Nazariteship: January 2025
Table of Contents
Nazariteship
Moral perception depends on the maintenance of a Nazarite separation from all and everything that might cloud our souls. Take the sons of Aaron, for example. They were commanded not to drink wine or strong drink when they went into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they should die, and that they might put a difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean (Lev. 10). This is an abiding principle. When a believer forgets his heavenly calling and yields to the indulgence of earthly joys and is “drunk with wine” instead of being “filled with the Spirit,” it is impossible for him to discern between things that differ or to perceive what is morally suitable to God. We cannot expect a right judgment upon moral questions if we are worldly Christians. We may be perfectly sincere and upright, and we may at the same time desire to see the truth, but we have lost our spiritual discernment.
Christian Friend, Vol. 12
John the Baptist - a Nazarite
The words of Gabriel concerning John the Baptist — “He shall be great in the sight of the Lord,” do not express all that should characterize him, for he adds, “And he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.” This is Nazariteship, at least the first mark of it. John could be great in the sight of the Lord only by being a Nazarite.
Separation to God
From Numbers 6 we see that to be a Nazarite was “to separate themselves unto the Lord.” There were three distinct signs –
First, the Nazarite abstained from wine and strong drink;
Second, he allowed the hair of his head to grow;
Third, he “came at no dead body.”
He deprived himself of wine, sign of joy to the heart of the natural man in the company of his equals. His long hair proclaimed that he abandoned the dignity and rights of man for subjection to the will of God, whose claims on him he acknowledged. Lastly, he avoided all that could bring him into contact with sin, whose wages is death. Such was the ordering and the secret of a Nazarite.
Separation to God could subsist only at the expense of these three things, and they were carried out in the life of John the Baptist. But in this passage he is presented to us as especially set apart from all that constitutes the joy of a social man. The world, on seeing him, would no doubt have said, “He is a sad and dismal loner.” What a mistake! This natural joy, the only one known to the world, was replaced in the prophet’s heart by a joy which communion with the Savior gives. These two joys are opposed to each other and cannot subsist together; it is only in proportion as we deny ourselves the former that we can enjoy the latter. Throughout his career divine joy was one of the characteristic features of this most austere man. As a miraculous babe in his mother’s womb, his first movement of joy is when the salutation of the mother of his Lord reaches Elizabeth’s ears (Luke 1:44); and at the end of his course he says again, “This my joy therefore is fulfilled” (John 3:29).
Christian Friend, Vol. 14
Degrees of Nazariteship
In the previous article we have taken up the three characteristics of the Nazarite — avoiding the use of wine or strong drink, allowing his hair to grow long, and not touching any dead body. Of these, allowing the hair to grow long was decidedly an outward sign that all would observe immediately. The drinking of wine might be done occasionally in secret without detection, and certainly the eating of grapes, which were also forbidden, could be done in secret. Most important of all, he might touch a dead body at some point, and if no one were watching, no one would know unless the Nazarite revealed it.
In this respect, it is important to notice that the Nazarite was not allowed to wear the outward sign without having the inward reality. If he “defiled the head of his consecration,” even if it occurred when someone died “very suddenly by him,” then he must shave his head, as a sign that he had broken his vow. His time up until that date was lost; he must begin again. In order to be a true Nazarite, all three aspects of his vow must be kept.
In considering these aspects of Nazariteship, I believe that the Spirit of God instructs us, in type, as to how we can be unbalanced in our Nazarite character. More than this, we are reminded that there was only One who perfectly displayed every feature of the Nazarite.
A Nazarite From the Womb
If we look at Samson, we read that the angel announced to his mother that she would bear a son, and that he would be “a Nazarite unto God from the womb” (Judg. 13:5). Accordingly his mother was told to “drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing” (Judg. 13:4). In principle this instruction encompassed two facets of the Nazarite — the avoidance of wine, and the avoidance of any uncleanness. Allowing her hair to grow long would not be applicable in the case of a woman.
We might notice in passing that it was to Samson’s mother that the angel was sent, although she is not named. Her husband Manoah was certainly involved and interested, but it would seem that his wife was the more spiritual of the two. It was she to whom the angel appeared the second time, when her husband wanted to know more about how to raise the promised child. It was she who had the insight and was able to quiet her husband’s fears when he thought that they would die for having, as he thought, “seen God” (Judg. 13:22). Also, when Samson later went down to take a wife of the daughters of the Philistines, we notice that eventually only his father is mentioned (Judg. 14:10). It makes us wonder if his mother had deeper misgivings about this ungodly union.
The Outward Sign
However, with Samson, we find that in his Nazariteship the emphasis was on his long hair, and there is no mention either of his avoiding wine, or avoiding any contact with death. In fact, it is hard to imagine a feast involving the Philistines, lasting an entire week, without wine being involved (see Judges 14:10-17). However, Scripture does not tell us whether he partook of it or not. Likewise, Samson was constantly engaged in combat with the Philistines, as well as touching the carcass of the lion whom he had killed, and in which was a swarm of bees. In this way he was certainly defiled by the dead many times, yet there is no record of his taking any notice of this, as affecting his Nazariteship. In summary, then, and in type, we might say that Samson wore the outward sign of a Nazarite, and was surely used of the Lord, but his neglect of that which speaks of inward consecration was lacking, and was eventually his downfall.
Earthly Joys
If we go over to the New Testament, to John the Baptist, again we find a special emphasis, this time on the avoidance of wine and strong drink. His mother was apparently not given any special instruction as to herself, but she was told that her son would “drink neither wine nor strong drink.” But then something very important was added — “He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15). Scripture is careful not to say that he was indwelt with the Holy Spirit, for this could not be until our Lord Jesus had accomplished the work of redemption, and ascended back up to heaven. But John was filled with the Holy Spirit, and although no specific mention is made of his hair, or whether he ever touched a dead body, yet we find that he was faithful to the Lord, instead of failing like Samson. Our Lord Himself paid him the highest compliment, saying that “Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist” (Luke 7:28).
