This post is Day 20 in a series of studies about “Samson”. I strongly suggest you begin with the introduction to this study, please click here to read it.

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Samson – Day 20

It says Samson left the house and the city unhindered by locked gates! What happened to all those men? Were they all hiding and shaking with fear because of what this giant might do to them? Many of their compatriots had already lost their lives because of conflict with him.

Judges 16:3

But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.

The Thought

Yesterday we read that the men of Gaza surrounded the house and waited by the city gate which would be closed and locked! Today we read that Samson left the house and the city unhindered by locked gates! What happened to all those men? Were they all hiding and shaking with fear because of what this giant might do to them? Many of their compatriots had already lost their lives because of conflict with him.

Did those men suppose that Samson would stay in the city all night, knowing that the gates would not be opened until dawn? In those days no-one left the city during the hours of darkness. Except Samson!

Those huge gates were no match for his superhuman strength. He just picked them up and carried them away!

Action

Read Judges 16 today and imagine this strong man doing what he did. Nobody would be asking who took the gates because there was only Samson who was strong enough.

He could have just broken them and left them there, but Samson was obviously going to make it difficult for the men of Gaza to put their gates back on the hinges! First they had to find where the strong man had put them.

Remind yourself today that Samson was God’s man in this situation.

Think about and pray for some of the world leaders today. Are there any who are obviously God’s man for the task, and some who are definitely not on God’s side?

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