Samson and Delilah

Samson's Revenge On The Philistines

Following the events in Timnah, Samson's anger burned against the Philistines. He went to visit his wife, Shara, only to discover that her father had given her to another man. In response, Samson caught three hundred foxes, tied them tail to tail in pairs, and attached torches to their tails. He then set the foxes loose in the Philistines' grain fields, vineyards, and olive groves, setting them ablaze.

The Philistines, enraged by the destruction, sought revenge against Samson. In response, they burned Shara and her father to death. Angered by their actions, Samson attacked the Philistines and struck them down with a great slaughter.

Fleeing to the stronghold of Etam, Samson remained there. The Philistines, determined to capture him, gathered their forces and camped near the town of Judah. The men of Judah, fearing the Philistines, asked Samson why he had brought such trouble upon them. Samson agreed to surrender himself to the Philistines but requested that the men of Judah not attack him themselves.

As the Philistines approached to capture Samson, the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. Breaking free from his restraints, Samson seized the jawbone of a donkey and struck down a thousand men. In the aftermath of the battle, Samson declared, "With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men."

Exhausted from the battle, Samson called upon the Lord for help, pleading for water to quench his thirst. God provided a spring nearby, and Samson drank, his strength returning to him.

After leading Israel for twenty years during the time of Philistine oppression, Samson judged Israel. And so, the saga of Samson's enmity with the Philistines continued, marked by acts of both vengeance and divine intervention.