What happensPermalink
Samson goes to have sex with his wife, but her father refuses. So he catches three hundred foxes (or jackals), ties torches to their tails, and burns down the Philistines’ fields and olive orchards. They retaliate by killing his wife and her father, then invading Judah. Samson kills 1,000 men with a donkey’s jawbone.
Why it mattersPermalink
Burning her and her father to death is ironically the fate Samson’s wife tried to avoid by betraying the answer to his riddle. Despite Samson’s shortcomings, and even his own people trying to hand him over, God blesses him with strength to overcome.
Key versePermalink
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands.