Judges 13-14 | Understanding Your Weakness

We all have our weaknesses. If we’re not careful, we can let them destroy us and those around us. God loves to work with weak people who will trust Him.

EXHIBIT A

Samson was a mighty man who had taken a Nazarite vow before the Lord which was to set him apart unto God.

In his arrogance, it seems, he broke that vow. He married a woman outside the Jewish race who became a stumbling block to him. When the Philistines couldn't answer his riddle, they engaged his Philistine wife to get the answer for them.

However, she wept before him seven days while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day he told her because she pressed him so hard. She then told the riddle to the sons of her people. (Judges 14:17)

This was the same tactic they would later use with Delilah that would lead to Samson's defeat and downfall. This defeat not only put Samson in chains but also removed the judge from Israel that they needed.

I'm wondering if this first experience was a warning to Samson that he did not heed. It illustrated a fault-line in his character that led to bad consequences. He did not learn his lesson and later married another foreigner who pulled his heart away from the Lord and was used by the enemies of God to defeat him and the Israelites.

APPLICATION: When I see a potential place of the enemies using in my life, I should learn and adjust my life accordingly by God's grace or potentially greater consequences will occur.