Shattering Substitutes #4: Sex

“And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.”—Judges 16:21-22

Let’s talk about sex. Today’s culture is obsessed with sex. It’s everywhere: television, websites, magazines, billboards, grocery checkout lines, department stores, and anywhere else you can think of. It doesn’t matter where you are or whom you’re with—sex is everywhere. The Bible talks a great deal about sex—for good and for evil. Sex is good—when done in the context of marriage between a man and a woman. Anything else is wrong and sinful.

The most classic example of sex gone wrong is Samson. The story of Samson is legendary. Any child that has ever sat through a Sunday school class is familiar with big strong Samson. His story is found in the Old Testament book of Judges chapters 13-16. He was a herculean character with divinely endowed strength and has no peer for power or brawn in the entirety of Scripture. Born to a pious family, he was set apart from birth as a Nazirite, which meant that he was never to have his hair cut, drink or eat grapes, or touch a dead body. The Nazirite vow, which is found in Numbers 6, was to be a voluntary vow for Jewish men and women. It was usually for a designated amount of time, but in Samson’s case, his was to be for life. For whatever reason we’re not given, God connected his strength to his hair. As long as his hair grew, he was strong. But if he was to have his head shaved, he would be made as weak as any other man.

From the beginning of his life, we see that he is a very wild and enigmatic figure driven by a hot temper and unbridled lust. He’s a one-man wrecking crew as God used him to kill hundreds of men with an overwhelming show of strength. After a quick, ill-fated, and unbiblical marriage to a Philistine woman that ends tragically (Judges 14:19-15:8), Samson goes off the deep end. He ends up having a one-night stand with a prostitute (Judges 16:1-3), and then hooks up with another Philistine girl named Delilah, which proves to be his undoing. She ends up betraying him—his head is shaved, he loses his strength, he is captured, has his eyes gouged out, and then is imprisoned by the Philistines where he is forced to dance for their entertainment. His hair begins to grow and with one final show of strength, he ends up killing himself and 3,000 Philistine men and women by knocking down the support pillars of the place where he was brought out to dance (Judges 16:4-22).

Looking over Samson’s life, we can see that he continually disregarded his Nazirite vows. Perhaps because they were forced on him, or maybe even because he got too cocky with his giftedness that he neglected or refused to listen to anyone speaking into his problem areas. Whatever the case, he has one very large Achilles’ heel.

Sin always has consequences. Samson’s unbridled lust resulted in him seeking love from the all the wrong people in all the wrong places. He lost his perspective (he foolishly told Delilah the secret of his strength after ignoring all the warning signs that she might be trying to kill him). He lost his position as a judge (he is captured after he is betrayed by Delilah). He lost his power (after his head was shaven his strength was gone). He ended up experiencing great pain (his eyes were gouged out) and the entire episode made him look completely pathetic (he had to dance before the Philistines as entertainment). It is interesting to note that the one thing that got Samson in trouble—the lust of his eyes, is the very thing that he had taken from him.

Samson’s life is a tragic warning to all of us. Each one of us is susceptible to sexual sin and we must learn to guard against it. Samson didn’t guard against his sin and suffered the consequences thereof and so will we if we don’t fight against it.

How about you? Are you playing with sin? Are you disregarding God’s word? Do you think that you will be able to just get away with your sexual sin by hiding behind your talents and gifts? You won’t. Be sure, your sin will find you out (Numbers 32:23).

Are you substituting the Savior for sexual sin? Have you elevated your desire for sex above your desire for the Savior? If so, then the only hope that you have is in Jesus. He is the one who paid the price for your sin on the cross. He is the only one who can free and cleanse you from it.

Go to Him in prayer, confess (agree with God) and repent of your sin (which means to turn away from it) and then enlist other believers to help you if necessary. There is no freedom apart from repentance. There are no shortcuts. Be honest with God about where you are and what you’ve done. Don’t leave anything out. And once you confess and repent, open God’s word and ask Him to help you live a life that is pleasing to Him.

May God enable us to shatter the idol of sexual sin and walk as pure and holy creatures, cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ to the praise, honor, and glory of His great and awesome name. Amen.