What characterized John was his avoidance of the crowds, and all the social intercourse that he might have had. He was “in the deserts” even before he began his public ministry, and when he began that ministry, he was “preaching in the wilderness” (Matt. 3:1). All this was typified by his avoidance of wine and strong drink, which speaks of earthly joy. While all this was suitable for John and was properly characteristic of the service that was committed to him, yet once again, we see, in type, the imperfect balance that inevitably exists even in the best of God’s servants.
A Nazarite in Character
The apostle Paul also surely was a Nazarite in character, although the term is not specifically applied to him. Yet on one occasion he was evidently ready to undertake the vow of a Nazarite under Old Testament conditions. He was fully prepared outwardly to identify himself with several Jewish men who had fulfilled their Nazarite vow, and were about to shave their heads (see Acts 21:22-26). God mercifully intervened and prevented Paul’s involvement in this, for it would have been “building again the things” which he had destroyed (Gal. 2:18). It would have been a serious blot on his calling as the apostle to the Gentiles. Again, we see this failure in one who otherwise greatly exemplified the Nazarite character.
There was One — our Lord Jesus Christ, who showed forth the Nazarite character in absolute perfection. He did not exhibit that character in the outward way, according to the description given in Numbers 6, but rather in a spiritual way. Our blessed Lord certainly drank wine on occasion, and touched many dead bodies — bodies which He raised back to life. We have no scriptural reason to think that our Lord Jesus had long hair. In all likelihood all of the Old Testament signs of the true Nazarite were missing from our Lord Jesus. But we must leave this subject for a fuller consideration in another article.
W. J. Prost
God's Way of Unity
God is working in the midst of evil to produce a unity of which He is the center and the spring, and which owns dependently His authority. He does not do it yet by the judicial clearing away of the wicked, but He cannot unite with the wicked or have a union which serves them. How then can this union be? He separates the called from the evil to Himself. “Come out from among them, and be ye separate ... and I will receive you ... and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2. Cor. 6:17-18). As it is written, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them” (2 Cor. 6:16). Now here we have it distinctly set forth. This was God’s way of gathering; He could not have gathered true unity around Him otherwise. Since evil exists — yes, it is our natural condition — there cannot be union of which the holy God is the center and power but by separation from it.
The great principle of the energy of the Spirit of God in us while passing through the wilderness is brought out in the book of Numbers. In Numbers 6 we have the positive separation to God in the energy of the Holy Spirit — “unto the LORD” (vs. 2). So the Lord Jesus, particularly after His ascension, could say, ”For their sakes I sanctify myself” (John 17:19), that we, by the energy of the Spirit in us, should be separate now in the wilderness, walking in white, keeping our garments unspotted by the flesh. Again, the Lord separated Himself that He might be about His Father’s business, and for this He separated Himself even from His “mother’s children” (Psa. 69:8), for this was nature — the flesh, which by sin was under the power of death. He still holds the Nazarite character, because all His disciples are not yet gathered to Him, and now, in a certain sense, with us it is also separation from joy — “the fruit of the vine”; we must not let the heart go. In glory it is the great spirit of rest; there will be no need to gird the heart then. Now the effect of the energy of the Spirit is to gird up the loins of our mind lest we get defiled, but in glory we shall let flow our garments, because we shall not fear defilement there.
Separation From Wine — Joy
“He shall separate himself from wine” (vs. 3), that is, joy. The Lord came in character expecting to find joy among men, expecting to find a response to His love in the hearts of men, but found none, and so was a Nazarite from the first. To be a Nazarite is to be separated from every natural affection which can be touched by death — to be separated unto the Lord. No honey could be offered to the Lord, and now the Spirit is a new power come in to detach us from everything natural. The Lord, filled with the Spirit for service, said to His mother, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” All nature by sin has come under the power of death, so the Nazarite “shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother ... because the consecration of his God is upon his head” (vs. 7). See also Luke 14:26. The Lord’s tie in nature was with the Jews as Son of David, but all this He gave up as natural, for “when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them” (John 10:4). Natural affections come from God and are therefore good in themselves, but they do not tend to God, being spent on the object. John was a Nazarite from the womb. Paul was a Nazarite, and Jeremiah also. So we are Nazarites, for our own proper joy is beyond death. Therefore all I give up here which savors of death is just giving up that which hinders a deepened apprehension of the joy and blessing of that life which is beyond the power of death. At the cross, the Lord broke the link between us and the power of death. “By these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit” (Isa. 38:16).
Holy to God
“All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord” (vs. 8). This is the great principle in the Nazarite — holy to God, and in however short a degree he may attain to that character, yet in Christ it is perfect. All this is a distinct thing from innocence. Adam was innocent, but not separated unto God. Separation unto God supposes a knowledge of good and evil, and yet separation from evil. Adam got the knowledge of good and evil by the fall; the Holy Spirit has come to take us out of that evil. The Spirit is a new power altogether, separating us unto Christ in glory now that evil and self-will have come in. It is a most trying thing to us to know good and evil, for by nature we are in the evil — loving the evil and hating the good. The Holy Spirit is now taking us out of the evil, and here is the pain — His energy in us is keeping us from the evil while passing through a world of sin and death. We cannot be innocent now that sin has come in, but we are holy in Christ.
If a Man Die Suddenly — Defilement
“If any man die very suddenly by him” (vs. 9) — a careless thought, and communion is lost for the moment.
Death came in on everything in nature as the sign of God’s hatred of sin. The spirit of real devotedness to God always was perfect in Christ, but it is failing in us. Wherever the old man works, there is the principle of death. Therefore we get into death for the time when the old man is working. The word to us is, “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Gal. 5:24), and again, “Ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man” (Col. 3:9-10). All this is solemn. Not only have we peace, but while we are passing through this scene of sin, we need to be kept holy and devoted to God by the energy of the Holy Spirit in us.
