2. WHY SAMSON (bright sun) Judges 13-16
SAMSON, GIVEN TO ISRAEL Judges 13
His Birth - Miraculous
His Call - Deliverer
His Childhood – Touched by God
SAMSON’S MARRIED Judges 14-15
His Betrothal – Selfindulgent
His Feast - Prideful
His Revenge – Weakens the Philistines
SAMSON’S END Judges 16
His Moral Weakness - Lust
His Downfall – Giving into his flesh
His Victory – His humilty

3. HEBREWS 11:32-34
 And what shall I say further? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,
 Who by faith subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions,
Extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the devourings of the sword, out of frailty and weakness won strength and became stalwart, even mighty and resistless in battle…

4. 7 2 1 3 4 6 5

6. God spread the Judges around Israel.

7. THE CYCLE CONTINUES
Judges 13:1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for 40 years.

8. Judges 10: 6 Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, …and they forsook the LORD and did not serve HIm. 7 So the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines …. 8 From that year they harassed and oppressed the children of Israel for eighteen years—… so that Israel was severely distressed. 10 And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against You, because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals! 11 So the Lord said to the children of Israel, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites and from the people of Ammon and from the Philistines? 12 Also others who oppressed you; and you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hand. 13 Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more. 14 “Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress.

9. He said, NO. But they cried out more and changed their ways; Judges 10:15 And the children of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned! Do to us whatever seems best to You; only deliver us this day, we pray.” 16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord. And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.

10. God’s Mercy Makes Jonah Angry
Jonah 4 (ERV)1 Jonah was not happy that God saved the city. Jonah became angry. 2 He complained to the Lord and said, “Lord, I knew this would happen! I was in my own country, and you told me to come here. At that time I knew that you would forgive the people of this evil city, so I decided to run away to Tarshish. I knew that you are a kind God. I knew that you show mercy and don’t want to punish people. I knew that you are kind, and if these people stopped sinning, you would change your plans to destroy them. 3 So now, Lord, just kill me. It is better for me to die than to live.”

11. 3 Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman
3 Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman .. . you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 …please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, nor eat any unclean thing. 5 For behold, you shall conceive and bear son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” 

12. Judges 13:11, 18, 20 “ Are you the man who spoke to the woman
Judges 13:11, 18, 20 “ Are you the man who spoke to the woman?”, and He said, “I am”; But the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?”; For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar.

13. “I am.”
“Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” 
…and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. 20 For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar.

14. When either a man or a woman takes the vow; To separate himself to the LORD, nothing made of grapes or strong drink, no razor shall come to his head until the days are fulfilled of his vow, you shall not go near a dead body, even should family die, you shall not make yourself unclean for any reason, you are Holy to the LORD…

15. The child grew up and the LORD blessed him…the Spirit of the LORD began to stir in him…

16. WHY SAMSON (bright sun) Judges 13-16
SAMSON, GIVEN TO ISRAEL Judges 13
His Birth - Miraculous
His Call - Deliverer
His Childhood – Touched by God
SAMSON’S MARRIED Judges 14-15
His Betrothal – Self indulgent
His Feast - Prideful
His Revenge – Weakens the Philistines
SAMSON’S END Judges 16
His Moral Weakness - Lust
His Downfall – Giving into his flesh
His Victory – His humilty

17. 7 2 1 3 4 6 5

18. He declares to his parents, a woman I have seen in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines… now take her for me for a wife…. For she is right in mine eyes”…

19. Hill overlooking
Timnath in modern
day Israel, you can
see the vineyards
to the right as you go down the hill.

21.  9 So he scraped the honey into his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey out of the body of the dead lion.

22. Samson gets married.

23. Samson give his 30 companions a riddle:
Out of the eater came something to eat,
And out of the strong came something sweet.

24. 7 2 1 3 4 6 5

25. WHY SAMSON (bright sun) Judges 13-16
SAMSON, GIVEN TO ISRAEL Judges 13
His Birth - Miraculous
His Call - Deliverer
His Childhood – Touched by God
SAMSON’S MARRIED Judges 14-15
His Betrothal – Self indulgent
His Feast - Prideful
His Revenge – Weakens the Philistines
SAMSON’S END Judges 16
His Moral Weakness - Lust
His Downfall – Giving into his flesh
His Victory – His humilty

26. Samson uses ingenious means to bring the Philistines pain.

27. Samson dwells in the cave of the rock of Etam.

28. 7 2 1 3 4 6 5

29. “With the jawbone of an ass have I slain a thousand men.”

32. En-hakkor’e
Fountain of the Crier
Or Callers Spring

33. “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!”
For Samson did not know that the LORD had departed from him.

34. But the Philistines laid hold of him, bored out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza and bound him and he ground at the mill in prison.

35. Judges 16: 22
BUT SAMSONS HAIR BEGAN TO GROW……..

36. Excavation of ancient Philistine building showing the typical two pillar construction in Gaza.

37. SAMSON PRAYED
Judges 16: Then Samson called out to the LORD and said, “O LORD God, (earnestly) remember me, I pray You, and strengthen me, I pray You, only this once , O God, and let me have one vengeance upon the Philistines for both my eyes.”

38.  Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!”… So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life.

39. BY FAITH
 Who by faith subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions,
Extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the devourings of the sword, out of frailty and weakness won strength and became stalwart, even mighty and resistless in battle…

40. REVIEW OF JUDGES
Judges 1-3: Joshua’s charge, his death and Israel’s rebuke and rebellion.
Judges Israel’s Judges, how God uses all types to deliver His people from their own apostasy.
A righteous man- Othniel
An under- handed man- Ehud
A woman!!! Deborah
A weak and prideful man. Gideon
A son of a harlot Jephthah
A supernatural disobedient man. Samson
Judges A bleak picture of Israel’s spiritual apostasy. Until Samuel comes on the seen.