Day 2

As Judges 13:1 opens, we read this, “Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, so that the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines forty years.” The people of Israel continued to rebel against the Lord God Almighty. God’s discipline is never easy, but God’s goal in His discipline is shared with us in Hebrews 12:...

God gave Manoah and his wife a boy, and we read at the end of Judges 13:24–25, “Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the Lord blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.” The Lord chose to bless Samson for His purpose. God blessed him by ...

In Judges 14:17, God shows us that Samson’s wife manipulated him into revealing the answer to his riddle. In yesterday’s devotion, we saw that Samson’s wife had no trust in how God had blessed Samson with His Holy Spirit. She allowed her fear to lead her into manipulation and Samson finally gave in to her. She had tormented him seven straight...

Samson had lost his wife to his best man, and when he found out (Judges 15:1–3), his anger was that much worse. There is no doubt that God raised Samson up to be His judge over Israel and to bring His judgment upon the Philistines, but Samson struggled with his anger. God still uses us, even with the weaknesses in our lives. We must remember ...

The Philistines decided they had had enough of Samson and so they sent an army to kill him. They camped against Judah and the men of Judah asked the Philistines why they had come against them. The Philistines let the men of Judah know that they had come for Samson. So, 3,000 men of Judah went to Samson and told him they had come to bind him a...

Samson not only had an anger problem, but he also had a problem with the lust of the flesh. He used women for his pleasure and was easily swayed by them. Delilah was one of those women he was easily swayed by. She asked him three different times what it would take to overcome him. He lied to her all three times, but nonetheless, she actually ...

Samson gave in to Delilah’s relentless badgering, and it cost him everything. Samson’s head had been shaved while he slept, and according to Judges 16:20, “he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.” Samson was alone and the Philistines came and “gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains...