Judges 17:1

Judges 17:1 says, And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.  Verse two adds, And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.   A young man named Micah went to his mother and confessed to taking eleven hundred shekels of silver from her.  She had evidently been cursing about it, but when he told her he had taken it, she asked that he be blessed by the LORD.  Even though he confessed to taking it, he was still the one who had done so.  Verse three states, And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.  When her son returned the silver, the mother said that she had dedicated the silver to the LORD from her hand for her son, to make a graven image.  Matthew Henry says this was the first time it was mentioned of a graven image being made since the rule of Joshua.  Now, if she had really dedicated it to the LORD, He would not have led her to make a graven image out of it,  We cannot claim to give something to God and then use it for something that goes against His will.  Plus, we should not curse people on the one hand and ask God to bless them on the other.  Verse four declares, Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.  Though the mother said she had dedicated all the silver to the LORD, she only took two hundred of the eleven hundred pieces of silver to the founder to make the image with.  We need to beware of promising all of everything to God and then attempting to only give Him a small part of it.  Verse five adds, And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.  The son had a house of gods now, and made an ephod and teraphim and consecrated one of his sons to be a priest.  In effect, he had put himself in God's place.  He made the things that had been used to signify the worship of God, and he called his own priest.  We cannot create our own worship and call those who are to lead it, but must rely on the leadership and calling of God.  Verse six says, In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.  We are told that their was no leader in Israel in those days, but everyone did what was right in their own eyes.  We would have thought that those called  God's people would have done what was right in His eyes, but we know that this was never the case for too long.  Verse seven states, And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.  Then verse eight adds, And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.  There was a young Levite, a part of the priestly tribe of Israel, wandering around the country and he came to the house of Micah.  Verse nine declares, And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.  Micah asked the man who he was and where he had come from, and he identified himself as a Levite.  As such, he shouldn't have been just wandering around, but should have been going where God directed him to go.  As followers of Christ today, especially if we identify our self as a preacher, we must go where God sends us and not just wander around looking for a place to serve.  Verse ten adds, And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.  Micah told the Levite to stay with him and be his father and priest and he would pay him, and the young Levite agreed.  At no time did the Levite ask if this was what God wanted, and he was going into a house full of idols to be a priest for pay.  We cannot sacrifice our calling for pay, and we certainly can never be a follower of Christ and worship idols at the same time.  Verse eleven states, And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.  The Levite, one of the men of the priestly family of God, was content to dwell with the young man.  Verse twelve declares, And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.  Once again, Micah put himself in the place of God.  He consecrated the Levite to be his priest, not a priest of God as he should have been.  Verse thirteen concludes, Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.  Micah thought that God would have to be good to him since he now had his own Levite as a priest.  We should never think that because we have something physical that represents God to the world that He has to bless us if we are not His spiritually.  For example, having all the Bibles and crosses in the world does us no good if we do not believe in the teachings of the Bible or what the cross really means.

Judges 16:22 says, Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.  Samson's hair began to grow again.  The Philistines thought that Samson was defeated forever, just as the people who crucified Jesus thought that He was defeated forever, and just as the people of the world today may feel that they have defeated someone who is a Christian forever.  Verse twenty-three states, Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.  The Philistines gathered together to have a great feast to their god Dagon, who they said had delivered Samson to them.  This would also show a disrespect to the God of Israel, by claiming that Dagon was stronger than Him.  People of the world today often declare other gods or things to be stronger than the only real God.  Verse twenty-four says,  And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.  The Philistines mocked Samson, and also by implication his God.  When people mock Christians today, they are by implication mocking God as well.  Verse twenty-five adds, And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.  Samson had been in prison, but they called for him to be brought out so they could use him for their amusement.  Verse twenty-six says, And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.  Samson asked the lad who led him to allow him to be placed between the pillars so he could feel them.  This seems like an innocent enough request, and the Philistines thought so little of Samson that they had a lad lead him.  We should not be surprised when the people of the world underestimate us as the followers of Christ today.  Verse twenty-seven states, Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.  There were about three thousand men and women gathered, including the lords of the Philistines, to watch Samson make sport for them.  Verse twenty-eight declares, And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.  Samson's hair had grown back, but I don't believe this was the real source of his renewed strength.  Samson called on the LORD.  We may have fallen away from our relationship with God as Samson did when he allowed his hair to be cut, but just returning to the external evidence of a renewed obedience to God will not be enough to restore our spiritual power.  We must call on the Lord once more to restore us to the right relationship with Him if we are to be spiritually strong once more.  Verse twenty-nine adds, And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.  Then verse thirty continues, And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.  Samson took hold of the two main pillars and said let him die with the Philistines, and he brought the house down, killing all the Philistines there as well as himself.  If we are willing to die for Christ, in death we may defeat more of the enemies of God than we have in life, as Samson did with the Philistines.  Verse thirty-one concludes, Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.  Samson's brothers brought his body up and buried him.  It says that Samson had judged Israel for twenty years, but we never see a time when the Philistines were really totally defeated.  We today as followers of Christ will never see a time when the people of the world, those who do not believe in God, are totally defeated, but that does not mean that God is not still in charge.  ,

