The Lust of the Eyes -- Lessons from the Life of Samson

By and large, all sins can be categorised into one of three types:  the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16, NIV).

From the story of Samson, we perceive that he struggled with the lust of the eyes. We first infer this from the account of Samson asking his parents for a Philistine wife:

One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye. When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.” (Judges 14:1-2; NLT; with emphasis added)

His father and mother objected. "Isn't there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?" they asked. "Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?" But Samson told his father, "Get her for me! She looks good to me." (Judges 14:3; NLT; with emphasis added)

Samson got his wish, but it ultimately led to his grief:

When Samson did not explain his riddle to her, the bible says that she "tormented him with her nagging" (Judges 14:17; NLT) until she got her way.

Later on, Samson's father-in-law gives Samson's wife away, and when confronted by Samson, interestingly, Samson's father-in-law's reply was: "But look, her younger sister is even more beautiful than she is. Marry her instead." (Judges 15:2; NLT; emphasis added), suggesting that he was well-aware of Samson's weakness for beautiful women.

Shortly after, Samson's lust of the eyes is once again exposed when he visits Gaza, and "where he saw a prostitute" (Judges 16:1; NIV; emphasis added), and was apparently so smitten by her beauty that he spent the night with her.

Subsequently, Samson meets Delilah, and the bible does not provide details over how they met, but as in the case of his Philistine wife, Samson seems to have focused on Delilah's external qualities, rather than her inner ones, which eventually brings him grief, as Delilah is just as capable as his previous Philistine wife of "tormenting him" and the bible says that she "tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it" (Judges 16:16; NLT).

The bible warns that "your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23), and perhaps one might infer from the fact that Samson got his eyes gouged out (Judges 16:21) that this was his ultimate penalty for repeatedly yielding to the lust of the eyes.

Many men in modern society have a weakness for the lust of the eyes just as Samson did. This is reflected by the popularity of Internet pornography among many males.

While the lust of the eyes is often considered as a male issue, are women exempt from its temptation? Perhaps not. Some women can spend hours browsing Internet shopping sites, eventually buying things they want but don't really need -- is this not also an example of yielding to the lust of the eyes?

That said, if one has a propensity for the lust of the eyes, the best way forward would be to confess it to the Lord, and to ask Him to save one from it "through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5, NIV), rather than to ignore the problem and someday have to face up to its tragic consequences.

Picture Depicting The Blinding of Samson by Rembrandt

The Hidden Spiritual Meaning of the Nazarite Vow and How Samson Might Have Avoided His Untimely Death

The bible encourages us to meditate on God's word day and night (Psalm 1:2), and I think it is not without reason that we are instructed to do this. For one, I think (and this is also based on m own personal experience) that as we meditate on God's word, we uncover hidden, spritual truths, that are not apparent on a cursory reading.

I find it painful to read about the story of Samson (Judges 13) and have often wondered if he could have avoided his untimely death.

Indeed, I do not think it was God's plan for Samson to have died the way he did. Rather, I speculate that his fate is the outcome of the bad choices that he had made over a lifetime.

Samson's birth was an extaordinary one. An angel of the Lord appeared before his mother to instruct her that her would-be born son was to be a Nazirite for life, "dedicated to God from the womb" (Judges 13).

Therein lies the secret of how Samson might have avoided his untimely death.

You see, nazarites were prohibited from three things (Numbers 6:1–21):

• Wine and other fermented drink
• Shaving their hair
• Proximity to a dead body

Whey were nazarites prohibited from things? Ah, this is precisely the question that Samson should have asked, and if necessary, to have spent an entire lifetime meditating on these things, rather than on chasing after women and other wordly pursuits.

Beneath the religious practice of the Nazarite vow lies, I believe, a hidden and deeper spiritual meaning of each of these three things.

Let's start with avoiding wine and other fermented drink. Why? I believe it was to prevent the Nazarite from being involved in drunkedness or rowdy behaviour and unnecessary trouble. Proverbs 20:1 (International Standard Version translation, with emphais mine) says: "Wine causes mocking, and beer causes fights; everyone led astray by them lacks wisdom."

