The Law of the Nazirite
“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. ‘All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. He shall not make himself unclean even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the Lord.
‘And if anyone dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. Then on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting; and the priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned in regard to the corpse; and he shall sanctify his head that same day. He shall consecrate to the Lord the days of his separation, and bring a male lamb in its first year as a trespass offering; but the former days shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.
‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite: When the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall be brought to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And he shall present his offering to the Lord: one male lamb in its first year without blemish as a burnt offering, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish as a sin offering, one ram without blemish as a peace offering, a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their grain offering with their drink offerings.
‘Then the priest shall bring them before the Lord and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering; and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall also offer its grain offering and its drink offering. Then the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offering.
‘And the priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them upon the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated hair, and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord; they are holy for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.’
“This is the law of the Nazirite who vows to the Lord the offering for his separation, and besides that, whatever else his hand is able to provide; according to the vow which he takes, so he must do according to the law of his separation.”
The Priestly Blessing
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’“So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”
Why might anyone choose to separate himself or herself to the Lord? Throughout history, there have been those who have sought to be closer to God, to achieve holiness. God is making provision for these people. There are several requirements: First, these people must have nothing to do with any part of the grape, not even seeds or even grape skins. They are not to cut their hair or beards. They will not go near any dead bodies, thus defiling themselves, not even for their parents or their siblings. If someone drops dead next to a Nazirite, causing the Nazirite to become unclean, the Nazirite must shave his/her head and make an offering. But even an incidental defilement means that the timing of the Nazirite’s vow must start all over again. When the Nazirite has completed the vows, he/she will make special offerings.
Finally, this chapter ends with the priestly blessing, a benediction that has been used in temples, synagogues, and churches throughout the world.
APPLICATION: While very few of us are likely to take a Nazirite vow, we can still learn a great deal from the rules for the Nazirites. One key element is the refusal to have anything to do with grapes in any form whatsoever. When we are dealing with any form of temptation, it is well to avoid any form of compromise. Alcoholics and drug addicts who have conquered their addictions know full well that they cannot possibly allow themselves that first drink or that first fix because it will lead inexorably back into addiction. Alcoholics Anonymous routinely pairs recovering alcoholics with a sponsor who has already been in recovery for years. Should temptation loom, the recovering alcoholic can call the sponsor for encouragement.
How do we deal with temptation? 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” While we might not have ready access to a sponsor whom we can call, we can always call on God to help us. But don’t try half-measures. Don’t mess with grape skins.
The priestly blessing is one of comfort, blessing, and encouragement. ““The Lord bless you and keep you.” What does God’s blessing look like? God knows our needs far better than we do and He can meet those needs far better than we can. God’s keeping means that He will protect us and guide us. “The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you..” When God’s face shines on us, He is happy with us and proud of us. Think of a parent taking delight in his/her child. When God is gracious, He bless us in ways we cannot imagine. “The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” When God “lifts up His countenance” on us, His favor is resting on us. And we all need peace, the deep peace that only God can give.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we want to be holy, but so many times we find ourselves compromising. Help us to follow You sincerely and whole-heartedly all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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