FIRST GOOD SAMARITAN BAPTIST CHURCH
The Caring Church, Preparing the World by Sharing the Word

WEEKLY WORD

JOY FROM A JAWBONE!
[PART II]

18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? 19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

Judges 15:18, 19
King James Version

This passage features the joys and pains of Samson. However, when looking for the joy in this text, it is difficult to see outside of the victory over the 1000 Philistines that Samson faced. The pain is apparent when we see after Samson’s victory comes his vulnerability because of his extreme thirst. Samson feels as if he is dying of thirst but there is a reason that brought him to being thirsty that came immediately after victory.

• 16 Then Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, I’ve piled them in heaps! With the jawbone of a donkey, I’ve killed a thousand men!” [NLT]

It is here that we see the essence of the pain came from ego. It was all about Samson when he gives himself the credit with his “I” references. We see his victory but what led to Samson being thirst was his lack of humility. What was contributing to the pain of Samson was his inability to give glory to the Spirit that empowered him in vs. 14.

• 14 As Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines came shouting in triumph. But the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon Samson,
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Whenever God senses arrogance, then there is a need for God to put you in a situation that has you thirsty that will bring one to humility. The humility is shown in vs. 18 when Samson gives credit/glory to the Lord.

• “…Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant:”

But the question is, where is the joy by way of a jawbone? The answer is in vs. 19 where God has broken/ripped open the jaw and brought out water from a hollow place in the jaw. The joy of the jawbone is that during the fight, the jawbone didn’t break. So, God preserved the jawbone because He had water on reserve within the jawbone that refreshed and rejuvenated Samson who was dying of thirst.

Sprite has a saying that says, “Obey your thirst,” but this scripture teaches us that it’s about obeying God which shows humility and eliminates ego that speaks more about me and less of Deity. Samson teaches us that God requires humility after victory that won’t have you feeling thirsty!

Dr. James A. Simmons, Senior Pastor