He Provides

 DEVOTION

JUDGES

HE PROVIDES

Judges 15:9-20

9 The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. 10 The men 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." 11 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." 12 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." 13 "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. 14 As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men. 16 Then Samson said, "With a donkey's jawbone I have made donkeys of them. With a donkey's jawbone I have killed a thousand men." 17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.   18 Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" 19 Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi. 20 Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

NIV

Although the narrative is about the rest of the story about Samson and his revengefulness, and now after Samson burnt down all the Philistine wheatfields, vineyards, and olive groves, they readied themselves for war against Israel, there is a nugget of truth we need to focus on. We could spend time pondering those new ropes becoming like charred flax because of the power of the LORD. We could focus on Samson finding a donkey's jawbone and striking down a thousand men. But what our attention is drawn to us after everything was said and done, Samson is now thirsty and cries out to the LORD. God did not disappoint, for he opened up the hollow place, which in Hebrew was like an opening in the jaw after a tooth is pulled, and water came pouring out. Elohiym provided for Samson and, of course, Samson was a special man, who had the power of God upon him. God had a special calling for Samson, as even before he was conceived, his mother was told he was never to taste fermented wine, or a razor was never to touch his head, that he was to be a Nazarite. Interestingly, the Hebrew word translated as Nazarite means a consecrated or devoted one, but also is used as an untrimmed(vine). This is why his hair should never be trimmed. Yet, our story is about how God provided water for Samson. Even with all the times the LORD came upon him, God took care of the basic need for him, water. We might experience the hand of the LORD upon us from time to time, having some supernatural happening in our lives, which could be seen as those mountaintop times in life. But it is those quiet times, those moments when all the hoop-ta-la is over, the Lord is still there with us, providing everything we need. Of course, we have seen how Israel turned elsewhere for their needs and paid the consequence of being overpowered by some foreign power. Samson always looked to the LORD, and his life reflected the power of God in providing his needs. We cannot turn to looking at our abilities, skills, education, wealth, or our flesh, thinking it is up to us to make our way in the world. We must always cry out to our Lord, looking to him for everything in our lives, as we worship the Living God who provides.