SAMSON AND DELILAH FOR KIDS

One day an angel told an old Israelite woman who didn't have any children, that she would have a son who will be very strong and save Israel from the Philistines. The child was born, and his name was Samson, and he grew up, and the spirit of the Lord was with him. One day a lion tried to attack Samson, and he killed the lion with his bare hands. Some time later, he saw the dead body of the lion and it had a bee hive full of honey in it!

Samson married a Philistine girl, and they had a big party for seven days. Samson was talking to thirty Philistine people at the wedding and said, I have a riddle for you. If you can figure it out before the party is over, I will give each of you new clothes, and if you can't, you will each give me new clothes.

The people said, Tell us your riddle. So, Samson said, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. After three days, they couldn't figure out the riddle and they told Samson's wife that if she didn't find out the answer to the riddle by the seventh day, that they would burn her and her family and their house with fire! Samson's wife pouted and said to him, If you don't tell me the answer to your riddle, that means you don't love me.

Samson didn't even tell his Mom or his Dad, so he surely wouldn't tell her. She cried for the rest of the seven days and finally Samson told her the answer to the riddle. She told the Philistine people the answer, and they told Samson that they figured out the answer to the riddle. Out of the eater (the lion) came forth meat (honey), and out of the strong (the lion) came forth sweetness (honey). What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion? Samson said to them, you would never know the answer if you didn't scare my wife.

Samson was mad at all of them. He went back to his Mom and Dad and after a while, he went back to see his wife, but her father thought that Samson hated her for telling the riddle, so her dad gave her to someone else to marry. Now Samson was very mad! He caught 300 foxes and tied them together, tail to tail, then set their tails on fire! Then the foxes ran through the Philistines cornfields and vineyards and olive trees and caught them all on fire!

The Israelite people were upset because Samson was Hebrew and they thought the Philistines would be mean to all the Hebrew slaves, because of what Samson did. So, the Hebrews tied Samson up and were taking him to be punished by the Philistines when Spirit of the Lord came to him and gave him the strength to break the ropes. Then he took a jawbone of a donkey and killed 1000 men with it! After that, Samson was very thirsty and tired but there was no water around. He asked God for water and it started flowing out the jawbone that Samson had just used, and he drank until he got his strength back. God does some cool stuff, doesn't He?

Samson loved a woman named Delilah. The Philistines were always trying to destroy Samson, but they were afraid of his strength. One day, the leaders of the Philistines told Delilah that if she could find out how he gets his strength, they would give her a lot of money. Samson tricked her and told her that if he was tied with seven fresh ropes, then he would lose his strength. So the Philistines brought Delilah seven fresh ropes and she tied Samson up with them, but Samson easily broke the ropes.

Delilah tried again and again to find out where Samson got his strength. Finally she said, If you don't tell me, that means you don't love me. Samson fell for the same trick again. Samson was so tired of her asking that he finally told her that God gave him his strength in his hair and that if his hair was cut, he would become as weak as a normal man. Delilah knew that he was telling the truth from his heart and she told the Philistines. They brought her money and then she cut Samson's hair while he was asleep. What a dirty trick! Once his hair was cut, Delilah woke him saying, The Philistines are here, Samson! They took him in chains, poked out his eyes, and put him in prison.