He Shall Be A Nazarite...Samson pt 3

https://billrandles.wordpress.com/2021/11/06/he-shall-be-a-nazarite-samson-pt-3/ ^ | 11-07-21 | Bill Randles

[pastorbillrandles]

For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. Judges 13:5

The Angel of the LORD commanded that Samson should be under a Nazarite vow from his conception,(which is why his mother was put under the same vow in pregnancy).

iN order to understand this, we must look at the Law of the Nazarite in Numbers 6.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord: He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body. ( NUMBERS 6:1-6)

The Nazarite vow was a provision for those among the congregation of Israel who would separate themselves in order to be devoted to a holy task. You will note that the passage in Numbers implies a period of separation, in which to perform the task, for example in a time of war. It was a vow of total dedication to God until” the days be fulfilled”.

But in Samson’s case, the vow was not temporary, He was to be devoted to God for his entire life, and the task would not be completed in his life, for the Angel told his parents that he would “Begin to deliver the Children of Israel…”.

The Nazarite vow involved a threefold separation; from the fruit of the vine, and from the razor on the head, and from Death, ie he was not to be involved in funerals or mourning. He was not to mourn his father, mother, sister or even his brother. Rather the Nazarite is entirely devoted to God and to his task.

All of Israel’s wars were to be Holy Wars, therefore the soldiers often put themselves under the Nazarite vow, for the duration of the battle. Thus in the Song of Deborah, we read:

….That the people willingly offered themselves, (In the Battle)

What the Hebrew literally says is something to the effect of, ” The Hair Hung Loosely from the mighty ones…“. The warriors of Israel in the days of Deborah put themselves under the Nazarite vow unto God , and were thus powerful.

The Vow of the Nazarite signified total devotion to God in a task.

To live your life without ever cutting your hair would be to make of yourself a spectacle, to be separated from others, and thus it symbolizes ‘the reproach of Christ.

Through this vow, Samson would always be different from all around him. Even among his own people He would be alienated and separated due to his total devotion to God, portrayed by his uncut and piled Hair, and his abstinence from that which symbolizes the simple joys of life, wine, and the sweet raisin and grapes.

Furthermore, even in the sorrowful moments of life, such as in death and loss, He was to be separate. Samson was not to mourn or to participate in the sorrowful tasks and rituals of grief, such as laying out the body of a loved one, washing and helping to wrap and intern them, all of which are essential to healing and closure. Samson was to be different, He was to abstain.

Samson’s life was meant to show Israel what it would look like if the s compromised and debased Holy Nation, would just devote themselves to God. If such were the case, One would put a thousand to flight and two would put ten thousand to flight….