The Life of Samson

n the previous Lesson, we learnedabout King Balak trying to get

Balaam to curse Israel. But Godwould not allow this. Do you remem-ber what happened after Balaamstruck his donkey the third time? ________________________________________________________________

We also learned about Israel enter-ing the Promised Land. When Mosesdied, Joshua became the new leader ofIsrael. He led the Israelites to victoryin many battles throughout the land,including defeating the city of Jericho.Do you remember how that city wasdefeated? ____________________________________________________

After Joshua died, Israel was ruledby judges who were chosen by God.When the people followed a judge’slead, they obeyed God—and wereblessed as a result. But when thejudge would die, the people wouldturn to worshiping idols. So Godwould punish them by allowing ene-mies to invade the land. Israel wouldthen cry out to God, and He wouldsend another judge to deliver them.This happened over and over again,

and was known as the period of theJudges.

Foretold To Be a Nazarite

Toward the end of the Judges period, aDanite named Manoah lived in thetown of Zorah. This town was in anarea controlled by the Philistines,about 20 miles west of Jerusalem.Manoah had a wife, but no children.

One day, a stranger appeared toManoah’s wife, and said, “Thoughyou do not now have any children,you will indeed conceive a son. Butmake sure you listen carefully to myinstructions: Do not drink any alcoholor eat anything unclean. And whenyour son is born, be sure that you donot cut his hair. He will grow up to bea very powerful person and will deliv-er Israel from the oppression of thePhilistines.”

Years earlier, God gave instructionsto those who promised to give them-selves to Him for a special purpose. Itwas usually only a period of severalyears. This promise was known as theNazarite vow. Those who decided to

The Life of Samson

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keep this vow had to follow threerules.

Turn to the scriptures listed belowand write down these rules.1. (Numbers 6:3-4) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________2. (Numbers 6:5) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________3. (Numbers 6:6) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Unlike most who took the Nazaritevow, Manoah’s son had to observethese regulations for his entire life.Manoah’s wife had to observe themonly while she was pregnant with theboy.

After the stranger was done talkingto the woman, Manoah’s wife imme-diately told her husband the excitingnews. Manoah prayed to God that thestranger might come again—and hedid. But he came while Manoah’s wifewas alone in the field. This time, sheran to get her husband.

“How should we raise the boy, andwhat will he do in life?” Manoahasked the stranger. He repeated toManoah what he said earlier. Manoahwas thankful and decided to offer ayoung goat as a sacrifice to God.When he lit the fire, the stranger sud-

denly ascended upward with theflames and smoke! Manoah and hiswife were amazed. Then they realizedthat the stranger was actually an angelof God!

Eventually, the boy was born toManoah’s wife, and was namedSamson. He grew to be an extraordi-narily strong young man. He wouldneed this strength in order to deliverIsrael from the control of the idol-wor-shiping Philistines.

Samson Marries a Philistine

Though he knew it was wrong, Samsonliked Philistine women very much. One

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afternoon, he went down to thePhilistine city of Timnah and met abeautiful woman he wanted to marry.So he went back to his father and moth-er and told them the news. Samson’sparents were shocked—they could notbelieve it! But Samson insisted on themarriage. In the end, Samson’s parentsagreed to his demands.

Along the way to Timnah, Samsonwent ahead of his parents to make surethe trail was safe. All of a sudden, alion jumped out in front of him. It wasroaring loudly! With incrediblestrength given to him by God, Samsongrabbed the lion and killed it with hisbare hands. However, Samson did nottell his parents what had happened.

Finally, Samson and his parentsarrived in Timnah. They arranged themarriage, and then went home. Aftersome time, Samson and his parentsjourneyed back to Timnah for thewedding ceremony. Once again,Samson wandered ahead of his parentsand came to the place where he hadkilled the lion. Inside its skeleton wasa beehive filled with sweet honey.After taking some to eat, Samsonrejoined his parents on the trail toTimnah, and gave them some of thedelicious honey.

Test Your Memory:

1) What would happen to Israel whena judge died? ___________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________2) Who controlled the town of Zorah?______________________________3) How long did Samson have toobserve the Nazarite vow? _______________________________________4) What happened when Manoah litthe fire? _____________________________________________________5) What did Samson do to the lion thatjumped out in front of him? ______________________________________

Samson Poses a Riddle

As was customary at the time, a wed-ding feast was given for Samson andhis new bride. During the first day,Samson posed a riddle to 30 of thePhilistine men who were attending.“Listen here. I have a riddle for you tosolve,” Samson said. “If you answer itcorrectly before the end of the feast, Iwill give an attractive shirt and robe toeach of you. But if you cannot answerit correctly, each of you will give mean attractive shirt and robe.”

The men thought it over, thenagreed to Samson’s proposal. “Tell usyour riddle,” they said.

