After a while in the time of the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat. And he said, "Let me go into my wife into her room." But her father wouldn't permit him to go in. Her father said, "I really thought that you thoroughly hated her; therefore, I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister better than she? Please take her instead." Judges 15:1-2
It doesn't say how long Samson had been at his parents' house since the riddle incident, but it was for some time. So many times, we get angry at people and leave them. After some time, we cool down and try to find them...only to discover too late that they're gone. And that someone else has them.
Samson was angry. He went and caught 300 foxes, took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. When he set the torches on fire, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and burned up both the stocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves. Then the Philistines said, "Who has done this?" And they answered, "Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion." So, the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire. Judges 15:3-6
It's interesting how many times blame, and anger can get misplaced. We need to be careful when it comes to placing blame. Samson was the one who left his wife but took his anger out on the Philistines' property. Samson was the one who destroyed their property but decided to blame the father and daughter.
In the end, Samson found out what happened, and out of revenge, attacked them hip and thigh with a great slaughter. He then went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of Etam. Judges 15:7-8
The Philistines went up, encamped in Judah, and deployed themselves against Lehi. And the men of Judah said, "Why have you come up against us?" So, they answered, "We have come up to arrest Samson, to do to him as he has done to us." 3,000 men of went down to the cleft of Etam and said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us?" What is this you have done to us?" And he said to them, "As they did to me, so I have done to them." Judges 15:9-11
Revenge is such a waste of time and causes more harm than good because it just keeps the mess going. Even worse, innocent people who had nothing to do with the original offense sometimes get hurt.
Samson thought he was justified in his revenge, but he wasn't. The Philistines thought they were justified, but they weren't. And neither side was willing to take responsibility.
