Judges 16 -- Samson Tempts, Betrays, and Destroys Himself

My commentary continued with what Samson did that really didn't fit in with who God wanted him to be:

Samson tempted himself -- When he arrived in Gaza, Samson saw a prostitute and decided to spend the night with her.  "Once again the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh combined to grip Samson and make him a slave to his passions ... The experience was for Samson one more step down into darkness and destruction... We can't help it when Satan and his demons tempt us but when we tempt ourselves, we become our own enemy.   God doesn't tempt us ... We tempt Him either by forcing Him to intervene and rescue us or by daring Him to stop us."

Samson betrayed himself -- He met Delilah in Philistine territory and fell in love.  He was only supposed to see Jewish women.  She began to try to discover the secret of his strength, in order to obtain a huge reward from the Philistine leaders.  "Samson should have been aware of his danger and fled as fast as possible.  But passion had gripped him, sin had anesthetized him, and he was unable to act rationally.  He thought he had enough moral strength, but he was wrong.

After revealing his secret, he was captured by the Philistines and blinded.

Samson destroyed himself -- "It was tragic that a servant of the Lord, raised in a godly home, was now the humiliated slave of the enemy.  But even worse, the Philistines gave glory to their god Dagon ... Samson probably thought that he had the privilege of indulging in sin, since he wore the badge of a Nazirite and won so many victories for the Lord, but he was wrong.

Father, keep me ever aware that the closer I come to You, the more Satan will want to trip me up and make me sin.  Help me not to be blind to what tempts me, the way Sampson was.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford