February 28 - Numbers 6:1-5

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

When either men or women make

a special vow, the vow of a nazirite,

to separate themselves to the Lord, 

they shall separate themselves

from wine and strong drink ... [and]

All the days of their nazirite vow

no razor shall come upon the head ...

Numbers 6:1-5 

 

Question: What do Samson (Judg 13:5), Samuel (1 Sam 1:11), probably John the Baptist (Luke 1:13-15), and maybe even Jesus (Mark 14:22-25) have in common?

 

Answer: They were Nazirites.

 

Before we get into the possibility of the New Testament Characters -- Jesus and John -- being Nazirites, let's remember what these ascetic people were:

• They were set apart "TO the Lord." A vow was taken which made them God's -- rather than belonging to themselves or to their families.
• Parents could set them apart for this role and responsibility from their childhood. For example, part of Samuel's infertile mother's promise to God was to set apart her child if and when God opened her womb.
• They didn't drink strong drink. In other words, they approached this vow soberly.
• They didn't cut their hair. To the world, this was an outward sign of an inward vow. Part of Samson's strength, you may remember, was figuratively in his hair (though literally in his faithfulness), and when he allowed his hair to be cut it represented his infidelity to God and his vow.

Some wonder if hairy, wilderness prophet, John the Baptist, was a Nazirite. After all, the angel who proclaimed his birth said, "he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb." John's very faithful Jewish parents would have undoubtedly understood this description in the light of being a Nazirite.

 

Others wonder if Jesus himself was a Nazirite. They site first the identification of the Christ as a Nazerene -- yes, he came from Nazareth, but could it also mean he'd taken this ascetic vow? They also site his upper room promise: "Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God" (Mark 14:25).

 

My job today is not to try and convince you of Jesus' or John's long-haired status. My job is to invite you to consider you vow to the Lord. A next step in your faithfulness and mine does not have to involve teatottling or longer hair! But what kind of commitment might God be calling you and me to?

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who could probably be convinced

to give up strong drink (Starbucks Coffee) for Lent