Samson

A Powerful Servant of God. Judges 13-16

Samson—the strength of covenants and the consequences of breaking them

Part 1 - An angel’s Message

THE BOOK OFJUDGES CHAPTER 13
Israel in Philistine bondage for forty years—An angel comes to Manoah’s wife and promises a son
who shall begin to deliver Israel—The angel comes again; he ascends in a flame from the altar—
Samson is born, and the Spirit of the Lord moves upon him.
1 AND the children of Israel did aevil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the bhand of
the Philistines forty years.
2 ¶ And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was
barren, and bare not.
3 And the aangel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art bbarren, and
bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and adrink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any bunclean thing:
5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no arazor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite
unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to bdeliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
6 ¶ Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was
like the countenance of an aangel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his
name:
7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink,
neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

Part 2 - Samson’s Mighty Deeds

Kills a Lion w/bare hands
Kills 1000 Philistines w/Donkey’s Jaw bone
CHAPTER 14
5 ¶ Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of
Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
6 And the aSpirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had
nothing in his hand:

Part 3 - Delilah & Samson’s Secret

CHAPTER 16
4 ¶ And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was
Delilah.
5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, aEntice him, and see wherein his great
strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give
thee every one of us beleven hundred pieces of silver.
6 ¶ And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest
be bound to afflict thee.
7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven agreen withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak,
and be as another man.
8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound
him with them.
 9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be
upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength
was not known.
10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast amocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee,
wherewith thou mightest be bound.
11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be
as another man.
12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee,
Samson. And there were aliers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.
13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou
mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the aweb.
14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out
of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
15 ¶ And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast amocked
me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him adaily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was bvexed
unto death;
17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a arazor upon mine head; for I have been a
Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become
weak, and be like any other man.
18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines,
saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her,
and brought amoney in their hand.
19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven
locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at
other times before, and shake myself. And he awist not that the LORD was departed from him.
21 ¶ But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters
of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

Part 4 - A Great Celebration

CHAPTER 16
22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice
unto aDagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our
enemy into our hand.
24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our
enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.
25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport.
And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the
house standeth, that I may lean upon them.
27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon
the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray
thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of
the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And
he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So
the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

What we can learn from Samson:
• Obeying our parents. "Honor your father and your mother,
that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD
your God is giving you" (Exodus 20:12).
• Watching whom we spend time with and whom we date.
• Keeping our commitment to God and not letting anybody
tempt us.
• Looking to God, not revenge. "Beloved, do not avenge
yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written,
'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord" (Romans
12:19).
• Even though Samson sinned, God still loved him, and used
him to accomplish good – when we confess our sins and
ask for forgiveness.
• As a Nazarite and a member of the house of Israel, Samson
made covenants with the Lord. However, he soon broke his
Nazarite vow and his covenants as a member of the house
of Israel. What vows and covenants did he break? (Some of
the covenants Samson broke are listed below.)
o a. He married outside the covenant house of Israel
(Judges 14:1–3).
o b. He was immoral with a harlot (Judges 16:1).
o c. He had his hair cut (Judges 16:4–20).
• • What were the consequences of Samson’s violation of his
covenants? (See Judges 16:17–21. He lost his spiritual and
physical strength, and the Philistines blinded him and bound
him. If necessary, explain that Samson’s hair was not the
source of his physical strength. Rather, his hair was a sign
of his covenant with the Lord, and when his hair was cut,
the Lord took away his physical strength because the
covenant was broken.) What happens when we violate our
covenants? What signs do we have of our covenants with
the Lord?
• • The covenants we make with the Lord should be a source
of strength, guidance, and commitment. What covenants do
we make with the Lord? How have these covenants
strengthened you? (One way covenants strengthen us is by
helping us resist Satan’s efforts to blind or bind us.)
• • Samson had great potential. The angel who announced his birth
said he would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. The
Lord blessed him with many gifts, including great physical
strength. What inner weaknesses caused his downfall? (See
Judges 15:7; 16:1; D&C 3:4. Answers may include self-
indulgence, immorality, seeking revenge, and violating
covenants.) How can we overcome weaknesses that may hinder us
from fulfilling our potential?
• • Why, after Samson knew that Delilah had tried three times
to betray him, did he tell her the secret of his strength? (See
Judges 16:15–17.) Contrast Samson’s responses to Delilah
with Joseph’s responses to Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:7–
12). How can we resist or overcome persistent temptations?
Conclusion
Explain that in the book of Joshua the Israelites fought and
won many physical battles against the Canaanites. However,
in the book of Judges the Israelites began to lose spiritual
battles, letting themselves be influenced by the Canaanites’
worldly practices and false gods. We face similar spiritual
battles. Testify that we can succeed in these battles as we (1)
follow the ways of righteous parents and ancestors, (2) make
good friends, (3) increase our faith in the Lord, and (4) keep
our covenants.
Analogy to Our Savior
He pushed with all his might.
The pillars gave way, and the great stones of the building came
crashing down in a thundering roar and cloud of dust. It all came
tumbling down on the five evil kings and all the evil people who were
celebrating there.
It was Samson's victory after all.
But it doesn't seem like much of a victory, does it? Samson died
too.But this is a powerful story.
In many ways the story of Samson is a picture for us of Jesus. It is a
picture to help us understand what Jesus did for us.
An angel told of Samson's birth - just like the angel Gabriel came to
Mary and told of the birth of Jesus.
Samson was dedicated to God. His uncut hair was sign that he was
set apart for God. He was like the spotless lambs the Jews would set
aside as an offering to God in payment for their sins. John the Baptist
called Jesus "The Lamb of God." Jesus came to be a spotless
offering for our sins.
God was with Samson in a mighty way. He did mighty things - just
like Jesus did mighty things when he turned water into wine and
made the blind see.
And then Samson was betrayed by someone he loved when Delilah
tricked him into telling him the secret of his strength. All for some
pieces of silver - just like Jesus was betrayed by one of his closest
friends for 30 pieces of silver.
Samson was beaten and mocked - just like Jesus was beaten and
mocked.
And then Samson destroyed the temple to free his people from the
ones who were making their lives so miserable.
Samson gave his life to save his people.
Just think, when Samson put his hands on those pillars, his arms
were stretched out just like Jesus stretched out his arms on the
cross. Samson pushed with all his might, and he brought the whole
weight of that temple of evil down upon himself.
Jesus stretched out his arms, and took all the evil of the world upon
himself. Jesus gave his life to free us from the power of evil.
Jesus gave his life to save us.
But, when Jesus died on the cross, that wasn't the end of the story.
Three days later, he rose from the grave. He was alive again. He had
defeated death itself.
And all who believe in him will share in his victory.
Samson - History
Around the time that Samson was born the people of God who
were called the children of Israel lived in the land that God had
promised to Abraham hundreds of years earlier. The land that
God had promised to Abraham and to his descendants was known
as the land of Canaan, or the promised land.
The people who lived in Canaan were known as the Philistines,
and the children of Israel and the Philistines were engaged in
great wars between them for hundreds of years. It was not until
the time of David which was hundreds of years after Samson
lived that the Philistines were completely cleared from the land
of Canaan, now known as Israel.