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We have studied in the past session the first reason for Samson’s failure – he failed in the sexual aspect; but aside from this, Samson, the strongest judge, failed in three other aspects:

I. Failure in His Faith 14:1-2

Samson’s failure was not due to his marriage, but his faith. He knew the girl was a Philistine, he knew she did not belong to the Lord, but because he desired her beauty, he forsook his faith. Some people forsake their faith because of love, some because of wealth, some because of power, but whatever the reason, the person is destined to fail.

II. Weakness in Prayer 15:18/16:28

Samson prayed only twice. The first time was in chapter 15, after he struck down a thousand men with a jawbone. He felt very thirsty, and cried out to the Lord, saying, “You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into hands of the uncircumcised?”

The Lord answered by opening up a hallow place, making water come out from it. His second prayer is found in chapter 16. His eyes had been gouged out by the Philistines, and he prayed to the Lord, “O Sovereign Lord, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.”

Once again, the Lord answered his prayer, as a result, he fell the temple with a mighty push of its two central pillars. He died together with more than 3000 Philistines.

Samson ruled as a judge of the Israelites for 20 years. In those 20 years, did Samson pray to the Lord only twice? Maybe not. But only two prayers were remembered.

Samson was weak in prayer. Why? Because Samson had great power, this was his greatest strength, but it also became his greatest weakness. He must have thought to himself, “A man like me don’t need prayers.” He became self-reliant, thinking he could rely on himself and his strength in everything. This is the reason for many a man’s failure!

III. Reckless Living

Chapters 14-16 records five incidences:

• He saw a beautiful girl, although she was a Philistine of different faith and race and his parents’ objected, he ‘insisted on making her his wife.’ This is called an individual’s freedom.
• He saw a lion roaring toward him, he tore the lion apart with his bare hands. Later, he saw a swarm of bees and some honey in the lion’s carcass, he reached in and scooped out some honey and ate it. He was a Nazirite who was not allowed to go near a dead body, yet he touched it with his hands, why? Because he wanted to do it, this is called an individual’s freedom.
• When he got married, he made a riddle for the Philistine to guess, whoever answers his riddle will be given thirty linen garments and thirty set of clothes. If not, he must be given thirty linen garments and thirty set of clothes. His bride turned on him, so he went to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men, stripped them of their belongings and gave their clothes to those men who answered his riddle. Samson was a powerful thief, he killed anytime he liked, he grabbed anytime he wanted, why? Because he wanted to, this is called an individual’s freedom.
• He saw a prostitute in Gaza, and went in to spend the night with her. Didn’t Samson know that he wasn’t allowed near a prostitute? Yes, of course but ‘I want to, because I have sexual needs.’ This is called individual freedom.
• He saw Delilah, and fell in love with her. Although she deceived and entrapped him three times, he did not take heed. In the end, he told her his secret, why? Because ‘I want to.’ This is called individual freedom.

Samson was too free. Jesus said, “The truth shall set you free.” True freedom is not found by abandoning ourselves to our human nature, for that is indulgence; only freedom which comes from the Truth is true freedom.

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There were four important women in Samson’s life: his mother, a Philistine girl, the prostitute in Gaza, and Delilah. Apart from his mother who was a good influence on him, the other three women brought Samson harm.

Samson’s failures in life all had something to do with these women. Samson’s weakness was his failure in the aspect of his sexual relations with the opposite sex. Not only is this Samson’s weakness, but this is a struggle for all men, so we must take special precaution in this area!

I. Failure in the Sexual Aspect 14:1-3/16:1/1:4

Samson was a Nazirite. Numbers 6 details the requirements towards a Nazirite: they are to be holy, holier than priests. The standards of holiness for a Nazirite is similar to that of the high priest. But Samson was careless in the sexual aspect. Why?

1. Failure because of the Lust of the Eyes

14:1 Samson saw a young Philistine woman; 16:1 Samson saw a prostitute; 16:4 Samson fell in love with a woman.

We can say that whenever he saw a girl, he fell for one. What do we call this? This is lust of the eyes.

Many sins have been committed as a result of the lust of the eyes; one very famous example is David’s adultery.

2 Samuel 11:2 “One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful.”

David fell because he allowed his eyes to continue to look. With this one look he committed adultery, deception and lying; with this one look, he committed murder. With this one look, four of his sons were killed; with this one look the sin of incest occurred in his household; with this one look, his son rebelled against him.

If David had known that with that one look, so much tragedy and misery would happen to him, I believe he have been willing to gouge out his eyes and not look.

Job 31:1 “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.”

I think we should all make a covenant with our eyes, because the lust of the eyes is a terrible thing; it caused the fall of Samson.

2. Failure to keep a safe distance

“Greet each other with a holy kiss.” Paul often used this remark in closing his letters to the churches such as in Romans 16:16, 1Cor 16:20, 2Cor13:12, 1Thess5:26, and 1Pet 5:14.

People of different countries have different customs for greeting one another. There may be differences in culture, but in principle “holiness must be observed” in the sexual aspect. So how do we observe holiness in our relationships? We must keep a safe distance.

A professor asked a group of experts in car racing: What is the safest distance you must observe to keep your car from falling off a steep edge? One man proudly replied, “I can do in within 2 feet!” Another guy arrogantly boasted, “I can do it within half a foot.” The professor exclaimed, “The safest distance is …the farther the better!” The male-female relationship is a very complicated matter. Married or single, we must all maintain a safe distance in our relationship with the opposite sex.

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Moses was the leader of the first generation of Israelites; he led the Israelites out of slavery from Egypt. Joshua is the leader of the second generation. He led the Israelites from the wilderness into Canaan. The Judges were the leaders of the third generation of Israelites.

The first judge was Othniel, the last was Samuel. There were twelve judges recorded in the book of Judges, and the most powerful was Samson, but he was also the worst failure. We shouldn’t be arrogant at all, for the strongest person may not necessarily be the most successful, and the most successful may not necessarily be the most powerful.

Samson had a pair of God-fearing parents. They took particular precautions for his sake, but Samson lived his life recklessly. As a result, the strongest judge became the greatest failure. Each one of us must take our own precautions. This is the truth I want to share with you today.

I. Samson’s Father – Manoah

1. He humbled himself for the sake of his family
– He humbly obeyed God’s arrangements

2. He prayed for his child
– He prayed for his son’s spiritual life

II. Samson’s Mother

1. She was a mother who knew the truth
– She knew what a Nazirite was
– She rebuked her son for wanting to marry a pagan

2. She was a mother who took precautions for her child
– She forsook her rights and lived as a Nazirite for her son’s sake

Samson: The strongest judge yet the worst failure. Why? The Lord had arranged a set of godly parents, who took precautions for his’ sake, but Samson himself did not take precautions, and this was the reason for his failure. How about you, have you taken precautions for yourself?

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