Samson was under a Nazarite vow, which was different from being a Nazarene, so don’t get the two confused!  The Nazarite vow is outlined in Numbers 6.  Individuals in the Old Testament times would sometimes take this vow to show gratitude for answered prayer.  

The vow included abstaining from all alcohol or anything remotely connected with the production of alcohol, including the consumption of raisins or grapes.  Nazarites were forbidden to touch a dead body (even a family member), and they set themselves apart to be “holy unto the Lord.”   The outward sign of their devotion to the Lord was long hair.  They intentionally let their hair and beards grow unhindered so that everyone would know that they have taken a Nazarite vow.
The vow was usually taken for just a short period of time.  In Samson’s case, his mother was barren and Samson was conceived through God miraculously intervening.  God asked her to put Samson under a Nazarite vow from birth.  Samson’s vow was for life.  From the day Samson was born, God had big plans for his life.
He was chosen from birth to “begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”   The Philistines where non-Jewish people who lived in Palestine and were the enemies of Israel at the time.

—

Mark Stafford

Senior Pastor