In the Scriptures there is a contrast between two Nazarites: Samuel and Samson, where Samuel is a positive pattern of a faithful Nazarite, being one who ministered to God and His people as a Nazarite, a prophet, a priest, a judge, and a man of prayer.
His mother Hannah lived in the time of Eli the priest, and the priesthood was degraded and waning; in those days the word of the Lord was rare.
Hannah was desperate to have a child, for the other wife of her husband had a lot of children, but Hannah didn’t. At the same time, God had a need: He needed a Nazarite in that age through whom He can move and with whom He could change the age.
So Hannah was desperate, and one time when she went to the temple, she prayed very much out of desperation before the Lord; she was in the temple and was praying inwardly, but her lips were moving without making a sound.
When Eli the priest saw her, he thought that she was drunk, and he told her off. His spiritual perception had completely left him by this time, and he could not discern the real need and situation of this person.
But she responded to her that she has been pouring out her soul before Jehovah, and this is why she seemed to be drunk.
This is what the Lord wants – He wants us as His people to pour out our soul before Him, and He will gain in us what He is after. She poured out her soul, and her need met God’s need; she didn’t just pray for a son, but she prayed that, if God would give her a son, she would consecrate him to God for His service.
Somehow, in her desperation and need, she touched God’s need, and her prayer was an utterance of God’s desire, for God desired to gain a Nazarite, and she desired to gain a son.
What God wants to gain is many Nazarites, many who consecrate themselves to God, being set aside to Him in holiness, those who do not enjoy worldly pleasures but enjoy God, those who are absolutely subject to God and His authority, so that these ones would match Him in His move.
Hannah’s prayer in desperation matched God’s need, so God gave her a son, and she gave him to the Lord; this is how Samuel was given to God and became a Nazarite from his very birth.
God gave Hannah many other sons and daughters after this – He took care of her need, even as she took care of His need.
May the Lord make us such ones those who care for God’s need, and even when we have a human need, we would pour out our soul before God and pray that our need would be met for His need to be met.
Being the Faithful Nazarites who are Absolute for the Fulfilling of God’s Desire
Samuel is a positive pattern of a faithful Nazarite (see 1 Sam. 1:11, 28; 2:28, 35; 3:20; 7:15). He was a Levite by birth and a Nazarite by consecration, and he served God and His people as a faithful Nazarite.
His mother, Hannah, uttered a prayer that was an echo, a speaking out of the heart’s desire of God; she cooperated with God for the carrying out of His economy. Hannah’s prayer was a human cooperation with the divine move for the carrying out of God’s eternal economy.
God could motivate Hannah as a person who was one with Him on the line of life, and through her He could gain a Nazarite, Samuel.
As long as God can gain people who are on the line of life and cooperate with Him in prayer, He has a way on the earth. May the Lord make us persons of prayer, those who pray prayers to accomplish His economy and bring in His economy and His kingdom on this earth.
Hannah’s prayer indicates that God’s move with His answer to Hannah’s prayer (1 Sam. 1:10-17) was to produce a Nazarite, one who was absolute for the fulfilling of God’s desire.
God answered Hannah’s prayer by giving her Samuel, a Nazarite was absolute for the fulfilling of God’s desire.
God desires to gain you and me as a Nazarite who was consecrated to God absolutely, who took God as the Head, considering Him as the Husband, and who had no interest in the enjoyment of worldly pleasures.
May we learn to pray before the Lord that He would make us the faithful Nazarites of today who are absolute for the fulfilling of His desire.
May we learn to pour out our heart before Him, pouring out our soul before God, so that our need would meet and match His need, and His need would be uttered in our prayer, for God to gain what He is after and for our need to be met.
In the midst of the chaos and degradation in the Christianity today, God desires that some would remain on the line of life for Him to fulfill His purpose.
Those who are on the line of life will bring forth Christ for the enjoyment of God’s people, that on earth God may have His kingdom, which is the church as the Body of Christ (Matt. 16:18-19; Rom. 14:17; Eph. 1:22b-23), the very organism of the Triune God.
May we be the faithful Nazarites today who are absolute for the fulfilling of God’s desire on earth, and may our prayer be an echo, a speaking out of the desire of God’s heart to gain His Nazarites through whom He can move.
May we offer God the human cooperation that He needs for His divine move to be carried out on earth.
Amen, may we take God as our Head, considering Him as our unique Husband, and may we have no interest in the enjoyment of worldly pleasures but enjoy God and be absolutely under His headship.
Lord Jesus, we want to be the faithful Nazarites of today who are absolute for the fulfilling of God’s desire on earth. May our prayer cooperate with Your move, and may You gain the human cooperation in us for Your move to advance on the earth. Amen, Lord Jesus, keep us on the line of life so that Christ may be brought forth for the enjoyment of God’s people, so that God may have His kingdom, which is the church as the Body of Christ. Lord, we consecrate ourselves to You. Make us persons of prayer, those who pray prayers to accomplish Your economy and bring Your economy and Your kingdom on this earth!
