1-2. Why should the account of Samson interest us?

 WHAT comes to your mind when you hear the name Samson? You likely think of a man of outstanding strength. That is true. But Samson made a bad decision that led to painful results. Still, Jehovah focused on Samson’s overall record of faithfulness, which He included in the Bible for our benefit.

² Jehovah used Samson to accomplish amazing things to help His chosen people, Israel. Centuries after Samson’s death, Jehovah inspired the apostle Paul to include Samson’s name in a list of outstanding men of faith. (Heb. 11:32-34) Samson’s example can encourage us. He relied on Jehovah, even during challenging circumstances. Let us consider how we can draw encouragement as well as learn other practical lessons from his example.

3. What assignment did Samson receive?

³ When Samson was born, the Philistines were ruling over the nation of Israel and oppressing it. (Judg. 13:1) Their harsh rulership brought great suffering to the Israelites. Jehovah chose Samson to “take the lead in saving Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” (Judg. 13:5) What a difficult task! To fulfill this challenging assignment, Samson would have to rely on Jehovah.

4. How did Jehovah help Samson to free himself from the Philistines? (Judges 15:14-16)

⁴ Consider an example of Samson’s trust in Jehovah and of the support that God supplied. On one occasion, a Philistine military force had come to capture Samson at Lehi, evidently in Judah. The men of Judah were afraid, so they decided to hand Samson over to the enemy. Samson’s own people bound him securely with two new ropes and brought him to the Philistines. (Judg. 15:9-13) However, “Jehovah’s spirit empowered” Samson and he freed himself from the ropes. He then “found a fresh jawbone of a male donkey,” picked it up, and used it to strike down 1,000 Philistine men!​—Read Judges 15:14-16.

5. What does Samson’s use of a donkey’s jawbone reveal about his confidence in Jehovah?

⁵ Why did Samson use the jawbone of a donkey? It was an unconventional weapon, to say the least! No doubt Samson knew that his success depended on Jehovah, not on which weapon he used. Yes, this faithful man used what was available to him to accomplish Jehovah’s will. Clearly, as a result of his reliance on Jehovah, Samson was blessed with great success.

6. When fulfilling our theocratic assignments, what can we learn from Samson?

⁶ We too can be strengthened by Jehovah to accomplish our assignments, even those that seem overwhelming. God can do so in a manner that may amaze us. Trust that Jehovah, who empowered Samson, will help you to do His will as long as you rely on Him for help.​—Prov. 16:3.

7. What example demonstrates the importance of our looking to Jehovah for his direction?

⁷ Many brothers and sisters who are involved in theocratic construction projects have shown trust in Jehovah. In the past, brothers usually designed and constructed most new Kingdom Halls and other buildings. Eventually, though, the needs of Jehovah’s growing organization called for an adjustment. The responsible brothers sought Jehovah’s direction and tried new methods, such as purchasing facilities and renovating them. “At first, it was not easy for some to embrace this new approach,” says Robert, who in recent years has worked with many of our building projects around the world. He continues: “It was very different from what we had been doing for years. But the brothers were willing to adapt, and it has become evident that Jehovah is blessing these adjustments.” This is just one example of how Jehovah is guiding his people to accomplish his will. From time to time, all of us do well to ask ourselves, ‘Am I looking for Jehovah’s direction and remaining adaptable in my service to him?’

8. On one occasion when Samson became very thirsty, what did he do?

⁸ You may have read of other instances when Samson performed amazing deeds. Single-handedly, he fought off a lion and later struck down 30 men in the Philistine city of Ashkelon. (Judg. 14:5, 6, 19) Samson knew that he could never have done such things without Jehovah’s help. That was evident on one occasion when he became very thirsty after striking down 1,000 Philistines. What did he do? Rather than depend on himself to deal with his thirst, he called out to Jehovah for help.​—Judg. 15:18.

9. How did Jehovah respond to Samson’s plea for help? (Judges 15:19 and footnote)

⁹ Jehovah answered Samson’s cry for help by miraculously creating a source of water. When Samson drank from it, “his strength returned and he revived.” (Read Judges 15:19 and footnote.) Apparently, this new water source still existed years later when the prophet Samuel was inspired to write the book of Judges. The Israelites who saw that flowing water may have been reminded that Jehovah can be relied on to help his faithful worshippers in their time of need.

10. What is involved in our seeking Jehovah’s help? (See also picture.)

¹⁰ We too need to look to Jehovah for help no matter what talents or abilities we may have or what we have accomplished in his service. We should modestly accept the fact that true success is possible only when we rely on Jehovah. Just as Samson was energized when he drank the water that Jehovah provided, we will be spiritually strengthened when we take advantage of all the provisions Jehovah makes available to us.​—Matt. 11:28.