Judges 16:10 says, And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.  Delilah came to Samson and said he was mocking her and lying to her and asked him to tell her truthfully how he could be bound.  I would have thought that after the first time that he told her and she attempted to bind him that he would have told her to mind her own business or something to that effect.  If we tell someone something in confidence and they attempt to us it against us and are unsuccessful, would we tell them something else that they could use against us?  Verse eleven states, And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.  Samson told Delilah another lie about how to bind him and make him as weak as any other man.  He was to be bound with ropes that had never been used.  Verse twelve declares, Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.  Once again, Delilah did what Samson told her would bind him and again told him there were Philistines at the door, and once again, Samson broke free.  Samson may have been having fun, but we never see where he consulted God about what he was doing nor are we told that the Spirit of God came upon him while he was doing this.  We cannot toy around with the sinful things that would destroy us today.  Verse thirteen says, And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.  Once again, Delilah told Samson that he had lied to her, and then he lied to her once more, telling her that if she wove his hair into seven locks that he would be weakened.  He was getting closer to the truth, since he was now referring to his hear as a source of strength.  Verse fourteen declares, And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.  Once more, Delilah told Samson that the Philistines were at the door, and once more his strength was not diminished.  Verse fifteen adds, And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.  Delilah played the how can you say you love me card.  She said three times that Samson had lied to her about the source of his strength so he could not really love her.  I believe that a good answer from Samson would have been that three times he had told her and three times she had tried to use what he told her against him, so how could she love Him.  Love should never be used a a source if manipulation and certainly should never be used to harm those that we profess to love.  Verse sixteen declares, And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;  Basically, Delilah nagged Samson every day to tell her the source of his strength, and it vexed his soul.  Verse seventeen adds, That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a rasor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s  womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.  Samson finally told her the truth, but I don't really believe that it was his hair that was the source of his strength, but that it was what it represented, and that was his relationship with God.  There are not earthly things that empower us today as followers of Christ, but it is our relationship with God.  None of these four times that Delilah asked Samson about the source of his strength are we told that he asked God about what he should do.  This should always be our first step, especially if a person has betrayed us on several other occasions  Verse eighteen states, And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.  Once she was sure that Samson had told her the truth, she sent for the Philistines.  Verse nineteen declares, And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.  We are not told how Delilah caused Samson to fall asleep, but once he did, she had his hair shaved off and his strength left him.  Again, I believe this was more because he betrayed his vow to God than it was because of the physical act of cutting off his hair.  When we do betray our vow to God, we will suffer the consequences of the action.  Verse twenty adds, And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.  Samson thought that he would go out as he always had before and defeat his enemies, but he was unaware that the LORD had departed from him.  Samson thought he was secure in his own strength, and he had forgotten about fulfilling his vow to God.  We may likewise slowly begin to rely on our own strength and abilities in life and not realize that we have strayed away from God, our real source of power.  Verse twenty-one proclaims, But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.  This time, things were different.  By his own strength alone, Samson was defeated, blinded and bound with fetters.  This is our spiritual state today when we forget about our vow to God to allow Him to be the Lord of our life.

