Book of the Bible: Judges 13-16
Who was Samson?
He was a judge of Israel
He was a Nazarite meaning:
He couldn’t drink alcohol, eat unclean food, or cut his hair
God had given him super strength
Before Samson was born, an angel appeared to his parents and told them that they would have a son and he would begin to deliver the nation of Israel from the hands of the Philistines. When Samson was born he was dedicated as a Nazarite and God blessed him as he grew. God gave Samson superhuman strength that he used to save himself in many situations.
Cool Things Samson Did:
Killed a lion with his bare hands
Caught 300 foxes, tied their tails together, and set them on fire to destroy the Philistines’ crops
Killed 1,000 Philistine men with a donkey jawbone
Constantly broke free after the Philistines tried tying him up
Broke the doors of a metal gate that the Philistines had trapped him in
During this time, the Israelites were under heavy oppression from the Philistines. But, God used Samson to fight back and he began to free the people from the Philistines. However, Samson started hanging out with the wrong people and it got him in trouble.
Samson became friends with a Philistine woman named Delilah. Samson liked Delilah, but he didn’t know she was secretly working with the Philistine army. Delilah’s job was to find out how Samson received his super strength and if it was possible for him to lose it.
Delilah begged Samson over and over again how he received his strength and he eventually told her. He told her that if his hair was ever cut then he would lose all his strength. Delilah then told the army that if they cut his hair, they could defeat him. So they snuck in his room while he slept and they cut his hair and captured him since he had no strength.
The Philistines gouged Samson’s eyes out and they made him their slave. One day when Samson was tied up, he prayed that God would give him strength one last time. God answered Samson’s prayer and he tore down the whole Philistine temple, killing 3,000 people. In this act, Samson killed more Philistines than he ever did in his life, but he also died when the temple came down.
We can learn many things from Samson, but what we learn most is the consequences of having bad friends. God was using Samson in great ways, and God wanted to continue to use him. But Samson chose a bad friend and that relationship got in the way of his relationship with God and it caused him to lose his strength, be captured, and eventually die.
Samson reminds us of another guy God used in the Bible, Jesus. But unlike Samson, Jesus chose good friends and never let anyone get in between his relationship with God. Jesus was able to fulfill everything God had called him to do because he stayed focused and always listened to what God was telling him to do.
Key Takeaways:
Choose Your Friends Carefully
Stay Focused
Parents, 3treesKIDS will be covering “Samson", both in-person and online this week. Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.
To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.