Judges 13:4-5 Begin

 4Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean. 5For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Naziriteb to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

“Numbers 6:1-21 describes the vow of a Nazirite. When under the vow, people regarded themselves as specially devoted to God, leaving their hair uncut, drinking no wine and eating no grape products, and avoiding any contact with anything dead.” (Guzik)

“There was nothing particularly unusual about someone taking the vow of a Nazirite for a specific period of time. What was unusual in Samson’s case was that he was to live under the vow from his birth, and that his vow was intended to be a lifetime vow.” (Guzik)

“Manoah’s wife also had to share in the Nazirite vow during the time she carried Samson.” (Guzik)

“There is almost a weird suggestiveness in the phrase used by the angel concerning him, ‘He shall begin to save Israel.’ His ultimate failure was as certainly foreknown as was his opportunity.” (Morgan)

Morgan’s comment “Begin” gives me pause, the Lord knows our weaknesses and our failures beforehand but he still loves us enough to give us free will and a chance to live and learn.

Sounds like a father teaching a child a life lesson, doesn’t it?

Have you ever made a vow to the Lord and failed to fulfill your vow?

Blessings