21 - Judges 16 - The LORD Has Departed From Him

Samson was a Nazirite from birth. However, it seems that only two of the three conditions for a Nazarite vow were required of Samson. God required that Samson’s mother observe the first condition, that of refraining from anything made from wine or similar drink, before Samson’s birth. After Samson was born, they were to enforce the second condition of the vow that Samson’s hair was not to be cut. The third restriction for a person taking a Nazarite vow, that of not touching a dead person, was not imposed on Samson.
According to the Jewish sage Ralbag, God laid these two specific restrictions on Samson in order to insulate him from sin since his mission would require that he be in close contact with the sinful Philistines. It turns out that this hedge of protection for Samson was not enough to keep him from eventually sinning. His sin, however, was not from wine; it was from pride in his strength and his failure to honor his status as a Nazarite. His punishment would be “measure for measure” according to his sin. How did Samson’s pride lead him to the loss of his Nazarite status and to his destruction? How did Samson’s repentance allow him to regain his status as a Nazarite and bring further judgment on the Philistines?