Intermediate Level, Block 5—Occupying the Land
Week 49
Samson—His Might
Point to Emphasize: We are those who are being strengthened, empowered, by God.
Reference Reading: Judges 13:24-25; 14:5-15:20
Memory Verse: Finally, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength.
(Ephesians 6:10)
Note to storytellers: We do not want to tell the children all the details of Samson’s story. We have chosen to present only the aspects that show Samson’s might. We ask the storytellers to exercise care in their storytelling. Please do not bring in the parts of the stories that expose Samson’s immorality, lust of the flesh, failures, or any other portions that we have purposely omitted.
Story Sample
Today we will hear a story about another judge. His name is Samson. Samson was born in a special way. He was set apart as a Nazarite. Do you know what a Nazarite is? The Nazarites were a group of people who vowed to follow the Lord absolutely. They vowed not to eat certain things, not to drink certain things, not to do certain things, and not to cut their hair, in order to show their absoluteness for the Lord. Before Samson was born, the Angel of Jehovah appeared to his mother and told her that she would bear a son and that he would begin to save Israel from the Philistines. But the Angel of Jehovah also told her not to eat certain things, not to drink certain things, not to do certain things, and not to cut the boy’s hair. This was God’s way of setting Samson apart as a Nazarite. So from the time he was born, Samson was following the Nazarite way. And as he grew up, he kept this way, and he had faith in God. Eventually, he was a judge of Israel for twenty years.
Today we want to talk about something God does for us—He strengthens us. Samson was one who had extraordinary strength from God. Throughout Samson’s life, God would empower him to do amazing things. Who knows what empower means? That’s right! It means “to make strong” or “to give strength to.” So throughout Samson’s life, God strengthened him and gave him amazing strength.
One time, a young lion roared against Samson! Can you imagine? But Samson wasn’t hurt—no, God strengthened Samson, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands! Wow! One man against a lion! There were also other instances of Samson being empowered. One time, God empowered Samson so much that he defeated thirty men all by himself! Wow! Thirty men against one! That is A LOT of strength Jehovah gave to Samson.
Yet another time, Samson was captured and taken to the Philistines. He was tied up in ropes and must have looked pretty helpless. But God empowered him, and the Bible says the ropes melted away. Samson found the jawbone of an animal and he used that to conquer ONE THOUSAND Philistines! That is really extraordinary strength, isn’t it? One thousand people, all defeated by Samson with a jawbone!
Today God is still strengthening us—though not in exactly the same way. I don’t think we will be fighting a thousand people with a jawbone! But sometimes we might find ourselves in a situation that seems just as hard!
Have you ever had to speak up or do the right thing, and you felt like it was just too hard? I have! One time when I was younger, some friends started making fun of our serving one. I remember how uncomfortable I felt. That serving one had always taken care of us, and I didn’t think we should be talking about him that way. I wanted to say something to stop the teasing, but I was also afraid. Would the other children make fun of me if I said something? Would they get mad? I needed some extra strength, some extra might, to speak up. And you know what? I was able to say something. I thought it would be too hard, but God gave me the strength I needed. And when I spoke up, the other children agreed. It turned out, we all knew we shouldn’t have been making fun of that sweet serving one. [Storyteller, insert your own story of the Lord empowering you to do something you thought was hard. Try to use an example that will resonate with the children—speaking for God at a young age, going to the meeting instead of doing something else, doing the right thing in a hard circumstance.]
Samson was one who was empowered by God with extraordinary strength. Today, God is strengthening us, too!