Numbers 6:9-21
THE NAZARITE must not drink wine nor any strong drink which would “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. 11:14,15). 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