May the mumbling commence!
I have been preparing to portray John the Baptist in a play that I wrote for church, so I’ve been thinking some about the Nazirite vow. For that reason, the sixth chapter of Numbers caught my eye. Read from the beginning of the chapter below:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the people of Israel and give them these instructions: If some of the people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart to the Lord in a special way, they must give up wine and other alcoholic drinks. They must not use vinegar made from wine, they must not drink other fermented drinks or fresh grape juice, and they must not eat grapes or raisins. As long as they are bound by their Nazirite vow, they are not allowed to eat or drink anything that comes from a grapevine, not even the grape seeds or skins.
They must never cut their hair throughout the time of their vow, for they are holy and set apart to the Lord. That is why they must let their hair grow long. And they may not go near a dead body during the entire period of their vow to the Lord, even if their own father, mother, brother, or sister has died. They must not defile the hair on their head, because it is the symbol of their separation to God. This applies as long as they are set apart to the Lord. (Verses 1-8)
Because of the famous figures who were Nazirites, I had always thought of the vow was for men. Though, if I would have thought about it, both Samson’s and John’s mother took the vow of the Nazirite during their pregnancies. This vow was equally open to women and men.
What does the vow consist of? There will be no alcoholic beverages. Period. Anything off the grape vine was out of the question. And a barber was out of the question. Long hair was a symbol to mark Nazirites as set apart to the Lord is a special way.
So far so good! I think I can handle all these requirements… for a time. But another part of being a Nazirite meant that there was to be no contact with a dead body. I could not go to a funeral even of my father or mother or brother or sister. That would be hard. (And it is a requirement that was ignored by Samson.)
Set apart visibly for the Lord… by appearance, diet, and behavior. That would be a conversation starter – make no mistake. It would be a rich time to share the Good News of the Lord… to share our special blessing from God. Like the one that ends Numbers chapter six. Most of you have heard it in one form or another at some point. Read it below:
'May the Lord bless you and protect you.
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.' (Verses 24-26)
What wonderful verbs! May God bless and protect you. May God smile on you and be gracious to you. May God show favor to you and give you peace. That is a wonderful place to be – in the hands of our loving and living Lord. It is a reminder that God goes before us… just as Jesus went before his disciples as he had promised them. Read from Mark chapter sixteen:
“Now go and give this message to his disciples, including Peter: Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died!" (Verse 7)
What a grand Lord to devote ourselves to!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
No comments:
Post a Comment