Samson

Israel was under Philistine rule when the account of Samson begins. In Zorah lived Manoah, a man from the tribe of Dan, and his wife, who had no children. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said she would have a son. She was told to avoid wine, strong drink and unclean food. No razor was to come upon the boy's head, because he would be a Nazarite to God from the womb. He would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines.

Manoah prayed for the messenger to return, and he did. The instructions were repeated. Manoah later offered a burnt offering to the LORD, and the angel of the LORD went up in the flame from the altar. In time the promised child was born and named Samson. The LORD blessed him, and the Spirit of the LORD began to move him.

As an adult, Samson wanted to marry a Philistine woman from Timnath. His parents objected, but Judges says they did not know that this occasion was of the LORD against the Philistines. On the way, a young lion came against Samson, and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him so that he killed it. Later he found honey in its carcass. That became the basis of a riddle at his wedding feast. The dispute over the riddle led to conflict, and Samson's battles with the Philistines grew more severe.

At different times, the Spirit of the LORD gave Samson extraordinary strength. He escaped ropes that bound him and struck down many Philistines. After one battle he became desperately thirsty, and God provided water. Judges says Samson judged Israel for twenty years during the days of the Philistines.

Later Samson loved a woman named Delilah. Philistine rulers promised her money if she discovered the source of his strength. Samson gave her false answers several times, but finally told her that no razor had ever come upon his head because he had been a Nazarite to God from his mother's womb. While he slept, his hair was cut. His strength left him, and when the Philistines came, he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. They captured and blinded him. They kept him imprisoned, but his hair began to grow again.

At a large gathering in the house of their god Dagon, the Philistines brought Samson out. Samson prayed to God for strength once more. He pushed against the building's supporting pillars, and the house fell. Samson died along with many Philistines. His family took his body and buried him in his father's burial place.