Samson saw a woman, a daughter of Israel’s enemies and wanted her for his wife. But Samson’s Mom and Dad said, Isn’t there a woman of the daughters of Israel that you like?

 

 

Samson said, No! Get this one for me. I like her a lot.

Samson’s Mom and Dad didn’t know that it was God who caused Samson to like this woman because God was going to cause things to happen so that He could save Israel from their enemies.

As Samson was going down to visit the woman he picked, a young lion came out and roared against Samson.

 

 

 

The Spirit of the Lord came on Samson making him so strong that he killed the roaring lion like squashing a bug.

After a while he went to visit the woman again and stopped to see the dead lion. Inside the lion, bees had made a big batch of honey. Samson took the honey and ate some and took some to his Dad and Mom. But he didn’t tell them where the honey came from.

 

The enemy gave Samson 30 friends for the wedding party. That was the way they did it back then. As they were having the party, Samson had a guessing game for them. He said, If you can guess my riddle in one week, I’ll give you each a set of new clothes. But if you can’t guess in a week, you each give me a set of new clothes.

When the week was about over, the 30 men told Samson's woman, If you don’t find out from him and tell us the answer, we’re going to burn up your family’s house.

She cried a lot to Samson, so he finally told her the answer to the game. They told Samson and he had to give them each a new set of clothes.

The Spirit of the Lord came on Samson and he went to one of their cities and hurt 30 men and took their clothes to give to the men.

He was so angry that the men had cheated at the game that he went home instead of going to his wife. So the woman’s Dad gave her to one of Samson’s friends.

 

 

 

A while later, Samson got over being mad and went to visit his wife. But her Dad wouldn’t let him in. He said, I thought you were so mad at her that you didn’t want her any more so I gave her to your friend. Look, here is her sister. She is more beautiful.

But Samson didn’t want his wife’s sister and he got so angry that caught 300 foxes, tied their tails together and set their tails on fire and turned them loose in the grain fields of his enemies. All the grain was burned up and Samson said, It’s not my fault. They caused this to happen.

The people of Samson’s enemies, the Philistines, got so angry that their grain was gone that they burned Samson’s wife’s house with her and her father in it.

Then the children of Israel, 3000 men from Judah, went to stop Samson because he was making the Philistine enemies so mad at Israel. They said, Were going to tie you up and give you to the Philistines.

 

Samson said, Ok, you can take me down to the Philistines but promise you won’t hurt me yourselves.

Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Samson and he burst out of the ropes, picked up the jawbone of a dead donkey and killed 1,000 of Israel’s enemies with the jawbone of the donkey.

 

 

 

 

Then he was so thirsty that he was about to die and God opened a place in a rock and gave him enough to water to drink.