Exodus 32:29
King James Version
29 For Moses had said,
Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord,
even every man upon his son,
and upon his brother;
that he may bestow upon you
a blessing this day.
The Old Testament spoke of THREE Nazarites.
Each with his own power.
Each with his own task.
Each chosen, for GOD's purpose.
What is a "Nazarite"?
What are his traits?
What is he tasked with?
JESUS was a "Nazarene", but He was not a "Nazarite".
Matthew 2:23
King James Version
23 And he came and dwelt
in a city called Nazareth:
that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophets,
He shall be called a Nazarene.
The LORD was a "pattern" all His own.
The Nazarites were meant to serve the HOLY Nazarene.
For purposes of this post, we shall look into the "Nazarite".
SPIRIT and Scripture will teach us what a "Nazarite" is.
Through verses describing THREE such Nazarites.
Here's a brief description of their beginnings.
And the circumstances of their birth.
As well as GOD's purpose for them:
On SAMSON:
Judges 13:1-14
King James Version
13 And the children of Israel did evil again
in the sight of the Lord;
and the Lord delivered them
into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
2 And there was a certain man of Zorah,
of the family of the Danites,
whose name was Manoah;
and his wife was barren, and bare not.
3 And the angel of the Lord
appeared unto the woman,
and said unto her,
Behold now,
thou art barren, and bearest not:
but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware,
I pray thee,
and drink not wine nor strong drink,
and eat not any unclean thing:
5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son;
and no razor shall come on his head:
for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God
from the womb:
and he shall begin to deliver Israel
out of the hand of the Philistines.
6 Then the woman came and told her husband,
saying,
A man of God came unto me,
and his countenance was like the countenance
of an angel of God, very terrible:
but I asked him not whence he was,
neither told he me his name:
7 But he said unto me,
Behold,
thou shalt conceive,
and bear a son;
and now drink no wine nor strong drink,
neither eat any unclean thing:
for the child shall be a Nazarite to God
from the womb to the day of his death.
8 Then Manoah intreated the Lord, and said,
O my Lord,
let the man of God which thou didst send
come again unto us,
and teach us what we shall do
unto the child that shall be born.
9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah;
and the angel of God came again unto the woman
as she sat in the field:
but Manoah her husband was not with her.
10 And the woman made haste, and ran,
and shewed her husband, and said unto him,
Behold, the man hath appeared unto me,
that came unto me the other day.
11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife,
and came to the man, and said unto him,
Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman?
And he said, I am.
12 And Manoah said,
Now let thy words come to pass.
How shall we order the child,
and how shall we do unto him?
13 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah,
Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine,
neither let her drink wine or strong drink,
nor eat any unclean thing:
all that I commanded her let her observe.
On SAMUEL:
1 Samuel 1:1-11
King James Version
1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim,
of mount Ephraim,
and his name was Elkanah,
the son of Jeroham,
the son of Elihu,
the son of Tohu,
the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:
2 And he had two wives;
the name of the one was Hannah,
and the name of the other Peninnah:
and Peninnah had children,
but Hannah had no children.
3 And this man went up out of his city yearly
to worship and to sacrifice
unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh.
And the two sons of Eli,
Hophni and Phinehas,
the priests of the Lord, were there.
4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered,
he gave to Peninnah his wife,
and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion;
for he loved Hannah:
but the Lord had shut up her womb.
6 And her adversary also provoked her sore,
for to make her fret,
because the Lord had shut up her womb.
7 And as he did so year by year,
when she went up to the house of the Lord,
so she provoked her;
therefore she wept, and did not eat.
8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her,
Hannah, why weepest thou?
and why eatest thou not?
and why is thy heart grieved?
am not I better to thee than ten sons?
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh,
and after they had drunk.
Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat
by a post of the temple of the Lord.
10 And she was in bitterness of soul,
and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.
11 And she vowed a vow, and said,
O Lord of hosts,
if thou wilt indeed look
on the affliction of thine handmaid,
and remember me,
and not forget thine handmaid,
but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child,
then I will give him unto the Lord
all the days of his life,
and there shall no razor come
upon his head.
On JOHN the BAPTIST:
Luke 1:5-17
King James Version
5 There was in the days of Herod,
the king of Judaea,
a certain priest named Zacharias,
of the course of Abia:
and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron,
and her name was Elisabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God,
walking in all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 And they had no child,
because that Elisabeth was barren,
and they both were now well stricken in years.
8 And it came to pass,
that while he executed the priest's office before God
in the order of his course,
9 According to the custom of the priest's office,
his lot was to burn incense
when he went into the temple of the Lord.
10 And the whole multitude of the people
were praying without at the time of incense.
11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord
standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And when Zacharias saw him,
he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said unto him,
Fear not, Zacharias:
for thy prayer is heard;
and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son,
and thou shalt call his name John.
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness;
and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord,
and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink;
and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost,
even from his mother's womb.
16 And many of the children of Israel
shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17 And he shall go before him
in the spirit and power of Elias,
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just;
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Noticed anything?
Especially about their mothers?
They were all "barren".
Unable to have a child.
Much less, a son.
But GOD took mercy upon them.
And gave them the child they so dearly desired.
Through an announcement from TWO angels of the LORD.
And one priest, who overheard the mother's prayer.
GOD gifted them with sons.
One strong man, and the other two, prophets.
Which were all meant to serve Him.
These sons were born for a purpose.
But first, the distinct traits of a Nazarite.
Even of the mothers chosen:
Judges 13:3-5
King James Version
3 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
1 Samuel 1:11
King James Version
11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
Luke 1:15
King James Version
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
No wine, or strong drink.
No food from an unclean thing.
No razor shall pass upon the head.
Filled with the "Holy Ghost".
Consecrated for GOD's purpose -- from the womb, to death.
Those were the traits GOD instituted upon a "Nazarite".
Whom GOD takes mercy upon, He gifts with a son.
Whom GOD has a purpose for, He lays down the rules.
Whom GOD appoints to save Israel, He chooses, and prepares.
Such are the THREE Nazarites.
Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist.
Anointed by GOD, for His perfect purpose.
With important tasks to fulfill, for the prophesied MESSIAH.
Consecrated to GOD, for His magnificent purpose.
All meant for holiness.
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