SAMSON.  We read the story of Samson in Judges 13:-16:  He judge Israel for

twenty years (16: 31), so it is clear that in these four chapters only the most important

events have been recorded.

The children of Israel "did evil in the sight of the Lord", so the Lord delivered Israel

into the hand of the Philistines for a period of forty years.

There was a man of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah, and his wife

was barren. The Angel of the Lord appeared to his wife, and told her that she should

have a son. She was instructed to drink no wine nor strong drink, for her son was to be a

Nazarite from the very first day of his life. No razor was to be used on his head, and his

God-given task was "to begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines" (13: 5).

The Angel of the Lord appeared a second time and confirmed to Manoah that his wife

should indeed have a son, and he repeated the instructions given to his wife. Manaoh

wanted to entertain the angel, thinking the angel was a man. The Angel refused to eat the

meal that Manoah prepared but the Angel said it would be acceptable if the meal were

offered as a burnt offering to the Lord. As Manoah carried out the wish of the Angel, the

flames ascended from the altar and then the Angel ascended to heaven in the flame. So

Manoah and his wife knew that the messenger was not a man, but an Angel of the Lord.

In the following chapters we read of the exploits of Samson and there are numerous

examples of his great strength. He was so strong that he slaughtered many Philistines.

The cause of Samson's downfall was his love of Philistine women. In chapter 14:,

we read that Samson went to Timnath and fell in love with one of the daughters of the

Philistines. He returned to his father and mother and asked them to arrange a marriage

with the woman. His parents rebuked him saying "Is there never a woman among the

daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the

uncircumcised Philistines?" (14: 3). But Samson insisted and he had his own way.

At the marriage feast, Samson asked a riddle, "Out of the eater came forth meat, and

out of the strong came forth sweetness". He gave seven days for the answer, but after

three days no one had any idea of the solution. The thirty companions threatened the

bride that if she did not tell them the answer, they would burn her and her father's house

with fire. She wept before Samson until he revealed the secret. After killing thirty men

to secure thirty changes of garments to satisfy his debt, he returned to his father's house

in a fury.

Because Samson had left his wife, the bride's father gave her to a friend of Samson.

So when Samson returned and announced his intention of being with his wife, her father

would not allow him to see her. This annoyed Samson so much that he set fire to the

cornfields, vineyards and olives which belonged to the Philistines. In their turn, the

Philistines were angry and burnt the wife and her father. Samson said "Though ye have

done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease" (15: 7). So Samson

slaughtered a great number of Philistines.