- [Instructor] To set the
stage of Samson's birth, Israel was under the rule and
oppression of the Philistines. Samson was born in Nazareth
and was chosen by God to fulfill his work in Israel. And he was given extraordinary
strength to do it. The Book of Judges contains
the story of his life. Again, the Israelites did what was evil in the Lord's sight. So the Lord handed them over
to the Philistines 40 years. Judges 13:1. At this point, the author introduces us
to a man named Manoah, whose wife was unable to conceive. Judges 13:2. "And there was a certain man of Zorah of the family of Danites,
whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and bear not. The angel of the Lord,
appeared to her and said, 'You will give birth to a son. And that son, that miracle, would be Israel's next deliverer." Judges 13:3. "And the angel of the
Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, 'Indeed
now you are barren and of born no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son." This is a unique event
that happened several times in the Bible, such as the birth of
Isaac in the Old Testament and John in the New Testament. This promise boy would
grow up to save Israel from the power of the Philistines. With this role came a job condition that none of the other judges had. The angel told Manoah's wife to raise the child according
to the Nazarite vow. This vow is explained to Numbers. Numbers 6:1-5. The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them, if a man or woman wants
to make a special vow, a vow dedication to
the Lord as a Nazarite, they must abstain from wine
and other fermented drink, and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape
juice or eat grapes or raisins. As long as they remain
under their Nazarite vow, they must not eat anything
that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins." During the entire period
of their Nazarite vow, no razor may be used on their head. They must be holy until the
period of their dedication to the Lord is over. They must let their hair grow long. This meant he couldn't drink wine or beer, and he couldn't trim his hair. Interestingly, the angel advise the woman not to consume wine or beer
while she was pregnant, nor to eat anything unclean. That meant her son would
be consecrated to God as a Nazarite, even while
he was still in the womb. Despite the fact that the heavenly visitor was speaking directly to her, the woman went to her husband and informed him what had transpired. Judges 13:8-13. "Then Manoah prayed to the
Lord and said, 'Oh my Lord, please let the man of God
whom you sent come to us again and teach us what we
shall do for the child who will be born." And God listened to the voice of Manoah. And the angel of God
came to the woman again, as she was sitting in the field, but Manoah, her husband was not with her. Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband and said to him, "Look, the man who came
to me the other day has just now appeared to me." So Manoah rose and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to this woman?" And he said, "I am." Manoah said, "Now let
your words come to pass. What will be the boy's
rule of life in his work?" So the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "Of all that, I said to the
woman, let her be careful. She may not eat anything
that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean." All that I commanded her, let her observe. Manoah probably mistook
him for a mere man sent from the Lord and said, "Please stay here, and we will prepare a young goat for you." The visitor agreed to stay, but said he wouldn't eat anything. It would be more appropriate for the couple to offer a burnt offering. When Manoah put the burnt
offer on a rock as requested, the visitor did something miraculous. He rose in the flame
and went up in the sky. At the site, Manoah and his
wife collapsed faced down on the ground. Suddenly, Manoah was terrified and said, "We're certainly going to die
because we have seen God." He rightly equated the
angel of the Lord with God. Judges 14:19-24. So Manoah took the young
goat with the grain offering and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And he did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on. It happened as the flame
went up toward heaven from the altar. The angel of the Lord ascended
in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. When the angel of the
Lord appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that he
was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife. "We shall surely die
because we have seen God." But his wife said to him, "If the Lord had desired to kill us, he would not have adapted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would he have shown
us all these things, nor would he have told
us such things as these at this time." So the woman bore a son
and called his name Samson. And the child grew and the Lord blessed him. And the spirit of the Lord
began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. Manoah's wife named her child Samson. God blessed him and the spirit of the Lord began to stir him, readying Samson for the
work prepared for him. Samson made some
questionable life decisions for a man who had been set apart for God's service since birth. Ultimately proving that
God can use a person in spite of himself. Samson went down to Timnah and saw a young Philistine woman there. He told his parents that
he wanted to marry her. His parents tried to
speak wisdom into his life by telling him he should not marry someone who is not part of God's people, but they didn't know that his interest in this particular
woman was from the Lord, who wanted the Philistines
to provide an opportunity for a confrontation. Judges 14:1-4. Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he said
to his father and mother, "I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife." His father and mother replied, "Isn't there an acceptable
woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the
uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?" But Samson said to his