Samuel Ministered as a Nazarite, a Priest, a Prophet, a Judge, and a Man of Prayer
Samuel was one with God on earth; even from a young age, when God appeared to him at night, he was willing to listen to God’s voice and receive His word, and he was a faithful Nazarite to God (see 1 Sam. 7:3).
Samuel began to minister as the acting God, the representative of the very God in heaven to rule over His people on earth; he was God in function – he was so one with God that he represented God on earth.
God desires to gain faithful Nazarites today who represent Him on earth; these become the same as God in life, nature, expression, and function, but not in the Godhead, and they represent God and are the acting God on earth.
In God’s ordination, Samuel was a new priest and a prophet, whose speaking changed the age; he changed the age not through revolution but through divine revelation, to bring in the kingship.
Samuel ministered in four statuses or four functions: he ministered as a Nazarite, a priest, a prophet, a judge, and a man of prayer.
First, Samuel ministered as a Nazarite consecrated to God absolutely for God’s fulfillment of His economy; he was a volunteer to replace any official and formal serving ones of God (1 Sam. 1:11, 28). The priesthood in his times was waning, and God needed volunteers.
Today God is looking for volunteers, the faithful Nazarites who are consecrated to God absolutely for the fulfillment of His economy. These don’t have any special title or office, but they serve God according to the vision He shows them in His word.
Secondly, Samuel ministered as a God-honoring, God-pleasing priest to replace the stale and degraded priesthood (1 Sam. 2:30, 35; cf. Judg. 9:9, 13; Deut. 34:7).
He was not a priest by birth, but God raised him up particularly; he didn’t rebel against the house of Aaron, neither did he usurp anything of the house of Aaron, but he was perfected and built up in his capacity by God to be one who changes the age.
God used Samuel to change the age not through rebellion but through the way of divine revelation; he had God’s speaking and revelation, and he was a man after God’s heart, doing nothing rebellious but always being one with God.
The Lord wants to gain such ones today, the faithful Nazarites who are priests raised up by God, those who do not rebel but have God’s revelation, know God’s heart, and do everything according to God’s heart’s desire to change this age.
Thirdly, Samuel ministered as a prophet to speak the word of God when the word of Jehovah was rare and visions were not widespread (1 Sam. 3:1-10, 19-21).
On one hand we need to receive revelation from God, and on the other, we need to be one with the Lord to speak the word of God. Thank the Lord for His mercy in His recovery; today we have His word in a fresh way, His word is not rare, and visions are widespread – this is the Lord’s mercy to us.
We need to stay in the Lord’s mercy and volunteer to be today’s faithful Nazarites. We simply need to tell the Lord as little Samuel did, Speak, o Lord, for Your servant is listening.
Fourth, Samuel ministered as a judge in the reality of the kingship to replace the judging of the people by the old and stale priesthood (1 Sam. 7:15-17). He was a judge in Israel, for he represented God among His people, and people took his judgement as God’s word.
Fifth, Samuel ministered as a man of prayer, praying for God’s elect to be kept in the way of God so that God’s desire of His will in them might be fulfilled (1 Sam. 8:6; 12:20-25; 15:11).
He considered it as a sin before God not to pray for His people. May we not sin against God by not praying for one another, for His people; may we be people of prayer.
Lord Jesus, make us the faithful Nazarites of today, those whose speaking and work would change the age through the divine revelation! Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to be the volunteers You need today, those who are absolutely consecrated to God for God’s fulfillment of His economy. May we be the God-honoring and God-pleasing priests who walk in freshness of life and in newness of spirit to minister God to man. May we remain in Your mercy in the church life to enjoy Your fresh speaking and be filled with Your divine revelation, and may we speak Your word to God’s people. Lord, make us men of prayer, those who consider it as sin not to pray for God’s people. May we be those one with You to pray for God’s elect to be kept in the way of God so that God’s desire of His will in them might be fulfilled!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, Life-study of 1 & 2 Samuel, msg. 5 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallisation-Study of Numbers (1), week 5, God’s Desire for All His People to Be Today’s Nazarites.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Raise up some to meet Your need, some Nazarites, / Prophets, priests, and judges, and men of prayer, / Speaking forth Your word, with Your authority, / A photo of Your heart for Your move. (Song on, In this godless age)
# Samuel ministered to be a God-pleasing priest, / He was absolute for Him; / Samuel gave himself to be a Nazarite, / Saved from death, the world, and sin. / I will choose to be a living overcomer, / Be a person not ashamed to be a Jesus lover, / One who eats the tree of life, / And drinks the living water. (Song on, Choose to Be an Overcomer)
# Make us those who’re one with You in prayer, / Echoing the things for which You care. / Lord, do make us one so that Your heart’s desire we share; / In this age, Lord gain Your men of prayer. (Song on, Let us work together with the Lord through prayer)
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