Set Apart - Samson

The LORD said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. If any of the people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart to the LORD in a special way.”

Numbers 6:1-2

The United States Marine Corps has one slogan it uses very effectively in its television commercials: The Few. The Proud. The Marines. The idea of being set apart as someone special, a cut above the average, appeals to potential recruits.

The Old Testament also tells us about a class of men who were set apart. The Nazirites had taken special vows of obedience to a set of rules that others didn’t have to follow. The vow meant that they had set themselves apart for God’s service.

Samson and Samuel were two of the Bible’s well-known Nazirites. Both men observed the outer signs of Nazirite spirituality by abstaining from alcoholic beverages, refusing to cut their hair, and avoiding personal defilement by touching a dead body.

That’s where the similarities ended.

Samson seldom lived an exemplary life of service, obedience, and faith, but instead used his strength to push his own agenda. Samuel served God and his people selflessly and faithfully.

Samson’s Nazirite observances made a difference on the outside only; Samuel’s became an outward sign of what God was doing inside him. God had called both men to serve with faith and courage, but only Samuel made a lasting impact for the Lord and his people. Centuries later, they continue to demonstrate that it’s not what a man does on the outside that matters to God; it’s what is on the inside.

Has your faith changed what is inside of you? Would you say that the greatest changes in your life have taken place on the inside or the outside? When you make it your life’s focus to follow Jesus, he changes you from the inside out and sets you apart for a life of obedience to him and service to others.