When the Philistines asked, "Who did this?" they were told, "Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, because his wife was given to his companion." So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death. – Judges 15:6

Today's Scripture Reading (May 11, 2025): Judges 15

I recently read a short article written by Travis W. Lyon (I know nothing about Travis beyond the article). What attracted my attention was the article's title, "A definitive list of all the times when violence was the answer." The subtitle of the article identified the parameters of the piece. The subtitle read, "Those times when violence just solved all the problems." After reading the title, my initial thought was that this would be a very short list. And I was correct. Lyon's list included exactly zero entries. It is not that violence is never the answer. Sometimes, we are forced into violence. But violence never brings with it a positive change. In the words of Lyon in his short article, 

        While it is sometimes true that violence becomes necessary to end the psycopathic (sic) evil being         perpetrated elsewhere (Nazi Germany), violence rarely achieves its intended goal and always                creates broad collateral damage (Travis W. Lyon; A definitive list of all the times when violence            was the answer.)

Sometimes, violence is necessary, but it never has a positive effect. Instead, violence often escalates the response. Recent wars have proven this point. And unless someone decides not to respond with violence, the escalation continues without an end. 

The escalation within this part of this story in Judges begins with an ill-advised marriage between Samson and a Philistine woman. It involved a bet and someone cheating on the bet, Samson's anger and his rejection of his wife, the marriage of Samson's rejected wife to another man, Samson burning the fields of the Philistines, and now the murder by burning of Samson's former wife and father-in-law. At every stage, a form of violence has raised a notch to something even worse. 

The unfortunate reality is that, like so many events in our world, these events weren't necessary. There could have been another way to solve the problems. Biblical experts often remark that even as negative as all these reactions are, God still used them to accomplish his purposes. The experts are right. But sometimes, what we miss is that this story could have ended with Solomon being blessed; instead, it will close with a series of losses that the Bible's original strongman will suffer at a tremendous personal cost. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Judges 16