Samson and the Nazarite Vow

As we study the book of Judges, there are many different accounts concerning the men and (one) woman whom God chose to be judges. Perhaps the most intriguing and unique of these is that of Samson, a man who was under the Nazarite vow from the time of his birth, and who possessed immensely great strength. Before we examine the life of Samson, however, it is fitting that we first study to learn more about this "Nazarite vow".

The word "Nazarite" comes from the Hebrew language and means "one who abstains", or "one who is set apart". The Nazarite vow was a part of the Old Law which bound the one who took it to a certain code of rules. A Nazarite was a person who was especially holy, or set apart by God, and was to abstain from certain things.

A reading of Numbers chapter six gives the things that a Nazarite was to do, which are: abstaining from any part of the grape vine (whether grapes, wine, or anything else), not allowing their hair to be cut, and avoiding dead bodies at all costs.

Among the Israelites, being a Nazarite was not usually a permanent lifestyle. Also in Numbers, we read that when one's time as a Nazarite had been completed, they were to shave their head and throw the hair into the fire. Samson, however, was an interesting exception to this rule. When the Angel of the Lord informed his parents of his coming birth, he told them that Samson would be "a Nazarite from his mother's womb". Thus, as Samson was born and began to grow up, he was never to cut his hair.

Having seen the requirements set by God to those who were consecrated as Nazarites, it is a worthy question to ask, "How well did Samson live up to this standard?" As far as can be ascertained about his life from the scriptures, Samson did not partake of anything pertaining to the vine, and until he told his secret to Delilah, his hair had not been touched by a razor. However, we can clearly tell that Samson, at times, defiled himself with the dead, as we read of all the men he slew, and also of him retrieving a honeycomb from a lion's carcass. In spite of this, however, we must remember that God used Samson to His purposes, in beginning to deliver Israel from the Philistines.

In order to accomplish this work which Samson was to do, God endowed him with incredible physical strength, and it is for this that Samson is most known. With this God-given ability, he was able to break strong bonds, kill men and beasts, and pull up entire city gates. He was truly a strong man, but he had his weaknesses as well, which ultimately led to his downfall.

It began when he was in Timnath and saw a daughter of the Philistines who "pleased him well." What he was doing in Timnath, the scriptures do not tell, but as it turned out, he married the woman, despite his parents' protests. The marriage did not even last the duration of the week-long wedding feast, during which time he posed a riddle which ended in his new wife being given to another man.

Later on we find Samson in Gaza with a harlot, and then later with a treacherous woman named Delilah, who, with persistence, was finally able to extract from him the reason for his great strength, and how to destroy it. When Samson finally told her that he would become weak if his hair were cut, she brought in a man to do this as he slept.

When Delilah cried out "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" he leapt up with the words "I will go out as before".

Although Samson had spoken truth when he told Delilah how he could be made weak, it seems that he himself hardly believed it. Samson had forgotten the source of his great strength—God—and was handed over to the Philistines as a weak man.

Although the Lord saw fit to restore Samson's strength one last time before he died, Samson still dwelt on himself as he prayed that he might have vengeance for his eyes which the Philistines had put out.

In closing, we may note that although Samson was often selfish and certainly not perfect, he performed the function God had for him using the strength God had granted. May we always seek to be useful in the Kingdom of God as we strive to be God's humble servants.

This is my first-place essay from the Bible Search in Austin. The lack of scripture references is due to the essay being timed and close-book.