Numbers 6:9-219And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it. 10And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: 11And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day. 12And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled. 13And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: 14And he shall offer his offering unto the Lord, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings, 15And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings. 16And the priest shall bring them before the Lord, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering: 17And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat offering, and his drink offering. 18And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings. 19And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven: 20And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazarite may drink wine. 21This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the Lord for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation. (Numbers 6:9‑21)
THE NAZARITE must not drink wine nor any strong drink which would “take away the heart” (Hosea 4:1111Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. (Hosea 4:11)). And we as Christians are to abstain from indulging in the pleasures of nature, even some that are right in their place being given up in devotedness to Christ. The blessed Lord gives us to enjoy things which He could not enjoy as a man here on earth. However, the Christian’s proper joy is beyond death, and we ought to give up anything that hinders our entering more deeply into the joy and blessing of that life which is beyond the power of death.
Next, the Nazarite was not to shave off his hair but to let it grow. A woman’s hair is her glory for it is a sign of her submission to her husband’s authority, but for a man to have long hair it is a shame to him (1 Cor. 11:14,1514Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? 15But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. (1 Corinthians 11:14‑15)). In letting his hair grow the Nazarite humbled himself, taking the dependent and subject place, giving up his rights as man to consecrate himself wholly to the Lord.
The secret of Samson’s strength was his long hair, sign of his Nazariteship. We learn in this that the place of subjection and dependence is the place of power, and Nazariteship is spiritual power. Samson’s enemies were at a loss to know the secret of wherein his great strength lay. Before his marriage to one of them he had slain the lion and later found honey in it — in eating the honey he had strength from God as he walked in communion. But in his connections with the Philistines, in failing to keep himself apart for God, he surrendered his secret, he lost first his strength, then his eyesight.
Here lies the danger for the Christian. If he mingles with the world, it will be to surrender his Nazariteship; his spiritual strength will be gone. God can and will restore in His sovereign mercy, but who can tell how great the loss to our souls both for time and eternity. How much better it had been to remain apart!
The Nazarite must not allow himself to be defiled for the dead. Even if one unexpectedly died beside him, and he became defiled by the dead body, it meant the end of his Nazariteship. The former days of his vow were considered lost days and he must start all over again. This teaches us, does it not, that in a world of evil, where the stamp of death is everywhere, how watchful we should be not to let ourselves become defiled.
When the Nazarite became defiled, he must shave off his hair and bring two turtle doves and a lamb for a trespass offering. These sacrifices speak of Christ; thus how sweet it is to know and feel that the work of Christ meets all our failure, and grace enables us to rise and go on again in communion with Him.
ML-05/06/1973