the story of Samson is one of the most fascinating and dramatic narratives in the Bible found in the Book of Judges chapters 13 through 16 it is a tale of extraordinary strength Divine calling human weakness and ultimately Redemption Samson is often depicted as a tragic hero a man of incredible physical power but plagued by his own flaws and Temptations his life serves as both a warning and an inspiration showing the consequences of straying from God's path and the potential for Redemption even in the final moments of one's life background and birth of Samson the story
of Samson begins in the context of Israel's cyclical history during the time of the judges after the death of Joshua the Israelites frequently fell into cycles of sin oppression crying out to God and deliverance the Philistines were one of the most powerful enemies of Israel during this time and they had oppressed the Israelites for 40 years Samson's parents Manoa and his wife were from the tribe of Dan they lived in a town called Zora near the border of philistine territory manoah's wife who was Barren received a visit from an angel of the Lord who informed
her that she would conceive and bear a son this son was to be a Nazarite from birth which meant he would be consecrated to God and follow specific vows he was not to drink drink wine or any fermented drink not to eat anything unclean and not to cut his hair these vows were a sign of his dedication to God and His uncut hair would become a symbol of his strength and divine calling the Angel's announcement was significant because it signified that Samson was chosen by God before birth to begin the Deliverance of Israel from the
Philistines monoa and his wife were obedient to the instructions given by the angel and Samson was born as foretold as Samson grew the spirit of the Lord began to stir him preparing him for his future role as a judge and deliverer of Israel Samson's early Feats Samson's adult life is marked by extraordinary Feats of Strength all of which are connected to his Nazarite vow and the spirit of God empowering him his first recorded exploit occurs when he desires to marry a Philistine woman from Timar which was against the traditional Israelite prohibition of intermarriage with Pagan
Nations despite the objections of his parents who urged him to marry within his own people Samson insisted The Narrative explains that this was part of God's plan to confront the Philistines who were oppressing Israel on his way to Timar Samson encountered a young lion the spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands later when he returned to to marry the Philistine woman he found that bees had created a hive in the Lion's carcass and he ate some of the honey giving some to his parents but
not telling them where it came from this act violated his Nazarite vow because he had touched a dead body making him ceremonially unclean yet this incident also set the stage for future conflicts at the wedding Feast Samson proposed a riddle to the Philistines based on his encounter with the lion out of the eater something to eat out of the strong something sweet the Philistines were unable to Solve the Riddle so they coerced Samson's wife into extracting the answer from him when they answered the riddle correctly Samson filled with anger went to ashalon killed 30 Philistines
and took their clothes to pay off the wager this incident sparked a cycle of violence between Samson and the Philistines the cycle of Vengeance Samson's marriage to the Philistine woman deteriorated when he discovered that she had been given to another man in retaliation Samson caught 300 foxes tied them in pairs by their tails attach torches to them and set them loose in the Philistine grain Fields Vineyards and Olive Groves destroying their crops this act of Revenge provoked the Philistines who retaliated by burning Samson 's wife and her father to death enraged by their actions Samson
slaughtered many Philistines escalating the conflict further the Philistines then marched into Judah to capture Samson the men of Judah fearful of the Philistines agreed to hand over Samson to them Samson allowed himself to be bound with new ropes and handed over to the Philistines however when the Philistines approached him the spirit of the Lord came upon Him mightily and he broke the ropes as if they were picking up the Jawbone of a donkey Samson killed a thousand Philistines after this Victory he named the place Rath Lei meaning Jawbone Hill and called upon God for water
which miraculously came from a hollow place in the ground quenching his thirst Samson and Delilah the most famous episode in Samson's life involves his relationship with Delilah a woman from from the valley of Sorak the Philistine rulers offered DEA a substantial sum of money to discover the secret of Samson's strength Delilah motivated by the bribe began to coax Samson into revealing the source of his power three times Samson dece Delilah giving her false explanations for his strength first he claimed that he would be as weak as any other man if bound with seven fresh bow
strings then he said he would lose his strength if tied with new ropes that had never been used us finally he told her that if the seven braids of his hair were woven into a loom and tightened with a pin he would become weak each time Delilah tried the method Samson described only for him to break free effortlessly when the Philistines came to capture him however Delilah continued to press him day after day nagging and pleading until Samson was sick to death of it eventually Samson gave in and revealed the truth his strength lay in
his uncut hair which was the symbol of his Nazarite vow to God Delilah immediately told the Philistine rulers who came with silver to pay her as Samson slept on Delilah's lap she called for a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair weakening him completely when the Philistines seized him Samson awoke thinking he would free himself as before but the Lord had left him the Philistines captured him gouged out his eyes and took him to Gaza where they bound him with bronze shackles and forced him to grind grain in the prison Samson's Final
Act despite his tragic downfall Samson's story does not end in defeat as he toiled in the Philistine prison his hair began to grow back symbolizing the return of his strength and perhaps his renewed commitment to God meanwhile the Phil gathered to celebrate their victory over Samson attributing it to their God deeon they brought Samson out of the prison to entertain them during the festivities mocking the once mighty warrior the Philistines placed Samson between the pillars of their Temple where thousands of people including the Philistine rulers were gathered Samson now blind and humiliated asked the servant
who led him to place his hands on the pillars so he could lean against them in this moment of desperation Samson prayed to the Lord asking for strength one last time to avenge himself on the Philistines for his blindness he prayed oh Lord God please remember me and strengthen me only this once oh God that I may be Avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes with renewed strength Samson braced himself against the central pillars of the temple and pushed with all his might crying out let me die with the Philistines the temple collapsed killing
Samson and all the people in it including the Philistine rulers the Bible notes that Samson killed more Philistines in his death than he did in his life after his death Samson's family retrieved his body and buried him in the Tomb of his father manoah he had judged Israel for 20 years [Music]
