Say: While Samson was in prison, his hair began to grow again. Samson abandoned his God-assigned mission to please the woman who had stolen his affections. However, the account in Judges states that Samson’s choice would be used by God, and that God was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines (Judges 14:4). Once in the Philistine camp, however, Samson was again empowered by the Spirit of God. Application: We see that Samson did not inquire of God which woman he should pursue. Can Prisoners Be Truly Free While in Prison? I’ll become as weak as any other man.” - Judges 16:17. You don’t really hear about that part of the story, but usually skip right to the next part of his story. So the words of the Man of God did come to pass. Print subscriptions available in U.S., Canada and Europe, Article URL: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/change/faith/women-of-faith/manoahs-wife/. Unless otherwise noted the Scriptures taken from: Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version, (NIrV®). Some think he did, because his vow was to make a burnt offering. As Samson worked long, arduous hours at the mill, he undoubtedly reflected on his life, on how he had allowed his weaknesses to come between him and God. After the story of Samson, the book of Judges continues to tell of more failures of the Israelites. Hold up your scissors and make the cutting motion. Samson, legendary Israelite warrior and judge, or divinely inspired leader, renowned for the prodigious strength that he derived from his uncut hair. He would be raised as a Nazirite. They need the Lord (Acts 1:8). And in spite of his horrible failures and sins of great consequence, Samson's heart now turned to the Lord. On a later occasion, Samson decided to spend the night with a prostitute in the Philistine stronghold of Gaza. Samson’s life was full of pride, anger, and violence. He took a bunch of honey, ate some, and gave some to his parents. Spiritually speaking, Samson lost sight of his calling from God and gave up his greatest gift, his incredible physical strength, to please the woman who had captured his affections. It would appear that even though Samson was killing them for seemingly trivial reasons, God gave him the strength to do it. Yet Samson also knew that God was merciful and forgiving. So, did you learn anything from this list? Also, listen to your parent’s advice about who to have for a close friend. On the third day, God raised Him from the dead. For instance, it tells us that the most important thing is not her beauty, which will fade away, but that she loves the Lord (Proverbs 31:30). Nazirites took a vow of holiness to abstain from wine and grapes, to not cut their hair or beard, and to avoid contact with dead bodies. They held the temple up. Take her instead.”. As part of that vow, his hair was never to be cut. After Manoah listened to the Man, he offered to prepare a meal for Him. To learn more about our ministry and how you can partner with us to share God’s Word with people around the world, go to, OVERCOMING CHALLENGES WITH DIGITAL INNOVATION. So the secret of why he was so strong wasn’t discovered. Hoping to capture him, the Philistine leaders each offered Delilah a sum of money to collaborate with them in a scheme to uncover the secret of Samson's great strength. At the time, Samson was judge over Israel and had been taking out great vengeance on the Philistines. In Numbers 6:2-5, 8, God gave instructions for those who would take a Nazirite vow to separate themselves to the Lord for a specific time. They believed their god had delivered Samson into their hands. Manoah’s wife bore a son and called his name Samson. So, even though Manoah had prayed for the Man of God to appear to them both, He appeared to the woman. In the meantime, Samson’s wife was given to his chief companion.