Now, in the bible, it is never explictly mentioned that Samson had drunk any wine, but in Judges 14, we read that "Samson threw a party. (This is what young men used to do.)" (Judges 14:10; God's Word translation), and I think it wouldn't be too unreasonable to imagine that alcohol was served.

Later, we read that Samson challenged his guest with a high-stakes riddle, and if you read further, this challenge lead to a host of trouble, and even the eventual death of Samson's prospective wife and father in law (Judges 15).  Perhaps Samson was inebriated by alcohol when he made that challenge and could have avoided "loose lips" had he been more sober.

Next, we move on to the Nazarite's prohibition from shaving their hair.

In the bible, hair, is an emblem for "covering" or "protection". We see this principle in 1 Corinthians 11:14-15 (NIV):

¹⁴ Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, ¹⁵ but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.

That said, I believe that for the nazarites, their long hair was the emblem of God's "covering" or "protection" over their lives.

Indeed, in Judges 16, we see that shortly after his hair had been shaved (verse 19), "the Lord had left him" (verse 20) (implying that the Lord was no longer "covering" over Samson's life). At the same time, Samson's amazing strength left him (verse 19).

Herein, it should be apparent that Samson's strength was not physical, but supernatural (from the Holy Spirit).

Finally, we discuss the Nazarite prohibition from getting close to dead bodies.

Why the prohibition? Well, the New Testament tells us that the Lord Jesus had a disciple who promised Him that he (the disciple) would follow Him but needed to bury his father first (Matthew 8). Instead of commending this disciple for his filial piety, the Lord Jesus seemed rather harsh when he replied: "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." (Matthew 8:22; NIV)

What did the Lord Jesus mean by "let the dead bury their own dead"? How can a dead person bury another dead person? Have you ever seen such a thing?

Well, the NLT version enlightens us by translating Matthew 8:22 this way: "But Jesus told him, "Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead."" (emphasis mine).

In other words, it seems like the Lord Jesus Christ was instructing this disciple that he (this disciple), being spritually alive, had more important things to attend to (namely, "to preach about the Kingdom of God"; see Luke 9:60), and that he should leave non-spiritual matters into the hands of the spiritually dead.

Coming back to the Nazarite prohibition from getting close to dead bodies, I believe that the deeper spiritual meaning behind this prohibition was for the Nazarite's to separate themselves from the spiritually dead.

The tragic irony in Samson's life is that he seemed to have spent most of his time associating with the spiritually dead and so little with God's children (the children of Israel). Lest we forget, Samson was judge over Israel for twenty years (Judges 15:20 ), but how much of his leadership do we learn about in the bible?

Eventually, Samson died with the Philistines. Note that this was something he had prayed and requested God for (see Judges 16:30, NLT translation, which reads: "he prayed, "Let me die with the Philistines."")

Why did Samson have to die this way? I mean, had Samson requested God to allow him to die elsewhere, couldn't have God granted his requested and delivered him from the Philistines' captivity? I would think so, but wish to bring you back to my point that God had answered Samson's very request. It seems to me that even at death, Samson could not dissociate himself emotionally from the spiritually-dead Philistines.

Perhaps had Samson trained his mind since young (by meditating on the Word of God) to stay away from the spiritually dead, his life could have taken a very different turn, and could have avoided all the tragedies in his life, and lived a ripe old age, instead of dying in such an untimely manner.
Is there any relevance of this to modern-day believers? There is; like the Nazarites, we are not to establish close relationships with the spiritually dead: "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14; NIV)

How Demons Can Infiltrate Christians

Can demons infiltrate Christians? The late Derek Prince suggested that they can, and in the book, Rules of Engagement: Preparing for Your Role in the Spiritual Battle, he explains how:

In James 3:15 the apostle speaks about a form of wisdom which does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual [soulish], demonic. James depicts a downward slide in three successive stages: from the earthly to the soulish to the demonic.

When Christians become earthly they lose the vision of eternity. They cannot see beyond the things of this life: success, pleasure, wealth, physical health. They are only interested in what their faith will do for them in this life! Concerning such people Paul says: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable (1 Corinthians 15:19). Christians like that often consider themselves prosperous and successful. God considers them pitiable.

After the earthly, the next stage is soulish. To be soulish is to be egocentric, self-centered. For such people, the Christian faith is a way to get what they want out of life. They suppose that godliness is a means of gain (1 Timothy 6:5).

