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. 1 Samuel 1:11
Three things stood out as marks of those who took the vow of a Nazarite in the ancient Jewish religious system. The first was a total withdrawal from not only wine but also from the grapes from which wine is made. The second was a total ban on touching any dead carcass, human or animal. The third was a total halt to the cutting of the hair and beard. A person could observe the first two major requirements of a Nazarite and possibly not be noticed. But even in a day when most men wore beards, the hairy appearance of a Nazarite would stand out. To take the vow of a Nazarite was to express a desire to draw close to God and to withdraw from the world’s comforts and pleasures. Because of the great inconvenience involved, not many men actually took the vow of a Nazarite, and those who did so usually made the duration of their Nazariteship for only a year or a season. Only a few, including the mighty judge Sampson, were marked as Nazarites from their birth and throughout their lives (Judges 13:5). Our text contains the vow of a would-be mother that her son, if she should have one, would be Nazarite for life. Such a son would need to assume the vow for himself after outgrowing his mother’s care. If even a great man like Sampson was unable to maintain his lifelong vow, how did Hannah expect her son to be able to do so? There was more to Hannah’s vow than just a plea for God to give her a son.
Those of us born into Christian homes can be confident that we were prayed for by our parents before we were born. But how many of us can say we were prayed for before we were even conceived? While Hannah desperately desired to have a child, her desire was equally strong that any child she delivered would know and serve the Lord. So her vow included not only a life-long commitment for her son, but also a deep commitment on her part to make sure that her son would willingly and totally accept the terms of her vow. There was nothing light or frivolous about her vow. It was made with a full commitment to do whatever it took to raise a child for God. Commitments like that if made today would result in more men and women for God being raised among us today.
Many a Christian parent has wept over the failure of a child to learn and follow the teachings of the home. And many a Christian parent has rejoiced to see the godly path that their children have followed. We can’t guarantee how our children will turn out. But we can guarantee that they have the best possible opportunity to be all that they can for God if we commit them to the Lord from before birth, and commit ourselves to whatever it takes to instil the truths of the Word of God into their souls in their childhood. – Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/JYo2jhidWEU