Old Testament 1 Lesson 9

1. saMson kiLLed a young Lion:
Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came
to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
And the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he
would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his
father or his mother what he had done
— JuDGes 14:5-6
2. saMson sLew thirty Men:
And the spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon,
and slew thirty men
— JuDGes 14:19
3. saMson sLew one thousand Men:
...and they (the Philistines) bound him with two new cords, and brought him
up from the rock. And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against
him: and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that
were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed
from off his hands, And he found a new jawbone of an ass (donkey), and put
forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith
— JuDGes 15:13-15
SAMSON’S WEAKNESS
Although Samson was a great man in many ways, he did have a serious
weakness in his life when it came to pagan women. As soon as he became of
age, he fell in love with one of the daughters of the Philistines, and insisted
on marrying her, despite his parents’ objections (Judges 14:1-3).
On another occasion, he was almost captured by the Philistines, while he
was visiting a prostitute in the city of Gaza (Judges 16:1-3). After that, comes
the familiar story of Delilah.
Delilah was an attractive woman who knew just how to act around men to
get what she wanted from them. Samson fell in love with her, although such
a relationship was contrary to God’s law, because she was a Philistine. The
Philistine lords, knowing of his love for her, promised her 1100 pieces of silver
each if she would discover the secret of his great strength (Judges 16:4-5).
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