Judges 15:9-20 "WHAT GOD CAN DO WITH A BONEHEAD!" I. THE COMPROMISE WITH THE ENEMY 15:9-13 15:9-10 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. A. A Picture Of Despair! (a) The Philistines Response 9 Then the Philistines went up (retaliation for Samsons attack ) THE SPIRAL OF REVENGE (15:1-8) Samson Discovers His Betrayal (v.1-2) Samson returns to his wife (v.1) At the time of wheat harvest – around May and a time of rejoicing He brings a gift of a kid goat He seeks to make a fleshly union; Her father justifies his actions (v.2) It seemed that Samson had rejected her She was given to his wedding companion (see Judges 14:20) The father offers her younger sister She is available, She is prettier Samson has been wronged and he will have revenge. Samson Burns the Fields (v.3-5) Samson declares himself blameless in his revenge (v.3) Samson catches 300 foxes (v.4); He ties them in twos tail to tail, puts a firebrand between them and releases them (v.4). He thus burns the wheat, vineyards and the olives of the Philistines The Philistines Kill His Wife (v.6) Samson Kills a Great Number (v.7-8) (b) The Philistines Resolve 9 and pitched in Judah (c) The Philistines Revenge 9 and spread themselves in Lehi. (d) The Philistines Request 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. B. A Picture Of Domination 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. Instead of destroying the enemy, they go after their own brother Samson to tie him up and deliver him to their enemy Samson was dominated by faith, the men of Judah by fear! Note Israel's Compromise a. They would rather co-exist with the enemy and be miserable than destroy the enemy and be free! Israel's Complacency b. They had learned to live WITH the enemy instead of standing against him. Israel's Compliance c. Their lives were dominated by fear and failure. C. A Picture Of Division 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. Samson was Israel's Saviour, yet they were rejecting Him II. THE CONFLICT WITH THE ENEMY 15:14-17 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. (a) The Source Of Samson's Strength 14 and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, It Is :-
A. Dynamic 15:14-15 mightily upon him 1. As soon as Samson was seen by the Philistines all bound up in rope and being brought by the 3,000 men of Judah they began to laugh and shout in victory! 1. SAMSON EMBODIED A LIFE APPOINTED BY GOD
A) A Life That Was Given By God
B) A Life That Was Given To God
2. SAMSON ENJOYED A LIFE ANOINTED BY GOD
A) The Source Of His Strength
B) The Secret To His Strength
B. Dramatic and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire C. Direct 15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. Samson is ready to fight...faith works this way! a. Samson chooses the best of what is available to do the work of God he picks up a 'FRESH JAWBONE' (b) The Sufficiency Of Samson's Strength 14 and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. (c) The Supremecy Of Samson's Strength 15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. 1 Corinthians 1:27 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; Deliverance! 15:16-17 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. In a play on Hebrew words Samson states that with a "Jawbone of a donkey he made a bunch of donkeys out of his enemies!"
ILLUS: There once was an oyster whose story I tell, Who found that sand had got under his shell, Just one little grain, but it gave him much pain, For oysters have feelings although they're so plain. Now, did he berate the working of Fate, Which had led him to such a deplorable state? Did he curse out the government, call for an election? No; as he lay on the shelf he said to himself "If I cannot remove it, I'll try to improve it." So the years rolled by as the years always do, And he came to his ultimate destiny--stew. And this small grain of sand which had bothered him so, Was a beautiful pearl, all richly aglow. Now this tale has a moral--for isn't it grand What an oyster can do with a morsel of sand; What couldn't we do if we'd only begin With all of the things that get under our skin. III. THE CONQUEST OF THE ENEMY 15:18-20 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? 19 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. 20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years. A. His Distress! 15:18 and now shall I die for thirst ILLUS: There are years in South Africa when locusts swarm the land and eat the crops. But the year after the locusts, South Africa reaps its greatest crops, for the dead bodies of the locusts serve as fertilizer for the new seed. B. His Deliverence 15:19 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: CONCLUSION: If Satan can't get a Christian to crash, he will settle for containing one! Are you co-existing or conquering?
