Some Thoughts On The Nazarite

Some Thoughts On The Nazarite A. The O.T. law of the Nazarite is found in NUM 6:1-21. 1. Being a Nazarite was not binding upon all in Israel but only to those so appointed by God, as Samson (JDG 13:5) or a vow, as Samuel. 1SAM 1:11. 2. This law pertained specifically to a seasonal voluntary vow of a Jew, and is not binding upon Gentile believers. c/w ACT 21:23-25. 3. This was a vow that a woman of Israel could make, albeit with certain qualifications. NUM 6:2 c/w NUM 30:3-4. 4. The Nazarite was an especially dedicated and separated person, distinguished by holiness while abstaining from things that otherwise were normal or lawful. 5. They were ranked with prophets for importance. AMO 2:11-12. B. Christians are a kind of Nazarite in principle. 1. In committing to Jesus Christ, they vow continued faithfulness. LUK 14:25-35. 2. They are called out from an untoward generation. ACT 2:40. 3. They are not to be conformed to this world. ROM 12:2. 4. They are to avoid the “dead man” of sin and abolished O.T. religion. ROM 7:1-6. 5. They are to maintain clear lines of separation from corrupted brethren and false religion. 1CO 5:9-13; 2CO 6:14-18. 6. They are even to abstain from lawful things when it is expedient to do so. 1CO 6:12; 8:13; 9:27. 7. They are to be holy in dedication to God and in practice. 1PE 1:15-16. 8. But unlike Nazarites, Christians do not terminate their “vow of separation” without grave consequences. HEB 10:26-31. C. NUM 6:1-8 shows: 1. drinking wine or strong drink in moderation was otherwise lawful. DEUT 14:26. 2. being in the presence of a dead body was otherwise lawful. 3. long hair on a man was not the norm. c/w 1CO 11:14. a. The Nazarite’s refraining from haircuts was an appointed neglecting of the body for holy purposes, unlike the sham wilful neglecting of the body for will-worship by men’s traditions. COL 2:20-23. b. Long hair is also a token of subjection to authority (1CO 11:1-6), and on men implies shame and an overturning of God’s order. 4. no restriction on marriage. c/w JDG 14:20; 1SAM 8:1. a. The notion of attaining unto a superior holiness by separating oneself to celibacy in a convent or monastery under a vow has little accord with Scripture. b. It is not God’s Spirit that forbids marriage. 1TI 4:1-3. c. Celibacy is a gift only to some (1CO 7:7) and history has shown the danger of boasting of a false gift. PRO 25:14. D. Jesus Christ was not a literal Nazarite under the law of NUM 6. 1. He turned water into wine and drank wine. JOH 2:7-11 c/w LUK 7:33-34. 2. He contacted dead bodies. LUK 8:52-55; JOH 11:43-44. 3. But as Christ was the fulfillment of all the other elements of the Law which testified of Him (JOH 5:39), so He also answers to the essential principles of the law of the Nazarite. 4. There was/is never another man so holy and separated for God’s purposes. E. Christ was a separated Man. 1. He separated Himself from heaven to identify with us as a man. JOH 1:14. 2. He volunteered for the task of redemption, binding Himself with a commitment, saying, “...Lo, I come...to do thy will, O God” (HEB 10:7). Some Thoughts On The Nazarite 9-28-25 Page 1 of 2  3. He lived a unique, unsullied life of dedication to God in the midst of a corrupt world: He was/is “...the Holy One...” (ACT 3:14). 4. Having borne our sins in His body to Calvary and discharging them, He rose to return to heaven as our High Priest, “...holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners...” (HEB 7:26). 5. Unlike the Nazarite, Christ is no less holy and separate after the completion of His “vow” than during it (or before it). F. Like the voluntary Nazarite, Christ abstained from normal pleasures. 1. He left the ivory palaces of glory (PSA 45:8) where at the Father’s “...right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (PSA 16:11). 2. He entered a world of woe, lived a fully engaged life in it and experienced temptation. HEB 4:15. 3. While here under His vow, His mission was that of “...a man of sorrows” (ISA 53:3). 4. He knew His rightful full joy and pleasure were reserved until He had completed His vow and returned to glory. HEB 12:2. G. The Nazarite had to keep death at a distance during his vow. 1. Christ avoided death many times. LUK 4:29-30; JOH 7:30; 8:20, 59; 10:39. 2. Only when His “vow” was done He laid down His life of Himself. JOH 10:17-18. H. The Nazarite’s long hair was a shame he bore for his vow. 1. So Christ endured shame for us: “...I hid not my face from shame and spitting” (ISA 50:6 c/w MAT 26:67). 2. They stripped Him at Calvary (JOH 19:23-24) that the shame of nakedness might appear. c/w REV 3:18. 3. He endured but despised the shame. HEB 12:2. I. When the Nazarite’s vow was complete, he was to make a series of offerings by fire, including a peace offering. NUM 6:13-17. 1. The Nazarite was to shave his head and burn the hair at the door of the tabernacle. NUM 6:18. 2. His body was not to be consumed, only the emblem of shame. 3. When Christ “...made peace by the blood of his cross...” (COL 1:20), it was only the shame of suffering that was consumed. His body saw not corruption (ACT 2:30-31); and His holiness continued. 4. Being made “...perfect through sufferings” (HEB 2:10), the joy and presence of the Father and heaven were His again, and He opened the door of the heavenly tabernacle for us to “...come boldly unto the throne of grace...” (HEB 4:16) and in Him “...rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1PE 1:8). Some Thoughts On The Nazarite 9-28-25 Page 2 of 2