56.

The spirit of the Lord came upon Samson and he killed 1000 men with the jawbone of an ass

In the last killing, we saw that Samson's brief (week-long) marriage to a Philistine woman was prearranged by God so that Samson would murder 30 Philistines for their clothes.

That was the first chapter of Samson's life (Judges 14). Here's the next.

After Samson murdered the 30 Philistines, he went to his wife's house to have sex with her. He even brought a young goat along to pay her for her services.

Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. Judges 15:1

But then her father had to tell him the bad news: he had given Samson's wife to one of his Philistine friends because he thought that Samson "hated" her.

Her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion. 15:2a

His father-in-law suggested that Samson just take his younger daughter. Heck, she's prettier anyway, isn't she?

Is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her. 15:2b

But Samson didn't want his wife's little sister. He wanted his wife back, because as you'll recall from the last killing, "She pleased Samson well."

So Samson had an idea, an idea that only one of God's special heroes could come up with. He'd catch 300 foxes, tie their tails together, light them on fire, and set them loose in the Philistines' grain fields. Maybe then the Philistines would give him his wife back.

Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go. 15:4-5

But it didn't work out as planned. After the burning foxes destroyed their fields, the Philistines didn't give Samson his wife back; they burned her and her father to death.

Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson ... because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire. 15:6

In response, Samson smote the Philistines "hip and thigh" with a great slaughter. (I'm not including this killing on God's list, since the Bible doesn't tell us that "the Spirit of the Lord came upon him" or otherwise directly say that God was involved.)

Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease. And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter. 15:7-8

Then Samson went to hang out "in the top of the rock Etam" for a while. While he was there, 3000 men of Judah came, tied him up and took him to the Philistines. When they delivered Samson "the Spirit of the Lord came upon him" and he broke the ropes and killed 1000 men with the jawbone of an ass.

The spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him ... And he found a new jawbone of an ass and slew a thousand men therewith. 15:14-15

Samson was thirsty after the killing, so God made water come out of the same jawbone so that Samson could get a drink.

He was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and ... God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again. 15:18-19

Does anyone really believe this stuff? Well, yes they do, unfortunately. Over two billion people believe (or pretend to believe) that this story actually happened exactly as it is recorded in Judges 15. Samson tied the tails of 300 foxes together and set them on fire and then he killed 1000 men with the jawbone of an ass.

Of course most believers have never read the story and don't even know it exists, but they believe it anyway, completely and implicitly, because they believe that everything in the Bible is true.

It's easier to believe in stories like this if you don't know they exist.