The Long Hair — Strength
“All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head” (vs. 5). If I go back from devotedness to God, it is true the hair may grow again, but the head must be shaved close, and the time lost. It is not a question of sin here, but of loss as to the energy of life. A tree that has been much mutilated and broken down will grow up again; it was not killed, but only injured, yet its stature will not be the same as an uninjured tree. It is letting Satan mar and hinder the work of the Spirit. Samson let his heart go into the weakness of nature, and when we let in nature, our strength is gone. Samson, as a Nazarite, was a type of the energy of the Spirit of God; he let out the secret of his strength, and it left him, and he became weak as other men. True, in due course his strength returned, and with mighty energy he lifted the foundations of the temple. If we are not careful and watchful to keep the secret of our strength in communion with God, and worldliness and sin come in, we may not be conscious of it ourselves, but the truth will appear when we rise to shake ourselves — it may be in service — and we find ourselves weak as other men. And when we are in our weakness, like Samson, the devil will put out our eyes.
The True Nazarite
The Lord was the true Nazarite, and He never departed in the whole course of His walk from His Nazariteship. It was not a light thing for Him to tread the path of suffering, but He prayed. In the garden, “being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly” before the temptation came, and then we see He did not stop; He could not. So we should first pass through the trial with God, and then God will be with us in the trial. Peter slept and did not pray, and when the trial came, he met it in the flesh and drew his sword. Jesus had prayed that the cup might pass from Him, but when the chief priests and soldiers came, though Satan was in it all, yet He saw the hand of God and could say, “The cup which My Father hath given me.” Then it was no temptation at all, but an act of obedience.
Verses 13-21 show the offerings to be offered. All that was in Christ is presented to God (vs. 20), so we really come in the power of these sacrifices to God, but until the church is gathered, the Lord keeps His Nazarite character.
J. N. Darby (adapted)
Christ, the Perfect Nazarite
In our discussion of Nazariteship in other articles in this issue, we have seen how the Nazarite character can be unbalanced, with one characteristic standing out boldly, while the others are not mentioned. We will also see how one like Samson could fail in his Nazariteship, although preserved by God’s grace through many deviations in which he was involved along the way. We have seen how John the Baptist maintained his Nazarite character in spite of temptations, and was highly spoken of by our Lord Himself. However, we have also mentioned several times that there was only One who perfectly exemplified the Nazarite vow, and maintained it in perfect balance right to the end of His pathway down here. More than that, He continues that Nazarite character up there in heaven, as a risen and glorified Man at the Father’s right hand. Let us look at the three characteristics of the true Nazarite, and consider how they were displayed in the life of our blessed Lord Jesus.
A Moral Nazarite
Before we begin, however, it is important to recognize that our Lord’s Nazariteship was completely moral, and not physical, as given to Israel in Numbers 6. In this He is the perfect example for us, for in this dispensation of God’s grace we are not called upon to display the literal and physical characteristics of the Nazarite. Rather, those physical attributes of the Old Testament Nazarite are meant to be types to us of the moral and spiritual qualities that should be displayed in our lives today.
The first trait that was to be part of the vow of a Nazarite was to separate himself from “wine and strong drink.” More than this, he was not even to eat grapes, whether moist or dried, nor anything made of the vine tree. It has been pointed out elsewhere in this issue that wine speaks of earthly joy — the natural joys of which nature can partake. However, now that sin has entered this world, all of those natural joys have been touched by death. Because of this, our Lord stood apart from it all. His entire life was devoted to doing His Father’s will, and all else was subservient to this. However, we must point out that our Lord was also perfectly balanced in His separation from evil. He did not avoid social intercourse, as did John the Baptist, but willingly mixed with the crowds, and accepted invitations to eat meals in various homes. (We might remark, in this connection, that there is no record that our Lord ever graced the table of a Sadducee, for they taught bad doctrine, and denied the resurrection. However, the Lord went to the houses of Pharisees a number of times. This is an example of His perfect separation, and yet perfect accessibility.) The Lord Jesus did not become a recluse in order to maintain a holy separation, but mixed with sinners, while being completely separate from earthly joy. He will not taste of that joy until a coming day, when He drinks it new with us in His Father’s kingdom (Matt. 26:29).
Wine the Earthly Joy
For this reason He did not refuse to drink wine, and even supplied it by His divine power at the marriage in Cana of Galilee. In order to criticize Him, the Jewish leaders called Him “a gluttonous man, and a winebibber” (Luke 7:34). However, there was always that clear and definite moral separation from true earthly joy, but combined with the utmost display of love and grace to sinners. Repentant publicans and sinners felt at home in His company, when those same people were despised by the Jewish leaders. Another has expressed it well —
“The priests must on no account depart from their consecration; therefore they must be Nazarites ... There are lawful things — real joys, which, however, do not belong to priesthood — joys which flow from God’s blessings, and which do not keep the flesh in check as does His presence; for there is always a certain restraint on the heart, on nature and its activity, produced by the presence of God” (J. N. Darby, Synopsis, Vol. 1, pg. 148).
The Moral Significance of Long Hair
The second characteristic of the Old Testament Nazarite was that he was to allow his hair to grow. This would speak of giving up one’s dignity, rights, and respect as a man. Surely our Lord Jesus did this in a real way, as we read in Philippians 2:5-8. His humiliation as Man was complete, for as we read in Isaiah 53:2 JnD, “He hath no form nor lordliness, and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” Even in His physical appearance, there was nothing to distinguish the Lord Jesus from other men. Many man-made pictures of our Lord depict Him as having long hair, but there is no scripture to support this. In fact, it is noteworthy that in the Word of God, nothing whatever is said about the physical appearance of the Lord Jesus, the disciples, or any others who were prominent in the early church. The only descriptions given are moral.
