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.

Who is Lost?

Who is lost? As you read God's inspired word, you will find several verses that refer to the lost. One good example is Luke 19:10:

For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

Those who are lost are those who have not obeyed God; those who are not Christians.

Now, there are many people in the world who profess to be Christians. Will they all go to heaven? Read Matthew 7:21-23:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

This verse tells us that many who profess to be Christians will not go to heaven. In fact, God will say to them, "I never knew you." Why will so many people who profess to be Christians be denied eternal life? Read Luke 6:46:

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

And John 14:15:

If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments.

What must we do to have eternal life in heaven? We must obey God and keep His commandments. Why won't the members of all the denominations go to heaven? Because they have not kept God's commandments. They may sincerely believe that they are worshiping God in the right way, but unless they follow the Bible exactly, they are lost.

Many who profess to be Christians follow the teachings of men instead of God's commandments. Read Mark 7:7-9:

But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.
Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men.
And he said unto them, Full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition.

When people follow after the teachings of men, they are being led astray and are lost. Read Mark 13:22:

for there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, the elect.

How can we know whether or not a teacher is speaking the truth? Read Acts 17:11:

Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.

The Beroeans were studying the scriptures to see whether the things that Paul and Silas were saying were true. We should do the same thing today to determine whether someone is a false teacher or not. First John 4:1 says,

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

One aspect of Christianity that is often corrupted by false teachers is salvation. One popular form of "salvation" is the sinner's prayer, where one prays to God and asks for forgiveness. Is someone who has said the sinner's prayer lost? Well, the Bible says nothing about the sinner's prayer, and it is not in the plan of salvation. Moreover, the Bible teaches that God only hears the prayers of the righteous. James 5:16 says:

The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working.

Prayer is a privilege for those who have been saved. Sinners can pray, but God will not acknowledge their prayer. For more information about this subject, click here to read an article from Apologetics Press.

Many false teachers will lead people astray by teaching that baptism is not necessary. They say that just as long as you love God, He will have mercy on you and save you. First of all, Jesus said in John 14:15,

If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments.

If you truly love God, you will obey Him. If you do not obey Him, you are lost. Also, the Bible clearly says that baptism is essential for salvation:

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned.

(Mark 16:16)

So who is lost? Everyone in the world who has not been saved according to God's plan of salvation is lost. What is the plan of salvation? It is God's guideline of what to do in order to be saved. The first step is to hear. One must hear the gospel preached in order to understand what to do to be saved (Acts 2). The second step is to believe (John 14:11). One must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Next, one must repent of their sins, turning away from them and striving to live righteously (Matthew 4:17). The fourth step is to confess before men the belief that Jesus is the Son of God (Matthew 10:32). The last step is to be baptized: immersed in water, coming in contact with Christ's blood, to have one's sins washed away.

There are many people in the world who are lost. Every day we come into contact with people who do not know Christ. Many of our friends are not Christians. Jesus commanded His disciples in Mark 16:15,

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation.

It is our duty as followers of Christ to teach the gospel, to find the lost and bring them to Christ.

 

All scripture quotations are from the 1901 American Standard Version.

Missing Links

If evolution is true, then all animals and people slowly evolved from simple to complex over millions of years' time. If this is correct, we would expect to find, for example, not only fossils of reptiles and birds, but also creatures in the in-between stage, half bird, half reptile type creatures. However, these links are missing!

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Some evolutionists claim that the now-extinct bird called the Archaeopteryx is a missing link between reptiles and birds. Here are a few good reasons why God created Archaeopteryx as it was, not as a link between two very different types of animals:

• Archaeopteryxes had fully formed wings just like the birds of today. With perfectly designed airfoil wings, they were fit to fly! You wouldn't expect this if it were half reptile.
• Also, a fossil of a bird bone that dated back to the same time as the archaeopteryx was found. The fossil was even more similar to modern birds than the archaeopteryx. This was a startling discovery, since archaeopteryx was supposed to be the earliest bird, and if there was another bird living at the same time that was more "advanced" than the archaeopteryx, then the hypothesis is somehow incorrect!
• One feature that evolutionists say makes the archaeopteryx reptilian is the claws on its wings. However, several types of birds that are still living, namely, the Hoatzin, Touraco, and Ostrich, also have claws on their wings, and yet are not considered missing links. The archaeopteryx is just another bird with claws.

Archaeopteryxes, with their claws, and teeth, were birds. God created them as birds, and created reptiles as reptiles. The archaeopteryx is not a missing link, and never will be. The fossil record holds absolutely no evidence of links between types.

