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The Vow of the Nazirite:  A Call to Holiness
Numbers 6:1-21                                              November 2, 1997
 
Introduction:
          Holiness is a priceless commodity sought throughout human history  by those seriously seeking God.
Strangely, it is found only by those who have discovered that it is indeed priceless - that it cannot be bought.
It cannot be bought because God cannot be bought - holiness comes from God by grace.
But it also takes the effort of man in response to the call of God to desire that grace and come into its fullness.
The heart of man seems to have innate knowledge that God is holy, and that he himself is not, and that he must become holy in order to please God.
 
*1Pe 1:15  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;*
*1Pe 1:16  for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."*
*Le 20:7  "'Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.*
*Le 20:8  Keep my decrees and follow them.
I am the LORD, who makes you holy.*
But just what is holiness anyway, what effect does it have, and how do we get it?
1.
Holiness is the cutting edge of purity.
2.       Holiness is shooting for perfection.
3.       Holiness is the power of God in our behalf.
4.       Holiness is preventive maintenance against sin.
5.       Holiness holds promise of God’s desired effect.
6.       Holiness is righteousness in Christ alone.
7.       Holiness is believing and using our foundation in Christ.
In Num.
6:1-21, we see the O.T. account of what man must do to if he wanted to become especially holy.
God laid a foundation of rules and regulations for those that desired to be especially devoted and consecrated to him, at least for a time, by taking the vow of the Nazirite.
I believe the Nazirite vow has application for us as Christians today if we study it in context and make the transition to our present circumstance.
No one knows the origin of the Nazirite vow - it probably proceeded from antiquity in man’s search for godliness.
Here in Numbers, God through Moses does not initiate it but defines and regulates it.
The ideal of purity and holiness through separation and consecration was the object of legislation here to consider the behavior of individuals rather than the community as a whole.
This was not just a vow of personal self-discipline but an act of total devotion to the Lord.
It was a vow that could be made for your life from birth by either your parents or by God, or one you could make yourself for a certain period of time.
The minimum period of a Nazirite vow according to Hebrew tradition was 30 days.
It could be made by either men or women.
But the vow of a woman or daughter was subject to the husband or father in her life (Num.
30:6-8).
Although such separated persons were allowed to participate in community life, they were required to exhibit a particular type of sanctification governed by specific rules.
The OT contains no record of ever requiring anyone to take such a vow, but if taken, it was to be taken seriously since it is a voluntary agreement between man and God.
All vows must be made with great caution.
*Pr 20:25 ¶ It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows.
(i.e.
Samson who finally came to God as he was blindsided in a rockslide)*
 
          It was a serious means of identifying with Him in a life of worship and service.
It was a period of spiritual dedication - like volunteering for a tour of duty in military service.
The basic provisions of the Nazirite vow was a life visibly set apart from the culture of the day by diet (no wine or grape products could be consumed), appearance (the hair could not be cut), and associations (anyone dead was off limits).
There are several notable examples of the Nazirite calling for life or by temporary vow in both the Old and New Testaments.
Samson       Judges 13:2-6       From birth for life by angelic decree
          Samuel        1Sam.
1:9-11,17   From birth for life by parental request
          John Baptist         Luke 1:11-15        From birth for life by angelic decree
                   (all the above born to previously barren women)
          Recabites    Jer.
35:1-7            Permanent vow taken by entire clan
                   (related to Kenites and Midianites thru Moses’ father-in-law)
          Paul            Acts 18:18; 21:22-24,26          Temporary vow
          Jesus           Mt.
2:23; 11:19    Nazarene but not a Nazirite
 
          We can see support by God for the Nazirite vow in Amos:
 
*Am 2:11  I also raised up prophets from among your sons and Nazirites from among your young men.
Is this not true, people of Israel?" declares the LORD.*
*Am 2:12  "But you made the **Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.*
We can also see a New Testament parallel in the requirements of the Jerusalem Council upon the Gentiles in Acts 21:25.
*Ac 21:22  What shall we do?
They will certainly hear that you have come,*
*Ac 21:23  so do what we tell you.
There are four men with us who have made a vow.*
*Ac 21:24  Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved.
Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.*
*/Ac 21:25  As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality."/*
*Ac 21:26  The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them.
Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.*
Let us take a closer look at Numbers 6:1-21 and how it might relate to our present day context of being Christians in a fallen world in deep need of a holy witness.
* *
*I.
The Vow Described (6:1-8)*
*          A.
The Basic Prohibition About Wine (6:1-4)*
* *
*1 ¶ The LORD said to Moses,*
*2  "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the LORD as a Nazirite,*
*3  he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink.
He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.*
*4  As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.*
In the culture of that day, almost everyone drank wine.
It was even somewhat necessary due to the impurity of many water supplies.
To not drink wine was a very identifiable stand for God that was understood by the culture.
This is also the case in our present day where alcohol flows freely and is an integral part of every worldly social function.
The one who abstains stands apart, and when it is inquired as to why, the cause is discovered in the honor of God.
In a sense, it is also a protest of rampant alcoholism that destroys morality and God-consciousness.
Here we see also that not even any grape products may be consumed.
The holy man or woman of the day was to be so devoted that they couldn’t even “smell the cork” as it were.
If we are to separate ourselves from something that may entice us, we cannot afford to trifle with it.
This is true of any thing that would be sin to the one who would be holy.
We should be careful what we take in to our bodies, being careful that our diet does not defile us and defame God.  (But note here that the Nazirite vow contained nothing that treated the body harshly - it was not ascetic.
Those things had no value in restraining sensual indulgence, Col. 2:21-23.)
*Eph 5:18  Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.
Instead, be filled with the Spirit.*
*1Co 6:10  nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.*
*Eph 5:3 ¶ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.*
*1Th 5:22  Avoid every kind of evil.*
*          B.
The Basic Prohibition About Hair (6:5)*
* *
*5  "'During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head.
He must be holy until the period of his separation to the LORD is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long.*
The hair is a product of the body that crowns the head.
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