A long time ago the people of Israel were behaving very badly
they did not do what God wanted them to do
which made God very upset he also did not want God to rule them
finally, God decided to teach them a lesson and sent the Philistines to rule over them
well they did not want to follow the path I have shown
now they will see what happens
The Philistines were very evil people and tormented and tortured the Israelites
however though God was angry with the Israelites he also loved them a lot
and couldn't see them being tortured for long God then decided that he would send a very strong Nazarite
one who would be dedicated to the Lord to free the Israelites from the rule of the cruel Philistines
he chose a childless couple Manoah and his wife who lived in the city of Zorah
when God visited them and told them that soon a son would be born to them they were overjoyed
thank you, Lord thank you so much for hearing our prayers listen carefully Manoah
the son who will be born to you will be very very strong but you have to make sure that his hair is never cut
he will free the Israelites from the evil of Philistines
as God had said soon a son was born to Manoah and his wife they named him Samson
look how beautiful and strong our son has grown up to be
his hair looks like the mane of a lion yes and as the Lord said he is as strong as a lion
Samson fell in love with a lady who is a Philistine
when he told his parents about it they were very upset
you know how the Philistines are and still, you want to marry one of them what is wrong with you son?
just because she is a Philistine doesn't mean she has to be bad
Manoah and his wife had no choice but to give in to Samson's wish and they set about making arrangements for the marriage
however, Samson's mother was very sad
oh lord have mercy we don't know how to convince our son not to marry a Philistine women
before the marriage could take place Samson realized that the woman he was about to marry had betrayed him
he became very angry and called off the wedding
thank the Lord our prayers have been answered
after some time Samson visited the valley of Sorek
there he saw a woman named Delilah with whom he immediately fell in love
you are very lovely I would like to marry you
when the Philistines came to know about Samson's love for Delilah they went to her
we hear the mighty Samson is falling in love with you
is that true? yes sir he has told me so well then we want you to do something for us
tell me sir what can I do for you I would do my best to do as you desire
we want to know the secret behind Samson's strength
so that it will be possible for us to defeat him I will try my best to find out sir
so one day when Delilah saw that Samson was in a good mood, she asked him
everyone fears you Samson tell me what is the secret behind your success
what do you want to know dear Delilah?
I want to know everything about you is there anything wrong with that
no no nothing wrong, nothing wrong at all
hmm well if I were to be tied up with fresh Bose drinks which have not been dried
then my strength would be lost and I would be like any other man
really let me try and see for myself come here I am going to tie you up with fresh bowstrings
Delilah quickly tied up Samson with bowstrings
and then shouted loudly so that the Philistine men who were hiding outside could hear
Samson Samson look the Philistines are coming
Samson quickly got up and stretched the bowstring snapped as though they were made of cotton
you lied to me this shows that you do not love me
no, no Delilah of course I love you
Delilah kept nagging Samson to tell her the secret of his strength all the time
finally, Samson got fed up and told her my real strength lies in my hair
my life is dedicated to God and I have never cut my hair
if my hair were to be cut my strength would also go
are you really telling me the truth this time? yes Delilah that is the truth
Delilah sent a message to the Philistines that night telling him that she now knew the secret to Samson's strength
so when Samson slept that night a Philistine man came quietly into his room and cut off his hair
this time when Delilah shouted that the Philistines had come Samson did not have the power to fight them
ah I have been betrayed
the Philistines took away Samson and put him in prison the evil men even gouged his eyes out
we have finally been able to subdue our enemy
no one can beat us now blind Sampson was made to grind grain in prison by the cruel Philistines
they enjoyed seeing him suffer the person I loved and trusted let me down I will take my revenge God help me
while in prison Samson's hair slowly started growing back and his strength also started returning
but the Philistines were not aware of it
soon after a feast was organized by the Philistines for offering a sacrifice to their God Dagon
why don't we get Samson the great to entertain us during the feast
what a great idea we shall see how strong he is now
the guards of the prison were instructed to bring Samson to the temple where the feast was being held
come on Samson everyone is waiting for you to show them your great strength
Oh God just once more please give me my strength back
I have to pay these Philistines back for making me blind I pray to thee my lord help me
the guards led Samson to the temple where the feast was being held
you wait here, let us go and check where they want you to perform
the guard left Samson standing between the two main pillars on which the temple stood
Samson could hear a lot of noise he understood that there were many people gathered in the temple
as he groped around with his hands he felt the pillars on either side of him
once again I pray to thee my lord give me the strength to avenge the evil that the Philistines have done
I wish that I also should die along with them
Samson positioned himself firmly between the pillars spreading out his arms
he then used all the strength he had to push the pillars
when he did that the pillars fell down and the roof of the temple came crashing down killing all the people inside
in this way, in one stroke Samson killed more Philistines than he had in his entire life
though he also got killed in the process
when news of what had happened reached his family his brothers and other members of his father's family rushed there
let us take our dear brothers body and give him a decent burial which he deserves
Samson's family took his body to Zora
and buried him between the towns of zorah and eshtaol in the tomb where his father manoa lay