Samson part 2 of 3

Judges 13 to 16

re-told by Debbie Dunn

Story highlights:

* Spirit of the Lord enabled Samson to rip lion's jaws apart

* Samson fell in love with a pretty Philistine later murdered by her own people

* Samson won battle vs 1000 Philistines using donkey’s jawbone

Bible tale:

We will continue with the story about Samson that we started last week.

QUESTION: Who recalls what superpower Samson possessed?

Answer: Superhuman strength

That's right. Because Samson followed God's 3 rules for his life, God gave him superhuman strength.

QUESTION: Who recalls what superpower Samson possessed?

Answer: Superhuman strength

Speaking of strength, have YOU ever been so scared for your own safety or the safety of somebody you care about that you were able to run faster than you thought possible?

Have YOU ever found yourself in danger, or someone you care about, and found the physical strength you needed to help fix the situation?

That ability to run faster or be stronger happens when we experience an adrenaline rush coursing through our bodies, helping us to survive the situation.

In Samson's case, he did not experience an 'adrenaline rush.' Instead, when Samson found himself in danger, the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him.

This Spirit of the Lord was likely the Holy Spirit who would fill Samson with supernatural power. As a result, Samson displayed superhuman strength to do what he needed to do to survive.

In other words, Samson was not super-strong every moment of every day. It was only when the ever-watchful Holy Spirit saw that Samson was in danger.

One day, while Samson was out walking, he was attacked by a young lion. At that moment, the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson. As a result, Samson was able to easily rip the lion's jaws apart with his bare hands.

CHANT LEADER: Hooray for Samson!

[Group repeats]

He was strong and brave!

[Group repeats]

CHANT LEADER: Did Samson have a weakness?

[Group repeats]

He sure did! Samson loved pretty women! But instead of choosing a woman from his own tribe, he fell in love with the daughter of one of their enemies - the Philistines.

A bunch of bad things happened that included the Philistines murdering his wife and father-in-law. In revenge, Samson killed a bunch of Philistines.

Afterward, Samson went off to live in a cave. Unfortunately, that ‘revenge game’ never benefits anyone. Since the Philistines couldn't find Samson, they decided to threaten the Israelites.

Making a long story short, 3,000 Israelites came to Samson's cave. They explained that the Philistines were punishing them for something Samson had done.

As a result, Samson allowed his own people to tie him up and hand him over to 1,000 Philistine soldiers.

While the Philistine soldiers were cheering at the sight of the captured Samson, the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson. Therefore, Samson was able to snap those ropes as easily as if they had been spaghetti noodles.

CHANT LEADER: Yikes! It was 1,000 against 1.

[Group repeats].

What did Samson do next?

[Group repeats]

Samson looked around for a weapon. He found and picked up the jawbone of a dead donkey, swung it around, and killed all 1,000 Philistine soldiers.

Impressed, the Israelites asked Samson to be their next judge.

CHANT LEADER: How many years did Samson serve as Israel's judge?

[Group repeats].

Samson judged his people for 20 years.

CHANT LEADER: Samson was a good judge!

[Group repeats].

CHANT LEADER: Last week, you mentioned greedy Delilah. Did Samson meet Delilah at the end of those 20 years of judging Israel?