  “Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.  And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.”  Knowing and fearing Samson, the Philistines were afraid to attack in the dark when they wouldn’t be able to see who they were fighting, so they decided to just lock the gates so he couldn’t get away and wait till morning to kill him. 

Waking up about midnight, Samson decided to go home.  When he found the gates locked, he just ripped the entire assembly including the post they were attached to out of the wall and carried them off, according to Judges 16:3.  “And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.”  The gates were designed to withstand an army, and must have weighed several hundred pounds.  Samson carried them a couple of miles before deciding they were too heavy.   I am sure the Philistines were relieved that he got away. 

Several years later, Samson fell in love with a Philistine woman named Delilah.  The Philistine leaders offered her a great deal of money if she would help them arrest and kill him, as Judges 16:4-5 tells us.  “And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.  And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.”

She cared a lot more about the money than she did about Samson, so she began to nag him to tell how he could be destroyed.  At first, he was cautious, not telling her the truth, but he was so afraid of losing her that he eventually gave in even though she had repeatedly made it clear she was willing to destroy him, as we see in Judges 16:15-21.  “And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.  And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath showed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.  And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.  And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.”

As a result of his sin, the Holy Spirit was no longer empowering Samson, but he didn’t realize that fact, just assuming he would save him like he had in the past.  Sadly, many Christian leaders fail to realize their sin has come between them and God and they no longer have the Holy Spirit’s power in their lives.  Without the Holy Spirit’s power Samson was easily defeated, and he wound up doing a donkey’s job and being jeered by the Philistines, as Judges 16:21-25 tells us.  “But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.  Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.  Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.  And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.  And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.” 

In the past Samson had been respected and feared.  After the Philistines put out his eyes, he was just a joke, and he resented it and wanted to get even, as Judges 16:26-30 tells us.  “And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.  Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.  And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.  And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.  And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.”

God had called Samson to deliver Israel and had given him special abilities for the purpose, but he really didn’t care about what God, wanted.  His whole focus was on getting what he wanted at the moment.  God used his selfish and rebellious attitude to create conflict with the Philistines and get him to kill them.  Even when he attacked the Philistines, it was not to please God, but to get even with them for something they had done to him.  He literally committed suicide in his effort to get back at the Philistines, but in the process, he killed their leaders, putting their government into disarray and freeing Israel as a result.   His failure to lead Israel properly would have serious impact for years to come.

Refusing To Take Responsibility

Angry that his Philistines groomsmen had cheated to win his bet, Samson had killed thirty Philistines and taken their clothes to pay his debt, then went back to his parent’s house pouting.   Assuming Samson no longer wanted to be married to her for having told his secret, her father gave her to the best man to be his wife.  A couple of months later, Samson got over being mad and decided he still loved her.  Since she was now married to the best man, her father refused to let him have her, as Judges 15:1-2.  “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.

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.”  Samson’s storming out had convinced her father Samson didn’t really love her, but since he had paid for the wedding, he offered her younger sister instead.   

He felt insulted that they thought he didn’t really love her and decided to get even with them, in Judges 15:3-5.  “And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.  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.  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.” 

Trying to get away from the burning bundles of stuff tied to their tails, the foxes scattered into the fields and orchards, setting  hundreds of thousands of acres of crops on fire.  The Philistines got angry at the destruction of their crops and were looking for someone to punish in Judges 15:6.  “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.”

The entire episode is Samson’s fault.  If he had obeyed God, he would not have been hanging out with the Philistines or decided to marry a Philistine woman.   If he had kept his Nazarite vow, he would not have eaten the honey from the lion’s carcase.  If he had not tried to cheat the Philistines he would not have made the bet he made.  If he had not been such a sore loser, his wife would not have been married to someone else.  Getting even didn’t make Samson feel abetter, and unwilling to admit his guilt he decided to punish the Philistines some more, in Judges 15:7-8.  “And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.  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 were ruling over Israel, and Samson’s unprovoked attack angered them, as Judges 15:9-10 tells us.  “Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.  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.”  They wanted to arrest him and punish him for murdering so many Philistines. 

Fearing retribution, the Jews asked Samson to voluntarily surrender, in Judges 15:11-13.  “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.

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.

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.”

Samson blamed everything on the Philistines, but agreed to surrender if the Jews would not get involved.  God had chosen Samson to free Israel from Philistine domination, and when Samson wouldn’t do it for God’s or Israel’s sake, God used his selfish and rebellious attitude to make him mad enough to fight them.  When the Philistine s accused him of murder, he got mad again, and the Holy spirit empowered him to fight, as Judges 15:14- 16 tells us.  “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.  And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.  And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.” 

Samson didn’t even credit God with giving him the power to defeat the Philistines.  Instead he got mad and accused god of not caring because he felt thirsty, in Judges 15:17-19.  “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.  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?  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.” 

Mad About Losing A Bet

After a short time, Samson and his parents returned to Timnath for the wedding.  It would be a Philistine rather than Jewish wedding, as we see in Judges 14:10-11.  “So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.  And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.”  Many modern weddings include several bridesmaids and groomsmen. The Philistine weddings had more groomsmen than most modern weddings, and since Samson was a Jew and had few friends in the area, his future in-laws found local men to serve as groomsmen.    Today, many weddings begin with bachelor parties for the bride and groom, a couple of days the wedding, followed by a wedding practice and a dinner for the wedding party the night before before the wedding.  On the wedding day, the service is usually followed by a reception with food and various activities.  The Philistine wedding was even longer taking a full week. 

Since the groomsmen were not his friends and would be there for seven days, Samson decided to get up a bet and see if he couldn’t make a little money off them.  He proposed a bet on a riddle that there was no possibility of the Philisines guessing the answer to, in Judges 14:12-14.  “And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments: But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments.

And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.

And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.”

Since all material was hand woven from hand spun thread, it was very expensive, with a sheet and a suit of clothing costing a couple of thousand dollars.  The Philistines were not about to let a Jew win, or give up all that money.  They began to cheat, threatening to kill the bride’s family if she didn’t find out the answer, in Judges 14:15-17.  “And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so?

And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me.

And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee?

And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.” 

Desperate to save her family’s lives his wife kept nagging to find out the answer until he finally told her.  Just before the deadline, The Philistines answered the riddle. Samson was mad about their cheating, as Judges 14:18 tells us.  “And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.”   Samson liked to hang out with the Philistines, but God had chosen him to break the Philistine’s hold over Israel.  God used Samson’s greed to make him mad at the Philistines. 

Not having the goods he had bet, and angry at the Philistines, Samson attacked the Philistines at Ashkelon, killing thirty of them to pay his debt, in Judges 14:19.  “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.”  Angry at his wife for telling the riddle, Samson went home to his parent’s house, refusing to speak with her.   Not knowing if Samson would come back or still wanted her, his in-laws gave his wife to his best man, as Judges 14:20 says,  “But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.”