Samson: Strength and God’s Help

Samson's feast had ended badly.

The guests had discovered the answer to his riddle, and Samson was very angry.

He went to another city. There was a fight there, and thirty men died.

Samson took their clothes and gave them to the men who had answered the riddle. Then he returned to his parents' home.

It was sad. His story reminds us that revenge can cause a great deal of pain.

Some time later, during the wheat harvest, Samson wanted to see his wife again.

He brought a young goat as a gift.

His sandals made soft sounds on the dirt path.

But when he arrived, he heard news he had not expected.

The young woman's father had thought Samson would never return. So he had given her to another man as his wife.

Samson felt hurt and became angry again.

He decided to damage the Philistines' fields.

He gathered three hundred foxes, tied them together in pairs by their tails, and placed a torch between each pair.

Then he let them loose among the crops.

The fire burned the wheat and the trees in the fields.

That was not a good way to deal with his pain. Animals and people were put in danger.

The Philistines answered with more violence. They killed Samson's wife and her father.

It was a very sad loss.

Samson fought them again. Then he went to a cave in the rock of Etam.

The wind blew between the rocks.

The Philistines still wanted to capture him.

They entered the region where the men of Judah lived.

Those men were part of the people of Israel, and they were afraid.

Many of them went to the cave to speak with Samson.

They told him they had come to tie him up and hand him over to the Philistines.

Samson asked them to promise that they would not attack him themselves.

They agreed.

Then they tied him with two new ropes and led him out of the cave.

Their footsteps stirred up a little dust.

When they reached a place called Lehi, the Philistines came out to meet him.

Samson was surrounded, and his hands were still tied.

Then the Spirit of God gave him strength again.

The ropes around his arms broke!

The bindings fell to the ground. Samson was free.

Near him lay the jawbone of a donkey.

A jawbone is the bone of the jaw, where the teeth are.

Samson picked it up and used it to fight the Philistines.

With it, he defeated a thousand men.

It was a terrible battle. God helped Samson when it seemed he could not escape.

Afterward, Samson dropped the jawbone.

The battle was over, but he was exhausted.

He was very, very thirsty.

He was strong, but he still needed help.

Then he called out to God:

“My God, you helped me. Now I am very thirsty. Please, help me again.”

God heard his prayer.

He opened a hollow place among the rocks, and water came out of it.

The water bubbled up and flowed gently.

Samson came close and drank.

Little by little, his strength returned.

That spring was given a name that remembered how Samson had called out to God.

Samson became a judge of Israel for twenty years.

A judge helped lead and defend the people.

God had given him special strength. But Samson also needed to learn to use it wisely.

And you, even though you are small, can ask God for help whenever you need it.

Samson's story would continue.