We have all heard of the links between monkeys and modern man, but have we ever been told the true story about these "cave men"?

• NEBRASKA MAN

The "Nebraska Man" was created from an artist's imagination from a single tooth that was discovered. Aside from the ridiculousness of making a whole man out of a tooth, the tooth was found to be that of an extinct wild pig.

• PILTDOWN MAN

A mandible and a portion of a skull were found in an English gravel pit by Charles Dawson in 1912. After the remains were advertised as "missing links" all over the world, the bones were found to be a fraud in 1953. The skull was human, and the teeth on the ape's jaw were filed down and chemically treated to look old.

• ORCE MAN

In 1982 an unusual bone fragment was discovered in Orce, Spain. A year later, the archaeologists declared that it was from a human child. If this was correct, then this would be the oldest human fossil in Europe. Some scientists created an entire man out of this fragment, called the "Orce Man." To the embarrassment of many, it was later found to be the skullcap of a 6-month old donkey!

• RHODESIAN MAN

The bones of three or four individuals were found in a zinc mine in what was then Rhodesia. Unfortunately the bones were taken out by the miners, not archaeologists. When the bones came to the British Museum of Natural History, they were reconstructed and displayed for many years. However, the museum staff who reconstructed the skeleton were not familiar with human anatomy, and since the hipbones were smashed, they displayed them as stooped-down figures. Not until some anatomists examined the skeleton was it shown to be just a modern man.

• JAVA MAN

Eugene Dubois, a Dutch anatomist, went to the Dutch Indies to look for fossils. On the banks of the Solo River, he found a human-like fossil of a tooth, the upper part of a skull, and a thigh bone. This "missing link" has been advertised for a long time. However, the tooth and thigh bone turned out to be human, and the skull was from a giant gibbon.

In encyclopedias, magazines, and other sources of information, these "ancient ancestors" are presented as if the bones found were actually the real thing. As a matter of fact, they still haven't found a single fossil of an ancient predecessor of man.

Of Music

I have always enjoyed music, and it has always filled me with wonder how the human voice can sing, using musical notes instead of the normal tones of everyday speech. From an early age I have played the bowed psaltery, and I am well acquainted with the basics of music theory. Despite these things, only just recently have I truly become interested in music. Last year I began learning to play the piano, and since then I have started learning to play a few other instruments as well. In addition, I have become interested in composing my own music, and in the past few months I have written four songs, and am currently working on several more.

Given my recent interest in music, I would like to present to you a simple classification of all music, that I believe is true and accurate. Although there exist many different styles of music in the world, when it all boils down there are only two types of music: religious, and secular. Allow me to outline the characteristics of both.

Secular music: Entertainment

The main characteristic of secular music as opposed to religious music is its purpose: to entertain people. Listening to music is very enjoyable, and is an activity that virtually everyone takes part in. Even though many people cannot play instruments, they all have their CD's and mp3 players.

Most secular music, in fact the great majority of it, is singing accompanied by musical instruments. Instrumental music without vocals exists as well, although it may not be quite as popular. With modern technology, many instruments can be blended together to make a very pleasing sound, and even electronic instruments can be used as well.

Because of its nature, the lyrics of secular songs should deal with things not concerned with God or Christianity. Such would make them religious songs, and using praise to God as entertainment is not right. This is not to say that secular music is sin, or that a Christian cannot be involved with it. It simply implies that we must be careful that we do not allow this class of music to mix with the religious type.

Religious music: Praising the Lord

As with the previous category, religious music is distinguished by its purpose. It is not intended for entertainment, but instead for praising God and edifying fellow Christians to continue walking in the light. In the sacred scriptures we read, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God" (Colossians 3:16). Singing is a necessary part of our worship to God, something that He has instructed us to do.

Another great difference between secular and religious music is that the latter is always unaccompanied by instruments, that is to say, "a cappella". This has not always been the case, however. David wrote in Psalm 144:9, "I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: Upon a psaltery of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee." David here was not disobeying the Lord when he pulled out his psaltery, in fact, God commanded the Israelites during that time to use instruments in His praise (see Psalm 50). However, when that old covenant was nailed to the cross and the church was established, a new law was put in place (Colossians 2:14, Galatians 3:24). Christians today are under this new law, which clearly states that we are to sing with our hearts, not with instruments (Colossians 3:16, Ephesians 5:19).

When singing religious songs, our focus should be on the words, and how we are praising God or edifying our fellow Christians. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the singing (we should enjoy praising God), but our main focus and purpose should be to glorify God.

Is it really this clear?

