Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. – Judges 13:4

Today's Scripture Reading (March 24, 2022): Judges 13

Now we understand that everything that a woman puts into her body during pregnancy affects the unborn child. We tease women amid their cravings that they are eating for two, but the reality is that it goes far beyond food. As men, I think we too easily forget the awesome responsibility accepted by the women in our lives when they get pregnant. As a guy, I don't have to worry about the pain relievers or other legal medications that I might need during the nine months of my wife's pregnancy, but it is something of which a woman has to be aware. And while they are pregnant, they deserve an extra heaping helping of our respect.

But, this knowledge is also a fairly new revelation. It is disconcerting to watch an old movie and see a pregnant woman drinking alcohol or even smoking a cigarette, activities that we now know can have a detrimental effect on the unborn child's life. And we have to remind ourselves that the movie was made in an era when we didn't realize how dangerous these things could be to the fetus. We know better now. It is something that the "Right to Life" movement has been trying to remind us of for decades. Life doesn't begin on the day that the baby is born. Life actually begins at the start of the pregnancy. Your true age is about nine months older than you think it is.

We didn't know, but maybe we should have. Judges contains a story about an unnamed woman, the wife of a man named Manoah. Manoah's wife is barren; she desires a child but has never been able to get pregnant. An angel appears to this woman with a welcome message; God has decided to give her a child. But this child is going to be different. From the moment of his birth, this child would be a Nazirite and would remain a Nazirite throughout his life. A Nazirite made an oath not to cut his hair, drink alcohol, or come in contact with unclean things throughout the length of the vow. The idea of a lifelong Nazirite is a rare one. The child of Manoah's wife would be one of the first lifelong Nazirites, and he would be followed by the Prophet Samuel and John the Baptist, both of whom would be Nazirites throughout their lives.

The child born to Manoah's wife would be called Samson, and when he was older, he would be a special judge over all of Israel. But what is significant is that Samson's life as a Nazirite didn't begin with the moment he was born; it began with the moment he was conceived. From the time God placed this tiny life inside of Samson's mother, mom needed to live according to the cultural restrictions placed on a Nazirite, not because she was a Nazirite, but because Samson would be. And everything that she put in her body would affect the one that was yet to be born. His developing body needed to be kept pure from the moment of conception, and from the moment of his birth, Samson would live in a way that was different from anyone else in his culture.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Judges 14