father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me." His parents did not know
that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion
to confront the Philistines. For, at that time, they
were ruling over Israel. Samson was attacked by a young lion on his journey to Timnah
where his bride to be lived. And the spirit of the Lord
came upon him fiercely and he tore the line
apart with his bare hands. This was a strong indication
that he had been chosen and enabled by God for
a supernatural mission. In Judges 14:5-7. Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approach the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion
came roaring toward him. The spirit of the Lord
came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion
apart with his bare hands, as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his
father nor his mother, what he had done. Then he went down and talked with a woman and he liked her. Samson chose to pose a
riddle to the Philistines at a feast that was most
likely supposed to function as his engagement party. The prize for answering
the riddle within a week would be 30 changes of clothes. In biblical days, an additional set of clothing was a sign of honor and dignity. Samson, thinking about his recent kill and the honey that
accompanied it, exclaimed, "Out of the eater came something to eat and out of the strong
came something sweet." Judges 14:10-14. Now his father went down to see the woman and there, Samson held a feast, as was customary for young men. When the people saw him, they chose 30 men to be as companions. "Let me tell you a riddle," Samson said to them. "If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you 30 linen
garments and 30 sets of clothes. If you can't tell me the answer, you must give me 30 linen
garments and 30 sets of clothes." "Tell us your riddle," they said. Let's hear it. He replied, "Out of the eater, something to eat. Out of the strong, something sweet." For three days, they
can not give the answer. The Philistines grew enraged when they couldn't
figure out what it meant. The men threatened to kill Samson's bride, who was also one of their own and her family, unless she could get Samson to reveal her the answer
and share it with them. Frightened, she wept in front
of Samson for seven days. And finally he couldn't take it anymore because she had nagged him so much. As a result, he revealed the solution to her. Later, when the Philistine
man parroted the answer, Samson knew how they had obtained it. The spirit of the Lord
came powerfully on him and he killed 30 Philistine
men in another town, giving their clothes to these men to keep the deal he'd struck. He returned home after that, but not with his wife. After some time, Samson brought about further
destruction on the Philistines. He wanted to visit his wife, but her father would not
let him enter her room. He had given her to another man because he assumed Samson
was not happy with her. He destroyed their crops
by catching 300 foxes, tying their tails together
with rope and torches, setting them on fire, and
releasing them into their fields. Judges 15:1-5. Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat
and went to visit his wife. He said, "I'm going to my wife's room." But her father would not let him go in. "I was so sure you hated her, he said, 'that I gave her to your companion. Isn't her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead." Samson said to them, "This time, I have a right to get
even with the Philistines. I will really harm them." So he went out and caught 300 foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch
to every pair of tails, lit the torches, and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks
and standing grain, together with the
vineyards and olive groves. The Philistines retaliated by slaying Samson's wife and father. And Samson, in turn, avenged the murders with his bare hands. Judges 15:6-8. When the Philistines
asked, "Who did this?" They were told, "Samson,
the Timnite's son-in-law, because his wife was
given to his companion." So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death. Samson said to them, "Since you've acted like this, I swear that I won't stop
until I get my revenge on you." He attacked them viciously
and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam. The Philistines besieged
a village in Judah to pay Samson back while
he was hiding in a cave. To pacify the Philistines, 3000 men of Judah went to arrest Samson, saying that he had brought trouble on them by riling up the Philistines oppressors. Don't miss the irony here. They chose to deliver
over to the Philistines the man God had sent to save
them from the Philistines. Samson agreed to go along with them only after they promise
not to kill him themselves. Judges 15:12-13. They said to him, "We've come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines." Samson said, "Swear to me that you won't kill me yourselves. 'Agreed," they answered. "We will only tie you up
and hand you over to them. We will not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes and let them up from the rock. When the Philistines saw
Samson tied, approaching, they screamed out. But at that precise moment, the Lord's spirit descended
upon Samson in a strong way. This was bad news for the Philistines. You don't want the spirit of the Lord to fall down heavenly on
someone you're fighting. Samson's foes were outnumbered because he was empowered by God's spirit. Given his strength, the ropes used to bind
him were insignificant. He found a fresh donkey jawbone and used it to slaughter a thousand men. He was able to accomplish what
would have been impossible without the Lord's help. Judges 15:14-15. "As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him, shouting. The spirit of the Lord
came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms
became like charred flax and the binding dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck
down a thousand men. After finishing his
