Judges 14, 15 & 16: Where do I need boundaries?

It’s not unfamiliar—that’s for sure. But something about reading Judges 14, 15, and 16 back-to-back hit different this time. Three chapters. Three women. A pattern that plays out again and again.

“There is a Philistine woman down at Timnah who caught my attention. Get her for me; I want to marry her.” (Judges 14:2) “The Philistines went and burned the woman to death and burned down her father’s house.” (Judges 15:6) “After this, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah…” (Judges 16:4)

Delilah wasn’t the problem. She was one In a long line of a pattern finally catching up with him. From the very first woman, we see it: a man gifted by God but governed by desire. Chosen. Empowered. Set apart. Yet completely unequipped to guard what mattered most. Samson judged Israel for 20 years, but Scripture doesn’t tell stories of his wise leadership or justice. We do learn how he never learned to guard the one thing God didn’t take control of: his heart.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

Samson was strong enough to kill a lion with his bare hands, but not strong enough to say no to

what looked good in the moment. He was called—but unguarded. We see strength without

boundaries? If the enemy can’t steal our calling, he’ll try to erode it through slow compromise. Samson didn’t struggle with wine. He wasn’t obsessed with his hair. It was his heart that left him vulnerable.

I’m left asking: Where am I still led by emotion more than conviction? Where have I excused patterns simply because they’re familiar, convenient and comfortable? What would it look like to fully draw boundaries around what God has entrusted me to carry?