See Judges The end of his life was also his greatest act of faith. He had been weakened and his eyes had been gouged out. He was a prisoner and was being made a mocker of. But he turned to the Lord one last time for help and because of his great faith accomplished a great feat He is mentioned in the Hall of Faith Heb , Important acts and events: Killing thirty Philistines , torching the fields with three-hundred foxes , killing one thousand Philistines , bringing down the house with Philistines on the roof plus all inside How he died: Samson was finally captured by the Philistines because he gave in to the pestering of Delilah.
They gouged out his eyes and worked at a grinder in prison After some time they brought Samson out to make sport of him. He prayed for one last moment of strength and pushed the pillars, committing suicide while killing more than Philistines Just as we learned from Jonah, God can use anyone to serve Him.
Samson was fleshly, yet he did believe in and serve God. God used him in a mighty way. Just as Samson was willing to be used by God, we need to be to. A person full of faith can accomplish much! See Exodus God warned the Israelites many times that they should drive out the pagan nations from the land or they would be ensnared by them.
Samson is a classic example of this. Though he had great faith he could not overcome the temptations around him. The proximity of temptation day after day caused him to fall into sin. So what lesson is there to learn from this? We need to separate ourselves from temptations and not listen to it. Samson fell because he listened to Delilah day after day. Lust is a very dangerous temptation. Satan uses it to bring down great leaders and men full of faith.
It is relentless. Though it may bring temporary satisfaction the final result is destruction of the one who gives in to it. God warns believers of this continually throughout the Bible and we would be wise to distance ourselves from tempting situations, pray to God for strength, memorize Scripture to combat it, etc. Marrying or yoking ourselves with an unbeliever will also have bad consequences.
There will be tension and a pull between the two sides. Normally the unbeliever wins out and turns the believer away from God. God watches over His people and carries out His plans.
Israel was enslaved to the Philistines, but God planned to use Samson to free them, even from before he was born. We want to help you study the Bible, obey the Bible, and teach the Bible to others.
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Over 50, words of in depth discovery questions, teaching points, and applications cover each chapter in 23 lessons. You will receive our practical and in-depth Bible study of Hebrews in. What, then, is the meaning? This is an example of the use of a common Hebrew idiom, whereby God is said to actively do what he merely tolerates.
The Lord can take a bad situation and use it for the accomplishment of his own purpose. Does the pronoun refer to God, or to Samson? Though some Keil, attribute the action to Samson, more likely the reference is to Jehovah Kaiser, If that is the case, we must not assume that the Lord was arbitrarily looking for some excuse to justify the destruction of an innocent people.
No, the record of Philistine depravity is clear enough. Isaiah The meaning of the text, therefore, seems to be this. God, in his infinite wisdom and in the exercise of his sovereign power, allowed Samson to utilize his own freedom of choice — foolish though it was — yet the Lord turned the occasion into a victory for Israel over their oppressors.
The inspired writer of Hebrews obviously considered Samson as a real, historical person — as with the other Old Testament figures he mentions cf.
The early years of Samson are passed over quickly by the sacred writer. A study of the subsequent record, however, pinpoints many weaknesses in this man who was so strong physically. Let us focus attention upon this matter. He fraternized with a prostitute at Gaza , and fell head-over-heals for the treacherous Delilah — even though he could discern her designing intentions from the start. He subordinated spiritual interests to the flesh.
Additionally, Samson did not live up to his training and dedication as a Nazirite. He involved himself in a wine-drinking feast so the Hebrew term misteh of indicates Davis, He took honey from the carcass of a dead lion, thus violating laws regarding ceremonial separateness Numbers Finally, many of his heroic efforts appear to have been motivated by personal inclination of revenge , rather than a desire to establish the cause of a Holy God cf.
There is no evidence that he repudiated the divine appointment, of which his parents would have informed him. While he was marred by weakness, he did not hesitate to engage the enemy as a lone warrior. He never led an army; his victories were achieved with only Jehovah as a partner.
There are glimpses of trusting faith when he calls upon God for strength and sustenance Judges It is interesting that in his final prayer ff , he employs three names for God. He designates God as Adonai Lord , suggestive of the sovereignty or mastery of deity over man. Then there is the designation Elohim God which likely hints of the strength or power of deity see Stone. However, to provide balance, the following factors must be kept in mind.
The entire nation was characterized by a spirit of rebellion cf. One must remember that Samson judged Israel for twenty years ; the episodes recorded in the book do not represent the totality of his service. They were not defiant repudiations of the Creator, such as were those frequent meanderings into idolatry to which so many of the Hebrews were prone.
The fact that the Lord responded to this judge when he called out for help, is testimony that Samson was sincere in his devotion, though tragically weak in character. The Old Testament contains wonderful examples of how Almighty God can work a divine plan using even the most tarnished of characters.
The acts of Providence are amazing indeed. The examples of Balaam Numbers , Nebuchadnezzar Jeremiah , and Cyrus Isaiah are incredible cases of where God employed weak — sometimes even evil men — to weave his sacred purpose into the tapestry of history. One must, therefore, say this.
Though the case of Samson is at times perplexing, the problems associated with him are not insurmountable. He justly deserves censure. He was often profane like Esau — Hebrews , giving in to the urges of the flesh, but he was contrite at times as well. It is very likely that the concluding victory, in which he gave his life, was the precursor to that devastating defeat of the Philistines which was accomplished not long thereafter.
There is an interesting archaeological footnote which may be added to this discussion. Several Philistine temples have been discovered in recent years. At Tell Qasile, on the bank of the Yarkon River, just north of Tel Aviv, in the early s, the first remnants of Philistine temples were discovered. Amidst the ruins of these edifices were two circular stone pedestals about a yard apart upon which rested massive cedar pillars which supported the roof Negev, ; Rea, This descriptive is very reminiscent of the temple at Gaza, mentioned in Judges ff.
Jackson, Wayne. Access date: November 12, Topical Index. About Contact. A History of Israel. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.
Funderburk, G. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Merrill Tenney, ed.
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