judgment on the Philistines, Samson got extremely thirsty
and cried out to the Lord. The Lord graciously replied
by restoring his vigor by creating a spring there. It was dubbed Spring of the
One Who Cried Out by Samson. And he judged Israel 20 years." Judges 15:18-20. Because he was very thirsty,
he cried out to the Lord. "You have given your
servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands
of the uncircumcised?" Then God opened up the
hollow place in Lehi and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength
returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore and it is still there in Lehi. Samson led Israel for 20 years in the days of the Philistines. When the Lord's spirit
descended upon Samson, he was accompanied by miraculous activity. In the Old Testament, the Lord's spirit descended on people in response to specific circumstances. Since the time of the
New Testament, however, the Lord's spirit has come
to dwell in every believer. Ephesians 1:13-14. "In whom ye also trusted, after that, ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that
Holy Spirit of promise, which is earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of
the purchase possession unto the praise of his glory." Romans 8:9. "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If so be that the spirit
of God dwells in you. Now, if any man have not
the spirit of Christ, he is none of his." That means, on the side of the cross, the supernatural presence
of God is not related to the spirit coming on believers, but to the fullness of the
spirit at work within us. The spirit came powerfully on Samson for supernatural purposes. This same spirit is still with us today. Galatians 5:16. "So I say, walk by the spirit and you will not gratify
the desires of the flesh." That is, we are so
preoccupied with living life according to the rules of the world that we forget to recognize
his presence in our lives. We should, on the other hand,
be filled with the spirit, which essentially implies
living under his authority. Ephesians 5:18. "Do not get drunk on wine,
which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the spirit." Samson's personal choices
become even more concerning at this point in the narrative. Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute
and went to bed with her. Now, for years, the people of Israel had
prostituted themselves with other gods. Judges 2:17. "And yet they would not
hearken unto their judges, but they went to whoring after other gods and bowed themselves onto them. They turn quickly out of the way, which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord. But they did not so." They had blatantly compromised with the surrounding culture
and betrayed the Lord. And by this season of his
life, Samson, the leader, was openly living in a way that reflected what Israel had been doing. This trend would be his downfall. The Philistines in Gaza discovered Samson was with the prostitute and
thought they had him trapped. They guarded the town's exit. But when Samson was ready to leave, he simply took hold of the
doors of the city gate, along with the two gate
posts, and pulled them out, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and took them to the top of the
mountain overlooking Hebron. You or I couldn't carry
these massive doors on blocks distance on level ground. This scene serves as proof that, though Samson was
outside of the will of God in when he was doing, God
had not left him, yet. Samson was in a downward spiral when Delilah entered his life
and he fell in love with her. In Judges 16:1-4. One day, Samson went to Gaza
where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. The people of Gaza were
told, "Samson is here," so they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him
all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night saying, "At dawn, we'll kill him." But Samson lay there only
until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold
of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his
shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron. Some time later, he fell
in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek,
whose name was Delilah. It is not clear whether
Delilah was a Philistine woman, but her loyalties lay with
them and their silver. The Philistine leaders
asked her to persuade Samson to confide in her about where
his great strength came from so that they could overpower him, tie him up, and make them helpless. They promised her great
deal of money for her aid. Judges 16:5 The rulers of the Philistines
went to her and said, "If you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him, each one of us we'll give
you 1,100 shekels of silver." Three times Delilah
tried to learn a secret while the Philistines lay
waiting to ambush him. Each time, Samson gave her a false story about the source of his strength, but she steadily wore him down. In the end, Delilah used the
very trick Samson's bride had once employed when she
betrayed him to the Philistines. She pleaded, "How can you say, I love you when your heart is not with me?" Judges 16:6-14. So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued." Samson answered her, "If anyone ties me with
seven fresh bow strings that have not been dried, I'll become as weak as any other man." Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bow strings that had not been dried
and she tied him with them. With men hidden in the
room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you." But he snapped the bow strings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his
strength was not discovered. Then Delilah said to Samson,
"You have made a fool of me. You lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied." He said, "If anyone ties
me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I'll become as weak as any other man." So Delilah took new ropes
and tied them with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson,
the Philistines are upon you." But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads. Delilah then said to
