Scripture:
One day when Samson was in Timnah, he noticed a certain Philistine woman. When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “I want to marry a young Philistine woman I saw in Timnah.”
Judges 14:1-2
Observation:
Samson, the man with legendary strength, had a weakness--beautiful foreign woman. When he noticed them with his eyes, he wanted them. In spite of his supernatural announcement of conception and the rigorous moral upbringing in his youth, Samson never learned how to control his eyes, and consequently, his character became vulnerable. He saw a pretty Philistine woman and marry her, compromising the teaching of the law of never marrying foreign woman. He went to Gaza to spend the night with a prostitute. And finally, he gave his heart away to another foreigner babe named Delilah. Strong armies could not stop Samson, but the beauty of one woman was able to disarm and distract him easily. His weakness materialized when in both occasions the women in his life nagged him about revealing secrets, he complied to their requests, and he was betrayed each time. What a knuckle-head! His weak and wondering eyes got him into so much trouble. This passage makes me wonder if getting his eyes gouged out was a blessing. I don’t know! Maybe!
Application:
I was very surprised when discovering that Ray Charles, the talented blind musician, had a weakness for woman. He was incredibly talented, yet his heart was immoral and unfaithful to his wife. Having no sight, Charles found a way to weaken his character and morals. The root of all moral problems is in the heart, not in the eyes. However, our eyes are simply one vehicle that builds our character. Our eyes need to be trained to look beauty without lust and to build character, not to weaken it. We can become strong men and have lots of accomplishments under our belt. But if our character has become vulnerable because our wondering eyes, all our potential will be seriously compromised. Samson did great things for God’s people, but can we imagine what would happen if he was able to keep his hormones under control?
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for including Samson’s story in your Word. He is a reminder for my own life about using my eyes to build character and to develop a heart of integrity and purity. Let me keep a covenant with my eyes for as long as I live. Let me look at beauty without sinful lust. Help me to build a pure heart by keeping my eyes from wondering. Grant me self-control to stay away from places where my eyes have a hard time focusing in righteousness. Give me strength to do great things for you, but also the strength to train my eyes to look away from temptation. Let me honor you with pure eyes and a clean heart. Amen!
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