Samson on...Revenge

We’ve been learning a lot about life from Samson. Here now are Samson’s thoughts on revenge:

“I merely did to them what they did to Me.” – Samson (Judges 15:11)

That’s right, I did to them what they did to me. That is revenge Samson style. Let me explain to all of you the equivalents.

Foiling Your Scheme By Threatening To Kill Your Wife If She Doesn’t Get The Answer To Your Riddle = Killing 30 Men

Great restraint was shown here. It would have been so easy to kill the 30 men who threatened my wife’s life. I didn’t hurt them. I merely hurt 30 of their countrymen. I didn’t have the money to make good on my promise so I had to resort to this.

Your Wife Being Married Off To Your Best Man After You Storm Out In The Middle Of The Wedding = Sending Out 150 Pairs Of Foxes-On-Fire To Destroy The Crops

I know it doesn’t seem here like I only did to them what they did to me, but let me explain. The anguish of the situation left me not wanting to eat for several days. So I made sure they wouldn’t eat for several months. I had to be thorough, and make sure they couldn’t get a cup of flour from their neighbours.

Burning My Wife And Father-In-Law To Death = Killing As Many Philistines As I Can

It was really hard to tell who did it, so I went after as many as I could. Again, God doesn’t like it when you only half do a job. So, I killed everyone I could get my hands on. To be fair, I should have burned them to death, but I hear that’s really painful and harsh, so I let them off easy with a crushed skull.

Intimidating My Fellow Countrymen Into Handing Me Over To You While I am Camping In A Cave = Killing The 1000 Men Who Did The Intimidating

Dear Philistines: there are two lessons I hope you learn from this. 1. Don’t be intimidating my fellow Israelites. 2. If you come at me with 1000 men I’ll kill you all. If you come after me with 3000 men I’ll go quietly. Oh yeah, there’s a third. I’ll do to you what you did to me.

Gouging Out My Eyes = Killing Everyone In The Temple Who Is Laughing At A Blind Man

This is really a victory of blind people everywhere. I know that not everyone in the temple that day had a hand in gouging out my eyes. I’m pretty sure that only one guy actually did the gouging, but they were all laughing at me. Listen People: it is not entertainment to watch a blind guy try to find his way around a temple.

What They Do To You Must Equal What You Do To Them

Some say that revenge always escalates. I think that is a wrong approach. Because if you ramp it up then they will ramp it up, and it gets ugly real quick. However, if you only do to them what they did to you, things will remain civil. And you’ll be able to sleep at night knowing that you merely did to them what they did to you.