Lessons for Us from Samson's Nazarite Vow

Part of the Nazarite bow was to not cut the hair! Why?

It was an outward symbol of the vow. It said to the world (physical and spiritual), "I am consecrated, set apart, and holy unto the Lord!" It was a sign of submission to the rigors of holy living to draw closer to the Lord.

Samson was to keep the Nazarite vow perpetually from his birth. In return he was given super-human strength, and with it the Lord intended to save the Israelites from oppression. But instead, he squandered his gift. He broke every part of the vow except the cutting of his hair, because he enjoyed his strength and he was aware that it was the key to it.

When the Lord calls us to holy living, He gives us rules to live by. If He could give Samson physical strength through not cutting his hair, is it no possible that He grants us spiritual strength when we commit to the same?  Not because of any intrinsic natural super-power in our hair, but rather God-given, grace-granted power for our commitment to submission to obedience to the Word of God?

Could it be that our hair really is the key?

Just as Samson became vulnerable to attack when he began the slippery-slope of sin, don't we often do the same?  He was to stay away from the defilement caused by death, and yet he killed a lion and tore out it's jaw-bone. Aren't each of us guilty of dead works? We do things for God and yet do them for the wrong motives  and then have the unmitigated poor taste to wield them as a weapon of our pride.

He was to avoid alcohol and yet it was alcohol that caused his judgment to be impaired.

He was not to lie with foreign women. How often do we step out into foreign lands and flirt with the world out there? Once there do we not make unholy unions with the forces there and then bring them back into our home via television? Internet? Customs and practices? And then we make excuses for not keeping pure. But, all the while we keep the outward vesture of our strength.

How like Samson we truly are! Failures on and all, unable to keep even the smallest vow if it proves inconvenient, while making a show of our strength.  What shame! In the end he was a blind captive.

And yet, God's Word proves him to be a man of faith.  He didn't attain "first-tier" commendation in the Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11), but Paul did include his name in verse 32, telling us that if he had time, he would have also extolled the virtue of Samson's faith.

This is encouragement to us! We fail over and over. We compromise with the world and with sin. We do not remain holy. And yet...God can use us in a mighty way!

Thank You Father! Praise You, o Lord, for Your steadfast love and mercy. Thank you for chastisement for sin. Thank You for loving us through it and restoring us after it. Thank you Father for hidden strength and call to live holy and sanctified. Thank You for using even the most undeserving of us. Praise You God! Thank You for Your Word.

Is It Biblical to Pray for Vengeance?

The last couple of wees we have been studying the Psalms in my Old Testament Survey class.  One type of psal we have looked at are "imprecatory psalms," or the psalms in which the author is praying for a God's curse on an enemy.

The subject of our latest discussion board is:

In view of the New Testament teaching of “loving our enemy/neighbor,” discuss the role of imprecatory prayers (psalms) for today?  Can we pray “against” people or things today?  Take a view and defend your position (with love!) and use scripture.  Discuss.

As promised, I am posting my responses here. (Feel free to comment, as it is a discussion question.)

Though I have spent several hours studying this matter, I am still undecided. I have read not only outside of this board, but all of the responses and discussions within it. I believe there are strong arguments both for and against these imprecatory prayers.

Aside from all of the thoughts and information described within the discussion board, I have found another source which has some interesting and important points to consider.

In his sermon, “A Christian Manifesto – A Study of Luke 6,” Alistair Begg challenges us to the agape love Christ commands in both Luke 6 and Matthew 5.  He describes agape love thus:

 “Agape is the ONLY form of love that is not drawn out of the attractiveness of the merit of the one we love.  Jesus is calling for a love of people that is in no way related to the lovability of those whom we are to love.  That is precisely how God in Christ loved us. It was a self-engendered love for those who were His enemies.

“Agape love is not blind to their offenses against us. We see them exactly as they are in all of their ugliness, in all of their spitefulness, in all of their cursing.

“Seeing all that, Jesus says, ‘I want you to love your enemies.’

“This love is intelligent. It is a love that is marked by comprehension and it is a love that is purposeful in its application.”

