Samson and Delilah

Judges 13:1–16:31

The strongest man who ever lived couldn't resist the weakest temptation.

Samson is set apart from birth — a Nazirite, empowered by God's Spirit, supernaturally strong. He kills a lion with his bare hands. He strikes down a thousand Philistines with a donkey's jawbone. He's unstoppable. But he has a weakness for Philistine women, and the Philistines know it. They send Delilah. Night after night she asks: Where does your strength come from? Three times he lies. Three times she tests his answer. Finally, worn down, he tells the truth: his hair, never cut, the sign of his vow to God. She shaves his head while he sleeps. His strength leaves. The Philistines gouge out his eyes and chain him to a grinding mill. But his hair begins to grow back.

• Temptation
• Betrayal
• Strength and Weakness
• Tragic Hero