The Life of Samson

The Life of Samson

History Leading to Samson’s Situation:

To understand Samson’s story, we must first understand what was going on during his life.  Long before Samson, the Israelites were freed from slavery with the help of their leader and judge, Moses.  But they were complainers and served other gods.  This made God furious and God decided to make them wonder in the wilderness for one generation (40 years).  The next generation was brought into the promised land. 

But through the years,  Israel’s kings kept backsliding and worshiping other gods.  So again, God took the promised land out of the hands of the Israelites for one generation (40 years).  God allowed the Philistines to come in and take over.   Even though there were Israelites still living in the promised land, the Philistines were ruling the land (Scriptures 1 – God Delivered Israelites to the Philistines for Forty Years –  Judges 13:1). 

The Purpose of Samson:

Samson was born during the time when the Philistines were ruling the land.  He was born for a specific purpose.  His life purpose was to lead in the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines. 

The Visit from an Angel:

We know this because an angel visited Samson’s parents and explained it to them (Scriptures 2 – The Visit from an Angel –  Judges 13:2-5).  Before the angel’s visit, the couple was unable to conceive and Samson’s mother was barren.  The angel explained that they will have a son and he will be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb.  And that he will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.

A Nazarite:

A Nazarite is a person dedicated to God.   The Jewish laws regarding a Nazirite was first given to Moses (Scriptures 3 – To Be a Nazirite –  Numbers 6:1-7).  He must not ever eat or drink anything that comes from the grapevine or shave his head.   If he shaves his head, the power of God will leave him.

So Samson knew his reason for living.  God blessed him and he grew up to have superior strength.

Married a Philistine Woman:

He married a Philistine woman so he could get the opportunity to confront the Philistines (Scriptures 4 – Samson Married a Philistine Woman – Judges 14:1-4).  And confrontations did happen.  The Philistines used his wife against him and threatened to burn her and her father to death if she didn’t do what they said.  It ended up with the Philistines giving his wife to another man and then actually burning her and her father to death which of course made Samson’s angry burn.

Samson Had Superior Strength:

The Philistines kept trying to arrest Samson, but Samson was too strong for them.   Once when they tried to arrest him, he picked up a fresh donkey’s jawbone and killed 1,000 Philistines with it (Scriptures 5 – Samson Killed 1,000 Philistines –  Judges 15:9-16).  Samson could never be subdued.  He was too strong.  No rope was strong enough that he could not break free from.

Samson Let Israel for 20 Years:

The Bible states that Samson led Israel for 20 years (Scriptures 6 – Led Israel for 20 Years in the Days of Philistines –  Judges 15:20 & 16:31).  But Samson seemed to be a one man army.  He wasn’t a military leader that sent his army of people into battle.  But more he did all the battling himself, killing the Philistines with his own bare hands. Which was setting the way for the Israelites to get their land back.

Delilah Bribed by Philistines:

Towards the end of his life, he married a women named Delilah.   The Philistines bribed her with eleven hundred shekels of silver to find out the secret of his strength, so they could capture him.   She accepted their bribe (Scriptures 7 – Philistines Bribed Delilah –  Judges 16:1-5).  She nagged Samson until he finally told her the secret to his strength (Scriptures 8 –  Delilah Nagged Samson Until he Gave the Secret of His Strength –  Judges 16:6-17).

Samson had to have known what she was doing.   He would tell her a lie of how to subdue him and she would try that lie, and send the Philistines to capture him.  But he broke free every time.   This happened several times.  He certainly knew if he gave her the secret, that he would be captured.  It almost seems like he knew it had to be a self-sacrifice in order to fulfil his purpose in life.   

Samson Captured:

Secretly during his sleep, Delilah had Samson’s head shaved and the power of God left him.  So the Philistines were finally able to capture him.   They gouged his eyes out and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison (Scriptures 9 –  Samson Seized by Philistines –  Judges 16:18-21).

Samson’s Death:

But Samson’s story doesn’t end there.  One day all the Philistine leaders gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god and celebrate Samson’s capture.  All the Philistine rulers were there.  The temple was full of men and women, plus there were about 3,000 Philistines on the roof.  They brought in Samson so they could be entertained by him and mock him.  Samson asked the servants to put his hands on two pillars so he could lean against them, and they did.  Samson cried out one last prayer for God to give him strength one last time.  The power of God came over him.  He pushed the pillars with all his might and the temple came tumbling down, killing everyone including Samsom (Scriptures 10 – Samson’s Death –  Judges 16:23-30).  Samson killed more Philistines with his death than he did during all his life.

Now with all the Philistine rulers dead, the Israelites would be able to take back their land.  Samson fulfilled his purpose.

PDF: The Life of Samson

See: Life of Samson Bible Study Worksheet

Also See: Part 1 #14 What is God’s Will for You?

See: Part 3 #7 A Prayer for Purpose

Also See: Free Bible Study Worksheets

Also See: Part 3 – List of Prayers

My Testimony