Judges 15:9-20
The Jawbone of a Donkey
9Then the Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and deployed themselves near the town of Lehi.
10“Why have you attacked us?” said the men of Judah. The Philistines replied, “We have come to arrest Samson and pay him back for what he has done to us.”
11In response, three thousand men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, “Do you not realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?” “I have done to them what they did to me,” he replied.
12But they said to him, “We have come down to arrest you and hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson replied, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.”
13“No,” they answered, “we will not kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them.” So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock.
14When Samson arrived in Lehi, the Philistines came out shouting against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him. The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and the bonds broke loose from his hands.
15He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men.
16Then Samson said: “With the jawbone of a donkey I have piled them into heaps. With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men.”
17And when Samson had finished speaking, he cast the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi.
18And being very thirsty, Samson cried out to the LORD, “You have accomplished this great deliverance through Your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
19So God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned, and he was revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore, and it remains in Lehi to this day.
20And Samson judged Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
Berean Standard Bible
The Philistines camp in Judah, and three thousand men of Judah bind Samson and hand him over because they fear what the Philistines will do.
Samson breaks the ropes when the Spirit of the LORD comes upon him and strikes a thousand men with a fresh jawbone. Afterward he cries out from thirst, and God opens a hollow place at Lehi for water.
Then the Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and deployed themselves near the town of Lehi.
Judah's leaders choose surrender because they fear the Philistines, while Samson's strength returns when the Spirit of the LORD comes upon him. The jawbone becomes a memorable instrument, but thirst immediately follows the victory. Samson's song can celebrate the heap while the narrative reminds us that even a strong deliverer depends on God for water.
The victory song plays on the word heap, but the chapter does not leave Samson at the height of his strength. The man who can defeat an army still depends on God for a drink of water.
And Samson judged Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
Talk about the needs that success does not remove. Ask your household to name where it needs God's provision after a visible accomplishment.
Questions
1 What is happening in this reading?
AnswerThe Philistines camp in Judah, and three thousand men of Judah bind Samson and hand him over because they fear what the Philistines will do. Samson breaks the ropes when the Spirit of the LORD comes upon him and strikes a thousand men with a fresh jawbone.
2 Where do we see responsibility or failure?
AnswerThe victory song plays on the word heap, but the chapter does not leave Samson at the height of his strength. The man who can defeat an army still depends on God for a drink of water.
3 What does this passage make clear?
AnswerJudah's leaders choose surrender because they fear the Philistines, while Samson's strength returns when the Spirit of the LORD comes upon him. The jawbone becomes a memorable instrument, but thirst immediately follows the victory. Samson's song can celebrate the heap while the narrative reminds us that even a strong deliverer depends on God for water.
4 What should our household remember?
AnswerTalk about the needs that success does not remove. Ask your household to name where it needs God's provision after a visible accomplishment.
What This Means for Us
Samson can defeat a thousand men and still become desperate for water. Remember the needs that success cannot remove, and teach the family to receive God's provision after an accomplishment rather than treating achievement as independence.
Need reveals dependence after achievement has made independence feel convincing. Receive ordinary provision without embarrassment, and let success increase generosity rather than the belief that you no longer need anyone.
Prayer
Lord, help us talk about the needs that success does not remove. Give us patience to do what is right without making ourselves the judge. Amen.