Turn to Judges 14:14 and writedown the riddle. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This was a difficult riddle for themen. They tried hard to solve it, butcould not. So they asked Samson’swife if she knew the answer. She saidthat she had no clue.

“Well you’d better find out theanswer, or else we will burn yourfather’s house with you and him in it!”the 30 men shouted.

Samson’s wife was scared for herlife. She went to Samson and beggedhim to reveal the answer to the rid-dle—but he would not. She cried tohim the entire feast. Finally, on the lastday, Samson gave in to the pleading ofhis wife and told her the answer. Shethen went to the 30 men and explainedthe riddle to them.

Hours before the sun went down onthe last evening of the feast, the

Philistine men con-fronted Samson,and said, “We havesolved your riddle.What is _______than ______? Andwhat is ________than a _______?”(Judges 14:18).

This madeSamson extremelyangry. He knew thathis new wife toldthem the answer.Nevertheless, hehad an obligation tofulfill. So he left to

find 30 shirts and 30 robes. Eventually,he returned with a sack of clothes forthe Philistines. Samson was still angry.He went home to his father’s house tocalm down, but did not take his wifewith him.

After some time, Samson’s angerwent away. He returned to Timnahfor his wife. “I have come for mywife,” Samson said to his father-in-law.

“I gave her to another man tomarry. You were gone so long that Ithought you would never return,” herfather replied.

Samson became even more furiousthan he was before. He stormed off toget even with the Philistines.

We will learn that God was allow-ing these events to unfold in order to

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deliver His people from the rule of thePhilistines.

Samson’s Revenge

Samson decided to seek revenge onthe Philistines. He gathered 300 foxesand took them to the grain fields ofthe Philistines. He tied their tailstogether in pairs and fastened a torchto each pair of tails. After he set thetorches on fire, Samson released thefoxes into the fields. As they scurriedthrough the field, many of thePhilistines’ valuable crops weredestroyed!

The Philistines were enraged.Once they discovered that Samsonwas the cause of the fire, they killedhis father-in-law and his wife by set-ting their house on fire. Samson retal-iated by attacking the Philistines. Hekilled a great number of them, andthen fled to the caves of Judah tohide.

The Philistines sent an army toJudah in search of Samson. “Whyhave you come here?” the men ofJudah asked.

“We are here to arrest Samson,” thearmy replied. “Turn him over to us, orwe will attack and kill all of you.”

The men of Judah were afraid, sothey went to the cave where Samsonwas hiding and told him they weregoing to turn him over to thePhilistines. Samson made them prom-ise they would not kill him. The menagreed, and bound him with ropes.

As they approached the cheeringPhilistines, Samson suddenly receiveda burst of strength from God. With aflex of his muscles, he broke the ropesas if they were nothing! ThePhilistines rushed toward him to makesure he did not get away. Just then,Samson noticed a donkey’s jawboneon the ground. He picked it up andbegan swinging it with great force.One thousand Philistines died fromthe blows of the jawbone.

Samson had become exhausted andextremely dehydrated from the day’sactivities. He searched for somerefreshing water, but could not findany. So he cried out to God, “Please donot let me die from lack of water!”God heard him, and opened up aspring of cool water! Samson wasrefreshed, and he thanked God for themiracle.

After his victory, Samson becameJudge of Israel. He held this office for20 years.

Test Your Memory:

1) How many men did Samson pose ariddle to? ______________________

2) What did the men say they woulddo to Samson’s wife if she did not findout the answer to the riddle? _____________________________________3) Why was God allowing theseevents to unfold? ______________________________________________4) What did Samson do with 300foxes? ____________________________________________________________________________________5) What did Samson use to kill 1,000Philistines? ____________________

Samson and Delilah

In time, Samson fell in love withanother Philistine woman. Her namewas Delilah. When the leaders of thePhilistines heard about this, they con-fronted Delilah and told her to find thesource of Samson’s strength. If shedid, they would each give her 1,100pieces of silver.

Delilah asked Samson, “Tell medear, what is the source of yourstrength?”

Samson thought for a moment, thenreplied, “If my enemies would bindme with seven fresh bowstrings, then Iwould become like any other man.”

Delilah was delighted that Samsondisclosed the secret so easily. Shewent to the Philistine leaders and toldthem the news. They gave her thematerial she needed to bind Samson,and sent soldiers to hide in her house.

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Once Samson was tied up, they wouldcapture him.

After tying up Samson, Delilahsaid, “Oh Samson, the Philistines arehere!” At that moment, Samson brokethe bowstrings and leaped to his feet.It turned out that Samson had lied toDelilah.

“Why did you lie to me?” Delilahasked. “Please tell me the truth.”

Once again, Samson gave her ananswer. He told her to bind him withrope that had never been used before,and then he would become weak. SoDelilah hid the soldiers in her house andbound him with new rope. Then sheexclaimed, “Oh Samson, the Philistinesare coming!” Immediately, Samsonbroke the ropes and jumped to his feet.

