In the previous verses, Samson had burned the Philistines grains in anger of his wife being given to his friend by his father-in-law. Albeit, Samson did give her to the friend and left for a while, but when he came back there was an expectation that he'd be able to "go into her" (or have sex with her). Once the father-in-law informed him that the friend had already done so, he offered Samson his younger daughter instead. This upset Samson, so he set tails of alive foxes on fire, then sent them running through a field of grains, vineyards and olive groves.
Once the Philistine's found out what happened, they in-turn went up to the wife and father-in-law and killed them by setting them on fire. Yes, you heard that right. They killed them both by setting them on fire. In return, Samson killed quite a few Philistines because they took the lives of his wife and father-in-law. Afterwards, he went to dwell in the "cleft of the rock of Etam". It had become an escalated case of tit for tat.
This brings us to where today's verses start. Bare in mind that during this time period, the children of Israel were living under the rule of the Philistines. They had turned their backs on Yahweh (again) and their punishment was servitude to them. So, by this time the Philistines are angry and they go up to the land of Judah to encamp in it which caused the men of Judah to fear being attacked. When they questioned the reason for their prescence, the Philistines told them they came to arrest Samson.
At this point, the men of Judah are thinking, why should they fight this? So, they go find Samson and explain to him why they have come to arrest him. Now, at this point there are a few things that stand out:
- They knew exactly where Samson was located,
- They sent 3,000 men down to Etam to retrieve Samson, and
- They never seem to bat an eye at the fact that Samson allowed them to bind him only with the promise that he wouldn't be killed.
One could say that the men were trying to preserve their lives and Judah, however I choose to look at what they ignored. Given points 1 & 2 above, this tells me that Samson was a known individual. They knew exactly where to find him and there wasn't a huge search. In addition, they sent 3,000 men down to get Samson. If they did not know who he was or recognize his strength, they would have only sent a hand full of men to bring him back. They didn't do that. They went as though they were prepared to use as many men as possible to subdue him.
It never dawned on the men that Samson never resisted their demands. He only required that they not kill him. If they knew Samson's history, then they knew his strength. If they knew his strength, why did they not question the lack of resistance? It was as though the only thing they were focused on was how they could preserve their lives by any means. Later, they would take Samson back to the Philistines only to see him break out of the ropes and kill a thousand men with the skull of a donkey.
It is amazing how we miss the presence and power of God when it is around. Despite the miracles of strength Samson put on display, the men of Judah were frustrated and willing to arrest him because of fearing their captors. Instead of turning to Samson in support and belief, they seemed to need a little bit more evidence of who he was and from where his power came.
Can you recognize when the power and presence of Yahweh is around you?