After reading this, you are probably wondering whether things are really as cut-and-dried as I have presented them here. In a perfect world—yes. However, Satan has been working overtime here as well as in many other aspects to lure men from truth. In most denominations that claim to be Christian, instrumental music is a regular part of worship, and then there's "Christian rock" (an oxymoron, by the way). In these places, praise to God has been blended with entertainment, and men have brought in the instruments so that it would "sound better" (to whom? Certainly not to God). God asks us to sing from our heart, not from our guitar or piano. In the world, these two types of music are being blended together, and this, friends, is not acceptable!

It is easy to see that many people in the world, and even many of those who profess to be followers of Christ, do not understand the basic and fundamental difference between music for entertainment, and music for worship. I'm here to tell you that there is a difference, and that it does matter! Remember the words of Jesus Christ recorded in John 14:15, "If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments." It is essential that we observe the instructions that God has given us in His word, so that we may be pleasing to Him and someday have eternal life with Him instead of eternal death with Satan.

Freedom of Thought

Although we very often hear of the various rights and privileges that we have here in America, such as freedom of religion and freedom of speech, something that is not often mentioned is our freedom of thought.

Many people look to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution as the documents that gave us these rights, but the fact is that they were only created to protect these rights. Men everywhere have always had these rights, not granted to them by any earthly government, but by God. This is the premise of common law, the foundation of which is, in simple terms, that there is a Higher Power than the government, and the job of the government is to discover the law and enact it, insofar as it does not encroach upon the rights and morals given from above.

Having said this, our freedom of thought has been given to us by God, who has also given us all other freedoms. It may be pointed out that this freedom is not expressly set out in the Bill of Rights, but most likely the reason for this is that the writers did not see fit to include it, seeing that it is a freedom that cannot be taken away anyway.

This is the unique characteristic of freedom of thought. We may think whatever we want, about whatever we want, and no man can take this away from us. Let us not take this as a license to think on evil or sinful matters, however. God has given us the ability to make choices for ourselves, and He will not prevent us from taking the wrong path. It is up to us to believe the truth. May we never take our freedom of thought for granted, and let us use it to our advantage in glorifying God.

Merry Christmas!

...or should that be, Happy Holidays? It seems that recently there has been a trend in the English-speaking world to promote the use of Happy Holidays as a Christmas greeting, instead of Merry Christmas. Personally, I have nothing against it, but I think some people or corporations are making the switch because they want to be "politically correct," and don't want to make it look like Christmas is a religious holiday. So the question must arise, is Christmas a religious holiday?

First of all, let us examine the name "Christmas." Obviously the word has its roots in the word "Christ," and today's authorities tell us that the word is a contraction of "Christ's Mass." This gives us an important clue regarding the origin of the Christmas holiday: it was begun by the Catholics. However, the tradition of having a holiday at the time of the winter solstice was existent long before Christmas was begun. The Germanic peoples had Yule, the Romans had Saturnalia, and people all over the world had celebrations at this time of year. Traditionally, it has been said that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ. However, it is unlikely that December 25th was the actual date of His birth, and even if it was, God has not commanded His people as Christians to celebrate any religious holidays. Most likely, the date was chosen by Catholics who were trying to convert pagans, who reasoned that it would be easier to attribute Christian themes to the already-existent celebrations instead of abolishing them.

Although our holiday Christmas began as a religious holiday, the Christmas of today has been shaped and molded by Germanic traditions, as well as the ancient legends of Saint Nicholas. Familiar Christmas icons such as holly, mistletoe, and the Yule log are all from the ancient Yule feast of the Germanic tribes. Also, we today tell of Santa Claus, a man who carries gifts to children all across the world. Today we seldom think of a nativity scene when we hear the word "Christmas." Instead we envision a jolly old chap driving a team of flying reindeer through the air, landing on people's roofs and delivering presents.

So what is the true meaning of Christmas? Some say it is Jesus Christ, some say it is the spirit of giving. Which is true? I think that it is best that we adhere to the Christmas that we have all known throughout the years, one of Christmas trees and Christmas songs, of presents and Santa Claus. I do not believe it is right for us to observe a religious holiday established by men, and unauthorized by God. However, I see nothing wrong with the word "Christmas." In our English language it does not mean anything but the holiday which we ascribe to it.

Although Christmas itself has nothing to do with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that does not give us authority to forget about Him. To members of the church, He is the Son of God, who was crucified on the cross so that the sins of the world might be forgiven. Instead of seeking to further Christianity through the promotion of making a holiday religious, we should instead seek every day to teach and preach the Gospel to those who are lost, that they may find the truth from God's Word.