In 1948 a ship named Nora headed from a Yugoslavian port to the Middle East. To the naked eye, the cargo was onions—almost 600 tons of them. Imagine the stench. I get seasick at the best of times; sitting on that many onions would guarantee it. Onions weren’t the real cargo though. It was a stash of Czech rifles making their way into the hands of Israel’s army, but no customs officer was going to dig through mountains of onions to find them.
In Judges, Samson’s antics stick in our nostrils like the stench of a shipload of onions. His behavior is revolting. It’s a crash course in how not to live. But take a deep breath, plug your nose, rummage around a little, and before long you’ll discover the real cargo—the truth that our God can and will bring his plans and purposes to fruition despite his people’s antics.
This is the goodness and grace of our God. Even when our actions reek of sin, his steadfast love and faithfulness win the victory.
Personal Vendetta (Judg. 15:1–8)
In Judges 14, Samson’s wedding party didn’t go to plan, and Samson left it in “hot anger” (v. 19). Consequently, Samson’s Philistine wife was given to his best man. Unaware this took place, Samson returns to woo his bride with a goat (15:1–2)—the Old Testament version of flowers and chocolates. But his father-in-law explains it’s too little too late. So Samson announces his personal vendetta: “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them” (v. 3, NIV).
This is the goodness and grace of our God. Even when our actions reek of sin, his steadfast love and faithfulness win the victory.
Samson enacts his revenge by tying 300 foxes together in pairs by their tails with a torch in between. It’s an incredible feat of strength, stamina, cunning, and vindictiveness (vv. 4–5). He watches the grain in the Philistine fields, the grain in their storage bins, and all their olive orchards burn (v. 5). He inflicts maximum damage as the foxes zigzag through the fields. Samson’s action isn’t without consequence (v. 6). But he has the final word of victory (v. 8).
This personal vendetta is all about Samson, his desires, and his glory. God is missing from the narrative. This is a distinct danger in our lives. Mercifully, even when we forget about God, he doesn’t forget about us. God gets the victory despite Samson leaving him out of his plans—this is his goodness and grace.
National Vendetta (Judg. 15:9–13)
Samson wants his actions to be the last word on things (v. 7). But it’s rarely that simple (vv. 9–10). In response to Samson’s actions, the Philistines come against all Judah. Retribution is their aim. The result is shocking. Rather than protect their fellow countryman, the Judahites hand Samson over to maintain the status quo and secure peace with the Philistines (v. 11). Samson’s betrayal takes place with his submissive agreement (vv. 12–13). He becomes a victor in a national vendetta; he averts war.
Michael Wilcock observes that Judah “would rather bind and betray its saviour than have him upset the balance of things.” He then notes this is something they do again (John 11:47–50). Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, comes to rescue his people and they hand him over to maintain their ungodly alliance with the Romans. Just as Samson was betrayed by his own, so too was Jesus. Christ’s betrayal, however, brings peace not merely between the Jews and the Romans but between God and humanity (Rom. 5:1).
God gets the victory though his people oppose him. Even in the face of his people’s hostility toward their own, God’s steadfast love and faithfulness triumph.
Divine Vendetta (Judg. 15:14–20)
The only reason Samson exists is because God planned for him to save Israel (Judg. 13:5). It’s clear that even though God has been absent from Samson’s thinking, he isn’t absent from the events of Samson’s life. God carefully orchestrates everything to accomplish his saving purpose.
The narrator makes this explicit by telling us the Spirit of the Lord rushed on Samson (Judg. 15:14–15), strengthening him to break the ropes that bound him and to strike down 1,000 Philistines with a donkey’s jawbone. But though it was the Spirit who empowered this victory, Samson simply praises himself (vv. 16–17).
Even though God has been absent from Samson’s thinking, he isn’t absent from the events of Samson’s life.
The final verse of this chapter explains that while God has been neglected by Samson, Samson hasn’t been neglected by God. God’s been at work in the background and now his appointed savior of Israel is ruling as judge for the good of God’s people (v. 20). The divine vendetta has been accomplished through Samson’s victories.
Meditate on that thought a moment more. Consider Samson—a womanizer who plays fast and loose with God’s call on his life and whose thirst for violence creates chaos. And yet God achieves his divine vendetta against his enemies with Samson.
Victory Still Hides Under Our Weakness
We might look around our church and wonder how God could use such a random bunch of individuals, all with our own quirks and weaknesses. We might look at our church program and wonder how God could use our meager ministries. We might look at our last attempt to share the gospel with someone and wonder how God could use our stumbling, stammering tongue to convey the grandeur of all Jesus has accomplished. We might wonder how God could use us—broken and sinful people—in accomplishing his redemptive purposes for the world and eternity.
Read Judges 15 again.
Note Samson’s victories, despite his weakness. Just as God orchestrated Samson’s life, so he’s orchestrating ours. We’re part of God’s redemptive plan. Despite the whiff of sin and weakness clinging to us—and often through this stench—our God can and will accomplish his plans and purposes. He will get the victory.
The Gospel Coalition