The New Jawbone

Today’s Verse:

And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. ~Judges 15:15

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When I was a kid, I remember a new candy that came out called a “jawbreaker.” It was a super hard candy that was meant to be sucked on and not to be chewed or broken with your teeth. The idea was that if you tried to break it down with your teeth, you would wind up breaking your teeth or jaw instead! It was a candy that was meant to last a long time. This morning, we see how one of God’s great Old Testament heroes used the new jawbone of a donkey and accomplished a great victory. It is a lesson on using what God has made available to you for His glory.

We see the fight.

“And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.” The Philistines assembled a very large army of men to take Samson captive. They forced the men of Judah to bind him and deliver him to them. As he was delivered to them, the Philistines shouted with a large shout. Samson had been betrayed, outnumbered, and under great pressure. Humanly speaking, he was way over his head in a problem all by himself.

We see the finding.

“And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. And he found a new jawbone of an ass....” Samson was moments away from being taken captive. At this critical moment, the Spirit of God came upon him. Samson needed a power that he did not have, and God was the only one Who could do this. Samson received a new vitality. Samson also received a new vision. He had no conventional weapon to fight with. However, he looked and saw the new jawbone of a donkey that had died. When we have our back against the wall, we must realize that God has provided us everything we need at that critical moment to face our problem head-on.

We see the faith.

“And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it....” Samson had faith that God would use this new jawbone of a donkey in his hand. Having been endued with power from the Spirit, Samson put forth his hand and took up this unconventional weapon. Faith is best exercised when our limited resources are availed to God for Him to bless and use. It takes faith to believe that little is much when God is in it. It takes faith to believe that what looks useless to men can be greatly used by God. Samson may not have been sure about the jawbone that he had picked up, but he was sure about the God Who could use it in his hand. We can either be like the disciples and exclaim with little faith, “What are they among so many?” or put forth our hand and take what God places in front of us.

We see the finish.

“...And slew a thousand men therewith.” Samson accomplished what was humanly impossible. One thousand Philistine warriors were killed with the new jawbone of a donkey in the hand of Samson. This was a gigantic finish! This was a glorious finish! This was a God finish!

Have faith in God’s ability to use your limited abilities and resources. Put forth your hand, take it, and watch what God will do. Samson had a jawbreaker moment because of his faith.

Have a faith-inspired God Morning!

Bible Reading Schedule: Exodus 30-32

#Judges #Faith #Jawbone #Samson