Samson, "All this time, you've been making a fool
of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied." He replied, "If you weave
the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom
and tighten it with the pin, I'll become as weak as any other man." So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric and
tightened it with the pin. Again, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you." He awoke from his sleep and
pulled up the pin in the loom with the fabric. She also accused him of making fun of her. Of course she wouldn't
set them up like this if she truly loved him. He finally gave her the whole truth because she nagged him day
after day until he was worn out. If his hair were cut, he would lose his strength
and become like any other man. Judges 16:15-17. Then she said to him, "How
can you say, I love you when you won't confide in me. This is the third time
you have made a fool of me and haven't told me the secret
of your great strength." With such nagging, she
prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it. So he told her everything. "No razor has been used
on my head," he said. "Because I've been a Nazarite dedicated to God from my mother's womb, if my head were shaved,
my strength would leave me and I would become as
weak as any other man." Delilah was not one to waste time. While he slept on her lap,
she shaved Samson's head. And because the Philistine
leaders were hiding in the shadows and I'd brought the silver, she was free to count her filthy money while the deed was done. Once Samson had been made helpless, we read these sad, pitiful words. When he awoke from his sleep, he said, "I will escape as I did before and shake myself free." But he did not know that
the Lord had left him. Samson made the mistake of
prioritizing his relationship with Delilah over his devotion to God and it cost him dearly. This is proof that no human relationship, no matter how intimate, can never be more important
than your relationship with God, Samson paid a high price
for his transgression. Samson's eyes were gouged out. He was shackled and he was forced to labor in prison by the Philistines. In other words, God's adversaries had taken
command of his every move. This serves as a reminder, that when God is removed
from the equation, Satan takes control of the issue. Judges 16:18-22. When Delilah saw that he
had told her everything, she sent word to the
rulers of the Philistines. "Come back once more. He has told me everything." So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair and so began to subdue him
and his strength left him. Then she called, "Samson, the
Philistines are upon you." He awoke from his sleep and thought, I'll go out as before
and shake myself free. But he did not know that
the Lord had left him. Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and
took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding
grain in the prison, but the hair on his
head began to grow again after it had been shaved. We get a sense here
that God wasn't finished with Samson just yet. Why did we need to be told that his hair, which was the source of his power, had started to regrow? His hair's return was an outward symbol that he was inwardly repentant
and turning back to God. His repentance would become apparent in his upcoming prayer to the Lord. To capture your full attention, God sometimes has to take you
as low as you can possibly go. Samson was at the bottom of the heap. However, his hair began to regrow. The Philistine leaders assembled
to give a huge sacrifice to their god, Dagan, while Samson crushed grain in the prison, They were all set to rejoice that their deity had
delivered their food to them. At their gathering, the
Philistines were cheerful. They summoned Samson to entertain them, placing him between the temples pillars. They are putting themselves
in a position to fail by doing so. The temple was packed and there was probably
3000 people on the roof. Recognizing this, Samson begged to God for one last time to empower him so that he could bring the
Philistines' roof down on them. He pushed with all of his power and the temple collapsed on the leaders and the entire populace. Judges 16:23-28. Now the rulers of the
Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice
to Dagan, their god. And to celebrate saying, "Our
God has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands." When the people saw him, they praise their god saying, "Our God has delivered
our enemy into our hands. The one who laid waste our
land and multiplied our slain." But while they were in high spirits, they shouted, "Bring out
Samson to entertain us." So they called Samson out of the prison and he performed for them. When they stood him among the pillars, Samson said to the
servant who held his hand, "Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple so
that I may lean against them." Now, the temple was
crowded with men and women. All the rulers of the
Philistines were there and on the roof were
about 3000 men and women watching Samson perform. Then Samson prayed to the Lord, "Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthened
me just once more. And let me with one blow get
revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes." Thus, Samson killed more
of Israel's oppressors that day than he had killed
all the rest of his days. Samson, unfortunately, had succumbed to the idolatrous culture around him and made bad decisions. Nonetheless, in Hebrews 11:32-33, Samson is mentioned in the hall of faith, along with other upright
Old Testament heroes, such as Daniel. And every heart should be filled with hope as a result of this inclusion. While Samson was far from flawless, he did get one thing right. He believed God could use
him to carry out his will. Therefore, let us trust God, submit to his agenda for our lives, and give him everything we have. There are also other great
stories of the people of God, such as Esther. To watch her story, click here. And to watch the story of angel Gabriel, who also gave messages
from heaven, click here.
