Samson’s parents, before they were parents, struggled to have a baby. Then one day, the Lord told Samson’s mother, “You shall conceive and bear a son” (Judg. 13:3). This baby would be set apart for God from the first day of his life to the last. He would save Israel from the big, bad Philistines. As a sign that he was set apart by God, he drank no wine and he wasn’t allowed to have a haircut. Whenever the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he possessed incredible strength. But if he drank wine or his hair was shaved, God’s strength would leave him. His strength was legendary. He tore a furious lion apart with his bare hands and struck down a thousand wicked men with the jawbone of a donkey. And his strength gave Israel relief from her enemies. What a hero!

But before you run out and buy his action figure, you need to know that this strong hero had flaws. He fell in love with Delilah, a woman who was not from Israel and who did not love God. (Samson often did what seemed right in his own eyes instead of what was right in God’s.) Some leaders from the big, bad Philistines thought Delilah could help them figure out the secret to Samson’s strength. To convince her to do it, they each gave her 1,100 pieces of silver. Samson knew she was up to something tricky. So he lied the first three times she tried to trick him into sharing his secret. The fourth time, however, he finally told her the truth: “My hair is the secret of my strength.” That night, while he was sound asleep, his hair was shaved off by one of his enemies. Samson’s Spirit-powered superpowers were gone! The Philistines captured him and poked out his eyes. What evil people! But as time passed, Samson grew stronger and stronger.

One night, the Philistines threw a big party in a big house. To mock the once mighty Samson, they had him stand between two pillars to entertain them. To mock Samson’s God, they cheered about how their false god was the strongest. Weak Samson heard this and asked God to make him strong one final time: “O Lord God, please . . . strengthen me” (16:28). God answered his prayer. Judge Samson decided to judge the Philistines by sacrificing himself. He shouted, “Let me die with the Philistines!” (16:30), and then he pushed apart the pillars. The roof collapsed and everyone died. In his death Samson was victorious over God’s enemies.