Samson

Samson's birth was announced by the angel of the Lord to his previously barren mother. The angel declared that Samson would be a Nazirite from birth—set apart to God with special vows including never cutting his hair, avoiding contact with dead bodies, and abstaining from wine and fermented drink. He would begin to deliver Israel from forty years of Philistine oppression.

From youth, Samson demonstrated supernatural strength when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. He tore apart a lion with his bare hands, killed thirty Philistines single-handedly, and caught three hundred foxes to destroy Philistine crops. On another occasion, he killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. His exploits against the Philistines made him famous and feared.

Yet Samson's greatest weakness was his attraction to Philistine women. His first wife was a Philistine from Timnah, and when she betrayed him by revealing the answer to his riddle, Samson's anger led to violence and ultimately her death. Later, he visited a prostitute in Gaza, and when the Philistines tried to capture him, he tore off the city gates and carried them away.

Samson's downfall came through his relationship with Delilah, another Philistine woman. The Philistine rulers bribed Delilah to discover the source of Samson's strength. Three times she asked and three times Samson lied to her, yet he foolishly continued the relationship. Finally, worn down by her persistent nagging, Samson revealed that his strength came from his Nazirite vow symbolized by his uncut hair.

While Samson slept on Delilah's lap, she had his seven braids cut off. When he awoke, he didn't realize the Lord had left him. The Philistines captured him, gouged out his eyes, and imprisoned him in Gaza, forcing him to grind grain like an animal. Yet as his hair began to grow back, so did the possibility of God's mercy.

The Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon, celebrating Samson's capture. They brought out the blind Samson to entertain them in their temple, where about three thousand people watched from the roof. Positioned between the temple's central pillars, Samson prayed for strength one last time. God answered, and Samson pushed the pillars apart, collapsing the temple. He killed more Philistines in his death than during his entire life. Samson's story demonstrates both the tragedy of squandered potential and the mercy of a God who can redeem even our greatest failures.