How does Judges 15:19 connect to God's provision in Exodus 17:6? The Texts Side-by-Side • Judges 15:19 — “So God opened up the hollow place at Lehi, and water came out of it. Samson drank, his strength returned, and he revived. Therefore he named it En-hakkore, and it is in Lehi to this day.” • Exodus 17:6 — “Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. When you strike the rock, water will come out of it, and the people will drink. So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.” Miraculous Provision in Unlikely Places • In both accounts water gushes from something that should never yield it—an arid rock in Horeb and a hollowed-out place in the jawbone-strewn terrain of Lehi. • The source is explicitly divine: “God opened up the hollow place” (Judges 15:19); “I will stand… when you strike the rock” (Exodus 17:6). • Human agency (Moses striking, Samson calling out) is secondary; the Lord is the true supplier. Parallels That Tie the Events Together • Desperation: Israel faced lethal thirst (Exodus 17:3); Samson felt he would “die of thirst” (Judges 15:18). • Intervention: Both cry out—Israel by complaint, Samson by prayer—inviting God’s answer. • Revival: “The people drank” (Exodus 17:6) and “his strength returned and he revived” (Judges 15:19). • Memorial: Moses names the place Massah and Meribah (Exodus 17:7); Samson names it En-hakkore (Judges 15:19), turning crisis into a testimony. Echoes of a Larger Theme • God reveals Himself as the One who “brings streams out of the rock” (Psalm 78:15-16). • These moments anticipate Christ, “the spiritual Rock that accompanied them, and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). • Both passages foreshadow the living water Jesus promises in John 7:37-38. Implications for Today • Same God, same faithfulness—whether supplying a nation or one exhausted judge. • No circumstance is too barren; He creates provision where none exists. • Remembering His past deliverances (naming the place) fuels present trust. |
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