Saturday, Nov. 9
Numbers Chapter 6 – 7:41 Click here to read
Most of the laws and sacrifices we have seen so far are things that were expected of all believers.
There have been some mentions of voluntary gifts or freewill offerings, but today we come to something new that will be significant in later parts of the Bible: the nazirite vow.
Chapter 6 assumes the reader is familiar with the practice and so does not explain exactly why a person would take a nazirite vow, but simply lays out the rules.
Don’t confuse the term with Nazarene, which refers to a person from Nazareth or a follower of Jesus. “Nazirite” comes from the word “nazir,” meaning consecrated or separated.
From the context it appears that this was a voluntary commitment of special dedication to the Lord for a set period of time. Since no specific time is mentioned, we assume that part of the vow would include that detail.
Interestingly, where most religious practices we’ve come across so far have been specific to one sex (usually men, but some specific to women), the nazirite vow is equally open to both.
Numbers specifies sacrifices to be made at both the beginning and the end of the period of the vow. During the time covered, the person must abstain from three things:
Wine or any intoxicants. This includes abstaining from grapes or other grape products.
Cutting the hair or shaving.
Coming in contact with dead bodies, even if a family member dies. (A process for cleansing and starting over is provided if such contact is accidental.)
While the nazirite vow is for a specific time period, we will encounter three lifelong nazirites later in the Bible: Samson and Samuel in the Old Testament and John in the New Testament.
I have never seen anyone in the modern world take a specifically nazirite vow in terms of the three specific things to abstain from, but the spirit of the vow lives on in many ways.
Our traditional Lent observance of abstaining from something for the season leading up to Easter is similar to the nazirite vow. People can also practice fasting or other spiritual disciplines for a time as a special period of dedication to God. Monks, nuns and similar religious orders are similar to the lifelong nazirites, voluntarily taking on disciplines as a lifetime commitment.
Nowhere is it suggested that all believers have an obligation to live as nazirites. It is a voluntary decision.