Pulelulu Novema 3, 2021
And God split open the hollow place
Ka ka foa‘i ‘e he ‘Otua ‘a e luo
Fakamaau 15 (Judges 15)
(v. 18-20) Pea ne mate he fie inu, ‘o ne tautapa ki he ‘Eiki, ‘o ne pehē, Ko eni kuo ke fakafai ‘i ho‘o tamaio‘eiki ‘a e fu‘u fakahaofi ko eni, ka u mate ai au he fie inu, ‘o tō ki he nima ‘o e fa‘ahinga ta‘ekamu na. Ka ka foa‘i ‘e he ‘Otua ‘a e luo na‘e ‘i Lehi, pea na‘e ha‘u mei ai ‘a e vai; pea ne inu, pea toe ake hono laumālie, ‘o ne mo‘ui: ko hono ‘uhinga ia na‘e ui ai hono hingoa ko Eni-Hākole (ko e Vaikeli ‘o e Tautapa), ‘a ia ‘oku tu‘u ‘i Lehi ‘o a‘u ki he ‘aho ni. Pea ne fai fakamaau ‘i ‘Isileli ‘o uofulu ta‘u, ‘i he kuonga ‘o e kau Filisitia.
(v. 18-20) And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore; it is at Lehi to this day. And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible
Here we have the record of further exploits by Samson and once more the circumstances of them were not to his credit.
His revenge on the Philistines in the destruction of their property and their slaughter served in the wider outlook to limit the oppression of the Philistines The action of the men of Judah in binding him and handing him over to the Philistines was utterly contemptible, and in this connection the great possibility of the man flamed into view. We see him breaking the bonds that bound him and with terrific onslaught, armed only with the jawbone of an ass, slaying a thousand of their number. We are conscious of what he might have done had he been wholly yielded to that "Spirit of Jehovah" who came mightily upon him, instead of being so largely governed by the fires of his own passion.
After this victory there was perhaps a break during which he realized his a possibility more perfectly. Miraculously refreshed with water, he revived, and it is said that he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines for twenty years.
David Guzik :: Study Guide for Judges 15
Samson needed this thirst to remind himself of his own weakness and need right after such a great victory. After a great victory we need to remember our mortality.
“It is very usual for God’s people, when they have had some great deliverance, to have some little trouble that is too much for them. Samson slays a thousand Philistines, and piles them up in heaps, and then he must needs die for want of a little water!” (Spurgeon)
Matthew Poole comments on Samson’s great thirst: it was “partly sent by God, that by the experience of his own impotency he might be forced to ascribe the victory to God only, and not to himself.”
God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out, and he drank; and his spirit returned, and he revived: This is an example of the principle that God’s work, done God’s way, will always be provided for by God. Here the Lord showed His faithfulness to Samson by supplying the needs of His servant.
In his sermon The Fainting Hero, Charles Spurgeon pointed out that the believer can look at heaps upon heaps of defeated enemies: Heaps of your sins, heaps of your doubts and fears, heaps of our temptations, heaps of many of your sorrows. Yet, despite all these victories, fresh challenges will come, even as a deadly thirst and fatigue overcame Samson. Through this all, Samson could count on the fact that the past victory was a promise of future deliverance.
“With that simple minded faith which was so characteristic of Samson, who was nothing but a big child, he turned his eye to his heavenly Father, and cried, ‘O Jehovah, thou hast given me this great deliverance, and now shall I die for thirst? After all that thou hast done for me, shall the uncircumcised rejoice over me because I die for want of a drink of water?’ Such confidence had he, that God would interpose on his behalf.” (Spurgeon)
“Be of good courage, fainting warrior! The God who made thee, and has used thee, knows thy frame, and what thou needest before thou askest.” (Meyer)
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