Samson and Delilah

Samson and Delilah
Judges 16:4-22

Now it came to pass that Samson loved a woman called Delilah. And the Philistines asked Delilah to find out why Samson was so strong, so that they would know how to defeat him, and they promised her 1,100 pieces of silver.

And so Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me why you are so strong, and how could anyone defeat you?" and so Samson said "If they tie me up with 7 ropes that have not been dried, then I will be weak like any other man" And so the Philistines brought Delilah seven ropes that had not been dried, and she tied Samson up. And she said "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" And he broke the rope very easily, so his strength was not known because Samson had not told the real reason.

And again Delilah said to Samson "you have teased me and told me lies, now tell me how you can be bound." And Samson said "If they tie me up with ropes that have never been used, then I shall be weak like other men". And so Delilah took new ropes and tied him up and said "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!", but Samson broke them like threads because he had not told the real reason.

And so again Delilah said to Samson, "You have teased me again and lied to me, how can you be bound?" And he said to her "If you weave my hair with a pin" And so Delilah fastened his hair with a pin, and said "The Philistines are upon you!" And Samson went away with the pin.

And so Delilah again said to him "How can you say you love me when you have teased me these three times and have not told me why you are so strong." And every day she said this to him, and it bothered Samson very much. And so finally he told her the truth, and he said "I have never been shaven with a razor on my head, because all my life I have been a Nazarene unto God. If I am shaven, then my strength will go from me and I will be weak as any other man."

And when Delilah saw that he had told her the truth, she told the Philistines, and they brought her the money they had promised her. And Delilah made Samson sleep upon her knees, and she called for someone to come and shave off all his hair, and Samson's strength went from him. And she said "The Philistines are upon you Samson" and he woke up but he did not know that his strength had left him, and so the Philistines took him, made him blind, and took him to a place called Gaza where they put cuffs of brass on him and made him work in the prison. But after Samson was shaven, the hair of his head began to grow again.

Memory Verse: Judges 16:20 "....he knew not that the LORD was departed from him."

Questions:
1. What did the Philistines promise Delilah?
2. Why do you think Samson let Delilah tie him up?
3. What was the real secret to Samson's strength?
4. What did Delilah do to Samson so that they could shave him?
5. What happened to Samson after he was shaven.

Answers:
1. They promised her 1,100 pieces of silver
2. Because he knew he had not told her the real reason for his strength
3. He was a Nazarene unto God, and his hair had never been shaven.
4. She made him go to sleep upon her knees.
5. His strength left him and the Philistines tied him up and put him in prison.

Vicki C. Gross/Oct'02

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