Further, Begg reminds us:

“This kind of love will not go unrewarded, but the essence of this kind of love is that it must never be the motive for practicing it… because it is an expression of the character of God, who is our Father and kids ought to be like their dads.

“Indeed it is completely incongruous, if not impossible, for those of us who declare ourselves to be the Father’s children not to manifest the mercy of a merciful God and not to display a love for our enemies which is akin to the approach of Jesus that when He was reviled, He did not revile in return, but committed His cause to Him who judges.”

Finally, he makes the point the Jews of the Old Testament had taken out of context Leviticus 19:18 (“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people but love your neighbor as yourself for I am the Lord.”).  “They took the phrase ‘one of your people’ and diminished it to define a group who they had to love and if it fell outside of that defined group, it was ok to curse them.”

And so, taken together, a complete picture emerges wherein we are to love as Christ loved us, not because we deserved it when we also were enemies of God, but rather because He loved us enough to suffer and die for us. We are to forgive because we are forgiven.

Yet also, we do see in holy writ examples of godly men praying imprecatory prayers, not only in the Old Testament, but in the New as well.  In addition to the many examples cited throughout this discussion board, we see a prime example in the final book, Revelation. In chapter 6 verses 10 and 11 we read, “¹⁰ And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ^{11 ” (NKJV)}Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

These tribulation martyrs were not chastised for their cry to the throne for vengeance; rather, they were given a white robe and told to wait patiently until the time was right for God to carry out the retribution they desperately sought.

Consequently, I feel it necessary to conclude there are certainly occasions in which the Lord does not condemn imprecation. However, one must call upon the name and the power of God wisely and with great humility. It is wisdom to err on the side of love and forgiveness, for with the measure one uses to judge, one in turn will be judged.  Yet, let each man walk out his own salvation in fear and trembling.

Practical Examples from the Lives of Ezra and Nehemiah

Here is another of my assignments for school. The assignment was to draw from the lives of Ezra and Nehemiah two examples of lessons practical for us today.

I hope you enjoy it...

Both Ezra and Nehemiah offer us practical examples of wisdom for living.  Because both were dedicated in their love for the Living God, they each lived lives that can still serve as ideals for us today.  These models were bred out of lives which were lived each day in the light of the Lord. They were neither haphazard nor accidental, but rather they were habits which were formed in the lives of these men.

Ezra, for example had “devoted himself to studying, obeying, and teaching the Law,” and so “the hand of the Lord was upon him.” (Ezra 7:9-10)  What I find most important for today is that he not only studied and taught, he also obeyed.  In today’s culture, we tend to find those who study God’s Word and teach God’s Word, but all too often dismiss the obedience part by suggesting that we “live in a different time,” or “we are under grace.”

Also, Ezra clearly saw the sin of the people as SIN and mourned over their disobedience. He recognized their sin as “our” sin, acknowledging that we are one body and if one part of the body is sick, then the whole body is sick. He therefore confessed the sin corporately and sought corporate resolution (Ezra 9:6-13)  He sought the holiness of the whole of the body. (Ezra 10:2-4) Even in the New Testament we are instructed not to be unequally yoked with a non-believer. Would we have the courage to urge a brother or sister in Christ to not marry a non-believer?

Nehemiah was a man of prayer, who showed utmost confidence in God. Immediately upon hearing Jerusalem was in ruins, he prayed (Nehemiah 1:4-11).  Before answering Artaxerxes, he prayed (Neh 2:4-5).  He encouraged the people to put their faith in God. (Neh 4:14)

He was thoughtful and thorough before taking any action.  Before answering Artaxerxes he prayed rather than blurt a response. As one who tends to speak first and ask questions later, I take this as a personal exhortation. Also, before approaching the leaders of Jerusalem about rebuilding the wall, he toured the ruins and prayerfully considered a strategy. (Neh 2:11-16)

Finally, Nehemiah was a man of good character.  He did not cower in fear by going to the Holy Place when suggested by Shemaiach. (Neh 6:10-14) Because he was in the habit of prayer, he was able to say “I saw that God had not sent him, but he made this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.” Nehemiah further displayed his good character in that he worked with the men (Neh 5:16) and he was generous; he loaned to needy Jews without charging interest (Neh 5:10) and he fed 150 of his workers.(Neh 5:14)

A Tale of Two Kingdoms

Time has not been my friend as of late. I have been feeling like the proverbial ginea pig on a wheel, always running but never really getting anywhere.

