Magic hair and samson--aff scholars???

[U376977]

Q. for all the AFF scholars. Did Samson have magic hair? I believe that his power/strength/anointing was connected to his Nazarite like vows one of which demanded that he not cut his hair. When he told his secret to Delilah and she cut his hair, he lost his strength; not becuase of the hair but because of his broken vows to God.

But why would God command him not to cut his hair in the first place? And later inspire Paul to write it is a "shame" for a man to have long hair? Your thoughts?

[Ferd]

Sampsons power rested in the promise of God not in the vow.

God said he would make Sampson strong so long as he kept the vow.

[Jack Shephard]

Sampsons power rested in the promise of God not in the vow.

God said he would make Sampson strong so long as he kept the vow.

Ferd wasn't the promise and the vow the samething? He could not make the promise with out the vow and no vow without the promise. Obedience is better than sacrifice, but to me it seems that both were obediences and sacrifices. Are you saying a promise and a vow are not the samething?

[Ferd]

Ferd wasn't the promise and the vow the samething? He could not make the promise with out the vow and no vow without the promise. Obedience is better than sacrifice, but to me it seems that both were obediences and sacrifices. Are you saying a promise and a vow are not the samething?


I dont think so. if it were so, anyone keeping this vow would have had Samsons strenght.


the power here rested in the promise God made. It was kept in the lifestyle Samson lived. But if Samson had just decided to take the Nazirite vow without God commanding it with a promise if followed, the Samson would have just been a long haired Hebrew.

[Praxeas]

Q. for all the AFF scholars. Did Samson have magic hair? I believe that his power/strength/anointing was connected to his Nazarite like vows one of which demanded that he not cut his hair. When he told his secret to Delilah and she cut his hair, he lost his strength; not becuase of the hair but because of his broken vows to God.

But why would God command him not to cut his hair in the first place? And later inspire Paul to write it is a "shame" for a man to have long hair? Your thoughts?
I already addressed this somewhere else here. But as it was pointed out his strength was connected with his nazarite vow. There was no supernatural power embeded in his hair. He did not use his hair like a magic talisman or peep stone to summon angels or heal the sick either

[Jack Shephard]

I dont think so. if it were so, anyone keeping this vow would have had Samsons strenght.


the power here rested in the promise God made. It was kept in the lifestyle Samson lived. But if Samson had just decided to take the Nazirite vow without God commanding it with a promise if followed, the Samson would have just been a long haired Hebrew.

But wouldn't my point still be valid? Because the result or the affects of the anointing for Samson was strength were the result or anointing for someone else might have been different. Samson following his vow and promise the result was amazing strength. Someone else following the vow and promise could have had a different affect on them, but it was from the same vow.

[Mrs. LPW]

But wouldn't my point still be valid? Because the result or the affects of the anointing for Samson was strength were the result or anointing for someone else might have been different. Samson following his vow and promise the result was amazing strength. Someone else following the vow and promise could have had a different affect on them, but it was from the same vow.

I'm not certain I understand what your point is?

[TRFrance]

But why would God command him not to cut his hair in the first place? And later inspire Paul to write it is a "shame" for a man to have long hair? Your thoughts?
Because he was a Nazirite, which would be a special circumstance. Under the Nazirite vow (Numbers chapter 6), a person would not cut their hair at all, until the end of their vow. In Samson's case, he was a Nazirite from birth, and a Nazirite for life, thus his hair was never to be cut (Judges 13:5).

Thus, there's no contradiction between Nazirites like Samson having long hair, and what Paul said about long hair on men.

[Praxeas]

But wouldn't my point still be valid? Because the result or the affects of the anointing for Samson was strength were the result or anointing for someone else might have been different. Samson following his vow and promise the result was amazing strength. Someone else following the vow and promise could have had a different affect on them, but it was from the same vow.

I'm not certain I understand what your point is?
In other words the promise to have strength as long as Samson kept the vow was made exclusively to him. There is no promise actually in scripures of anyone receiving special powers for having the vow and actually as far as I know there were only two men in the bible that took this vow permamently as prescribed by God. Samson and Samuel I believe did

[Mrs. LPW]

In other words the promise to have strength as long as Samson kept the vow was made exclusively to him. There is no promise actually in scripures of anyone receiving special powers for having the vow and actually as far as I know there were only two men in the bible that took this vow permamently as prescribed by God. Samson and Samuel I believe did

Got it!

[U376977]

Because he was a Nazirite, which would be a special circumstance. Under the Nazirite vow (Numbers chapter 6), a person would not cut their hair at all, until the end of their vow. In Samson's case, he was a Nazirite from birth, and a Nazirite for life, thus his hair was never to be cut (Judges 13:5).

Thus, there's no contradiction between Nazirites like Samson having long hair, and what Paul said about long hair on men.

Agreed. So to take this further, Why is not cutting the hair a part of the Nazarite vows? I am not sure there is a scriptural (verse to cite) answer this. But doing like David wrote in PS 103 and understanding the "ways" of God as opposed to just his "acts."
The act is "do not cut your hair!"
The way is "why I don't want you to cut your hair?"
I can understand the act.

But can anyone comment/speculate on the "way" Why did God make this a command? Could he not just as easily have said, Do not bath execpt in a river? Or do not wear any other cloth but animal skin. Why is, or why is not the hair significant?

[Sam]

...
But why would God command him not to cut his hair in the first place? And later inspire Paul to write it is a "shame" for a man to have long hair? Your thoughts?

Samson lived in Israel over a thousand years before Christ. Men and women cut their hair there and nothing was thought of it. The Nazirite vow required (among other things) that the normal hair cutting of a man or woman was suspended for the length of the vow. After the vow the hair was shaved off and offered as an offering to the Lord.

Paul wrote to people in a pagan Greek culture in the first century where men dressing as women and fixing their hair like women and where women dressing as men and fixing their hair like men was part of transvestism and pagan worship. Naturally, these customs were wrong for someone who had dedicated their life to the Lord.

[TRFrance]

Agreed. So to take this further, Why is not cutting the hair a part of the Nazarite vows? I am not sure there is a scriptural (verse to cite) answer this. But doing like David wrote in PS 103 and understanding the "ways" of God as opposed to just his "acts."
The act is "do not cut your hair!"
The way is "why I don't want you to cut your hair?"
I can understand the act.

But can anyone comment/speculate on the "way" Why did God make this a command? Could he not just as easily have said, Do not bath except in a river? Or do not wear any other cloth but animal skin. Why is, or why is not the hair significant?
Why?
Frankly, that territory is too speculative for me to feel comfortable entering. Maybe someone else will.

Certainly, we can think of so many other scriptural examples of things God did that we could wonder and speculate about. Like... why did God choose to have the men of Israel cut off the foreskin of their penises as a sign of their covenant with Him?

We don't know.
He didn't say.
It just is what it is.
And that's fine with me.