Nazirite vow

Mercy in Pinnacle Moments

“Then Samson prayed to the Lord, ‘Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.’” – Judges 16:28 There’s no doubt that the story of Samson is a sad one. He was endowed by God with a great gift, but his appetite for earthly things led him to an untimely demise. Over a course of years, he broke all three pillars of his Nazarite vow, and when Delilah seduced him into sharing that his long hair was the key to his power, she turned him over to Philistine warriors — the very ones he had been set apart to conquer. After gouging out his eyes and sending him to prison, they held a great feast to thank their god, Dagon, for his help in capturing their enemy. As part of the evening’s festivities,

December 7, 2020 No Comments

Discerning Worldly Deception

“Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, ‘See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.’” – Judges 16:4,5 As we continue looking at the story of Samson, it behooves us to examine the circumstances that ultimately led to his demise. Since he was a source of constant frustration to the Philistines, they wanted more than anything to know the origin of his strength. If they could figure out where his might came from, they could cut him down at his point of weakness. Enter Delilah. She was a beautiful Philistine woman, and Samson was

December 6, 2020 No Comments

The Gift in Sacrifice

“As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.” – Judges 15:14,15 Samson was set apart by God to deliver his people from the evil Philistines, and in return for abstaining from touching anything deceased, drinking no wine, and not cutting his hair, he was endowed with incredible supernatural strength that enabled him to knock down buildings, tear apart gates of iron, and kill 1,000 men with the jawbone of a donkey. This made the Philistines rightfully afraid of him, and it caused them to think twice before coming after God’s people. Strangely, in spite of his superhuman abilities, Samson was constantly tempted to break his Nazarite vow

December 5, 2020 1 Comment

Set Apart

“You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” – Judges 13:5 When we look at those in the Bible who adhered to the ancient Nazarite vow, there’s perhaps none as famous as Samson. This Herculean man of enormous physical strength was consecrated for the work of God when he was born, and from the time he was young, it was “drilled” into his mind that he was not to touch any dead thing, to drink any wine, or to cut his hair. While he understood that he was a warrior set apart to save the Israelites from the Philistines, he was fascinated by the culture of his enemies and found himself constantly

December 4, 2020 No Comments

A Vow of Devotion

“During the entire period of their Nazirite vow, no razor may be used on their head. They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the Lord is over; they must let their hair grow long.” – Numbers 6:5 There’s something in the Bible that I’ve preached about before called the Nazarite vow. While there are a number of things that we don’t know about this ancient tradition — like its duration and who exactly was supposed to partake — we know that it was a period of time set aside in dedication to the service of God and neighbor, and that it encompassed three distinct disciplines. For as long as a person was adhering to this ancient practice, they couldn’t touch any dead thing (which means they weren’t eating meat), they couldn’t drink any wine or alcohol, and they couldn’t cut their hair. The latter was the

December 3, 2020 No Comments

Mercy in Pinnacle Moments

Discerning Worldly Deception

The Gift in Sacrifice

Set Apart

A Vow of Devotion

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