Judges

Judges 15: God gives strength and water

Begin in prayer

Before we read how God gives deliverance through His Spirit and sustains the one who cries to Him, let us come to Him together. Ask Him to teach us to depend on Him and to help us see Christ, who lives to sustain those who come to Him.

So we fasted and begged our God for this: and he granted our request.

Ezra 8:23

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Please teach us how much we depend on You. Help us turn from sin, trust Jesus and bring our needs before You. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

When Samson discovers that his wife has been given away, he uses foxes and torches to burn Philistine grain and olive groves. The Philistines burn his wife and her father, and Samson kills many of them before going to live in the cave in Etam's rock. Judah's men bind him with new ropes and hand him over to the Philistines. The LORD's Spirit comes on Samson, his bonds fall away, and he kills a thousand men with a donkey's jawbone. Thirsty after the victory, he cries to the LORD, who opens a hollow place in Lehi and gives water that revives him. Samson judges Israel twenty years during the days of Philistine rule.

As you read Judges 15, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God gives deliverance through His Spirit and sustains the servant who cries to Him.

Samson finds that his wife has been given to another man, and he takes revenge by burning the Philistines' grain and olive groves. They burn his wife and her father, Samson strikes back, and each side answers evil with more evil (verses 6 to 8). Then three thousand men of Judah come to bind him, saying, “Don’t you know that the Philistines are rulers over us?” Judah's men tie up their own deliverer and hand him to the Philistines who rule them. At Lehi the Philistines shout against him, the Spirit of the LORD comes mightily on him, and the ropes become like burned flax. Lehi means jawbone, and with the fresh jawbone of a donkey Samson strikes a thousand men. Then, near death from thirst, Samson calls on the LORD and says the great deliverance came from God (verse 18). God splits open a hollow place, water flows, and the spring is named En Hakkore, the spring of the one who called. The strong man who struck a thousand lives because God answered his cry, and the spring carried that name “to this day.”

How does Judges 15 show us that God gives deliverance through His Spirit and sustains the servant who cries to Him?

Israel's distress continues as revenge spreads.

Samson burns the Philistines' grain and olive groves after discovering that his wife was given away. They burn her and her father, and he strikes them with a great slaughter (verses 1 to 8). Judah then binds Samson for the Philistines, saying that these enemies rule them.

The LORD's Spirit breaks the ropes and gives victory.

Judah delivers Samson bound with two new ropes. When the Philistines shout against him, God's Spirit comes on him, and the bands fall from his hands (verse 14). He takes a fresh donkey's jawbone and kills a thousand men.

God hears Samson's cry and gives him water.

After the victory Samson is thirsty and fears that he will die. He calls to the LORD, acknowledging that God has given the deliverance (verse 18). God splits a hollow place in Lehi, and the water revives him.

Memorise

He was very thirsty, and called on Yahweh, and said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant.”

Judges 15:18

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, when do I forget that I need Jesus to save me?

Samson tells the LORD, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant.” Yet he fears death from thirst until God provides water. The man who has struck a thousand enemies cannot sustain his own life, and he still needs mercy from God.

Jesus Christ came to save sinners from a need greater than thirst or Philistine rule. He lived without sin, then died for His people, carrying their guilt and punishment on the cross. His saving work needs nothing from another rescuer to make it complete. God raised Him from the dead, and He now lives to sustain those who come to Him.

Please turn from your sins and trust Jesus. Samson cried to the LORD when he had no strength left, and Jesus hears every sinner who cries to Him. Forgiveness and everlasting life are His gifts to all who trust Him. Bring your needs to the Savior who has completed His saving work.

Parent's note

Tell your children that every person depends on God, including those who seem strong. Explain the burning crops, Samson's wife's death and the slaughter in your own words. A Christian home cannot save any child. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for giving strength and hearing the cry of those in need, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

If anyone speaks, let it be as it were the very words of God. If anyone serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 4:11

Lord, we depend on You for every breath. Please forgive our pride and bring us to trust Jesus for salvation. Teach us to ask for Your help and thank You for all You provide. Amen.