Judges 16:1 says, Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.  Samson did not seem to be a man that we would think of as a man of God by many of his actions.  Still, we know that even those who are followers of Christ today can at times do things that are against God's will, and it does not mean that they are then no longer a child of God.  Verse two states, And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.  The people of Gaza heard that Samson was there and decided that they would kill him when he came out of the city the next morning and laid in wait for him.  We should not be surprised if the people of the world lie in wait to destroy us today, if not physically then at least our witness for Christ.  Verse three says, And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron  When Samson left at midnight, he took the doors of the city and its two posts away with him on his shoulders.  This pretty much stopped the plan of the people of Gaza to kill him when he left by the gate.  Verse four declares, And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.  Samson then loved a woman of Sorek, named Delilah.  He once again fell for a woman of the Philistines instead of a Jewish woman.  We  are not told that God lead Samson to this decision.  Verse five adds, And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.  The rulers of the Philistines came to Delilah and offered her a reward of eleven hundred pieces of silver each to tell them the source of Samson's strength.  This would indicate that Delilah was seen as being more interested in money than she was in Samson.  We should never allow ourselves to even be seen as being more interested in the riches of this world than we are of our relationship with God and His people.  If we are seen to be so, we can be certain that the world will attempt to use it against us and if nothing else attempt to discredit our witness for Christ.  Verse six says, And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.  Delilah came to Samson and asked him the source of his strength so that they might bind him.  We might think that Samson would have been concerned why Delilah would ask him this, but are not told that he was.  If people ask us the source of our power through Christ today in order that they might bind our ability to witness for Him, I would hope that we would see that their reason was not to spread the gospel.  Sometimes, people simply want to know about the gospel in an attempt to disprove or discredit it.  Verse seven states, And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.  Samson told her a lie about the source of his power.  It may be that he was just playing a game with her, but we can never afford to play games when it comes to our relationship with Christ and our power through Him.  Verse eight declares, Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.  The lords of the Philistines brought Delilah the seven green withs and she bound Samson with them.  Since she was the one that he told that this would defeat his power, we would think that Samson had to know that she was attempting to help the Philistines defeat him.  We should be able to tell when people are working against us spiritually today, especially if they if information that only a particular person knows is being used against us.  Verse nine adds, Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.  Some of the Philistines were in the chamber with Delilah, and she sounded the alarm to Samson.  She was making it appear that she was still concerned for Samson's well being.  He easily broke the bonds.  We need to realize that not everyone who claims to be looking out for our best interest today really is.  Some are just looking for the best way to defeat us spiritually, but if we keep our faith in God, we can easily defeat them through His power.

For some reason, this did not publish when it should have, so I will do it out of order today.
Judges 13:9 says, And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.  God heard Manoah's plea, and the angel came again while the woman sat in the field, but Manoah was not with her.  I don't believe that this was just bad timing on God's part, but that it was a part of His plan.  Verse ten states, And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.  Manoah's wife hurried to him and told him the man, the angel, who had appeared to her before had returned.  She didn't keep this fact to herself, but ran to share it.  We must likewise be quick to share the good news of the gospel with those we meet, starting with family, those closest to us.  Verse eleven declares, And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.  Manoah rose and went to the angel and asked him if he was the one who had been speaking to his wife, and the angel said he was.  Manoah had asked God to send the angel back, and He did.  God hears the prayers of His people, and even though we may not always get the answer we want in the way that we want it, He will always answer.  Verse twelve adds, And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?  Manoah asked the angel for instruction on how to raise the child.  This should be our question to God today as parents.  We should want to know how God wants us to raise our children, and then do our best to fulfill his instructions.  Verse thirteen says,  And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.  Verse fourteen adds, She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.  The angel repeated to Manoah what he had told his wife.  She was not to eat anything that came from a vine, drink wine or strong drink, or eat anything unclean.  Pregnant women today are told not to drink alcohol, and although we do not have unclean food as they did in the Old Testament, they are still told to watch what they eat.  Verse fifteen states, And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.  Manoah wanted to keep the angel with them and prepare a meal for him.  We may want to keep those with us today who bring us good news from God, but we must realize that it may not be in accordance with God's plan.  Verse sixteen declares, And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.  The angel told Manoah that even if he stayed, he could not eat with him, and that if he offered a burnt offering that he was to offer it to God.  Then we are told that Manoah did not know that it was an angel that he was talking to.  If we were to be visited by an angel today, we need to acknowledge that he is just a messenger from God, and should never attempt to worship him.  Verse seventeen asks, And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?  Manoah wanted to know the angels name so that when the the child was born they could honor him.  Verse eighteen declares, And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?  The angel asked Manoah why he wanted to know his name and said it was a secret.  The angel was not there for his own glory, but for the glory of God.  At times, we may need to just be content with the fact that God has blessed us without knowing all the details of how He did it.  Verse nineteen states, So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.  Manoah offered a sacrifice to God, and that is what we should do when we are blessed in life today as followers of Christ.  Verse twenty adds, For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.  The angel ascended to heaven in the flame of the altar and Manoah and his wife fell on their faces in worship to God, and not to the angel.  Even without seeing angels ascending, we should worship God just as sincerely today as Manoah and his wife did then.  Verse twenty-one declares, But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.  When the angel did not appear again, Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.  Verse twenty-two says, And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.  Manoah was worried that his wife and he would die because they had seen God, but they really hadn't.  They had simply seen one of God's messengers.  We will never see God in person in this lifetime, but we must never fear that we are going to die if we encounter an angel, or messenger from God.  Verse twenty-three declares,  But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.  Manoah's wife told him that if God had wanted to kill them, He would have simply done so.  God would not have given them the good news of a child that was to be born and accepted their sacrifices if His objective had been to kill them.  God does not play games with people, but calls everyone to Himself for their salvation.  Verse twenty-four add, And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.  God's promise to Manoah's wife came true, and she had a son that she named Samson.  We can be certain that all God's promises are going to come true today.  Verse twenty-five concludes, And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.  The Spirit of the LORD began to move on Samson at times.  We as followers of Christ today are blessed that the Holy Spirit is with us at all times to guide us if we only allow Him to.

Judges 15:9 says, Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.  The Philistines came and camped at Lehi.  Verse ten states, 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.  The men of Judah asked the Philistines why they were coming against them, and they said to bind Samson.  They evidently sent a lot of men to capture just one man.  Of course, one man impowered by God can defeat a lot of people who are only impowered by the world.  Verse eleven says, 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. Three thousand men of Judah went up to Samson and asked him if he didn't know that the Philistines ruled over them, and then they asked him what he had done.  They weren't there to support him, but were there because they were afraid of the Philistines.  As followers of Christ, we can never act out of fear of the world, especially when interacting with other believers.  Samson said he had only done to them what they did to him.  Verse twelve adds, 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.  These three thousand men said that they had come to bind Samson for the Philistines, and Samson told them to swear that they wouldn't harm him themselves.  We should never help the world in its war against Christians, if we are really followers of Christ ourselves.  Verse thirteen states, 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 allowed them to bind him.  Verse fourteen declares, 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.  When Samson got to where the Philistines were and they started shouting at him, the Spirit of the LORD came on him and he broke the ropes as if they were nothing.  When God's Spirit moves us, nothing can bind us spiritually.  Verse fifteen adds,  And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.  Samson took the jawbone of an ass, not a likely weapon, and killed a thousand Philistines.  When acting under the power of God, we do not have to have the most sophisticated weapons, since God is the One Who gives the victory.  Verse sixteen declares, And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.  It would seem that Samson was bragging on himself instead of giving credit to God, which we can never afford to do.  Verse seventeen adds, 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.  After his speech, Samson threw the jawbone away and renamed the place Ramathlehi.  Verse eighteen states, 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?   Samson was thirsty, and at the same time gave God credit for the victory and then questioned if God was now going to allow him to die of thirst.  We can too often forget what God has done for us and question what He is going to do for us in our current situation.  Verse nineteen proclaims, 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.  God provided Samson water from the jawbone of the ass, and Samson's spirit revived.  God provides Christians with living water today to continually revive our spirit if we only rely on Him to do so.  Verse twenty concludes, And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.  Samson judged the people of Israel for twenty years.

Judges 15:1 says, But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.  After a period of time, Samson decided to visit his wife, but his father-in-law wouldn't let him go in.  Samson had brought with him a kid. a young goat.  Samson had been wronged, but he had cooled off and brought a gift, though it may have been but a token, but he was rejected.  All we can do if we have been wronged as followers of Christ, is to cool off if we are angry and do our best to restore broken relationships.  Verse two states, And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.  Samson's father-in-law said he thought that Samson hated his wife, so he gave her to another man.  He then offered her younger sister to Samson instead. It was really not a good time to be a female.  Of course, the attitude of the father-in-law would imply that he believed any woman was pretty much the same as the other and that there could be no real feelings involved.  Verse three declares, And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.  Samson said that even though he was wrong in being angry that the displeasure that he was about to bring to the Philistines was because of their doing a greater wrong to him.  Though as Christians we are not to be in the getting even business, there comes a point where we must take a stand, even if it makes those around us angry.  Verse four says, And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.  Samson caught three hundred foxes and tied them by twos tail to tail, and tied a fire brand between their tails.  Verse five adds, And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.  Samson then turned the foxes loose in the cornfields of the Philistines, and burned the cornfields and the vineyards up.  Now, I know that many people today would say that Samson was abusing the foxes, but I don't believe this is the point.  Verse six states, Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.  The Philistines asked who had done this, and were told Samson, and then were told why he had done it.  The Philistines did not go against Samson, but burned his wife and father-in-law to death.  Though they may have been somewhat responsible for Samson doing hat he did, the Philistines should have gone after the one who had burned their crops.  If someone has wronged us today, that does not allow us to seek to punish those who may have had a role in their actions.  Verse seven says, And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.  Samson said that he would avenge what they had done, and then he would cease.  He was not looking for anything greater than to avenge his wife's death.  Though she may have betrayed him, though not necessarily by her choice, he still felt a responsibility toward her evidently.  Verse eight declares, And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.  Samson killed many of the Philistines, and then he went to live in the top of the rock Etam.  Samson then waited to see what the Philistines would do.  He did not seek to do more than he felt was necessary to avenge the death of his wife.  We are not called on to be avengers in the world today as followers of Christ, but we still must stand up to the evil in the world.