Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
This verse belongs to the history of Samson and describes the Philistines going up in strong force into Judah and pitching and spreading themselves in Lehi in pursuit of him. He had withdrawn to the rock Etam in the tribe of Judah for a safe retreat after his great slaughter of the Philistines in revenge for their barbarous murder of his wife. Their advance to Lehi put the inhabitants of Judah in great alarm and led them basely to agree to deliver Samson to his enemies, sending three thousand men of Judah up to bind him with two new ropes and hand him over to the Philistine camp.
His extraordinary physical strength depended not on his well-knit sinews but on his condition as a Nazarite, symbolized by his unshorn hair. As he entered manhood to carry out his divine mission, he corrupted his whole life by friendly association and mingling with the idolatrous Philistines, which was facilitated because Zorah was near their country. He determined to marry the Philistine woman of Timnath who engaged his affections, and overruled the dissuasion of his God-fearing parents by insisting she pleased him well until they yielded, thus connecting himself with the enemies of Israel when above all he should have been true to God. He failed to ask whether he could better glorify God and fulfill his life purpose, choosing self-pleasing, for which God promises no wisdom, instead of seeking first to honor Him. Though physically strong, he failed to govern his passions and did not rely on God for strength, and his choices led toward shame, disaster, and death.
This verse belongs to the history of Samson and describes the Philistines going up in strong force into Judah and pitching and spreading themselves in Lehi in pursuit of him. He had withdrawn to the rock Etam in the tribe of Judah for a safe retreat after his great slaughter of the Philistines in revenge for their barbarous murder of his wife. Their advance to Lehi put the inhabitants of Judah in great alarm and led them basely to agree to deliver Samson to his enemies, sending three thousand men of Judah up to bind him with two new ropes and hand him over to the Philistine camp.
His extraordinary physical strength depended not on his well-knit sinews but on his condition as a Nazarite, symbolized by his unshorn hair. As he entered manhood to carry out his divine mission, he corrupted his whole life by friendly association and mingling with the idolatrous Philistines, which was facilitated because Zorah was near their country. He determined to marry the Philistine woman of Timnath who engaged his affections, and overruled the dissuasion of his God-fearing parents by insisting she pleased him well until they yielded, thus connecting himself with the enemies of Israel when above all he should have been true to God. He failed to ask whether he could better glorify God and fulfill his life purpose, choosing self-pleasing, for which God promises no wisdom, instead of seeking first to honor Him. Though physically strong, he failed to govern his passions and did not rely on God for strength, and his choices led toward shame, disaster, and death.