Weakness refers to the part of our character or nature that makes us fall easily in the face of temptation. Since no one is perfect, everyone has weaknesses. Weakness is common to all people, even to the great Bible heroes whose faith and deeds inspire the present generation. These weaknesses are put on display under various circumstances. These are some examples of weaknesses of man seen in the Bible:
Noah’s drinking habit
Noah was a good man. Out of all the people of the world at that time, Noah was the only person God regarded as good. Hence, God saved him and his family from the flood that destroyed the whole world. After the flood, Noah began the cultivation of crops, and he planted a vineyard; hence, he was producing grapes and made alcoholic wine out of the grapes.
Noah slipped into a drinking habit. At some point, he consumed enough alcohol to make him pass out, lying naked in his tent. And the Bible continues that his son Ham saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. Then Ham’s brothers, Shem and Japheth, took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of Noah. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see Noah’s nakedness. Genesis 9:20-24
Moses’ anger weakness
The Bible testifies that Moses was the humblest man upon the face of the earth during his time (Nu 12:3). What a great commendation! However, apart from his physical weakness of being a stummerer, Moses was struggling with some moral weaknesses in his life. At least, one of these moral weaknesses is very obvious to Bible readers; that is, ‘anger weakness’. The events in his life that exposed this weakness are:
While in Egypt, Moses killed an Egyptian whom he saw maltreating an Israelite (Exodus 2:11-15). In the wilderness of Zin, the people rebelled against Moses for water. Now God told Moses to speak to the rock to yield its water for the people. However, Moses, out of anger, disobeyed God by striking the rock twice instead of speaking to the rock (Numbers 20:1-13). At Mt. Sinai, when Moses came down from the mountain and saw that the Israelites had forsaken the Lord and were holding a feast to an idol, he was driven by anger so much that he smashed into pieces the two tablets of stone that God gave him, on which were written the commandments.
Moses’ anger-induced disobedience offended God so much that he had to face the consequence of not entering the Promised Land. Largely, we would say Moses’ anger-weakness posed a challenge to his mission and leadership as a man of God. Moses had his weaknesses, but, on the whole, he was a great leader and prophet.
Samson’s lust for women
Samson was chosen by God and gifted with great strength, but he had a weakness for women that led him to sin and ultimately to his downfall. He first wanted to marry a Philistine woman from Timnah, even though his parents advised against it. He insisted, “Get her for me, for she pleases me well” (Judges 14:1-3). Later, he spent time with a prostitute in Gaza. The Philistines plotted to kill him, but he escaped by tearing and carrying away the city gates (Judges 16:1-3). His greatest downfall came through Delilah in the Valley of Sorek.
The Philistine rulers bribed her to find out the secret of his strength (Judges 16:4-5). After several attempts, she finally convinced him to reveal that his strength came from his uncut hair as a Nazirite. When his hair was cut, the Lord’s strength left him. The Philistines then captured him, blinded him, and imprisoned him (Judges 16:17-21). Samson’s story illustrates how his weakness for women led him to compromise his purpose and lose the power God had given him. We can see that unchecked desires can undermine God’s gifts.
David’s weakness for women
David was a good king and was loved by God. Before he became a king, he had an archenemy, King Saul. King Saul hunted David day and night with an unquenchable thirst to kill him. On more than one occasion, David had the opportunity to kill his arch-enemy, King Saul, and usurp his throne, but he spared his life.
This same David, one evening, went to the top of his palace. While standing up there, he saw a woman, Bathsheba, bathing on the roof of her house. David had many wives, and Bathsheba, too, was married, yet David could not control himself; he wanted to have her still. It turned out that he committed adultery with her and faced many consequences. In these events, we see two sides of David; at one point, he shows strength in forgiveness and he is not vindictive. At another point, he showed weakness for women.
Other noteworthy weaknesses
Among the judges called by God to lead Israel, Gideon is the one who exhibits the most fear and self-doubt (Judges 6:15). Unlike Othniel and Ehud, he was timid and constantly sought signs from God (Judges 6:36-40). Like Gideon, Apostle Peter was also timid. Apart from denying Jesus three times in the face of persecution, he also showed timidity in Antioch. Initially, he related well to the uncircumcised Gentile believers, even eating with them. But when Jewish believers came to Antioch from Jerusalem, fearing their criticism, he withdrew from the Gentle believers (Galatians 2:12). Paul noticed this and rebuked him (Galatians 2:14). Apostle Paul also admitted a personal weakness, described as a “thorn in the flesh” that kept him humble (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).