The soulish opens the way for the demonic. This is one main way in which demons infiltrate the church. The question is often asked: Do Christians ever need deliverance from demons? The words of James provide a clear answer. This downward slide from the earthly to the soulish to the demonic exposes both individual believers and whole congregations to the activities of demons.

The Secret of Samson's Strength; It is About the Hair, But It's Also Not All About the Hair

What is the secret of Samson's strength?

In my view, it is about the hair, but it's also not all about the hair.

Sounds confusing? Ok, let's start with the basics.

Samson was a nazarite (Judges 13). The word 'nazarite' comes from the Hebrew word nazir meaning "consecrated" or "separated"; consequently, the nazarites were the "consecrated ones" or "separated ones". The condition for being a nazarite is described in Numbers 6:1–21, and in particular, nazarites were prohibited from these three things:

• Wine and other fermented drink
• Shaving their hair (therefore, they were required to let their hair grow long)
• Proximity to a dead body

Now, I believe each of these three things had a deeper spiritual significance behind them (just as when Moses gave the children of Israel prohibitions over certain food, the prohibited food were meant to convey a deeper spiritual truth; for details, please view my earlier blog).
In particular, hair, is an emblem for "covering" or "protection". We see this principle in 1 Corinthians 11:14-15 (NIV):

¹⁴ Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, ¹⁵ but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.

That said, I believe that for the nazarites, their long hair was the emblem of God's "covering" or "protection" over their lives.

Indeed, in Judges 16, we see that shortly after his hair had been shaved (verse 19), "the Lord had left him" (verse 20) (implying that the Lord was no longer "covering" over Samson's life). At the same time, Samson's amazing strength left him (verse 19). Herein, it should be apparent that Samson's strength was not physical, but supernatural (from the Holy Spirit).

So, if you have been wondering "what's the big deal about Samson's hair", it wasn't really wasn't about the hair per se (which is why males typically do not lose significant hair on shaving their hair), but about the spiritual emblem that it represented in Samson's life. We know that God does deal with emblems seriously -- even in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 11), we find that believers who partook of the Holy Communion in an unworthy manner came under God's judgment (verse 29), leading to sickness or even death (verse 30).

Cheap Grace versus Costly Grace (An Essay Written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

We live in a world where many pulpits are teaching "cheap grace" -- an imitation form of grace. In the essay below, WW2 martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, compares "cheap grace" with true and costly grace, that is able to save the soul. 

Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church. We are fighting today for costly grace.

Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks' wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the church's inexhaustible treasury from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. 

What would grace be if it were not cheap?

Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as the Christian "conception" of God. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure remission of sins. The church which holds the correct doctrine of grace has, it is supposed, ipso facto a part in that grace. In such a church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin. Cheap grace therefore amounts to a denial of the living Word of God, in fact, a denial of the incarnation of the Word of God.

Grace alone does everything, they say, and so everything can remain as it was before. Instead of following Christ, let the Christian enjoy the consolations of grace! That is what we mean by cheap grace, the grace which amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin and from whom sin departs. Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves.

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

A Costly Calling

Costly grace, on the other hand, is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows Him.

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock (Matthew 7:7-8).

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of His Son: "Ye were bought at a price" (1 Corinthians 6:20), and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Costly grace is the incarnation of God.

Costly grace is the sanctuary of God; it has to be protected from the world. It is therefore the living word, the Word of God, which He speaks as it pleases Him. Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus; it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. 

Grace is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:30).

The Terrible Price of Cheap Grace

Cheap grace has been disastrous to our own spiritual lives. Instead of opening up the way to Christ it has closed it. Instead of calling us to follow Christ, it has hardened us in our disobedience. Perhaps we had once heard the gracious call to follow Him, and had at this command even taken the first few steps along the path of discipleship in the discipline of obedience, only to find ourselves confronted by the word of cheap grace.

The only effect that such a word could have on us was to bar our way to progress, and seduce us to the mediocre level of the world, quenching the joy of discipleship by telling us that we were following a way of our own choosing, that we were spending our strength and discipling ourselves in vain—all of which was not merely useless, but extremely dangerous. After all, we were told, our salvation had already been accomplished by the grace of God.

The smoking flax was mercilessly extinguished. It was unkind to speak to men like this, for such a cheap offer could only leave them bewildered and tempt them from the way to which they had been called by Christ. Having laid hold on cheap grace, they were barred forever from the knowledge of costly grace. Deceived and weakened, men felt that they were strong now that they were in possession of this cheap grace—whereas they had in fact lost the power to live the life of discipleship and obedience. The word of cheap grace has been the ruin of more Christians than any commandment of works.

Happy are they who know that discipleship simply means the life which springs from grace, and that grace simply means discipleship.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian who was hanged in April of 1945 for allegedly taking part in the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer publicly spoke-out against Adolf Hitler soon after his rise to power, and today, Bonhoeffer is still remembered for his courage in speaking out against the tyranny of the Nazis and their leader. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have become widely influential.

How Do We Put on The Armour of God (Fritz Springmeier)

Fritz Springmeier, bestselling author of Bloodline of the Illuminati, recently shared on how Christians can put on the armour of God.

This message is in response to that question which was just asked of me. The answer to this question is really the nuts & bolts of what makes the walk in Christ work! How many Christians have I met who can’t seem to make Christianity work, who don’t have a clue about most of this! First, it is vital to understand the purpose of the armor.

UNDERSTANDING ITS USE. The primary Scripture that describes the armor of God best is Ephesians 6:10-20…although many other scriptures mention or touch on it.(A) The armor passages in Ephesians were written by Paul, who had experienced (suffered) for acting like a Christian about every possible problem, incl. being badly beaten, harshly imprisoned for years, slandered, & chased out of towns. It seems no good deed happens without being punished. Paul is thought to have written these words on the Armor of God while in prison—in other words, he knew firsthand how important the armor of God is to survive as a person of God. Almost every man or woman of God is going to face problems where there are no answers—things will make no sense—and when you want to see God destroying the problem—He does nothing. If one puts on and uses the armor of God, miracles often happen, and one sees that God is there after all! I can testify that the armor works! I have witnessed this many times…I think of one time where I felt backed into a corner with no explanation or answers for what I faced…but I moved forward in total trust (faith in the living loving God) and I saw the Spirit anoint me and do miracles. Out of confusion, & what seemed defeat, the Spirit of God made me an overcomer. I didn’t merely survive, but I thrived in the midst of difficulty. Others have overcome incredible battles with the Armor of God.

THE INCREDIBLE PRESSURES OF LIFE. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels [frail human bodies], that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed---always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”(B) In other words, we receive incredible pressures, so that we can manifest the life of Christ to the world. The Armor of God is not some clever analogy, some skillful play on words, but it is the practical method that we must use in our spiritual warfare against the World’s forces of evil.

INSTRUCTION ON THE ARMOR IN GOD’S WORD: “…my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”(C) The entire suit of armor is needed, for our opponent will attack where we are weakest. The advice to put on “the whole armor” is repeated two verses later.(D)

PARTS TO THE ARMOR.
FIRST PART OR ARMOR. TAKING THE TRUTH PILL TO LEAVE THE MATRIX. The girdle around the midsection is truth. How important it is to know ourselves, to know the truth of others, to know truth in this World of lies. Christ said he was the way & the truth. Another verse teaches us that it is the “love of truth” that will save us.(E) It is not merely having the truth, but loving the truth, because Satan will have all kinds of power to do lying wonders and every unrighteous deception. (E) What pill do we want to take—red or blue—to leave the World’s matrix of lies, or to stay in the comfort of this World of lies? The first piece of armor to put on is to take the truth pill to leave the Matrix.

2ND PIECE OF ARMOR, the Breastplate of righteousness, i.e. taking the moral high ground. When we have truth on our side, when we have right on our side, it gives incredible power. Having righteousness gives us incredible courage & confidence. Have you ever been righteously indignant about some injustice? Do you see how that indignation empowers you? For instance, you may have the courage to go up to a bully and say, “That’s mine, I want it back.” But we all start out weak, we need to ask for forgiveness, repent of our immoral ways, and start life new with the imputed righteousness of Christ, who promises forgiveness to those who admit their wrongs and ask for forgiveness.

