1. TAKE HOLD MINISTRY SCHOOL THE CYCLE OF SIN IN JUDGES SAMSON SUBMITTED TO REV. BRIAN TICE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY BY MELISSA BISHOP 02 NOVEMBER GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

3. The Cycle of Sin in Judges
Samson

4. BREAKING NEWS Israel again found guilty of sinning in the eyes of the Lord and sent punishment of the Philistines(a people of southern Canaan)(1) to rule over Israel for 40 years. This being the longest period of rule in all of the book of Judges.(2) God grants a barren woman of the Tribe of Dan a child to be a life long Nazirite. They have named him “Samson” meaning “like the sun”(3). As a Nazirite he must never have anything from the vine, never come in contact with a dead body or the unclean, and never to cut his hair.(4) Prophecy reveals that Samson shall begin to deliver Israel from the Philistine rule.

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Of Philistine and their god, Dagon.
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SAMSON FALLS INTO SIN
Samson comes in contact with lion’s corpse. Late yesterday afternoon, Samson of the tribe of Dan was seen taking honey from the corpse of a lion that he had just slain. Allegedly, Samson takes the remaining honey, scoops it up with his hands and makes a visit to his family’s home where he presents the honey to his parents. They all ate the honey, never knowing where it came from. Samson’s guilt may have kept this information from the ones he loved.
Samson takes a Philistine wife. Samson has a weakness for women and he married a Philistine woman, still unnamed. Samson held a feast (with possible wine)(5) to celebrate his marriage. Thirty Philistine men came the feast, at which Samson told a riddle offering a reward to the man that solved the riddle first. The men threatened Samson’s wife into nagging him until he told her the answer to his riddle, which she told to her Philistine mates. Samson sought revenge on the men and his wife was given to his friend.
Samson loses his strength.
Samson headed to Gaza shortly after the revenge on the Philistine men when he fell in love with another Philistine woman named Delilah. Delilah deceived Samson by trying to take his strength away from him by binding him with seven withes (slender flexible branches or twigs)(6). Samson admitted to his hair being the source of his strength and Delilah cut his hair when he was sleeping. The Philistines are praising their god, Dugan for overtaking Samson.

6. SAMSON DELIEVERS ISRAEL!
Samson’s story in common application.
The amount of lessons to learn from this story are almost limitless. Samson’s birth was a literal gift from God, so as Samson himself could be used for God’s will. Samson was very aware of his mission, yet he took his own stops a long the way to give into worldly lusts. This is far too common in our own lives. Some of us know exactly what God’s will for our life is, and we take completely opposite paths because we think we’ve got it figured out and we can be in control. I believe that’s what creates a broken person. We are the cause of our own destruction, and simply because rather than seek the counsel of the Lord, we try and take control. We will always fall, and unfailingly, when we do, God is there to restore us, just as he did with Samson.
SAMSON DELIEVERS ISRAEL!
Samson sacrifices life to do God’s will. Samson was forced to entertain the Philistines
he said a prayer that went something like “O Sovereign Lord, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge
and during one of his performances he was bound to two pillars that helped support the temple of the Philistines. There were thousands of men and women watching Samson perform when
on the philistines for my two eyes”. Then Samson yelled out “Let me die with the Philistines!” He tore down the temple, thus killing more when he died than while he lived.

7. The English dictionary. N.p.: Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2011.
End Notes and Sources
Bosland, J. The Philistines. N.p.: n.p., Web. 2 Nov
Gordon, I. The message of Judges, Chapter 13. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov <
N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov <
Milgrom, Jacob. The Jewish Virtual Library. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov <
The English dictionary. N.p.: Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 2 Nov