The Crier's Well

Judges chapter 15 contains the incredible story of Samson's victory that was won with the Jawbone of a donkey. Many of us remember the story from Sunday School of the fight that ends with "heaps upon heaps", a thousand men slain by the jawbone of a donkey. The story itself is a great testimony of the blessing and deliverance of God in the face of, seemingly, insurmountable obstacles.

However, it is the events that immediately follow this story that have caught my attention today. After the battle was over and his weapon had been discarded, Samson was weak, weary and "sore athirst." (Judges 15:18) He was so weak and weary that he felt sure that his great victory was about to be turned into an even greater defeat. He believed that he was about to " die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised."

In many ways I can identify more with the Samson of verse 18 than the Samson that sung his victory song a few verses earlier. I have experienced my great victories and I have stood upon the "hill of the jawbone" (Ramath-lehi means the hill of the jawbone) where God wrought wonderful deliverance out of the ordinary substance of life. Seemingly ordinary things, like jawbones, have resulted in great battles won and victories declared.

However, I often discover myself in the place where Samson found himself after his great victory, weak, weary and thirsty. How quickly the glow of victory fades and the harsh reality of life sets in. How quickly the Sunday Night shout is transformed into a Monday morning struggle. I have been there many times. More often than I could ever tell, distress comes on the heels of victory. Trial sometimes seems to follow triumph. Perhaps that's where you are this morning. If so, I believe I have a word from the Lord that will comfort you.

When Samson found himself thirsty, in verse 18, he called upon the Lord. What happened next was even more incredible than the victory that was wrought with the jawbone of a donkey. The next verse says that "God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw." Apparently you can interpret that in several different ways. The King James Version seems to lend itself to the idea that God clave a place in the jawbone that Samson had discarded, other translations lean more towards the idea that God clave a place in some prominent feature of the land where Samson was. To argue the point will only serve to distract from the real truth of the matter. The truth is that God made a way, by miraculous means, in an unlikely place to produce a lasting spring of water to satisfy Samson's thirst and revive his spirit.

When Samson felt like he was dying of thirst. When he felt like he was going to be overcome by his enemies. When his circumstances seemed to be about to overwhelm him. Samson cried out to the Lord and the Lord heard his cry and answered with springs of life-giving water. "And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived." (Judges 15:19 ESV) Samson then named the place En-hakkore which means the Crier's Well. The name is, in and of itself, a testimony. Its Samson's way of saying, "I cried out to the Lord and he heard my cry and answered with springs of water."

It is the next phrase of verse 19 that got me excited this morning. There is a place of refreshing called "The Crier's Well" that according to Judges 15:19 exists "in Lehi unto this day." Lehi is the place where the Philistines assembled to capture Samson. Lehi is located in the lowlands of southwestern Judah. It was the valley that was supposed to be the end of Samson. It was the valley that was supposed to destroy him. It was the valley where the enemy intended to bind him and rob him of his victory. Lehi was intended to be a place of defeat.

The literal meaning of Lehi is somewhat uncertain. According to Harper’s Bible Dictionary, some translators read "in a troop" for Lehi. Kind of sounds like the place where David was when he said, "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." (Psalm 23:5) Samson was in Lehi, in the midst of a troop, in a place intended to be his undoing. Yet, it was in that place that God provided springs of refreshing. And, to me, the most wonderful truth of the scripture is that the spring is still there today!

When you find yourself weak and weary, when you find yourself dying of thirst, there exists a spring in Lehi. When you are surrounded by a troop, when you are in a valley of defeat, there is a spring of refreshing in Lehi. It is called "The Crier's Well", and it's still available to you if you will but cry out to the Lord. There’s still a well that will revive the spirit that is revealed to you when you cry out to God from the midst of your dilemma. It is the crier's well. And it’s still there, to this very day.

I want to encourage you this morning to find the rest that exists in the middle of the battle. I want to encourage you this morning to drink from the well that exists in the lowlands of your life. I want to remind you that there is a crier's well. When you cry out to God your cry releases the flow of heaven's life giving, living water that revives you in the midst of the valley. I hope you find it this morning and drink deeply from the criers well...