11. How can we take full advantage of Jehovah’s help? Illustrate.

¹¹ Consider the example of Aleksey, one of our Russian brothers who is enduring serious persecution. What has helped him to stay strong under very trying circumstances? He and his wife have established a good spiritual routine. He says: “I try to keep up with my spiritual routine of personal study and daily Bible reading. Every morning, my wife and I discuss the daily text and pray to Jehovah together.” What does this teach us? Rather than depend on ourselves, we should rely on Jehovah. How? By building up our faith through a good routine of personal Bible study and other theocratic activities. Jehovah, in turn, will richly bless our efforts to serve him. He strengthened Samson, and He can certainly strengthen us.

12. What bad decision did Samson make, and how could this have differed from his earlier experiences?

¹² Samson was imperfect like us, so at times he made bad choices. One decision in particular that he made led to tragic consequences. After Samson had served as judge for a while, he “fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.” (Judg. 16:4) Previously, Samson had been engaged to a Philistine woman, but that union “was from Jehovah,” who “was looking for an opportunity against the Philistines.” Later, Samson stayed in the house of a prostitute in the Philistine city of Gaza. On that occasion, God empowered Samson to carry away the doors of the city gate, weakening the city. (Judg. 14:1-4; 16:1-3) The case of Delilah may have been different, though, because she was likely an Israelite.

13. How did Delilah maneuver Samson into a bad situation?

¹³ Delilah accepted a large sum of money from the Philistines in return for betraying Samson. Was he so trusting​—so blinded by his love for her—​that he failed to discern what Delilah was up to? Whatever the case, Delilah repeatedly pressured Samson to reveal the source of his strength, and he ultimately gave in to her demands. Sadly, Samson allowed himself to get into a situation that led to the loss of his strength and the loss of Jehovah’s approval for a time.​—Judg. 16:16-20.

14. What consequences did Samson experience because he trusted Delilah?

¹⁴ Samson experienced painful consequences because of trusting Delilah rather than Jehovah. The Philistines captured and blinded Samson. He was imprisoned in Gaza, whose people he had earlier humiliated, and he became a lowly grinder of grain. Then he was humiliated when the Philistines gathered for a celebration. They offered a great sacrifice to their false god Dagon, as if he had given Samson into their hands. They brought Samson from prison to the party to provide “some amusement”​—to make fun of him.​—Judg. 16:21-25.

15. How did Samson show that he again relied on Jehovah? (Judges 16:28-30) (See cover picture.)

¹⁵ Samson had made a serious mistake, but he did not give up. He looked for an opportunity to fulfill his God-given assignment against the Philistines. (Read Judges 16:28-30.) Samson begged Jehovah: “Let me take revenge on the Philistines.” The true God answered Samson’s plea and restored his miraculous strength. As a result, Samson was more successful against the Philistines on this occasion than ever before.

16. What can we learn from Samson’s mistake?

¹⁶ Although Samson experienced the painful consequences of his mistake, he did not stop trying to do Jehovah’s will. Even if we make a mistake and need reproof or lose a privilege, we must not give up. Remember, Jehovah does not give up on us. (Ps. 103:8-10) Despite our mistakes, we can still be useful to Jehovah, just as Samson was.

17-18. What do you find encouraging about Michael’s example? (See also picture.)

¹⁷ Consider the example of a young brother named Michael. He was busy in theocratic activities, serving as a ministerial servant and a regular pioneer. Sadly, though, he made a mistake, which resulted in the loss of his congregation privileges. “Until this point,” he says, “things were going full steam ahead in my service to Jehovah. Then all of a sudden, it felt as if I had hit a brick wall. I never thought that Jehovah would abandon me, but I did wonder if my relationship with him would ever be the same again or if I would ever be able to serve him in the congregation as fully as I had.”

¹⁸ Commendably, Michael did not give up. He adds: “I focused on repairing my relationship with Jehovah by regularly opening up my heart to him in prayer, studying, and meditating.” In time, Michael regained his good standing in the congregation. He now serves as an elder and a regular pioneer. He notes: “The support and encouragement I received, especially from the elders, helped me to realize that Jehovah still loves me. I can once again serve in the congregation with a clean conscience. This experience has taught me that Jehovah will forgive anyone who is truly repentant.” We can be confident that Jehovah will use us and bless us too even if we have made mistakes, provided that we do all we can to correct our ways and continue to rely on him.​—Ps. 86:5; Prov. 28:13.

19. How has Samson’s example strengthened you?

¹⁹ In this article, we have reviewed a few of the fascinating events in the life of Samson. He was not perfect; yet, he did not give up in his efforts to serve Jehovah, even after his mistake with Delilah. And Jehovah did not give up on him. God once again used Samson in a mighty way. Jehovah still considered him to be a man of outstanding faith, including him in the list of faithful ones found in Hebrews chapter 11. How encouraging it is to know that we serve such a loving heavenly Father who yearns to strengthen us, especially when we are weak! So like Samson, let us beg Jehovah: “Remember me, please, and strengthen me.”​—Judg. 16:28.