Samson Defeats the Philistines
15 After some days, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with a young goat. And he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in. And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.” And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.” So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards. Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire. And Samson said to them, “If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit.” And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a raid on Lehi. And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.” Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.” And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.” They said to him, “No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men. And Samson said,
“With the jawbone of a donkey,
heaps upon heaps,
with the jawbone of a donkey
have I struck down a thousand men.”
As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place was called Ramath-lehi.
And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the LORD and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore; it is at Lehi to this day. And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
(ESV)
Judges 15 Commentary
In Judges 15, Samson visited his wife (from Judges 14) but found that her father had given her to another man. He offered Samson her younger sister instead. This further enraged Samson and in retaliation, he caught 300 foxes, tied torches to their tails, and released them into the Philistine grain fields. This act burned up their piles of grain, vineyards, and olive orchards.
In response, the Philistines set fire to Samson’s wife and her father. Samson then struck them down and took refuge in the rock of Etam. The Philistines then raided Judah which prompted 3,000 men of Judah to bind Samson and hand him over. When the Philistines approached, the Spirit of the Lord empowered Samson to break free, and he killed 1,000 men with a donkey’s jawbone. Afterward, he prayed for water, and God provided a spring. Samson judged Israel for 20 years.
An Eye For An Eye
The back-and-forth nature of this chapter reminds us of the Lord’s intentions back in Judges 14 when the narrator of the Samson story told us that He was “seeking an opportunity against the Philistines.” Samson was an unconventional firebrand, and the Philistines had made it personal. They certainly got more than they bargained for. Samson is portrayed as a “wild Adam” (Gen 1:26; Gen 1:28). Instead of using his dominion over animals responsibly (as the verse in Genesis intends), Samson wields his authority over wild animals to take vengeance on the Philistines.
Notice that in the scene with the 300 foxes (more than likely jackals), there is no verse stating that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and Samson’s motivation appears to be anger and revenge rather than divine prompting. However, his actions escalate the conflict with the Philistines, aligning with God’s purpose of challenging them. The destruction of their agriculture is extensive, effectively declaring war. Despite the lack of explicit divine intervention mentioned, the story’s logic suggests that Samson’s strength and actions are ultimately attributed to God.
The Philistines Are Rulers Over Us
For all of Samson’s flaws, let us take a moment to appreciate his bravery. At least he is willing to fight against the “mighty” Philistines!
These are morally depraved people who have given themselves to every vice under the sun. The Philistines worshiped multiple deities, including Dagon (Jdg 16:23, 1 Sam 5:2-7), Baal-Zebub (2 Ki 1:2-3), and Astarte/Ashtoreth (linked to Canaanite fertility worship). Like other Canaanite-influenced cultures, the Philistines participated in ritual prostitution as part of their religious ceremonies, particularly in the worship of fertility gods and goddesses.
Since they worshiped similar deities, there is a high possibility that they participated in child sacrifice, though the Bible does not explicitly mention it in connection with them. They were infamous for their enslavement and mistreatment of conquered peoples, including Israel (Jdg 10:7, Jdg 13:1). The Philistines consulted diviners and soothsayers (1 Sam 6:2), which was condemned in the Bible (Deut 18:9-14) and their religious system likely involved omens, magic, and supernatural rituals to predict the future or seek favor from their gods.
After reading the first chapter of Judges and seeing the courage of Judah and Simeon who fought against these Canaanite people to bring God’s justice to the land, it is a major downer to read here in Judges 15 about how drastically their faith has declined. They no longer view God as their ruler. They believe that the Philistines rule over them! And they are frustrated that Samson does not see it the same way.
“Then three thousand men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines rule us? What have you done to us?” “I have done to them what they did to me,” he answered. [12] They said to him, “We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.” Then Samson told them, “Swear to me that you yourselves won’t kill me.” [13] “No,” they said, “we won’t kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them.” So they tied him up with two new ropes and led him away from the rock.”
Judges 15:11-13 CSB
They not only viewed the Philistines this way, but they were also willing to conform to the will of their oppressors by surrendering one of their own. The men of Judah were more outraged at Samson for resisting the Philistines than they were at the Philistines for committing evil themselves!
Spiritual Ignorance
This happens today, no? Sometimes when we commit (respectfully and wholeheartedly) to following Jesus, some believers get upset that we have “rocked the boat” instead of joining us in that commitment. Some are even willing to hand us over to our oppressors!
Here in Judges 15, the Israelites were confused about the conflict with the Philistines, reflecting spiritual ignorance, and it caused the men of Judah to miss an opportunity. Likewise, many Christians today fail to recognize the ongoing battle happening right in front of them, neglecting their role in God’s redemptive plan. God has armed believers with all the weapons needed to pray, speak God’s Word, stand against evil, and be missional with others.
However, many abandon their posts by not praying diligently, sharing their faith, or understanding Scripture enough to apply it as Jesus did. For many Christians, they have decided that attending church on Sunday and praying before meals is “good enough” to satisfy God. Yet, when we study the words of Jesus, we see Him stressing that verbal profession is not enough (Mat 7:21-23), that following Him requires total commitment (Luk 9:57-62), and that He despises lukewarm, half-hearted believers (Rev 3:15-16).
There is a cost to following Jesus (Luke 14:25-33), and His expectation is for believers to engage the world as disciples who make disciples (Mat 28:18-20). What will God say to those who have known about His plan to reach the world but have chosen not to carry out His mission of making disciples of all nations?
The Bible speaks strongly about the responsibility of believers to engage in God’s mission, and it doesn’t take lightly those who neglect it. In the Parable of the Talents (Mat 25:14-30), Jesus teaches that those who have been entrusted with gifts and responsibilities are expected to use them wisely and diligently for the kingdom of God. Those who fail to do so face judgment and loss of their rewards. This can be seen as a cautionary message to those who know God’s plan but choose not to participate.
All of this flows from God’s grace which empowers us to become everything that He has called us to be! You have a role! You have a mission! Take heart, Jesus has overcome the world.