Our Lord always took the low place, refusing to answer insults thrown at Him, but again, with a perfect balance. If He answered those who attacked Him, He did not defend Himself, but rather spoke so as to reach their consciences. In this He was once again the perfect example for us, as to how we ought to answer any objectors in this world.
Touch No Dead Body
The final quality of the true Old Testament Nazarite was that he was to “come at no dead body.” Even within his own immediate family he was not to defile himself in this way. This brings before us (in type) total separation from evil, and any sinful defilement. However, as we well know, the Lord Jesus could, and did, touch dead bodies many times, not in order to bury them, but to give them life. He who was the Giver of life, and whose work on Calvary’s cross would annul death, was not defiled by the dead. Rather, His touch gave them back the life that sin had taken away. All of this clearly marked Him out as the Messiah.
However, in the moral sense of avoiding any dead body, our blessed Lord was completely free of any connection with evil. He could visit with the woman at Sychar’s well, expose her sin, and attract her to Him, yet without sin. He could drive the animals and moneychangers out of the temple in righteous anger, yet never allow that righteous anger to degenerate into sin. He could ignore personal insults, yet in faithfulness answer those remarks that reflected on God’s glory. He could be “a friend of publicans and sinners,” yet never condone their sinful ways. In every way He lived and moved among those who were “dead in trespasses and sins,” and showed His love to them. Yet He never was affected by their sinful ways, and His only desire was to show them the way of life.
As Nazarites ourselves, we are called to imitate the blessed pathway of our Lord and Master, while realizing how far short we fall of that perfection that He exhibited. However, He has surely left us an example, that we “should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).
W. J. Prost
Balancing Accessibility and Separation
The Lord Jesus perfectly combined accessibility to the world while maintaining separation from the immorality of those around Him. His heart was not enticed by anything in the world. This is demonstrated in the example of His talking to the woman at the well of Sychar in John 4. There we see a perfect combination of One who maintained holiness while reaching out to those around Him. He demonstrates how to overcome sin while delivering those living in sin. The story ends with the woman being delivered from her sinful ways. Many others in the city also believed the testimony. The end of the story of another family, where there was a woman whom Samson loved, is very sad. She and all her family were destroyed by the Philistines as a result of Samson’s engagements with them. The life of Samson stands in contrast to the One who sat on the well of Sychar and delivered a woman from her life of sin. Samson, while in close proximity to the Philistines, gave up his vow of separation to Jehovah. The purpose of the Nazarite vow was to devote the life wholly to service for the Lord. Accompanying the vow of separation was strength, given to Samson to overcome all power of the enemy. This was given at a time when the nation of Israel was impoverished by the Philistines. As long as Samson kept his vow, he had power over the Philistines. But as the days went by when Samson lived among the Philistines, his heart became attracted to a woman who enticed him little by little to surrender his vow of separation. This resulted in his losing his power and becoming a prisoner.
The Nazarite Vow
There were three parts to the Nazarite vow which Samson was called to keep. He was not to drink wine or even eat anything from the vine. Wine cheers the heart (Judg. 9:13), but it also impedes discernment (Prov. 20:1). Living to please self was how Samson began to fail. He said concerning the Philistine woman, “Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well” (Judg. 14:3). Thus he began to compromise his calling and lose good discernment.
The second requirement for the Nazarite was not to defile himself with anything unclean. The application of this to Samson was from physical defilement, but it applies to moral defilement too. Samson took the honey from an unclean carcass, ate it and gave it to his parents without their knowledge of it. No doubt they would have refused it if they had known its source. Those who succumb to temptations enjoy the company of others to placate their conscience, but this does not remedy the defilement. We see that when Samson lived to please himself, it led to the allowance of uncleanness also. The example of the Lord Jesus while conversing with the woman at Sychar reveals His purity and self-control. With Him there was no exercise of His own will, nor any compromise with uncleanness. Afterward, when the disciples brought Him food, He could say, “I have meat to eat that ye know not of.” Then He continued to explain how He delighted to obey. “Jesus saith unto them, my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work” (John 4:32, 34). There was no compromising of holiness; His delight was to do the Father’s will (Psa. 40:8). Afterward the woman was able to say of Him, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” (vs. 29). All her secret sins were uncovered and brought into the light, where forgiveness is found. That part of her life was all past and she was taken up with His perfection.
The third requirement for the Nazarite was not to shave his hair. This was the outward mark of his separation to Jehovah for a special cause. The distinction of having long hair was to be kept until the vow was terminated. This was the last thing Samson gave up, and when he did, the Lord departed from him. The result was that Samson had no more power, and the Philistines were able to take him prisoner. He lost his separative power of holiness. It has been said that salt is a picture of this. So the Scriptures say, “Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves” (Mark 9:50). In this regard, we could say, Samson lost his salt; he lost his power of holiness through his lack of separation to the Lord.
The Lord Jesus was the perfect Nazarite as the One morally separate from evil. This enabled Him to be close to sinners physically without being defiled. He is the One who perfectly kept the Nazarite vow. In doing so He shows how moral separation can affect those who see it. This is the lifestyle that has power to witness to those in the world — the lifestyle that is close to the world, yet separate morally from it. In summary, we may say Samson’s lifestyle is an example of what happens when one professes to be separate from the world but then gives up that separation, while the Lord Jesus is an example of what happens when one maintains separation. The importance of these things cannot be overemphasized for Christians today. We are in the world but not of the world. As the world degenerates, the uncleanness becomes more pronounced and openly evil, yet there is opportunity to live a godly lifestyle that has power to overcome the world.
D. C. Buchanan
Nazariteship and Natural Relationships
In the instructions concerning the one who took the vow of a Nazarite, one of the requirements was that “all the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head” (Num. 6:6-7).
