Samson: Desperate from Shame Biblical Passages: Judges 13:1–7; 16:4–30 Supporting Passages: Judges 13:8–25; Judges 14–15; 16:1–3, 31; Hebrews 11:32–34 Memory Verse: 2 Timothy 2:4 Biblical Truth: God restored Samson’s strength and used his shame to bring Samson closer to Him and to carry out judgment on the Philistines. Philistines The Philistines were a tribal Consider . . . group that lived in the southwest part of Palestine. The There are moments in life when we blow it . . . like, really blow it. Sometimes it seems that we Philistines were a major threat could not make things worse even if we tried. What are we supposed to do when this happens? to early Israel’s existence. How can we make things better? Fix things with ourselves? With God? The word Philistine in Hebrew means “immigrants.” They Samson was a guy divinely blessed in a unique way, and someone with whom God showed were a fierce fighting force. incredible patience and mercy. But Samson blew it . . . really blew it. Toward the end of his story They were a powerful sea it seems that he could not make things any worse even if he tried. However, thankfully for him, people who formed five major and for us, his story did not end there. In a moment of complete desperation, Samson finally got cities: Gath, Ekron, Ashdod, it right. He realized God had created him for a specific purpose. He learned that although many Ashkelon, and Gaza. Their were against him, he was solely to blame for his own sin. And despite everything, God was still political organization weaved there whenever Samson cried out for Him. the five cities into one, giving them great success in the region. They were extremely religious. Victories were celebrated in their temples. For many generations, the Philistines proved to be a challenge to the people of Israel.