Well, of course it did. It ALWAYS happens just like the angel says!


Manoah and his wife did have a son.

They named him Samson.

Samson grew tall and strong - and, just as the angel commanded, they never cut his hair.

One day Samson was out walking through a grape orchard, when he thought he heard something. It sounded like a roar.

Suddenly, a lion jumped out from the vines!

The lion and Samson wrestled to the ground in a cloud of dust. Just then, the power of God filled Samson. Samson tore the lion apart with his bare hands.

A few days later, Samson went back to the orchard, and he found the lion's body. Bees had built a nest in it. So Samson reached in, and took out a handful of honey. Samson had a nice little snack as he walked home.

God was with Samson, and he did many mighty deeds.

Now remember, the people of Israel had disobeyed God, and so God sent the Philistines to rule over them. For 40 years, the Philistines had made their lives miserable.

Now it was time for God to send the Philistines away.

The Philistines had heard of Samson and the things he had done, and so they sent an army to find him.

They attacked the town of Lehi, looking for Samson.

"Why are you attacking us!" the people of the town cried out.

"We want Samson," the Philistines answered.

So 3,000 men from the town went up into the nearby mountains to find Samson.

They found him in a cave.

"The Philistines are attacking us because of you!" they said to Samson. "We have come to tie you up and hand you over to them!"

Samson said, "Tie me up, but give me your word that you will not kill me."

And so they tied Samson up with two new ropes, and they brought him down the mountain.

When the Philistine army saw them coming, they gave a great shout and ran towards them swinging their swords in the air.

Suddenly, the power of God came over Samson, and he broke the ropes around his arms as if they were thread. There was an old jawbone lying in the dirt. Samson picked it up and swung it over his head.

He killed a thousand men with the jawbone of a donkey that day.

Samson defeated the Philistine army, and for 20 years he led the people of Israel against the Philistines.