The Israelites sinned against the Lord and His anger burned
against them. He handed them over to the Philistines who ruled and troubled
them for 40 years.
The Angle of the Lord
appeared to Manoah and his wife and said, you would soon become pregnant and
have a son for she was barren, watch that no razor should be used on his head
for he will be a Nazarite of God. The wife of Manoah delivered as the Angle had
said and he named him Samson.
Samson grew and the Lord blessed him.One day Samson went
down to Timnah and saw a young beautiful Philistine woman and asked his parents to get her for him as a wife, his
parent were reluctant because they did not know that it was the Lord who was
leading him.
Samson and his parent
left for Timnah, as they approached the vine yard of Timnah a young lion came roaring towards Samson, the power of the Lord
made Samson strong suddenly and he tore
the young lion with his bare hands as if it was a young goat without his parents
noticing him.
Some days later
Samson was going to marry the woman because he liked her, he discovered some
honey in the carcass of the lion he killed, he ate some and gave some to his
parents without telling them where he had it from.
So Samson gave a feast. He said a riddle to a companion of
thirty, he was with and asked them to give him the answer within the seven
feasting days. Samson’s wife coaxed him into telling her the mean of the riddle
because the men threatened to burn her father’s house.
On the seventh day the men gave Samson the answer to the
riddle and he answered them saying “if you had not ploughed my heifer, you would
have not known the answer. Then the spirit of the Lord visited him mightily, he
went to Ashkelon, stucked 30 men down and stripped them off their belongings
and gave them to the men who answered the riddle for he was burning with anger
and he left to his father’s house.
Samson went back to his father in-law and learnt that, his
wife had been given to his friend in
marriage. He got angry, he caught three hundred foxes, tied them tail to tail
in pairs and attached lighted torches. He loosed them into the corn fields of
the Philistines which burnt up both the stocks and also the standing corn with
the vine yards and olives.
Samson again killed a great number of the Philistines,
because they had burnt up his father in-law and his wife. Three hundred men of
Judah went down to the rock of Etam where Samson was taking refuse and bounded
Samson up at his own will for the Philistines at Lohi.
Upon reaching the Philistines, the spirit of the Lord came
on him mightily and he slayed a thousand with the jawbone of a donkey; he
called the place Kamah Lehi. After the victory Samson became very thirsty and
he prayed to the Lord and the Lord opened up a hollow and he drunk of the water
from it, he named the spring En-hakkore . Samson fled from the men of Gaza at
the middle of the night, he got hold of the city gate, tore it and carried it
on his shoulders, while the men of the city were waiting to kill him in the
morning because they heard he was with a prostitute. Samson later fell in love
with a woman called Delilah, she lured him, he told her the secret to his great
strength.
Delilah shaved off the seven braids of Samson’s hair which
was the secret to his great strength. Samson awoke from his sleep when Delilah
announced the presence of the Philistians, he thought to himself l will get
loose and go free but unknown to him the lord hard left him. The philistians
captured him and gouged out his eyes, imprisoned him and made him to work
grinding at the mill of the prison. The Philistines’ made Samson to entertain
them while they met to celebrate their victory over him in honour of Dagon
their god. After he had entertained the Philistines’ he requested of the
servant to lead him to the central pillars upon which the temple that contained
about three thousand men and women on its rooftop only. There Samson offered
his last prayers to the Lord, braced himself against the pillars he pushed with
all his might down the temple come killing all the people in it, Samson died
with the Philistains.He led Israel for twenty years and was buried between
Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah.
Accomplishment
He killed a lion with his bare hands
He killed a thousand with a jawbone of a donkey
He burnt up the corn fields of the Philistians
He pulled down the temple of the Phillistains
He killed more people at his death than whiles he was alive
He tore down the city gates.
Strengths
He was a warrior
He was the strongest in his day
He was skilled in battle
Lessons
We should not put our trust in men
Let learn to choose our friends wisely
We should not give up on our purpose and mission because of
persecution
Let learn to seize opportunities and use them wisely
Let be careful of people who wants to use us for their
selfish gain.
Occupation: Judge
Relatives: Father Manoah
The story of Samson can be found in judges 13-16
