The Lord Jesus perfectly combined accessibility to the world while maintaining separation from the immorality of those around Him. His heart was not enticed by anything in the world. This is demonstrated in the example of his talking to the woman at the well of Sychar in John 4. There we see a perfect combination of One who maintained holiness while reaching out to those around Him. He demonstrates how to overcome sin while delivering those living in sin. The story ends with the woman being delivered from her sinful ways. Many others in the city also believed the testimony. The end of the story of another family, where there was a woman whom Samson loved, is very sad. She and all her family were destroyed by the Philistines as a result of Samson’s engagements with them. The life of Samson stands in contrast to the One who sat on the well of Sychar and delivered a woman from her life of sin. Samson, while in close proximity to the Philistines, gave up his vow of separation to Jehovah. The purpose of the Nazarite vow was to devote the life wholly to service for the Lord. Accompanying the vow of separation was strength, given to Samson to overcome all power of the enemy. This was given at a time when the nation of Israel was impoverished by the Philistines. As long as Samson kept his vow, he had power over the Philistines. But as the days went by when Samson lived among the Philistines, his heart became attracted to a woman who enticed him little by little to surrender his vow of separation. This resulted in his losing his power and becoming a prisoner.
The Nazarite Vow
There were three parts to the Nazarite vow which Samson was called to keep. He was not to drink wine or even eat anything from the vine. Wine cheers the heart (Judg. 9:1313And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? (Judges 9:13)), but it also impedes discernment (Prov. 20:11Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. (Proverbs 20:1)). Living to please self was how Samson began to fail. He said concerning the Philistine woman, “Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well” (Judg. 14:33Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. (Judges 14:3)). Thus he began to compromise his calling and lose good discernment.
The second requirement for the Nazarite was not to defile himself with anything unclean. The application of this to Samson was from physical defilement, but it applies to moral defilement too. Samson took the honey from an unclean carcass, ate it and gave it to his parents without their knowledge of it. No doubt they would have refused it if they had known its source. Those who succumb to temptations like the company of others, to placate their conscience, but this does not remedy the defilement. We see that when Samson lived to please himself, it led to the allowance of uncleanness also. The example of the Lord Jesus while conversing with the woman at Sychar reveals His purity and self-control. With Him there was no exercise of His own will, nor any compromise with uncleanness. Afterward, when the disciples brought Him food, He could say, “I have meat to eat that ye know not of.” Then He continued to explain how He delighted to obey. “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:32,3432But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. (John 4:32)
34Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. (John 4:34)). There was no compromising of holiness; His delight was to do the Father’s will (Psa. 40:88I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. (Psalm 40:8)). Afterward the woman was able to say of Him, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” (vs. 29). All her secret sins were uncovered and brought into the light, where forgiveness is found. That part of her life was all past and she was taken up with His perfection.
The third requirement for the Nazarite was not to shave his hair. This was the outward mark of his separation to Jehovah for a special cause. The distinction of having long hair was to be kept until the vow was terminated. This was the last thing Samson gave up, and when he did, the Lord departed from him. The result was that Samson had no more power, and the Philistines were able to take him prisoner. He lost his separative power of holiness. It has been said that salt is a picture of this. So the Scriptures say, “Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves” (Mark 9:5050Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another. (Mark 9:50)). In this regard, we could say, Samson lost his salt — he lost his power of holiness through his lack of separation to the Lord.
The Lord Jesus was the perfect Nazarite as the One morally separate from evil. This enabled Him to be close to sinners physically without being defiled. He is the One who perfectly kept the Nazarite vow. In doing so He shows how moral separation can affect those who see it. This is the lifestyle that has power to witness to those in the world — the lifestyle that is close to the world, yet separate morally from it. In summary, we may say Samson’s lifestyle is an example of what happens when one professes to be separate from the world but gives it up, while the Lord Jesus is an example of what happens when one maintains separation. The importance of these things cannot be overemphasized for Christians today. We are in the world but not of the world. As the world degenerates, the uncleanness becomes more pronounced and openly evil, yet there is opportunity to live a godly lifestyle that has power to overcome the world.
D. C. Buchanan