We can easily see how difficult this might sometimes be. If a close relative such as a father, mother or a sibling were to die, the Nazarite was not allowed to assist in the burial; he was not to touch any dead body, even that of a loved one to whom he was closely related.
At first glance (and we speak reverently) this might seem a bit harsh and unreasonable. Could not an exception be made for such a case as this? No, for as we read at the end of verse 7, “the consecration of his God is upon his head.” Scripture recognizes that something might happen suddenly; a man might “die very suddenly by him” (v. 9), and in the tension and emotion of the moment, the Nazarite might be induced to help in dealing with the situation. But if this were to happen, no excuses could be made: “he hath defiled the head of his consecration” (vs. 9). He had lost his Nazarite character; he must shave his head, go through a cleansing process, and begin his vow over again.
The Moral Import
The moral impact of all this was doubtless not clear to the Israelite in the Old Testament, except that they realized that if one were to take the vow of a Nazarite, and to separate himself unto the Lord, he must obey implicitly the commands given by Jehovah. There could be no exception to the instructions.
In this dispensation of grace, we can see the moral import of the three requirements for one who took the vow of a Nazarite, and especially that which relates to avoiding any contact with a dead body. Death speaks of defilement, and this world is full of every kind of defilement for the believer. We must constantly be on our guard, for even a wrong thought can be like a man dying very suddenly by us. We can be caught off guard, and our Nazarite character is spoiled if we entertain that thought and allow our minds to be defiled.
Family Ties
Another has aptly remarked, “To be a Nazarite is to be separated from every natural affection which can be touched by death — to be separated unto the Lord.” One of the areas in our life that can be affected by these claims of nature is family ties, and this can perhaps explain why the commandment in Numbers 6:7 is so strict, and does not allow for any exception. This difficulty frequently presents itself in our Christian pathway. The Lord Jesus recognized this and warned us about it. He could say, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). This does not mean, of course, that we are actually to hate our closest relatives, but rather that, in comparison to Christ, He must always have the first place in our hearts. He Himself exemplified this, for He refused to acknowledge His mother and his natural brothers in any special way during His earthly ministry. At the marriage in Cana of Galilee, when His mother told Him that they needed wine, He could say to her, “Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come” (John 2:4). On another occasion when some reminded Him that His mother and His brethren were waiting to speak with Him, He reacted by saying, “Who is my mother, or my brethren?” Then, looking “round about on them which sat about him,” He said, “Behold my mother and my brethren!” (Mark 3:33-34). Yet while on the cross, at the end of His pathway down here, as the eldest Son in His earthly family, He graciously commits His mother to the care of John.
Yet in our own lives, how many times family ties are liable to get in the way of right spiritual judgment, and more important, right spiritual actions. Our judgment may in some cases be sound, yet our hearts may fear to act for the Lord’s glory because of the risk of causing offence among those who are related to us. Sometimes this may involve a difficulty that comes between a husband and wife, and this exercises our hearts to their very depths. Am I to be faithful to the Lord, and risk causing dissension and difficulty in my home? Under such circumstances some have given in, and acted against their consciences rather than destroy a human relationship. But others, while honoring their proper responsibilities within the marriage bond, have acted for the Lord’s glory, and will be rewarded for it.
King Asa
King Asa was faced with a difficult responsibility in his life, when his mother Maachah, a daughter of Absalom (she was actually his grandmother) “made an idol in a grove.” It is recorded that he “removed her from being queen ... and ... cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron” (2 Chron. 15:16). No doubt it was a hard thing to do, and especially as Maachah must have been an older woman at the time, but faithfulness to the Lord demanded it.
May we too, in these last days, not be turned aside from faithfulness to the Lord by acceding to the influence of family ties, in situations where such ties might lead us into dishonoring the Lord. The anticipation of the difficulties involved in being faithful might seem to constitute an impossible situation, and one which we cannot face. But the pathway of faithfulness is always that of eventual blessing, and we can count on the Lord for His sovereign grace in bringing about that blessing.
The Spirit of Meekness
Having made these remarks, perhaps I can add a caution in closing. I have known those who, in their zeal in being supposedly faithful to the Lord, have dealt with family members in a proud, arrogant, and self-confident way. They have wantonly cast off family relationships without seeking, with pastoral care, to reach the consciences of those with whom they disagree. This is not the spirit of Christ. Whenever separation from evil is needed, humiliation must accompany it. We must always remember the apostle’s injunction in Galatians 6:1 — “If a man be overtaken in a fault ... restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” I have known those who, when others were involved, took a strong stand when family ties weakened the resolve of some who should have stood more strongly against evil. Later, when the Lord allowed a problem in their own family, they too found it very difficult to dissociate themselves from the natural emotions that made it difficult to act in a right way.
The Lord is able to give us grace to act for His glory, with firmness, yet to do so with humility, and with love in our hearts toward those who oppose us. We must always remember that the time may come when we are tested in the same way.
W. J. Prost
Nazariteship Among the Uncircumcised
In the case of Samson we see that in everything, God’s hand is working in sovereignty. He chooses the already dishonored tribe of Dan, the first among Israel to lapse into idolatry (Judg. 18). He can do as it pleases Him. Unasked, the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and announced the birth of this child. The details of the chapter are very lovely in many ways, and especially bright in the fresh deductions of faith, of the wife of Manoah. Three strong features present themselves to us here.
First, we have the Nazarite—the one separated to the Lord.
Next, after the offering of the burnt offering and peace offering, the angel, whose name was “Wonderful” (cf. Isa. 9:6), ascends up to heaven in the flame of the altar.
And lastly, “These things” showed to Manoah and his wife.
