The expression “the lust of the eyes” is mentioned only once in the Word of God, in 1 John 2:1616For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:16), but examples of that kind of lust abound in the Bible. Our first mother, Eve, was tempted by Satan in the Garden of Eden in this way, for she saw that the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was “pleasant to the eyes,” and combined with other lusts, it was enough to cause her to disobey the one command the Lord had given her and her husband.
Later, we find that Lot, Abraham’s nephew, “lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere ... even as the garden of the Lord” (Gen. 13:1010And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. (Genesis 13:10)). His eyes took him toward the wicked city of Sodom, with disastrous consequences to him and his family.
Later still, we find that Potiphar’s wife “cast her eyes upon Joseph” in an immoral way, and because he refused her advances, she falsely accused him and he was put in prison (Gen. 39:7-207And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. 8But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; 9There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? 10And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. 11And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. 12And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. 13And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, 14That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: 15And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out. 16And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. 17And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: 18And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out. 19And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. 20And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. (Genesis 39:7‑20)). We do not need to multiply incidents, but it was David’s lust of the eyes that caused him to look upon a beautiful woman and to lust after her, even though she was another man’s wife (2 Sam. 11:1-51And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. 2And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. 3And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 4And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. 5And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. (2 Samuel 11:1‑5)). Many other examples could be given, where the eye was the means of exciting lust in an individual’s mind.
Perfectly Obedient
However, there was One who was tempted in this way, and yet did not yield to it. Before He went forward to begin His earthly ministry, it was necessary to prove who He was. There could be no doubt as to the perfection of His nature and His absolute inability to commit sin, but a test was needed to bring this out clearly. Thus it was that the Spirit of God led Him into the wilderness, where He was tempted under the worst possible conditions. He was all alone in the wilderness, and for 40 days had nothing to eat. (In contrast, the temptation of Adam and Eve took place in the best of conditions — they were together, they had plenty to eat, and they were surrounded by the beauties of the Garden of Eden.)
However, our blessed Lord and Master walked in a path of dependence on His Father for everything, and He would not leave that path. Also, He did not simply tell Satan to go away, although as God, He had the power to do so. But our Lord quoted the Word of God to the devil, and it was enough to defeat him. Unlike every other man and woman in human history, there was nothing in our Lord to respond to Satan’s temptations, and Satan was compelled to withdraw. In this way the Lord Jesus was a good example for us, for as long as we live and move in the path of obedience, according to the Word of God, Satan has no power over us.
The Last Temptation
It is interesting to note that in the actual order of our Lord’s temptations, as given in Matthew 4, the lust of the eye is given last. Satan’s final ploy was to present Him with all the kingdoms of this world, telling Him that they could be His, if He would fall down and worship him. However, both in Luke 4, and in 1 John 2:1616For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:16), the temptations are given in a moral order, with the lust of the eyes mentioned second. The lust of the flesh comes first, for even a blind person has the lust of the flesh. But then the lust of the eye tends to be next for us who can see, for what our eyes take in often forms our thoughts and governs our actions. Finally, the pride of life comes in, where He is invited to cast Himself down from pinnacle of the temple, counting on God to keep Him from harm.
The Lust of the Eye
The lust of the eye is, and has always been, a serious problem for sinful man. Satan knows this all too well and knows how to present the things of this world in an extremely good light. It is often the eye that is first attracted to something in this world, even if the object also embodies the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. It may be something quite small, but if that is not enough, Satan knows well how to “up the ante” to something even more beautiful.
It is important to recognize that in all this, it is the “lust” of the eye that is a problem. The eye itself is not evil, for God has given us eyes that can see the beauty of His creation, including the beauty in another human being. Where I live, many of the deciduous trees turn beautiful colors in the fall, and people will often travel long distances in order to see trees in full color in early October. But when man sinned, all of his faculties were able to be used in the wrong way, and our eyes are particularly singled out in this respect.
The Antidote
What then is the antidote to the lust of the eyes? As we have seen, the answer is always to be found in the path of obedience to God’s Word. When we are tempted by this lust, the thought is brought into our minds that yielding to the lust will make us happier than continuing to walk in obedience to God’s Word. It is a hard lesson to learn that “the flesh profiteth nothing” (John 6:6363It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63)), and for some of us, it seems to take a lifetime to learn it.
The great thing is to realize that God has given us something better. All the lusts spoken of in 1 John 2:1616For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:16) are “of the world” and “not of the Father.” Which do we want — the things of the world, or happy communion with God our Father? The word “lust” implies an intense desire for something, even if we already have enough of it. Thus we read that “when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin” (James 1:1515Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (James 1:15)). A desire for something may not be wrong in itself, unless it is for something sinful, but a strong desire for something may lead us to excess, almost to addiction, and that is where sin comes in.
May the Lord keep us on guard in these last days, when Satan is ever more active. As we have already mentioned, it is often by an appeal to our sight that Satan first engages our attention, and then sin and its consequences follow. An attitude of dependence and obedience to God’s Word will keep us.
W. J. Prost