“The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. The people of Judah asked, 'Why have you come to fight us?'
'We have come to take Samson prisoner,' they answered, 'to do to him as he did to us.'
Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, 'Don’t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?'
He answered, 'I merely did to them what they did to me.'
They said to him, 'We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.'
Samson said, 'Swear to me that you won’t kill me yourselves.'
'Agreed,' they answered. 'We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.' So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock.” (Judges 15:9-13) For the context of this post, go read last week’s post on the previous passage and you’ll see why Samson was in hiding. I’d probably be hiding too if I had just killed thousands of Philistines! Because of Samson’s actions, the Philistine army moved into Judah to keep an eye on what was going on. They figured Samson would be hiding somewhere in Judah, and his fellow countrymen would likely know where. The people of Judah didn’t want to fight the Philistine army, so they went to get Samson out of hiding in order to keep the peace. The Israelites, including the territory of Judah, were being oppressed by the Philistines, but it wasn’t as difficult for them as previous occupations had been. Judah had the opportunity here to rise up against the Philistines with Samson as their leader, but they didn’t take that opportunity. They wanted to keep the status quo and not rock the boat. They would rather be ruled by the Philistines than rise up against them, even though Samson had clearly shown that he had the capability to lead a rebellion. The men of Judah would have know that handing Samson over to the Philistines would likely be certain death for him, especially since they were so mad at him for the destruction he had previously caused. But Judah did it anyway! One man’s life was evidently worth it to keep the status quo. Samson didn’t want to kill his own countrymen, or have them kill him out of fear, so they agreed to simply tie him up and hand him over. They even used new ropes for added strength so Samson wouldn’t break them. Judah took the easy way out here. They chose complacency over doing what was right. The right thing to do would have been to rise up against the Philistines, who were corrupting Israel with their worship of pagan gods. Israel was not meant to be oppressed by other nations; they were meant to worship the one true God and be led by Him and whatever leader He appointed. But they chose to do nothing rather than fight for what was right. Where are you complacent in your life? What issues are you not standing up for that you should? We all have times in life when we should take action but we don’t. I encourage you this week to ask God where you’re sinning by not taking action, and to be empowered by His Spirit to do what’s right.
'We have come to take Samson prisoner,' they answered, 'to do to him as he did to us.'
Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, 'Don’t you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?'
He answered, 'I merely did to them what they did to me.'
They said to him, 'We’ve come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.'
Samson said, 'Swear to me that you won’t kill me yourselves.'
'Agreed,' they answered. 'We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you.' So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock.” (Judges 15:9-13) For the context of this post, go read last week’s post on the previous passage and you’ll see why Samson was in hiding. I’d probably be hiding too if I had just killed thousands of Philistines! Because of Samson’s actions, the Philistine army moved into Judah to keep an eye on what was going on. They figured Samson would be hiding somewhere in Judah, and his fellow countrymen would likely know where. The people of Judah didn’t want to fight the Philistine army, so they went to get Samson out of hiding in order to keep the peace. The Israelites, including the territory of Judah, were being oppressed by the Philistines, but it wasn’t as difficult for them as previous occupations had been. Judah had the opportunity here to rise up against the Philistines with Samson as their leader, but they didn’t take that opportunity. They wanted to keep the status quo and not rock the boat. They would rather be ruled by the Philistines than rise up against them, even though Samson had clearly shown that he had the capability to lead a rebellion. The men of Judah would have know that handing Samson over to the Philistines would likely be certain death for him, especially since they were so mad at him for the destruction he had previously caused. But Judah did it anyway! One man’s life was evidently worth it to keep the status quo. Samson didn’t want to kill his own countrymen, or have them kill him out of fear, so they agreed to simply tie him up and hand him over. They even used new ropes for added strength so Samson wouldn’t break them. Judah took the easy way out here. They chose complacency over doing what was right. The right thing to do would have been to rise up against the Philistines, who were corrupting Israel with their worship of pagan gods. Israel was not meant to be oppressed by other nations; they were meant to worship the one true God and be led by Him and whatever leader He appointed. But they chose to do nothing rather than fight for what was right. Where are you complacent in your life? What issues are you not standing up for that you should? We all have times in life when we should take action but we don’t. I encourage you this week to ask God where you’re sinning by not taking action, and to be empowered by His Spirit to do what’s right.
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