This week we
shall continue the study of the Book of
Judges of the Old Testament.
(1) If you are reading only 13:24-35, what might you expect from this new judge, Samson? How different should he be from other judges in the past? Why?
(2) With more than 40 years of occupation by and co-habitation with the Philistines, perhaps to marry a Philistine was not a big deal for the average Israelite. But for Samson to ask for a Philistine woman as his wife was a different story. Do you agree? Why or why not?
(3) What was the reply of Samson’s parents? Was the reply simply an expression of racial custom and culture or more?
(4) How would you interpret v. 4?
a. The Lord endorsed Samson’s choice of a woman (from among the uncircumcised) even as a Nazirite.
b. The Lord could even use Samson’s lustful nature to accomplish His plan.
c. Or…?
(5) Irrespective of whether it was God-pleasing or not, what does the fact that Samson was consummating this marriage with the parents’ consent signify?
(6) Was the incident of the meeting with and killing of the lion superfluous?
a. Since no one knew of his killing of the lion, what did the empowering of the Spirit mean to Samson?
b. Should he eat of the honey from the carcass of the lion? (Lev. 11:39-40)
c. Should he have told his parents where he got the honey?
(7) As much as the Lord empowered Samson to kill the lion, and would be using this marriage for His purpose, judging from this passage, what kind of a Nazirite was Samson?
(8) Pause and reflect on the main message to you today. How may you apply it to your life?
(1) When Samson told his companions the riddle, did he expect them to solve it? Did he expect them to react so violently? Why or why not?
(2) What was the “ante” of the bet?
(3) Was the “ante” excessive? How did the Philistine companions react when they could not solve the riddle?
(4) How did their threat show the kind of people these Philistines were?
(5) Can you blame the wife for her action? What alternatives might she have?
(6) In yielding to his wife, what kind of weakness did Samson reveal of himself?
(7) What might the implications be in Samson’s reply in v. 18?
(8) How did Samson satisfy his betting losses?
(9) Was his anger justified? Were the actions taken by him justified as a result?
(10) The Bible attributes his power to the Lord. Why would God condone such a killing?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
Ashkelon was one of the five cities occupied by the Philistines (see Jdg. 1:18; Jos. 13:3).
(1) What was Samson’s purpose in bringing a young goat to visit his wife?
(2) Do you think Samson knew about the situation of his wife?
(3) With the giving of his married daughter to another man, what kind of a father was Samson’s father-in-law? Why did he offer Samson his other daughter?
(4) What did Samson mean by saying, “This time, I have a right to…harm them.”? What other time was he comparing this with?
(5) How great a destruction did Samson cause to the Philistines?
(6) What did the Philistines do to Samson’s father-in-law and why?
(7) Shouldn’t they take revenge on Samson?
(8) How did their action show (a) how they viewed the action of Samson’s father-in-law? And (b) the kind of society it was?
(9) With the burning of their fields, did Samson anticipate the consequences of his action? What did he do to exact his revenge? Could he truly say that it was a “revenge”?
(10) What kind of a person was Samson?
(11) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) While scholars have a hard time determining where Etam was, the fact that the Philistines camped at Judah suggests that it was near or in Judah:
a. What was Judah’s reaction to their encampment?
b. Why did they have to take 3,000 men to meet with Samson?
(2) Why did Samson allow them to tie him down?
(3) Why did Samson make the men of Judah swear to him? What if they relented on their oath?
(4) How many Philistines did he kill? With what did he kill them?
(5) Why did he not try to persuade the men of Judah to follow him and join him in his attack against the Philistines?
(6) What if he chose not to do it himself, but to involve other Israelites in his cause?
(7) What did God use to help Samson recognize that the victory was not his but the Lord’s?
(8) What was the result of this huge victory according to v. 20?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) Do you think it was the first time this “Judge” of Israel engaged a prostitute?
(2) Why did he choose to venture into Philistine territory, probably alone? Was he being careless, or was he being fearless? Why?
(3) What kind of a Nazirite was Samson now?
(4) Why didn’t the Gazarites kill him at night?
(5) The lifting of the city’s gate all the way to the top of the hill was definitely a demonstration of unusual power. Why did he do it?
(6) The Bible does not mention about what happened to the men lying in wait at the city’s gate. What do you think happened?
(7) Samson now fell in love with Delilah. Did he marry her? Why not?
(8) What kind of a society did the life of this “Judge” of Israel portray? Is ours any different?
(9) Why did God still use him? Why did God not rebuke him?
(10) Why did the Philistines think that Samson would lose his power somehow? What kind of weakness had they already discovered about Samson?
(11) In the face of the request of the rulers, what options were open to Delilah?
(12) What were the reasons that she chose to work with them?
(13) As incredible as it was,
a. Why did Delilah choose to ask him such a direct question about his strength without worrying about tipping him off?
b. Why did Samson choose to lie to her?
(14) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) While we are not told if Samson knew
of the plot, common sense dictates that he should at least sense something
was wrong with Delilah and her request, especially in view of the prior
betrayal by his wife:
a. What should Samson have done with this first experience of being tied up by Delilah?
b. Why did he not suspect, kill or at least leave Delilah? Was it “love” or “lust”? Was it “over-confidence”?
(2) How should Samson respond to Delilah’s second request?
(3) Why did Delilah dare to test Samson three times?
(4) With these three incidents, how
would you describe Samson’s condition in the following terms?
a. being a Nazirite
b. being a judge of Israel
c. being slave to his lust
(5) Was it the nagging that really caused him to be “tired to death” and reveal his secret to his strength?
(6) How did Samson understand the relationship of his hair and his strength? How did such a relationship speak to his understanding of his relationship with God?
(7) The Bible says, “So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands.” What does it mean?
(8) How could his hair be shaved off without him being aware of it? How did it speak to Samson’s inner condition metaphorically?
(9) Was it really the shaving of his head that caused his strength to disappear? Why or why not?
(10) What important lesson can we learn from his failure? (Look up Hos. 4:11.)
(11) How tragic was the consequence? Could it have been avoided? Why or why not?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) We have been reading about the struggle of the Israelites against the Philistines, but v. 23 gives us another dimension or perhaps the real dimension of this struggle. What was the struggle about?
(2) How might this speak to your struggle today?
(3) With his eyes gouged out, himself captured and now humiliated before the Philistines, what might Samson be able to “see” that he didn’t before?
(4) How might God help you see what you may not be able to see before?
(5) What was the prayer uttered by Samson? Did he see what he ought to see by now? Why or why not?
(6) What was the result of his prayer?
(7) V. 30 is kind of like an epitaph for Samson in that “he killed many more when he died than while he lived”. What would you have written as his epitaph?
(8) List all the important things you have learned from the life of Samson.
(9) What might be the questions that still remain for you?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?