The Nazariteship of Christ
Now here I would refer for a moment to the Nazariteship of Christ. In the earlier Gospels the Lord is seen in the power of the Kingdom, eating and drinking with the children of it, if they would hear. In the Gospel of John this is all changed. He is a lonely Man from the very beginning of that Gospel, and “His own” are set aside (John 1:11-12). He is a Nazarite all the way through, gathering and leading a heavenly company to the Father’s house. In John 17, where the epitome of this is seen, we find in broad lines, these three things of Judges 13 brought out afresh in all their intensity and reality. His people are separate: “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” He says to the Father, “And now come I to thee”: He ascends on high, in the value of the completed burnt offering and the meat offering, in which they were accepted before the Lord. And “These things speak I in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”
The church of God was a Nazarited [separated] one. Instead of retaining this place, she “ate and drank with the drunken.” But Christ was ever a true Nazarite (spiritually, not literally), and when the church has fallen as a whole, the only resource is individual Nazariteship — special devotedness to the Lord. The church of God ever is united to Christ in glory; but to be owned in such a state, those who would be recognized must be separate to Him. There is no other way. They must be Nazarites; and they must keep the secret of this too, with the Lord. To be outwardly so, without inward separation, is terribly solemn. It is to find, when the moment of testing comes, that we have lost our strength.
Samson’s History
Samson’s history is divided into two distinct parts, each ending with the sentence “and he judged Israel... twenty years” (see the end of Judges 15 and 16).
The first division of his history is embraced in Judges 13:15. In it we will notice how full of power is this deliverer of his people. How complete is his victory over the Philistines! In all this portion we note too, that “The Spirit of the Lord” came upon him, in his mighty acts. Also we notice that he is not accompanied by Israel in these acts. Even the men of Judah come down to bind him and to deliver him into the Philistines’ hand!
How striking is all this to our souls! If the saints of God accept the path of Nazariteship in these days, God will be with them in power and blessing. That blessing may extend largely even to those too who have not separated themselves to the Lord, bringing deliverance also to them. But they are opposed to those who have taken this separate path. To accept those who seek His face is but to judge their own path as unsanctified to God.
The Nazarite Place Lost
In the second division of his history all is changed! There is no trace there of the power of “the Spirit of the Lord.” Samson has lost the Nazarite place, and he falls into the hands of the Philistines. He is blinded by his foes, a proof to them at least, that Dagon is stronger than God! Have not God’s people done this today? Have they not lost their Nazariteship, being mixed up with the worldly? And thus accepting the evil, they are blinded and captive, and unable to break their bonds. How well may the Scriptures say to such, “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Eph. 5:14).
When blind Samson is called to make sport before the Philistine lords at Gaza, and when he leaned upon the pillars of the house on which they stood, God heard his cry. And when he bowed himself with all his might, the house fell upon him and on all that were there. “So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life,” but he falls himself in their destruction.
Thus it will be with the world when God removes the church from this scene, as when Samson himself was removed. More of her foes will be destroyed in her death than she had done in her life, for her removal will be the sign for the crushing judgments of God on the professing church, which alas, is but the world!
The Analogy to Laodicea
There is an analogy to these two sections of Samson’s history in the last two messages to the seven churches in Asia; the one, of Nazariteship in power and victory: the other, of Nazariteship lost, and of blindness and defeat. We find these two features plainly, in Philadelphia and Laodicea.
Philadelphia is indeed the Nazarite path — that moral Nazariteship which meets with the approval of Christ. All is victory with such a state. Yet it is a path in which the secret must be kept between Christ and the soul. “I know thy works”: this must suffice the true heart. It may be asked, “Tell me wherein thy great strength lieth,” but it is a secret not to be betrayed. This answers to the first part of Samson’s history.
But Laodicea follows. She is blind and her Nazariteship is lost. She still thinks herself “rich, and increased with goods, having need of nothing,” yet her strength is gone. She is counseled to anoint her eyes with eye salve, that she may see. She is lukewarm — neither cold nor hot, but nauseous to Christ: He will spue such a state of things out of His mouth.
My brethren, there are lessons here for our souls! We may have to begin again; the days of our former separation may have been lost. But we can begin again! We have a God of mercy to deal with, who has unfolded what is well-pleasing to Him. The moment is coming when the church of God will be removed, in her last stage here; then the judgment of the Philistines will take place. Then the Lord will go forth to battle with His foes, and the saints will be “joyful in glory” (Psa. 149:5).
Hold Fast Till I Come
Let Philadelphia then remember that He has said, “Hold fast till I come,” and, “Let no man take thy crown.” The day is coming when we shall know the meaning of the words, “After that the Nazarite may drink wine” (Num. 6:20). The blessing of Joseph which ran thus, will then be Christ’s — “The Almighty, who shall bless thee ... the blessings of thy father ... shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of Him that was separate [Nazarited] from his brethren!” (Gen. 49:25-26). The days of the Kingdom will then have come, and those who have stood fast and walked as Nazarites here will then be owned. (The word “separate” in Genesis 49:26 is the same as the word “Nazarite” used elsewhere in Scripture).
Those who separated themselves to David of old, in his days of rejection, received their reward in the days of the kingdom. But the brightest gems of his glory were those specially named, who had met these special enemies—”the uncircumcised.” In 2 Samuel 23, where we read the last words of David, we find that he spoke most highly of those who had conquered the Philistines.
F. G. Patterson (adapted)
Samson: The Serpent and the Lion
Judges 14
Christ only has fully made good His Nazariteship, an absolute moral separation unto God, throughout the whole of His life down here. It is still the case in heaven where He abides the true Nazarite — “separate from sinners” (Heb. 7:26).
Christ encountered Satan in two characters: in the desert, as the serpent subtle and enticing, and at the end of His course, as the roaring lion that rends and devours.