Delilah was frustrated, but did notgive up. She really wanted to receivethe silver from the Philistine leaders.“Samson, you have mocked metwice,” Delilah said. “I thought youloved me! Don’t you love me enoughto tell me the secret?”

Samson thought it over for amoment, then replied, “If you weavemy hair into the web of a loom, I willlose my strength.”

The next evening, Samson allowedDelilah to weave his hair into herloom. After he had fallen asleep,Delilah shouted, “The Philistines arecoming!” But yet again, Samsonbroke free and jumped to his feet.

By now, Delilah was extremelyfrustrated. She cried to Samson, “Whydo you keep lying to me? How canyou love me and lie to me? Please, Ibeg of you, tell me the secret source ofyour strength.” Samson did notanswer a word, and walked away.

Delilah continued to pesterSamson for quite some time. Shewould constantly cry to him.Eventually, due to her constant nag-ging, Samson gave in to Delilah, andsaid, “I have been a Nazarite frombirth. If you shave my head, I willlose all of my strength.”

“Finally, he has told me the truth!”Delilah said to herself. “Now I will berich!” She then rushed off to thePhilistine leaders to tell them thewonderful news. So the soldiers fol-lowed her back to her house to lie inwait.

The next day, Delilah sat downnext to Samson and told him to relax.As she gently massaged his head fora few minutes, he fell asleep. ThenDelilah signaled for one of the sol-diers to come and cut off Samson’shair.

“The Philistines are coming foryou!” Delilah exclaimed. Samsonimmediately awoke, but was unawareof what had happened. The Philistinesran toward Samson to capture him. Hetried to fight them off, but was unable.The soldiers easily bound him hand

and foot. They poked out Samson’seyes and took him to one of their pris-ons to do hard labor—pushing arounda heavy millstone in the grain grindingroom.

Once Samson lost his hair, thesource of his strength left him. But thehair itself was not the actual source—God was! The same is true for us. Godgives us the strength we need. If ourconnection to God is severed, we toowill lose the strength He supplies us.

Samson’s FinalPrayer

One day, thePhilistines held a cel-ebration in honor oftheir false half-human/half-fish godnamed Dagon. It wasa very special occa-sion at which all thenobles of thePhilistines would bepresent. Thousandsof people packed thetemple. ThePhilistines believedthat this idol haddelivered Samsoninto their hands.

Some who werepresent said, “Bringin Samson so that hemay perform for us.”

So a small boy retrieved Samson fromthe prison and brought him to Dagon’stemple to perform for all the drunkenPhilistines. Everyone praised Dagonfor supposedly delivering into theirhands the one who had caused somuch trouble.

While performing, Samson said tothe young boy, “Lead me to the pillarsthat support the temple so I may reston them.” (Remember, Samson wasblinded by the Philistines.) The boy

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did this, and then Samson stretchedout his arms between the two giganticpillars and prayed to God. Turn toJudges 16:28 and write downSamson’s prayer._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

God answered Samson’s prayer,and gave him tremendous strength. As

Samson pushed on the giant pillarswith all of his might, they began tobuckle and collapse. Then the entiretemple came crashing to the ground.All of the people in the temple, includ-ing Samson, were killed.

Samson’s brothers and his father’shousehold came to retrieve his bodyfrom the rubble. They took him backto Zorah and buried him in his father’stomb.

Samson had a severe weakness forPhilistine women, which caused him

much trouble. Yet God used this weak-ness for good—to deliver Israel fromthe hands of the Philistines. Samson’smiraculous feats were not accom-plished by his strength, but by thegreat power of God.

In the next Lesson, we will learnabout a woman who lived during thetime of the Judges.

Test Your Memory:

1) With whom did Samson fall inlove? _________________________

2) What happened when Samson losthis hair? ______________________3) What did Samson do while inprison? ______________________________________________________4) What was the name of thePhilistines’ false god? ____________5) Why was Samson brought to thetemple? ___________________________________________________________________________________

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BIBLE MEMORY: Judges 16:28

Published by The Restored Church of God.Printed in the USA; All Rights ReservedCopyright © 2006

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CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ACROSS: 2) The things that Samson pushed in the temple of Dagon.15) Samson was from the tribe of ____, so he was a _________.29) What Samson found in the ribs of the lion.42) What carried the torches through the grain fields of the Philistines.59) The woman who tricked Samson and caused him to be captured.66) The son whom God promised to Manoah.

DOWN:1) Samson became a______ of Israel.2) The people who troubledIsrael.7) The type of puzzle Samsonasked his wedding guests.9) What Samson picked upto kill 1,000 Philistines.11) God provided ______ forSamson in the desert.21) Samson’s father.32-What the Philistines cut off of Samson.42) What destroyed the Philistine’s crops.

Answer the questions tofind the words that go inthe puzzle.