Living Water from a New Jawbone

Samson fought the Philistines and killed 1000 single-handed. God had supplied a new jawbone of an ass. Samson had satisfied the thirst of vengeance by shedding blood in battle. The blood of animals can never satisfy. That type of blood can only appease!

Priests of God went into the tabernacle periodically and paid for the sins of the Hebrew people with the sacrifice of lambs, rams and bullocks. This blood was presented to God as a sin offering. It would do for an ancient moment, but merely pointed toward the blood which satisfies:

Hebrews 9:12 "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his (Jesus') own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."

Satisfaction is only by the blood of Jesus and salvation is by his name only:

 Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name (Jesus') under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Now, lets look back at Samson. He had done wrong to his wife and displayed his anger against the Philistines who ruled over the Hebrews. His own people were in the process of sacrificing Samson, as judge, to the Philistines to appease them in their revenge. God loosened the bonds of Samson, he picked up the jawbone and slayed the 1000. For an instant Samson took the glory before he caught himself and gave that glory to God. After the battle Samson, from his toil in battle, had a great thirst. God satisfied that thirst through a miracle:

Judges 15:19 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 Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.

Samson avenged himself and initially took credit for his own salvation from the Philistines. He was to be the scapegoat or sacrifice for the Hebrew people to save themselves. He stood tall, but it was God who erected him! In the end he and the Hebrews were saved, but it wasn't Samson. It was God!  Samson called out to God to satisfy his thirst. The place was called "En-hakkore" which is to say "the well of him that cried" and at the time of the writing was still called "Lehi" meaning "jaw".

Was it named for Samson who cried or was it named for God who cried?  Scripture does not say that Samson cried, but maybe he did! He "called out". Who did the works of Samson? God. Who cried? We know for sure who did:

Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost."

"The well of him that cried", I contend, was not named for Samson, but for God! The salvation of Samson pointed toward Jesus who was born to die to save, not only Samson, but all mankind! It was named Enhakkore in honor of Jesus who cried as he "gave up the ghost". Scripture is not about Samson; it's about all about Jesus!

Samson drank of the water provided by God. His thirst was quenched. Blood of others didn't satisfy, but the living water supplied by Jesus did!

John 4:10 "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he (Jesus) would have given thee living water."

What is the "living water"? It's not the blood of animals, but is the blood of Jesus. It's the water which satisfies! Drinking of "the living water" is a requirement for salvation. As Samson drank of the free flowing water and his spirit revived, our own spirit will be revived with  acceptance of Jesus' living water!

Samson's spirit returned and although he died, Samson yet lives. He's there with the source of that water who supplied at Enhakkore. He's with Jesus right now! They meet again.

Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb (Jesus) which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Yes, it would appear that when he "called out" to God, Samson cried. He cried for himself, but when Jesus cried, it was for all of us!  When Samson drank of the "living water" which sprang from the jaw bone, we have the opportunity to drink of the "living water" which comes from the body of Jesus whose bones were unbroken as he died for us!

John 19:36 "For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him (Jesus)  shall not be broken."

Jesus gave Samson a fountain of "living water". It gushed from the jaw bone of a donkey. It was a new jawbone. Time had not broken it. Jesus gives us "living water". It too gushed, but it was from the unbroken bones of nail-scarred hands and gushed profusely from the hollow of his abdomen. Jesus shed blood for us, but he also provided water from himself... living waters!

The blood and water of Jesus is what it means to be saved. Samson saved himself and his people powered by God by the shedding of blood, and that shed blood was "sealed" by the drinking of miracle water! Sinners are saved by the blood of Jesus and we're "sealed", so to speak, by salvation. With baptism the tears of the old person are replaced by the joy of the new! Baptism is also "miracle water"!

Always ask yourself "What's this got to do with Jesus?" You'd be amazed that almost everything in the Old Testament is all about Jesus!