In the desert, the Lord met the wiles of the enemy with the Word of God and entire dependence upon Him, and gained the victory. At the beginning of his career, Samson too encountered the serpent, who sought to entice him by means of one of the daughters of the Philistines. Twice it says that “she pleased him well” (vss. 3, 7). From that time, he formed the intention of uniting himself to this woman who belonged to the race of Israel’s oppressors. It is just the same with the individual or with the church when in conflict with the deceiver. Satan, who had nothing in Christ (John 14:30), easily finds a response in our hearts. It does not necessarily follow that we must fall, for grace and the Word which reveals this grace to us are able to keep us. Notwithstanding the tendencies of his heart, Samson, kept by the providential grace of God, never married the daughter of the Philistines.
Disobedience to the Word
The desire of Samson showed that the Word of God had not its right weight with him. The Word was indeed explicit on this point—”Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son, for they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods” (Deut. 7:3-4). Christ, the perfect Nazarite, recognized the absolute authority of the Scriptures and fed upon every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. The Word of God not having its right weight with Samson, he started on a downward path which could only lead to a fall.
Nevertheless Samson was not devoid of affection for Jehovah and His people. It is said, “But his father and his mother knew not that it was of Jehovah, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines” (vs. 4). The domination of the latter was hateful to him. He was looking for a favorable opportunity to strike the blow which should break the yoke weighing upon the children of Israel. But Samson was not single-eyed; he brought a divided heart to the work. Trying to reconcile pleasing his own eyes with his hatred against the enemy of his people, he was holding out his left hand to the world and at the same time wanting to fight it with his right. Yet God took note of what there was for Him in this divided heart. “It was of the Lord” (vs. 4) who could use even the weaknesses of Samson to accomplish His purposes of grace towards His people.
This proneness to seek in the world that which “pleases the eyes,” led Samson into endless difficulties from which only the power of God could deliver him. There are many instances in the Word where a first look turned toward the world involves the believer in irreparable trouble.
Samson was on slippery ground. His eyes were enamored; he desired to take this woman for his wife; for alliance with the world follows the lust of the eyes. Then he made a feast (ver. 10), yet this repast had a sorrowful termination for him.
The Roaring Lion
Before going any further let us take into consideration what preceded the feast in Samson’s history. We have already said that Satan not only presents himself as a serpent, but also as a roaring lion. It was in this character that the Lord Jesus met him in Gethsemane and at the cross. Nothing is more terrifying than the roar of the lion. Satan sought to frighten the holy soul of Christ in order to make Him abandon the divine path which led down to the sacrifice. In the power of the Holy Spirit and in perfect dependence on His Father, the Lord withstood him in the garden of Gethsemane. At the cross, where he opened his mouth against Christ “as a ravening and a roaring lion” (Psa. 22:13), the Lord in “the weakness of God” (1 Cor. 1:25) overcame “the strong man,” and through death, nullified his power (Heb. 2:14). In just the same form does Satan present himself to the children of God. “Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). If he does not succeed in beguiling us, he tries to frighten us.
Samson was now confronted by the young lion, coming up against him from the country of the Philistines, and here his Nazariteship was manifested in its full power, which is that of the Spirit of God. “And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand” (vs. 6). Such is the way that we have to act when meeting Satan. We should not spare him in the least, for if we do he will return to the charge. We must, in our struggle, rend him as we would rend a kid. He can do nothing to us so long as we resist him fearlessly (see James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:9); for Jesus has already overcome him for us at the cross.
Sharing Sweetness from Victory
Later on, Samson, passing by the same road, turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and found in it “a swarm of bees and honey” (vs. 8). He ate some of it as he went along, and gave some to his parents. As the fruit of Christ’s victory on the cross, all heavenly blessings have been placed in our hands. If we obtain a victory over him, our souls will be filled with strength and sweetness. We shall be able to impart what we have got to others; but, like Samson who ate as he went along, our own souls will have first been fed. Let us never treat Satan as a friend; if we do, we shall come away from such a meeting beaten and enfeebled.
The Secrets of Samson
The victory of Samson over the lion of Timnath was not only a proof of strength; it was a secret between him and God. When his eyes were attracted to the daughter of the Philistines, he told his parents of it: concerning his victory he told no one. The life of Samson abounded with secrets and at the same time with acts of power. Even his Nazariteship was a secret, a link, unknown to any, between his own soul and Jehovah. This link for us is communion. We meet with four secrets in this chapter. Samson had not divulged his intentions to his parents, nor the part that Jehovah had in these things (ver. 4); he had not told them of his victory (ver. 6), nor the place whence he had procured the honey (ver. 9), nor his riddle (ver. 16). All that, kept unbroken between his soul and God, was for him the only means of following a path of blessing in the midst of this world.
Loss of Communion
Let us return to Samson’s feast. He put forth his riddle to the Philistines, but the enemy succeeded in robbing him of that which he had so carefully concealed. The world has an insidious effect upon us, leading to loss of our communion with God. If our hearts, like Samson’s, in any way cling to what the world may present to us, it will not be long before we lose our communion. Absence of communion does not at first imply loss of strength; it is, however, the road which leads to it. As long as Nazariteship exists, even externally, strength will not be lacking, as Samson proved to the Philistines in the matter of the thirty changes of garments. But did this man of God have much peace and joy during the days of the feast? On the contrary, it was a struggle with tears, care and pressure (ver. 17). He was betrayed by the very woman of his choice. Samson would never have thought that his thirty companions, aided by his wife, would lay traps to plunder him, for the thirty changes of garments by right belonged to him. Satan may separate us from communion with the Lord, may make us unhappy; he may also hinder our being witnesses here below, but thanks be to God, he cannot pluck us out of the hand of Christ.