As a result, my postings have been slim to none, and for that I humbly apologize.

As I am now beginning another semester in my study of Theology at Liberty University, I thought I would post here an assignment or two.

We are studying the Old Testament from 1 Kings to Song of Solomon.  It promises to be very interesting, as these contain books that I have previously avoided due to their tedium.  However, upon closer examination, I am finding them quite interesting.  I hope you do as well.

This first paper answers the following question:

"In the Splintered Kingdom, the kings in the North are compared to who? Who are the Southern kings compared to? How does this relate to you today? Discuss"

My response, titled "A Tale of Two Kingdoms:"

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."  The beginning of the reign of Solomon, full of spleandor and glory, was replaced by civil unrest and then civil war, resulting in the "splintering" or dividing of the nation into two separate kingdoms.  This civil war caused nearly 400 years of turmoil and ultimately conquest of both kingdoms.

Throughout the scripture readings for this section, the kings of the splintered kingdoms are repeatedly compared to two figures. For the Northern kingdom, this comparison is to Jeroboam, its first king. In the Southern kingdom, the comparison is to King David, specifically to his heart toward God.

For example, in 1 Kings 15:3, we see Abijam, the second king, beginning his reign over the Southern kingdom, or Judah. His reign is described thus:

“He walked in the sins of his father [Rehoboam] before him and his heart was not blameless with the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father [forefather].” (This and all scripture quoted in this response are from the Amplified version.)

The next king of Judah was Asa, and according to 1 Kings 15:11, “Asa did right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father [forefather].” These are merely two examples of many more which followed.

The reason for this comparison is clear from scripture, especially 1 Kings 15:4-5:

“⁴Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him and establishing Jerusalem, ⁵Because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and turned not aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.”

The key here is the phrase “for David’s sake…”  Herein lies the reason for even the existence of the Southern kingdom. Were it not “for David’s sake,” the kingdom would have been rent from the hands of David’s family because of the sins of Solomon, as we read in 1 Kings 11:33-39. In these verses, Ahijah the prophet tells Jeroboam the intent of the Lord to take the Kingdom from Rehoboam because of the sins of Solomon in leading the people to sin against Him by worshipping foreign gods and for not keeping His commandments and statutes.  However, in verse 36, “Yet to his son (Rehoboam) I will give one tribe that David My servant may always have a light before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put My Name.” (see also 1 Kings 15:4-5)  So we see that the very existence of the Southern kingdom is for David and for Jerusalem, and therefore ultimately for the Name and glory of God Himself.

In the Northern Kingdom of Israel, we see an entirely different picture. Rather than being compared to a godly man, even a man after God’s own heart, these kings’ reigns are compared to the despicable deeds of the first king of Israel, Jeroboam.

Examples of this comparison are plentiful. Beginning with Nadab, Jeroboam’s son and successor, we see this pattern emerge.  In 1 Kings 15:26, “He (Nadab) did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in his sin, with which he made Israel sin.”

Nadab was assassinated and succeeded by Baasha who is described in 16:2, “Because I exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over My people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made My people Israel sin, to provoke Me to anger with their sins,…”

The message should be clear to us, even in our day. We are to have a heart for God. We are to walk in His ways and keep His commandments and statutes. We are to guard our hearts from following after foreign gods and worshipping idols, regardless of what form they take. We should not allow our hearts to become adulterous against God. He is a jealous God and will hold us accountable. 

Further, as parents, our children are our progeny. What heritage will we leave them?  Will they be described as following our hearts for the Lord, or will they be described as following in our sins?  Will we cause our families to sin against God? These leaders did not live in a vacuum, nor do we.  Our actions will positively or negatively affect those in our care, possibly for many subsequent generations.

“Choose you this day whom you shall serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (paraphrase of Joshua 24:15)