Friday, August 16: “Thanks for the Favor …”

Judges 15: 12, 13a: “The men of Judah said to Samson, ‘We have come down to bind you so that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.’ And Samson said to them, ‘Swear to me that you will not kill me.’ So they said to him, ‘No, but we will bind you fast and give you into their hands; yet surely we will not kill you.’”

Great, the men of Judah promise not to kill Samson, but to give him to the Philistines. So what do you think, the Philistines wouldn’t kill him? That’s what they were there to do. Samson didn’t fear any of them; he just didn’t want to be put in a position where he would have to hurt a fellow Israelite in self-defense. That shows integrity–and no small amount of courage. Samson had his problems, but he doesn’t get the credit he deserved. After all, he did judge Israel for twenty years (v. 20). And kicked a lot of Philistine tail in the process.