The Nazarite Vow

The Nazirite Vow

(Num.6:1-21)

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “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, 3 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. 4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin” (Num.6:1-4).

This Aaronic Blessing from the LORD follows a description of the godly Nazirite vow and I suggest that you read the entire chapter which includes the legislation and conditions which are necessary for fulfilling this vow which involves not only the vow but also the person who vows before the LORD. The Nazirite represented true godliness and consecration/separation unto the Lord, and he/she needed discipline (v3, 4), to accomplish his vows, in that the person had to abstain from certain things. The Nazirite vow of separation unto the Lord could be undertaken by any male or female Israelite, just as the surrendered life is possible to all God’s children. The Nazirite, during the period of his/her vow demonstrates a singular model of godliness which seems out of place here among a people of avowed godlessness. The effectiveness of personal consecration (v5) depends for its virtue upon the sacrificial offerings of the Mosaic system. In these offerings God was vowing future salvation through the sacrifice of Himself. The sacrifices and offerings which accompanied the Nazirite vow were - a sin offering and a burnt offering (v11), a trespass offering and a peace offering (v14), a grain offering and a peace offering (v17,18). To explore such a profusion of sacrifices would be rich in meaning and significance.

God is seeking and finding in the personal sacrifice and consecration of the Nazirite a compatibility with His ordained sacrifices. In other words, he who participates in the Breaking of Bread must be found worthy – emphasising the truth of the Nazirite, that there must be compatibility between the vow of the Nazarite and his personal separation/consecration to God. Our personal consecration, which is represented by the yielding up our bodies to God as a living sacrifice requires the virtues and accomplishments of Christ’s sacrifice to give it worth. We compliment Christ’s sacrifice (we don’t add to it) by our yielding ourselves to Him and God places an incalculable worth to our separation and consecration. At the end of the Nazirite vow he/she shaved off their hair “from the consecrated head,” and then burnt it under the fire of the peace offering. Then the priest offers a wave offering which represents the fruit of this period of consecration and then the priest eats the offering, and the Nazirite can now drink wine, which means that he/she returns to their normal way of living.

Every Israelite may draw apart to vow and to make sacrifice to the LORD. Separation and consecration was a condition of priesthood which was exclusive to the Levites, but with the Nazirite we have an occasion when the ordinary person could enter into the service of the Lord and give himself entirely to God. Certain men and women were called to live the life of a Nazirite from birth, some men and women separated themselves unto the Lord for their entire lives and we have the wonderful example of Simeon and Anna. Paul describes those who have been given the gift of singleness as separated and consecrated to the Lord alone,

“But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband” (1Cor.7:32-34).

We have to look at consecration in broader terms than the specific point that Paul is making here, for example, what does consecration/separation/singleness look like in the life of Paul or Timothy, Simeon and Anna, or Phoebe. The Nazirite vow establishes the importance of vowing, or making definite promises to the Lord, of such importance and significance that they engage all of our life, such holy vows originate in the heart of God, finding clarification in our own heart and translate into the energy of our will, captivate our dreams, and absorb our thinking – these vows before God are vows for life and engage our entire being, they are life-changing, life-motivating and lifetransforming.

The Nazirite vow teaches us a few simple truths. The first one is that the Nazirite has drawn aside from his normal life to be with the LORD for the singular purpose of vowing unto the LORD. The vow is accompanied by the consecration and separation of the individual. The vow is also synchronised with a whole spectrum of sacrifices. Thus, we see that it is important to draw aside for specific periods with the Lord, but we must also be intentional in our seasons of withdrawal. The vow teaches us the importance of compatibility in terms of the Nazarite’s integrity and his making vows. Simply put, - vowing calls for consecration. Making promises to God requires a willing heart! My promises demand integrity to give them force. The final lesson is simply that the Nazirite vow not only requires the integrity of the Nazirite to give it credibility, but it also required the sacrifices of the Mosaic legislation to give it virtue and worth. The Nazirite needed alongside his own sacrifice the sacrifice of God to make it life changing.