Samson - How Dumb Can You Be???The story of
Samson - Judges 14-16 We’ve heard about
how strong Samson was but how smart was he?
Lets start with Judges 14:5. 5 Samson went down to
Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of
Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. 6 The Spirit
of the LORD came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he
might have torn a young goat. Strong Right? Now Judges 14:12 12
"Let me tell you a riddle," Samson said to them. "If you can
give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty
linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. 13 If you can't tell me
the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes."
14
He replied, 15
On the fourth [a] day, they said to Samson's wife, "Coax
your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your
father's household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?" 16
Then Samson's wife threw herself on him, sobbing, "You hate me! You don't really love me. You've
given my people a riddle, but you haven't told me the answer." Ok Not To Smart
(bordering on dumb), Right? Now Judges 15:13 13 "Agreed," they answered. "We will only tie you
up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you." So they bound him
with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. 14 As he approached
Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came
upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the
bindings dropped from his hands. 15 Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and
struck down a thousand men. Really Strong! Now Judges 15:20 20 Samson led [d]
Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines. He must be smart
to be the leader of Israel for “20” years, Right??? Now Judges 16:3 3 But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron. Wow Strong! Now Judges 16:4 4
Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name
was Delilah. 5 The
rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, "See if you can lure him
into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him
so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven
hundred shekels [a]
of silver." He’s the strongest
man on the earth, has been leading Israel for 20 years and he didn’t see this
coming??? She’s a Philistine and they
don’t like Samson! Can you trust them? Now Judges 16:6 6 So Delilah said to
Samson, "Tell me the
secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued."
Sound Like the
First Wife doesn’t it! 7
Samson answered her, "If anyone ties me with seven fresh thongs [b]
that have not been dried, I'll become as weak as any other man." 8
Then the rulers of the
Philistines brought her seven fresh thongs that had not been dried, and she
tied him with them. 9 With men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson,
the Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the thongs as easily
as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his
strength was not discovered. Ok, here we go, lets all say it together (loud) – Samson, How dumb can you be! Now Judges 16:10 10 Then Delilah said
to Samson, "You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be
tied." 11
He said, "If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been
used, I'll become as weak as any other man." 12
So Delilah took new ropes
and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to
him, "Samson, the
Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the ropes off his arms as
if they were threads. (now everyone together) How dumb can you be! Now Judges 16:10 13 Delilah then said
to Samson, "Until now, you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied."
(now everyone together) How dumb can you be! Now Judges 16:15 15 Then she said to
him, "How can you
say, 'I love you,' when you won't confide in me? This is the third time you
have made a fool of me and haven't told me the secret of your great
strength." 16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day
until he was tired to death. 17
So he told her everything. "No razor has ever been used on my head,"
he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If
my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as
any other man." (now everyone together) How dumb can you be! Now if your that
dumb, guest what will happen to you? 18 When Delilah saw that he
had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines,
"Come back once more; he has told me everything." So the rulers of
the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19 Having
put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of
his hair, and so began to subdue him. [d]
And his strength left him. 20 Then she called,
"Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" 21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his
eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him
to grinding in the prison. 22 But the hair on his
head began to grow again after it had been shaved. Does God LOVE us
only when we are smart? Just when we
are strong? Only when we do the right
thing? Samson was one of
God’s just like you and I. He was
REALLY DUMB and it cost him his eyes and his freedom, but he did not loose
GOD’s LOVE for him. Just like Samson,
we don’t loose GOD’s LOVE when we do dumb stuff. We might have consequences for our dumb actions, but GOD still
LOVES us. Romans
8:39 Proverbs
3:12 1
John 4:10 1
Psalm 13:5 Samson now calls
out to God, the God who LOVES US and he answers those he loves. 25 While they were in high
spirits, they shouted, "Bring out Samson to entertain us." So they
called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them. 29
Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood.
Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on
the other, 30 Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" Then he
pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the
people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived. 31
Then his brothers and his father's whole family went down to get him. They
brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah
his father. He had led [e] Israel twenty years. God is always
there for us and he still LOVES us no matter how we act. He might not be happy with us, he will
discipline us, but HIS LOVE is ALWAYS there for US!!! Wait, You thought
this was going to be about How Dumb can you be but now you know it’s really
about - How much does GOD
LOVE US! He loves us whether
we are smart, strong, or even dumb. He
just loves us because we love him and we are his kids. 
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