Numbers 6:1-21 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,… : — 1. The principle of the vow is that God has placed earth's good things at man's disposal; and it is a becoming thing in him to give so much of it back to God (1 Chronicles 29:14, 16; Jonah 1:16). But once made, there was no option in the performance of the vow. No vow was better than a vow unpaid (Deuteronomy 23:21, 22: Ecclesiastes 5:4-6). 2. The subjects of vows were endless as a man's possessions. They extended even to the person of himself or others over whom he might have control (Leviticus 27). 3. But the vow at once most prominent in the Old Testament, and coming nearest to the personal consecration asked for in the New, is that of the Nazarite. The Nazaritish vow is explainable neither on the one hand as stoicism, nor on the other as a mystic representation of the Divine power working in man. It represents the ideal of sacrifice, in the devotement of a man's own person to God. I. THE MARKS OF DEDICATION LAID UPON THE NAZARITE. 1. He is to abstain from all alcoholic liquor; and, to avoid danger or suspicion, must abstain from all that comes from the vine (Numbers 6:3, 4). As a similar regulation was made regarding the priests when in God's service (Leviticus 10:9), the inference is that indulgence in strong drink specially unfits a man for God's presence or indwelling. 2. He is to leave his hair unshorn (Numbers 6:5), obviously as a badge of his position. The meaning of the Nazarite's long hair, i.e. his subjection to God, gives meaning to the woman's long hair (1 Corinthians 11:10), viz. her subjection to man. 3. He must not come into contact with the dead (Numbers 6:7). The lesson lay in the close connection between death and sin, and carried the promise of victory over death to him who sought the victory over sin. II. THE EXAMPLES PRESENTED IN SCRIPTURE OF THE NAZARITE VOW. The vow was generally taken for a short period — from thirty to sixty days — and probably its very commonness prevents its being much noticed in Scripture. But there are some notable examples of Nazarites for life. Samson was, in the full sense of the word, a life-Nazarite (Judges 13.). In the case of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:11), no mention is made of abstinence, and in the case of John Baptist (Luke 1:15) no mention is made of the hair; but it is probable that they were both full Nazarites. III. ITS APPLICATION TO OURSELVES. 1. In Bible times it was a permissible and honourable thing to abstain from intoxicating drinks. When God had any specially great or holy work for a man to do, He would have him a Nazarite or an abstainer (Leviticus 10:9, &c.). He classes the Nazarite with the prophet (Amos 2:11). Have we any less reason to-day to be abstainers than these men had? 2. The Nazaritish vow raises the question of our entire consecration to God. Christ was not an abstainer because He is the one perfect example of consecration, and representative of the body which shall yet stand in its completed freedom before God. There will be no vows in heaven, because at every moment the heart's choice will be all that it should be. But if we put vows from us now, we have to ask, Is it because we are above them, or because we are below them? (W. Roberts, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, |
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