The grace of God preserved Samson from the final consequences of his error, and delivered him from an alliance which God could not approve of. The Spirit of Jehovah having come upon him he performed mighty deeds. “And his anger was kindled” (vs. 19). Samson was a man of a very selfish character and was guided in his action by the sense of the wrong that had been done him. Nevertheless he was victorious over the enemies of Jehovah, and kept for himself none of their spoil; it went back to the world, from whence it had been taken. Then he quit the scene of so much unhappiness and “went up to his father’s house” (vs. 19), which he never should have left to go among the Philistines. May we profit by this lesson; and if, in our interaction with the world, we have passed through painful experiences, let us hasten to return to the Father’s house. Communion with Christ is the source of our peace and happiness all our pilgrimage way, till that moment comes when we shall enter forever into that house — our eternal dwelling-place!
H. L. Rossier (adapted)
The Pure and Holy Nazarite
Beside other and higher glories of His person, Christ was the blessed man who never walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the scornful (Psa. 1:1). Other blessed men there are whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered (Psa. 32). But Christ was the one blessed man who, regarded as made of a woman, made under the law, had no transgressions to be forgiven, neither sins to be covered. Rather, His delight was in the law of the Lord, and in His law did He meditate day and night. In this then He stood alone, truly and totally separated unto the Lord, wholly apart from the world for God. Here below in the flesh, He was the pure and holy Nazarite, blessed in Himself. All others were sinners. If these were blessed, they were blessed exclusively through Him, and this was by death and resurrection.
W. Kelly
The Lion and the Honey
Bear in mind that Samson came into the world for the express purpose of overthrowing the Philistines and thus setting God’s people free. Seeing that this was his mission, it is not surprising that a young lion, typical of Satan’s power, roared against him.
But Samson was more than a match for the lion, and rent it as one would rend a kid. In like manner all the powers of darkness gathered against the Lord Jesus Christ, for He came to expose all that was false and to establish all that was true. But in death He gained the victory; by dying he overthrew the foe. Just as the carcass of Samson’s lion yielded meat and sweetness, so the death of Jesus yields life and nourishment for the soul, and true joy for the heart. We see the reality and faithfulness of divine love displayed in that great conflict and victory, and we owe our every blessing to it.
The hand that smote the lion held the honey, and Samson shared it with his parents, as they walked in company with him. It was the remarkable fruit of his victory. The great anti-type of this should yield abundant joy to us. All blessing is held in the mighty hand that smote the power of death, and it is the delight of our Lord Jesus Christ to dispense to us of that which He holds so securely.
J. T. Mawson
Nazarite Separation
Quickness of moral perception depends on the maintenance of a Nazarite separation from all and everything that might cloud our souls. Take the sons of Aaron for example. They were commanded not to drink wine or strong drink when they went into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they should die, and that they might put a difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, etc. (Leviticus 10). This is an abiding principle. When a believer forgets his heavenly calling, and yields to the indulgence of earthly joys, is “drunk with wine” instead of being “filled with the Spirit,” it is impossible for him to discern between things that differ, or to perceive what is morally suitable to God. We cannot expect a right judgment upon moral questions from worldly Christians. They may be perfectly sincere and upright, and may at the same time desire to see the truth, but they have lost their spiritual discernment. Where this is the case, truth will soon fail, and he that departs from evil will be accounted mad.
Christian Friend, Vol. 12
He Knew It Not
In Exodus 34, we find that “Moses’ face shone”; it was radiant with glory, but “he wist it not.” How was this? He was occupied with God, and not with himself. He had been in the mount with God. He had been in the brightness of divine glory, and it had made his face shine. We must know what it is to be in the presence of God if we would be really godly. Nothing else will produce it. Trafficking in mere Bible knowledge, with due outward care for morality, may be an imitation of it, but real, practical, Christ-like ways can only flow out of communion with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. We must be in God’s presence, where Jesus now is, by faith, and by the written Word and Spirit having our minds permeated with God’s thoughts. Our hearts must be under the transforming power of His love. Only in this way shall we be fruitful and godly. We may not be conscious that we are growing in grace and godliness, any more than Moses was aware that his face was shining so brightly; nevertheless, it will be so. God will always be with those who are with Him. “Them that honor me, I will honor” (1 Sam. 2:30).
But Scripture warns us also against getting off this blessed ground of fellowship with the Lord, and drawing back through unbelief. Samson’s history stands remarkably in contrast with Moses’ in this respect. He was a man of faith most surely, and God wrought wondrously with him by His Spirit. He was a Nazarite too — standing in the place of separation with God. But, after all the victories of faith, he became careless and carnal. Delilah so attracted and ensnared him that he fell a prey to her bewitching devices. At length, through her, he lost the locks of Nazarite separation, and then the solemn confession comes out, that “he wist not that God had departed from him” (Judg. 16:20). How peculiarly solemn this is!
We are told that Samson had gone out as at other times. Before this, whenever he had sought God, God had always been his helper. But now he was openly before all a common man; he had lost his Nazariteship, and was no longer a separated man unto God. That ground had been trifled with and lost, and he was unable any longer to stand against the foe. He was taken captive, his eyes were put out, and they made him grind in the prison-house. Later they made sport of him at a heathen feast. There was some recovery at last, but his end was destruction.
What a touching picture of the wretched experience of a soul that has gotten away from the Lord! Happily we know that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). May we be kept in our only safe place of real felt weakness and self-abhorrence, clinging to Him who said “abide in me.”
H. H. Snell
A Cry from Bochim
Confession and humiliation become the children of God in the present day. Neither the glory of God, nor the honor of Christ, nor the presence of the Holy Spirit, have been faithfully cared for by us. And the church — where is it, and what is its condition upon earth?
And what is it that hinders so many dear to us, and ourselves too, from seeing that His honor has been assailed? The true answer, I fear, is worldliness and earthly-mindedness — the fruit of our own doings. I do believe a more Nazarite walk on my part and on that of others, might give power to act upon consciences, and to get souls separate from a wrong course.
I own that the low, earthly-minded, worldly state of saints is a consequence of the Holy Spirit having been grieved and quenched.
G. V. Wigram
Consecration
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for the King.
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my love, my God, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Frances Ridley Havergal