_Even the strongest can yield to temptation and be betrayed._
We read in the Bible of the strong man named Samson. One day he
met a lion in his path. Samson had no weapon, but he caught the
lion with his hands and tore it to pieces as if it were a kid. At
another time he caught three hundred foxes and tied fire brands to
the tail of each one of them. He then drove the foxes into the corn
fields of the Philistines who were his enemies, and destroyed all
their crops.
The Israelites were not pleased with Samson, and resolved to
betray him to the Philistines. Three thousand of them bound Samson
and took him to the camp of the Philistines. But as soon as the
Israelites had left, Samson snapped the great cords as if they were
flax burnt with fire, and finding the jaw bone of an ass he seized
it and slew a thousand Philistines.
Samson once went to a city named Gaza where he spent the night. The
people there laid in wait to catch him next morning, and closed the
gates in the big walls of the city. But next morning Samson rose
and came to the gates of the city and lifted them up--posts and
all--and walked off with them.
After a while Samson met a woman named Delilah. He loved her and
often went to visit her. The Philistines knew this and said to
Delilah:
“Entice him and see wherein his great strength lieth that we may
overcome him.” They agreed to give Delilah a great quantity of
silver for betraying Samson into their hands. Delilah agreed to do
this and asked Samson what made him so strong, and how could he be
bound so that he could not be taken.
Samson did not know her purpose and at first would not tell her
what made him so strong. His strength lay in his long hair which
fell down over his shoulders, but nobody knew it but Samson.
Finally Delilah teased him so much that he told her he had not
cut his hair nor shaved his beard all his life, and that all his
strength lay in his hair. One day she caught Samson asleep and cut
off all his beautiful hair, and when he awoke he was as weak as any
other man. Then the Philistines came and took him away and Delilah
was paid her money for betraying poor Samson.
The Philistines then put out his eyes, and took him over to Gaza
and made him grind in the mill. There he worked for a long time and
the Philistines made sport of him. One day they were having a great
offering in the temple. So they took the blind Samson up to the
temple and set him between its pillars. But by this time his hair
had grown out again and his strength had returned to him.
So while the temple was full of people Samson wrapped his mighty
arms around the pillars and pulled them down and the temple fell
in, and he and all his enemies were buried together.