People - Judges - Samson
Introduction
Samson one of the most famous judges who was known for his incredible strength.
Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years (Judges 13 v1).
Manoah had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and promised she would conceive a son who was not to drink any fermented drink or eat anything unclean and a razor was not to be used on his head. He was to be a Nazirite from birth. He will begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines (Judges 13 v2 - 5).
The woman told her husband. He prayed to the Lord. God heard Manoah. The angel of the Lord came again while the woman was out in the field. She called her husband who followed his wife. Manoah offered a burnt offering to the Lord (Judges 13 v6 - 23).
The woman gave birth to a boy name Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him and the spirit of the Lord began to stir him (Judges 13 v24 - 25)
Samson saw a young Philistine woman in Timnah who he wanted as a wife. While travelling to Timnah, a young lion attacked Samson, but the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands. Samson was married, but his wife tricked him. Samson was cross and went back to his father's house while the woman was given a friend (Judges 14 v1 - 20).
When Samson returned to see his wife he discovered his wife had been given to another. He got revenge by burning the crops. The Philistines killed the woman and her father. Samson then attacked them, slaughtering many of them. The men of Judah captured Samson and gave him to the Philistines. The Spirit of the Lord came on Samson, the ropes binding him dropped from his hands, he picked up a fresh donkey's jaw bone and killed a thousand of them with it (Judges 15 v 1 - 19).
Samson led Israel for twenty years.
The Philistines tried to capture Samson in Gaza, but he escaped by tearing down the city gates (Judges 16 v1 - 3).
Samson fell in love with Delilah. The Philistine leaders asked her to find out the secret of Samson's strength. She tricked him into revealing his secret, the Lord left him and the Philistines seized him gouging out his eyes (Judges 16 v1 - 21).
The Philistines offered a great sacrifice to their God Dagon and made Samson perform for them. Samson asked God to strengthen him one last time so that he could get revenge on the Philistines. God answered and Samson pushed the central pillars in the Philistine temple and he died with the Philistines went the temple collapsed. Samson killed many more when he died than when he lived (Judges 16 v23 - 31).
Conclusion
Why did the Philistines want to learn the secret of Samson's strength? Was he a giant? There is no description of Samson's appearance in the bible. If Samson was huge would the Philistines have asked Deliliah to trap Samson? Could even the strongest power lifter pull down a stone building, especially a stone temple big enough that about 3,000 people can be on the roof?
Samson's strength wasn't his own strength it was the Spirit of the Lord. Samson had to put his trust in the Lord.
The rulers of a city used to sit at the gates of their city and rule their subjects. Samson tearing down the gates of Gaza was a prophetic statement pointing to the inpending defeat of the devil. Samson received a foretaste of the coming Holy Spirit.
Samson was the thirteenth judge of Israel (Judges 13 - 16).
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Judges who ruled over Israel
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