The Nazarite vow consisted in a person consecrating their life to God for a fixed period. As for Samson, it was a lifelong vow. The vow consisted of abstaining from wine and the fruit of the vine from which wine could be produced. Secondly, a Nazarite was not to cut his hair. Now while Paul said it was a shame for a man to have long hair (I Corinthians 11:14), the vow of a Nazarite was to have long hair in order to bear the shame. Last of all, the Nazarite vow consisted of not going near a dead body as the dead body was considered unclean. This was a vow to keep God first, to keep oneself clean from worldly defilement, and to live humbly for God. It was a promise to God which Samson failed to keep.
I am afraid today we are a lot like Samson: a lot of empty promises.
Reminds me of a story: “A pilot and his navigator had been shot down and were adrift at sea in their tiny lifeboat. After several days without food, water, and any hope of rescue, the pilot began to pray. He said, ‘God, you know I haven’t lived a very good life. I’ve been a miserable husband and a terrible father, I’ve cheated, lied and stolen, and haven’t had any use for the church. But God, if you’ll save us from dying out here, I promise I’ll never – .‘ The navigator interrupted, ‘Don’t say another word! I think I see land!’”
So before you get too hard on Samson, think about some of the promises you’ve made today which you’ve not kept!
What to do:
✞ Rededicate yourself to fulfill your “vows” to God.
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