Samson the Nazarite

Then the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son. Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. “For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”  Judges 13:3-5

“Nazarite" comes from the Hebrew word נזיר nazir meaning "consecrated" or "separated". This vow required the person to:

• Abstain from wine, grapes, and eating or drinking any substance that contains any trace of grapes.
• Refrain from cutting the hair on one's head; but to allow the locks of the head's hair to grow.
• Not to become ritually impure by contact with corpses or graves, even those of family members.

Two examples of nazarites are found in scriptures; Samson and Samuel. Both were born of previously barren mothers and entered into their vows through their mothers' oaths rather than their own volition: In the first case, God sent an angel to make the vow known to the Samson’s mother. In the second case, Samuel’s mother made the vow before Samuel was even conceived, because she was barren. These vows required Samson and Samuel to live devout lives, yet in return they received extraordinary gifts: Samson possessed strength and ability in physical battle against the Philistines, while Samuel became a prophet.

Samson and Samuel are reminders that, although the Nazaritic vow was traditionally voluntary, there are times when God wants particular things done and He sets somebody apart for Himself. We can imagine the difficulty for a person in that dedicated status who wants something else. It’s like an arranged marriage. And, the outcome will be good, or bad, depending on the willingness of the Nazarite to accept this call on his/her life. For Samuel, it went well.

For Samson... not so much.

Samson reminds me of a precocious child athlete, with indescribable talent and potential...who is destined for big league stardom and accolades. Yet, never achieves those dreams because of his own immaturity and lack of discipline. Samson was never able to bridle his own passions and this led to his demise. All the promise implied by the vow was overshadowed by personal failure. Remember when he saw a young Philistine woman and said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.” During the wedding feast his guests discovered the answer to his riddle through chicanery. Samson was so incensed by the deception that he burned with anger. He went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave it to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he returned to his father’s home. And, wife was given to one of his companions who had attended him at the feast.

That’s one of several examples. Even so, God faithfully used him to deliver Israel. His final act, destroying the Philistine temple along with thousands of Israel’s enemies, demonstrates God ‘ faithfulness to Samson even when the converse wasn’t always true.

This is good news. As I enter the autumn of my life I can see occasions from my past when God truly set me apart, unto Himself, to do great things. And, had I been more disciplined, unimaginably greater things may have occurred...but didn’t. Yet, as I moved closer to Him, He would once again set me apart for another purpose. He is still doing it today.

In many ways, Samson is a story of personal failure. We look at Samson and wonder what “might have been.” We look at our own lives and wonder the same thing. Please do not despair. God is not finished using us yet. Samson, though blinded and stripped of his strength, was given one final and glorious mission. It was a resounding success and, today, that’s what we remember him for. 

Live boldly out there today...