3rd PIECE OF ARMOR, the gospel of peace. When we come in peace, when we come to help others, to find win-win solutions, rather than trying to hurt, it gives us confidence. Imagine how bold you would feel if you had $100 bills to give everyone. Normally you would not approach people, but because you know you have something valuable to give them, you have courage and confidence to approach them. The gospel of peace is the real gospel of Christ…who taught us the golden rule, to do unto others as we would want done to ourself. The real gospel of Christ is a gospel of love to build others up. It is a treasure that is worth far more than $100. Peace blesses us too; “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makes me dwell in safety.”(F) Peace was what Christ came to give: “Peace, I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”(G)

4th PIECE OF ARMOR, the shield of faith. Our faith and trust that God is good functions like a shield to protect us from all the fiery arrows that the enemy shoots at us to take us down with discouragement. The enemy is trying to weaken us, and things fly at us—but they don’t attach to us and penetrate us if we use our shield of faith. When things don’t make sense, move forward with that shield of faith. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”(H) The first book written of Scriptures was about Job. Job, a man of God, had it all, until God permitted Satan to attack his life. Job lost everything, and his wife told him to curse God & die. But he kept his shield of faith in place and it carried him through the battle. We need our God every moment. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”(I) This is why Christians treasure the Word of God, because washing our minds with the Word, cleans out the lies of the Matrix and builds our faith in a good God.

5th PIECE OF ARMOR, helmet of salvation. There is power in knowing that you are a child of God. There is power in knowing your Father is Almighty God. There is power in knowing that this world is not all that there is, and that your true hope is a heavenly hope of your future home with God. Satan will send demons of doubt to cause a person to doubt salvation, to doubt God, to doubt the future that is promised believers. The helmet of salvation is important. One needs to know one’s identity is Christ. One needs to keep one’s heavenly hope and heavenly perspective. I am reminded of a German Christian in the last month of WW 2; the German people had trusted in having the best technology, in having the baddest army, in having the strongest willpower of all the nations, and indeed they had these things…but those things had let them down…and now all their cities were rubble, allied “jabos” fighters roamed the over the country looking for anyone to shoot, & their enemies had said they wanted to take Germany back to the stone age. He wrote 13 days before the surrender (V-E day): “there is in fact only one genuine reason for joy: the hope of God’s coming kingdom.” True indeed…if they had only realized that before they began the war.

6th piece of Armor, the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God which is powerful. “…attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings…For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”(J) The Word of God functions like a 2-edged sword…it will cut both ways…to both the user and the one receiving it.(K) It also functions as a flashlight to light up the path and show where to go.(L)
7th piece of weaponry, prayer. Ephesians 6:18 says “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit..” A key component of prayer is that it is God-breathed…”in the Spirit”. I have been compelled to pray prayers that I knew were inspired by God and knew at the same moment that they would come true. God was behind them. How is this obtained?…by moving into the center of God’s will.

So this then are the components of spiritual armor, to know our identity as a child of God, to walk in that gospel of peace & love, to move forward with a shield of faith, having obtained the truth that removes us from the World’s matrix of lies. To cherish the truth that we would diligently look for it, using God’s Spirit of Truth to reveal the World’s incredible deceptions. We carry our Sword and know how to use the Word of God, which functions as the Sword of God. We continually are in contact with our commander by all manner of godly prayer. Prayer is like a radio for the soldier who needs to call in artillery or call for other help. But we must use it correctly by moving in the center of God’s will.

(A) Other scriptures on the armor incl. ISA 59:17, ROM 13:11-14, 2 COR 6:7, 10:3-6, 1 THS 8:8 (B) 2COR 4:8-9 (C) EPH 6:10-11. (D) EPH 6:13 (E) 2 THS 2:10 (F) PS 4:8 (G) JN 14:27 (H) 2 COR 5:7 (I) ROM 10:17 (J) PRV 4:20-22 (K) HEB 4:12 (L) Many verses say this incl. PS 119:105 & PRV 6:22,23

Testimony of Ex-MediaCorp Artists Darren Lim and Evelyn Tan

In this video, ex-MediaCorp artists Darren Lim and Evelyn Tan share their wonderful testimony of God's faithfulness and provision. The video was shot at Bethesda (Bedok-Tampines) Church (BBTC).