Samson and the Foxes

Samson and the Foxes

(Judges 15)

Yearly Theme:  “Love Is…”

Series Title:  Kind of a “BIG” Deal

July 14^th, 2019

Something to think about:

As we continue today, in our series on the story of Samson in the book of Judges, we see this scenario played out continually in the Biblical narrative.  Samson is often too busy concerning himself with himself that he doesn’t recognize, or call on, God unless he wants something from him.  Let’s take a look…

Turn in your Bibles to:  Judges 15:1-20

Key Point:  “Pride leads to destruction.”

There are two ways that pride is evidenced in destruction:

• The destructive nature of pride can come in the form of rage.

Judges 15:3-6 (NLT), ³  Samson said, “This time I cannot be blamed for everything I am going to do to you Philistines.” ⁴  Then he went out and caught 300 foxes. He tied their tails together in pairs, and he fastened a torch to each pair of tails. ⁵  Then he lit the torches and let the foxes run through the grain fields of the Philistines. He burned all their grain to the ground, including the sheaves and the uncut grain. He also destroyed their vineyards and olive groves.

⁶  “Who did this?” the Philistines demanded.

“Samson,” was the reply, “because his father-in-law from Timnah gave Samson’s wife to be married to his best man.” So the Philistines went and got the woman and her father and burned them to death.

Contrasted with…

Romans 12:17-21 (NLT), ¹⁷  Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. ¹⁸  Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 19  Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD. ²⁰  Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” ²¹  Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

What else can we learn from this passage?  Pride that leads to destruction, and that is sometimes masked in rage, can also lead to…

• The destructive nature of pride always leads to death death.

Judges 15:15-17 (NLT), ¹⁵  Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it. ¹⁶  Then Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, I’ve piled them in heaps! With the jawbone of a donkey, I’ve killed a thousand men!”  ¹⁷  When he finished his boasting, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was named Jawbone Hill.

Contrasted with…

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NLT), ²³  This is what the LORD says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. 24  But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the LORD, have spoken!

Something to take home:

When we measure ourselves by ourselves the measure of ourselves becomes a distorted reality of the truth.  Samson’s reality was based on his own estimation of himself, and because of this He left a wake of destruction wherever he went.  Samson’s pride and boasting blinded Him to the realities of God’s hand on his life.  Samson’s pride lead to many destructive tendencies in uncontrolled behavior and anger.  Samson’s pride masked itself in rage, and impulsivity.  Samson’s pride caused him to act first and then expect God to come through for him.

Have you allowed pride to hold sway over you?  Have you noticed the destructive nature of pride in others?  The only way to overcome pride is through humility, and humility only comes through surrender, and surrender only comes through submission to Christ.

Key Point:  “Pride leads to destruction.”